Rag Quilt

Just finished this quilt yesterday.

 

 

Added black buttons to center of raw edge applique flowers after I washed and dried the quilt to fluff up the seams. Now I just need to sew on the label and it will be truly done. I really have gotten to love this technique. I think I pretty much had it finished in 4 days including the cutting and quilting.  Besides being so quick and easy they make such a cozy quilt.  I make mine with flannel on the back and cotton on the front. I sandwich some kind of cotton batting (whatever I have on hand) in between the same size as the top and bottom block. The batting shows in the seam allowance and just makes it fuller.  Flower design is Jo Fifield's. Quilt design is adapted from a picture I saw somewhere.

Glacier in the Spring

June 7, Hiking, biking, animals and incredible scenery

 The 3 Bears

                    

They weren't real interested in sharing the road -- neither were we! We watched for 5-10 minutes before they ambled back into the woods and we could pass. We were biking on Road to the Sun which hadn't opened yet due to snow near Logan Pass. We only were able to bike about 7 of the 16 miles -- those darn knees!

This  was near Polebridge on West side of the park. Don't the clouds look like snow covered mountains. Polebridge isn't much more than a mercantile store 25 miles north of Apgar on a gravel road but what a bakery inside! This is a real hidden treasure.

Burn area from fire in the 80's. Trees take a long time to grow back this far north. On the other hand it opens up incredible views and there is a surprising amount of undergrowth and wild flowers.

Deer were more interested in sharing the road and we passed amicably.

Mini Quilt Retreat May 2013

We complained when there was snow on May Day never dreaming we would get snow Memorial Day Weekend! This is what greeted 12 of us when we arrived in Deer Lodge, Montana, May 23. It was very wet heavy snow that fortunately, melted fast. Deer Lodge is about 80 miles east of Missoula and sits at a bit higher altitude. It could have been worse -- the next town east had 12"of snow!

 

 Rest of retreat was fairly balmy outside and we could walk along the river every day. There were some power walkers in our group determined to get their 10,000 steps every day. It was nice to join them and get a break from sitting stitching.

 

 

 

Here is what I accomplished at retreat. Put the binding on this quilt. I call it my Doctor Seuss quilt because of the lovely Sr. Seuss minke on the back. Front was supposed to coordinate but in reality it is much more teal than turquoise but it works. Haven't decided where to put it. I slept under it the other night but I think it might become my car quilt.

 

 

 This is my simple "go to" pattern when I need something quick and easy. It is just sashed squared. By using 2 colors for sashing it forms pinwheels. Here the red pinwheel kind of gets lost.

 

T A friend talked me into buying the Dr. Seuss panel at our quilt show. It is only 22 inches wide so I need to find a coordinating minke fabric. Fortunatley another quilt shop had the polka dots to flesh out the back. Minke makes such a lovely cozy back. Both Oliver and Grandpa have Pokey puppy quilts with minkee backs. I decided Grandma need one too!

 

The following quilt will be a rag quilt for a special friend. It is based on a similar quilt I made for a friend in Mexico (That's you, Hilda). Hers is bright scrappy batiks and fossil fern fabric. This one is all black and while and red with a nice red flannel on the back to make it cozy. I still have the top border to piece together, a bunch of hand clipping and then I need to sew all the sections together and it will be done. I'm getting to be a real fan of rag quilts. I like the idea of having them done when the "top"is done. A new Christmas rag quilt may be my next one for me.