Sneak Peak or UFO?

Once upon a time when TheArtful Quilter was in Centreville there was a Greater DC Shop Hop that hit at least 12 quilt shops in Northern VA and the Baltimore Burbs. I took the bus with the other AQ fans and with me I carried $500. The Hop lasted two days, exactly as long as my money.

FIVE HUNDRED BUCKS?? Well, I will say it nearly took a truck to get my new stash home. I bought dots and stripes because they were and still are pretty. Really. Nothing but dots and stripes. The fabric filled almost a quarter of my closet. The books I bought to inspire me to use the dots and strips filled another six inches of my bookcase.

I brought it all to Vilnius with me, hoping to get around to a few bright and funky projects. A couple of years ago my friend's husband bought us each a package of Hawaiian fat quarters and challenged us to do something with them. When winter comes in October, thoughts of island breezes are welcome. Some of my dots and stripes helped the Aloha prints accept the assignment.

The BIG ONE, "Everyday Best" from Piece O'Cake Designs, scared me dizzy. How do I organize all those dots? How do I manage all those arcs? Will it turn out?

A piece of advice from Art and Fear and condensed by Nike: Just Do It.

So, the arcs are finished and the design wall is up. Today I will organize the backgrounds color-wheel style and move on to assembling them. I don't know about the appliqueed border. I'm pleased I got this far.

Playing Catch Up

I'm feeling guilty for not having blogged in so long, so here's a photo of one of the quilts I finished during my silent times. I called it The Bear because it was the bear who ate me. The arcs are paper pieced but the pattern was mis-printed: I made 6 backwards arcs before I realized I was wasting resources. Now I'm waiting for fabric for the binding since too much of it was used incorrectly.

I probably should have called this quilt "The Groundhog." Jean and I had ridden our motorcycles up to Webfabrics in Purcellville where I bought these batiks and stuffed them into my saddlebags. The easy road home was closed and we had to take my nemisis road home: Snickersville Pike. Dark, curvy, unlined: in short, a nightmare for the likes of me. At the first hairpin curve (actually, it's no more acute than any normal stop street, only it's not a stop street), something hit my back wheel. Later Jean told me it had been a groundhog. I think we were all lucky--I didn't drop my bike and Jean didn't crash into me. I have to assume the ground hog got away clean since I found no fur in my spokes.

Old story, but there it is. Before I took the class that showed me (almost) how to make the Venice Rose as you see it above (and since quilted by the fabulous Marilyn Moser), I had made a smaller quilt to memorialize the event. This quilt was probably posted before, but it goes with the story.

It's not that I haven't thought about blogging

It's just that I can't blog and think at the same time.

I've been very busy making "normal" quilts. I saw this split nine patch in a book and had to make it. It seems tidy and crisp. And then i flubbed up the sashing and mismatched the blocks. So much for tidy.

I found another must-do quilt and am waiting for the sashing fabric to arrive so I can finish it and post a photo. BTW--Photos are on my facebook page. Visit and enjoy.

Now I must switch hats and get dinner for he who must be obeyed. LOL! AS IF!