End of Year Quilt Classes - Bonnie Hunter - Roll Roll Cotton Boll

Tough decisions on color for this one.  I spent at least a couple of hours last night deciding on my color choices for today's Roll Roll Cotton Boll workshop.  I wound up still needing one fabric and so first thing this morning I stop at the fabric store to pick it up.  Fortunately, I left everything set up at Fabric Fanatics last night when I left, so I have a little time to play with this morning.

I arrive with enough time to get fabric out and the class begins.  Allison is here today and I am thrilled to see her.  It has been a few months since we have had a class together and I certainly do enjoy her experience and kindness.

First up today is 8 1/2" paper squares to string piece.  Lucky me, I already had strips galore to work with.  Let's get started.  Once the squares are finished, they are trimmed to fit the paper backing.  Don't they just look so fun?

Bonnie starts wandering through with her camera and I have gotten copies of the ones that included me.  What a sweetheart.


Next we take those beautiful squares and cut them into two triangles.  This makes me very nervous, but I managed to do it correctly.  I am having so much fun visiting with old acquaintances and new friends.  The morning absolutely flies by with tutorials on our rulers added in.  If you look at my fabrics below, you will see one in particular that has words all over it.  It was a treasure I discovered in a box of scraps that I picked up at an estate sale.  I have tried to put a few pieces of it in everything since then.  I LOVE it, but only had about 1/8 of a yard of it.  I think it was a sack of some sort in a previous life.

It is time to work on our second blocks.  Get those rulers girls and let's go.  We start with strips and check our seams to make sure we have that much sought after 1/4".  Yep -- moving on now.  Let's cut that strip up.

We put together some half square triangles in various sizes and are soon ready to play with colors and put a block together.  I hand Bonnie a handful of my units and cut squares and let her have fun creating my first block.  She did it yesterday and I wanted to continue the tradition.

I think she does a great job, but gets called away 3/4 of the way through it to help another student and I finish up.  Can you tell what I do wrong?

Fortunately for me, I catch the mistake and sew it together correctly.  Well, almost.  I flip one of the rectangles and have the green against the teal center.  Miss Allison spots it and I am sent back to my seat with seam ripper in hand.  Grrrr.  I get it fixed though and Miss Bonnie takes a pic again.  I feel like a star!

Here is Allison after she has shared her Lazy Sunday quilt with the class.  I have my Lazy Sunday top finished, but still need to quilt it.  I am motivated to do so though.  I have to run a few smaller quilts through this month first though both because I need them for gifts and more importantly I need them for the free motion quilting experience.  Once I have them finished, I will run Virginia Bound and then Lazy Sunday.  Hopefully I will have some idea of what I am doing when these are finished.  This is what happens when a hand quilter wants to let her domestic do some work --- AND when her sweetie gets her a machine to do it with.  Cross your fingers for my 301 and I.

What do you think of my block?  I am excited to put this one together as well.  I have a goal to do one large block a week and 6 of the string ones.  Perhaps in 6 months I will have this top together and ready to quilt.  I sure hope so.  2014 is the year of the quilt for me.  I AM going to finish soooo many UFO's.

What a fun day, but it always has to end.  Once again, I leave everything set up as I am back again tomorrow.  There is fabric back home waiting to be prepared for tomorrow -- time to hit the road.

Mister has been in the studio all day and when I arrive home, the first thing I see are the drawers to the Memphis treadle.  He has been working on them and they are beautiful.  I thought they were pretty before, but now they are absolutely glorious.  Look how those handles shine.

At home, Christmas boxes from Matt have arrived and Mister and I have a little fun opening them.  We have received a wonderful portable back massager (what quilter wouldn't want one of these sweet things?) and a foot massager.

Mister lets me try half of the foot massager before it is soon set up under his desk.  He is one happy camper.

I need to get to the studio and cut fabric.  Another class tomorrow.  No whining her though -- I am absolutely loving it.  Oh --- it is New Year's Eve --- I hope you all have a very Happy New Year and that all your wishes are met.  I have been told that the way you start the year will indicate how it is going to play out for you.  Me???  I will be quilting.