Batik Circles of Life is finished!

Since it had been some time since I had finsihed anything,

it feels good to have finsihed something for myself.

This quilt is for the daybed in my studio and

goes extremely well with the

faux paint job that I have.

It is almost full sized (custom size for the daybed)

machine pieced and all hand quilted.

Here is a copy of my wall hanging "Foremeothers" in honor of the women in my family. It will be exhibited in several shows over the next year. Of course, I left shipping it until the last minute, and it cost me over $ 50 to send it overnight to California.

The poem is written by my talented sister Erva, and the photo of my mother, sister and I was taken by our adopted daughter/sister/niece Gracie (who is the mother of the next generation of women Ashely and Amber)!

Good grief, the quilt is not even finished yet and it has been co-opted by Baby Cakes. Of course, she thinks that she owns the place anyway, especially the studio. I spent this weekend finishing the Crown Royal comforter and putting the binding on the circle quilt above! Since the weather was cold and windy, it was the perfect weekend.
Next weekend four friends and I are treating ourselves to a weekend at Ojo Caliente Spa! Lots of lazing around and massages, pedicures, etc. I can't wait!

I got a one dollar bill today with an interesting stamp on it. It said Currency Tracking Project and gave a website to report your dollar bill and track it's path. Of course, my dollar bill had taken 14 months to get across town, but I am sure that some of the travels must be very interesting. Check it out http://www.wheresgeorge.com/


I listened to the most recent Alex Anderson podcast and the guest was talking about a basting frame, just like I use. The pictures below are the same quilt from my prior post, but it is just about quilted.
My frame, which I use for hand quilting, is the same as my grandmother used to use. Use 1x2's cut to length with fabric stapled to the frame. Make a square with the four boards, and clamp topgether with large "C" clamps Pin the backing on the frame, then smooth out the batting and top with your quilt top
My frame is suspended from the ceiling with bicycle holders, and I use strong nylon string, which I wrap around the frame to raise/lower the quilt. You can quilt from all four sides, and when you can no longer reach in and quilt comfortably, you roll the quilted portion onto the frame and continue quilting.
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