Lots of Little Finishes

This has finally been bordered and bound, according to popular vote. I'm calling it "Piney Stars". The stars are the handiwork of Karen Beigh (Log Cabin Quilter blog), and I did the other stuff.

 I used stencils for the quilting. Though I love doing FM overall designs, for more traditional looking quilts I lean toward stencils.

I surprised myself by getting this little thing completed and hung the morning of the Fourth--just in the nick of time! This has been dubbed "A Fleeced Fourth." I'm glad Lisa included striped fabric in her Old Glory Gatherings because I love making striped bias binding.

 Stripes aren't bad on the back, either. Like Lisa's quilt at her trunk show, I used the Valdani floss to "big stitch" around the wool appliques. On the other four blocks I used a Terry Twist (Sally Terry) stencil.

I have finished up another AAQI (Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative) quilt, but I won't be registering it until I get at least one more finished. Have to have them registered by August 1, 2013. There are still hundreds of little quilts available for sale, with more being added regularly. Some of them are even priced under $20. Check it out here to support a great cause. This all ends December 30, 2013.


The quilting process began with stitch-in-the-ditch with my walking foot along the color changes. I like quilting "furrow" type layouts with a diagonal pattern, but my stencil choices this size were limited. I used my favorite "rope" stencil in a large size on the furrows and used a smaller stencil of the same pattern in the border. Those corners are the "fast finish triangles" for hanging, recommended for AAQI quilts, in case you are wondering.

Okay, Kathie, you nudged me and I did it. I made a 2" log cabin ornament (not a great photo of it). After making that little thing, going back to the 3" log cabins in the AAQI quilt was a breeze! I left the opening a little tight and it stressed the seams when I turned it inside out, so this will stay with me, but I think I see a few more of them in my future, with some possible modifications.

We are cooling off today in our high mountain desert valley--instead of hitting 99-100 degrees, we are only supposed to reach 90 today. It will feel chilly (not really).
Janet O.