The Addams Family

 Marnie was given the opportunity to join the cast of Addams Family at Stanwood High School. It's so fun to make friends when putting on a show, but there are long days and nights and it is exhausting. Hopefully she will be able to catch up on her sleep this weekend.

New Hexagon Millefiori

 I've finished my first rosette in the New Hexagon quilt. This is my first time trying English Paper Piecing and it is pretty straightforward. I would make a photocopy of each block required, fold it in half, staple up the sides, and slip in all the paper pieces required for that block.

Then I cut out each piece in fabric with a general seam allowance. I prefer to hand baste the fabric around the paper, but glue basting is also an option.

It is tricky to stitch everything together in the right direction, so you must keep the picture right next to you at all times.

Quilt Firsts

My very first quilting book was In the Beginning by Sharon Yenter. I was so excited to get started on my first quilt, but living in Baring, Washington limited my fabric options. So one day we were driving through Seattle and I asked Paul to watch the kids while I ran into In the Beginning to buy some fabric.  We were lucky to get a parking spot. I snuck out and ran upstairs like a crazy person. I knew the kids wouldn't keep very long.

Not understanding what a line of fabric was, I just grabbed a bunch of bolts, and following the quilt recipe, asked for the proper amount of yardage. It was a sampler type of quilt, which is good for a beginner, but never looks quite right. This one turned out pretty bad. It sat for years in my UFO stash.

When I bought my Gammill longarm I decided it would be my first quilt on the machine. So not only is the quilt bad, but the quilting is pretty bad, too. I finally decided to take a picture and toss it. Always keep for first quilt (or a picture) so you know how you've improved!

Here's Katie with her first quilt and Marnie looking like she participated. They both have made many since that day. The first quilt I entered into a quilt show was in 2000. It was a Welsh wholecloth that was pre-marked. Still, it was incredibly difficult. 

Round the Bend

 I bought a book for using wedge templates at Sisters last year. It was a challenge for me to design a quilt out of circles. I'm not that great at math, and man, it was definitely required.

I found that the Temecula quilt shop that I visited with my mother had moved to Stanwood. What are the odds? She had many of these grey fabrics.

Pay no attention to the basted thread running around the edges of each circle. It was there for needle turn applique and I will remove it when it's on the longarm.

I submitted this one to Sisters and when I found it, two young women were having their picture taken in front of it. That made my heart happy.

One more note: Making this quilt was made exceptionally hard due to the cover fabric I used on my ironing board.

Baby Ruth

 We visited the gravesite for Baby Ruth Willard this week in Sugar City, Idaho. Technically, she was Paul's great aunt. She only lived for 2 years, so they never met. Paul's aunt Ruth was named for her. She lives in the Nampa area near Howard. She took it upon herself to buy this beautiful stone marker. The cemetery itself is a tiny plot in a very small city.

Trip to Rexburg

 We went to Rexburg with Marnie for a little trip to see everyone. Marnie wanted to meet the bassoon professor and check out the music department. I wanted to see Bonnie.

Marnie was sold when she saw this little bassoon hanging outside the music advisor's office.

Another Crash

 It seems that each of my children must crash a car. And in the end, it may be beneficial. They don't seem to repeat the procedure. I just think that teenagers are not defensive drivers yet. But they become that way. The best I can hope for is that they are not seriously injured, just scared.