April Snowman BOM

This is my April Snowman blue work block of the month. As you can see I am behind--this is April's block and I should be working on July. I have some catching up to do.

Yes, this snowman is blind. I am adding beads for eyes after the blocks are finished, assembled into the quilt top and quilted.

March Goals Met

My goals for March were to finish my March bluework snowman block and to quilt and bind my Bricks and Stepping Stones Quilt.

The March bluework snowman block was finished about a week ago.

....but the Bricks and Stepping Stones quilt was not finished until late last night--just in time to make the March deadline! This quilt will be given to one of my niece's as a wedding gift when she gets married on April 14.

This quilt measures 86" x 104".

The piecing pattern is from Bonnie's Quiltville website. If you are interested in the pattern, follow this link:

http://www.quiltville.com/bricksandstones.shtml

I have quilted this quilt in the Wave design using Superior's So Fine thread. This is a thread developed by John Flynn and it is the best performing thread I have come across for my long arm. I pushed the speed of the quilting on this quilt and the thread took a beating. This thread never broke once and never gave me an ounce of tension trouble. I like all of Superior's threads, but So Fine will be the future workhorse of my studio, I am sure.

This is a closeup of the fabric on the border of this quilt. I love this fabric.

I also finished my crayon block. The moles seem to have eaten my daffodil bulbs so the only daffodils I am going to see are those that I put on a quilt!

This last picture is Joey. When I am finished with the binding on a quilt, I like to measure the length and width of the quilt. The tape measure proved to be too tempting a toy for Joey.

February Goals Met

I am happy to report that I have met my goals for February!

My first finish is my February bluework snowman. As you can see, he is currently blind and buttonless. I have discovered the most wonderful beads and so I have given up on the French knots. I will add the beads after the blocks are finished, assembled into the finished top and quilted. It is much easier to deal with embellishments after the quilting is finished.

I have not yet pressed this block because I am still looking for the perfect stain remover that will remove some stains near the snowman's head (they don't seem to show up in the picture, but believe me, they are there). I have been successful in fading the stains, but not in totally removing them. I have tried everything I can think of including rubbing alcohol, lemon juice, the Tide pen, the bleach pen, and some solvent based stain remover. Nothing wants to to totally remove the stains. I must be more careful on my next blocks to make sure I don't end up with more mystery stains.

The second finish for February is my Double Four Patch quilt. The last stitches were taken on the binding tonight. I quilted this one with Circle Lord's Zig Zag / Wave template.

I tried a new batting in this quilt by the Warm Company. The batting is an 80/20 blend and is so light and soft compared to Warm and Natural. It also shows off the quilting nicely. I am going to be using this batting again!

January Snowman Block

This block is from my list of projects (see side bar) that I want to finish this year. This is from #4 on the list. .....just 11 more blocks to go--one per month for the year.

I have to work hard to catch up to Linda J as she is working on the month of May already! I hear that Pam has also joined us and will be starting work on her blocks soon.

This is my first attempt at red/blue work and I think I am hooked!