Friday Flaunt - Fourth Ten in '10 Finished

Just to show you we occasionally do have sunny days in an interminably-long Iowa winter, this afternoon I took my finished "Stringing Colors" quilt outdoors to the back deck, to photograph in the sunshine. Yes, we definitely have heaps of snow left, but the sun makes dispositions a little better, even at -7 F (-22C) as it was this morning. Did I say interminably long? The latest buzz is to speculate how long it will be until all the snow melts. One guess was Mother's Day, May 9! Good grief.

I refilled six bobbins with 50-weight Aurifil to free motion quilt an all-over plume design on this 64" X 80" quilt.

The pattern is from www.Quiltville.com. It's Bonnie Hunter's "String Quilting Primer." I admit this quilt languished, pin-basted, for a year, before I got around to quilting it. So, I'm pleased it's finished, particularly because it was made from "nothing!" A free pattern, leftover strips, ugly fabrics... what's not to like about that?Another quilted piece - just a peek of it for now - is a design that comes from Leah, who has challenged herself to create 365 free motion quilting designs. This is my rendition of her Swirling Petals.

Using my latest stitchery as the centerpiece, I've finished creating this 36" X 38" wallhanging for Riverside Lutheran Bible Camp's quilt auction in July. It was a figure-it-out-as-you-go sort of thing. Scrappy, to use up small pieces of neutrals and greens... and I barely made a dent in my stash.

It seems there's always another quilt top awaiting quilting.

I can't keep up with myself!

With the Riverside stitchery (above) complete, I wanted another project handy to pick up and work on whenever I have a spare moment. Cheryl's cute Josephine Jellyfish, the first block of a free BOM, is just the right size - not too overwhelming to get started with.

Josephine looks a little rippled. Not because she's Under the Sea - though she is! - but because I un-hooped her for this photo. I pencil-colored this piece before stitching. Now, for the first time, I'm using yummy Cosmo embroidery threads. It's as wonderful as everyone claims. So smooth - almost tangle-free - and with a sheen that make it hard to believe it's 100 percent cotton, but it is. This floss is simply a pleasure to stitch with.

The purging, sorting and organizing of last week came to a stop as we've dealt with getting the stuff out of the house. Twenty boxes and bags have been taken away, donated to three different organizations. Not done yet. Just like winter... interminable.