Feathers everywhere and a Mable update

I wonder just how many feathers it takes to cover a quilt.


This is the church raffle quilt, made from Bonnie Hunter's Roll, Roll Cotton Boll mystery pattern from December 2010. I've been absolutely surprised at how fast the quilting on this quilt is going. As I assembled the quilt, I envisioned feather wreaths in all these string blocks. And, they just tie them together. It's so great when I see it in my mind and can actually make it come out of my hands.

I did the busier blocks first; lots of free motion outline quilting there and small feathers in the pink sections. For me to do a wreath, I have to draw three circles. The center circle is the stem and the other two circles are the outer limits of the area the feathers should fill. If I do that, I get very uniform feathers. Without those two outer circles, I get feathers of every shape and size.

And, there are quarter feather wreaths and half feather wreaths and full feather wreaths.

I have 4 more full wreaths and 3 more halves and then all that's left is the outer border. I'm just going to free motion some curves in there and then feather the heck out of that border and the quilting on this one will be done. I set my goal as the middle of March and looks like I might just make it. Yesterday, the person whose church youth group I'm making this raffle quilt for was asking about it. I think she wants some good pictures for this weekend, so I'm going to try to finish one end of it, take some pics and then finish the other end. But, it's supposed to rain here for days and while that is a great and wonderful thing, it makes it hard to photograph a quilt.

What is it about this dog that makes her look so sad in all her photos? She is absolutely the "stillest" puppy I have ever been around. She only plays a tiny bit and it's always at some surprise moment when I don't have the camera. She's been to the vet and he has pronounced her healthy, but Rob and I both have enough "mothering" in us that we worry that she's still not eating well and she mopes around. I'm starting to be worried that she has had a hard life and that it will take a long time to bring her around from that. But, it's just a suspicion and if it's true, we'll set that to rights soon enough with the queen's treatment she's getting from the whole family. She has plenty of energy for her twice daily walks, but the rest of the time, she lays around. Once in a while, she'll use that huge Streisand nose and come push my hand around until I scratch her belly. We're going to try something with her food tonight to see if we can entice her to eat something other than soft treats. Who knows what all she got fed before we got her and she has pronounced our brand of food as "unfit for the likes of a dog of such beauty".

updated this pm: Mable says thank you very much. She is feeling much better. She's barking, playing with toys, ate a full bowl...all in all, the best I've seen her since she came here. It must have been your good wishes. lw

Okay, so I got the nicest note from K., thanking me for the sweater patterns I shared with her and a few bucks to help out with postage. And, that reminded me that I have a stack of books yet to give away. So, here's the next little pile.

From the left; Quick Quilts by Liesure Arts. This is full of great and easy patterns to make a quilt fast. The next is Sew with the Stars and is a Breast Cancer Awareness book. It has 12 patterns by 12 different famous quilters. Next is 5 Easy Pieces by Nancy Smith and Lynda Milligan. These are two of my favorite applique quilt designers and it's hard to give this one up, because I love these ladies' patterns so much. But, it is time to share the love I have for them by sharing this book. And, there's the 201 Quick and Easy Tips, which I got for subscribing to a magazine. They're all good tips, but some are pretty generic. There are a few that I don't believe would make things easier, but for the most part, they are helpful.

So, if you're interested, leave a comment that expresses that interest by 10am tomorrow, 03/07/12. I'll draw from those interested. If you can help with postage, you'll have my return address on the package. I'm not a quick shipper; I'll be shipping one day while Rob's Mom is here and I am off work. Don't spread the word. These are just for my followers.

And, speaking of followers, I lost one yesterday. Oh, where; oh, where has my follower gone. Oh, where; oh, where can they be????

Everybody have a great Tuesday. I'm in a surprisingly good mood. Rob and I were talking about his Mom being here tomorrow night. And, the only thing I didn't get done is to put the good dishes back in the china cabinet. Considering all we've accomplished in the last few weeks, I'm feeling pretty good about that. I have cooked so much that there's no room for any of it and the freezer is full. There's Swiss Steak and Chicken Tikka Masala and Old Fashioned Beef Stew and a Chicken n Biscuits casserole. And, I put half of what I bought on Sunday in the freezer BEFORE I coooked it. I always go overboard on the food. And, we're trying to plan day trips around here so we can get out of the house, but the rain may interfere. Won't matter tho. Bar-b-que is perfect in every type of weather.

Lane