Quilting in the Rain

OK, I wasn't really quilting in the rain, but it was gray and rainy outside this past Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, so I decided to spend some time making a couple mini quilts for two wonderful friends of mine. This first one is for a friend who is very fond of bright colors. I thought it would be fun to pair a bright, bold pieced tumbler block background with a white flower applique. I named this one "SummerSault" as a little play on the tumbler block and summer flower and colors. This one will is in the mail on the way to its new home!

This second one was so fun to make. It is for a very fun friend who loves Converse All Stars / Chuck Taylors. I've had this quilt in my mind for quite a while now - about a year! - and I've finally got it down on fabric. I wanted to try something a bit three-dimensional and I think it turned out really great! It's definitely a technique I'll use often. The way I did it was to make some parts of the shoe little quilts in and of themselves: pieced front, batting, and

backing - and then instead of sewing the whole piece down, I only sewed parts of it, so that the rest would stick up a bit and give the piece dimension. Then, once I had the whole shoe pieced together, I backed it again with batting and backing before sewing the whole thing to the main quilt. I'm probably not explaining it well, but in my mind it was a very easy process - though I'm sure there are lots of other ways to do it, too! This little baby is called "You're an All-Star" because, well, it just makes sense, plus the recipient really is an all-star in my book! Wish I could see her face when she receives it!

I had fun this weekend and kept myself busy. You know what they say about idle hands, right?

Walking in the Rain

It's hot and now it's raining and I am so tempted to go out for a walk in the rain. After perorating with myself about how lovely it would feel, I've finally decided NOT to do it. Hey, it's after 11 at night and, although it is likely that no one would be out in this downpour to abduct me, if I did get abducted I'm sure I'd never hear the end of it from Michele, and Mum, and Daddy, and Gloria, and Kym, and Joel, and the list goes on and on!

Note (#1): I put a leaky container of baked beans, an ice filled bottle of water, my smoothie, and my milk in my bag today & no wetness on the bag!! I think my design is sound and production will begin!

Mote (#2): One day left to enter the Paying It Forward giveaway!