My Mundane Monday...

I've had a great few days. Lots of fun going on.

Howda ya like my poppy? It's orange and it's a poppy, so of course I'm lovin' it. When I showed the kids the pattern and the fabrics I was gonna use, it was the common consensus that I make it in purple. I gaped, aghast, wondering just whose spawn they were? I vetoed the children from Mars and went with the orange. It is a poppy, after all.

The poppy quilt measures at just under 50." My Aunt Isobel gave me the nifty 9* wedge ruler and accompanying book a few years back. The picture on the front of the book didn't appeal to me- it was a pastel butterfly and I'm physically incapable of working with pastels. Must have had a traumatic experience as a child. And, I admit, I was a bit intimidated by its roundness. A common phobia among quilter. Guess what? Not a single curve to sew or cut. 100% straight lines. If I had only investigated sooner I might have had this much fun quite a while ago! That'll teach me.


The directions in the book- oh, I guess it would be nice if I shared the title with ya, huh? Quilts Without Corners by Cheryl Phillips. Anyway, the directions were some of the best I've ever seen or used. Really excellent. Lots of helpful hints to ensure success. I followed them faithfully and that quilt lays as flat- if not flatter- than any other quilt I've made. Way cool. One of her tips was to use loops of wipe clear packing tape on the back of the ruler- keeps things from shifting- even better than those little rubber strippy things. I only had to change the tape out once for the whole project, so it's cheap, too. Took me 5 hours to cut, piece and sew. There are several other designs in the book that I'm looking forward to trying.


Sandy and I took an impromptu trip to Rushville Indiana, yesterday. After seeing my poppy, she wanted a wedge ruler,too. Enjoyed the drive on one of the few sunny days we have had lately. And the quilt shop, In Stitches, is always a treat. They have a longarmer who works out of the shop and we had a very pleasant visit. Nice to share war stories and ideas with a fellow quilter. She had the coolest set-up for storing her quilts. Her husband had built her this super strong hanging frame. oak. All of her quilts are folded over sturdy hangers- including the backing and the batting (as long as it was cotton. The larger batts are stored under the hangers.) The names and phone numbers of the clients are on little tags attached to each hanger. That's a great idea even for our own quilts because they're easy to see and keeps them in our minds so much better than tucking them away in a Rubbermaid tub and forgetting about them. Can't tell you how often I find a quilt that I'd completely forgotten about. Plus, I think it would also be a bit more motivating to get 'em done if they're staring me in the face. Sometimes I need a little intimidation.


This is a block from the quilt she was working on. It's made from the shirts of her client's father. I've seen and quilted several of these, but I loved how she pieced it and then set them together. The blocks really show off the fabrics effectively and they don't get lost in the busyness involved in most shirt quilts. Her sashing and cornerstones were consistent throughout the quilt, but the stars all had different shirt fabrics and different complimentary colors. Loved it. Of course, the quilting is brilliant, too. She was saying how she had to go home early, the day before, because she had hit a creative wall. So nice to hear that happens to other quilters. Sometimes it just takes some distance to come up with the right design for a quilt. It doesn't always just pop out at you. I'd say her quilting is inspired, though. She does great work.

I'm sure there's something else I should be doing... I'll skedaddle now and see if I can figure out just what that might be. Or, better yet, maybe I'll stay happily oblivious...Have a great day!