A bit of a break

     My painting teacher holds a paint out every September on Chautauqua Lake at the Chautauqua Institution. I went for a couple of days. Demo in the morning, paint the rest of the day, critique at 4:00. My husband went with me and just walked and walked and read on the little porch of The Maple Inn. Normally, the Institution is very pricey, but the season ends in August. The quaint houses are outrageously expensive and all closed up now. The season is from June-August. It has all kinds of music, arts, theater, lectures, etc. during that time. This year, all cancelled. I have mixed feelings about the place. Only the very rich have access unless you are one of the presenters/entertainment (who have to rent elsewhere). These gorgeous houses sit empty most of the year, many zippered up in huge canvas protectors. It is gated and you have to have a pass (bar coded) to enter and exit. I won't get any more political than that and bite my tongue. 

    My daugher-in-law's cousin was the head landscaper until her tragic death due to hospital error about 5 years ago. The Institute finished the garden she designed and it has grown up to be a lovely place.

RWB Chevron quilted

     This quilt top has been done for a long time. I used a wide back for it to make it easier to get going. It is a Missouri Star pattern using a layer cake that was donated to me. I had to wash the layer cake due to basement funk smell from the donor. I set the squares outside on a sheet to dry and came back 15 minutes later to find them blown all over my backyard and front. I had to retrieve squares from under bushes and all over. It was kind of funny.
     Finally, it was loaded and I quilted a different pattern every white area, but straight lines on the print fabric. I used Glide Military Gold top and bottom. Used stripe fabric for the binding. It actually was very fun to quilt. 
     I am saving it for a veteran quilt donation. It isn't washed yet and I am sure the quilting will look even better then.

Back

Late Summer bold and beautiful blooms

     I love the late blooms of Summer. The colors are so bold and bright. I found a great sunflower stand on my daughter's street in PA. We visited a sunflower farm near me and my garden has some fun flowers. I grew the zinnias, Mexican torch sunflower, four o'clocks, and nasturtiums from seeds I bought from Select Seed.

Sunflower group at the corner of my daughter's street in Saegertown, PA

Variegated nasturiums

Buying a whole raft of these next year

Snapdragons and pink coreopsis

4 o'clocks

Zinnias

Petite zinnias

Small section of the sunflower farm

The farm had many mixed varieties to view and a whole other huge field to cut

Binding on, glamour shots

     I did finish the binding on Square Value. I used black postage marked fabric that I bought from Connecting Threads. I bought every shade of that postage mark fabric. I love it for everything- borders, backs and bindings. Wish I had bought more. It also is a great weight and weave, so it folds great. My neighbor let me use her fence to shoot the full shots, and my front garden was happy to host the quilt. Outside light makes the quilt so much better to see the tones.

Hard to believe it is finished

     I hardly ever buy a kit. I don't usually like the fabric or the pattern. I don't want to make something a jillion others are making. But too many years ago, I was at Quilters Corners in Ithaca, NY and the fabric in the kit and sample sang its siren song. I don't know why- I am not a neutrals person. I loved every bit of fabric in the bag. I asked if I could buy the same fabric without the kit, but they had used the whole bolts in the kits. I swallowed hard and my husband bought it as an Anniversary present for me. 
     When I got home and took it apart, I was unhappy with the directions because they called for cutting and fusing the raw edge slashes over the seam. Raw edge sets my teeth on edge, sorry. I can't imagine how bulky that would have been. I ended up instead of sewing the two slashed blocks together, sewing the slash strip to either side of the blocks. I was not happy that I could not get the inner squares to meet perfectly on either side of the slash, so it sat a long time. Finally, I grit my teeth and sewed all the squares. Assembling the quilt was not hard.
      Then it sat again for a long while because those not lined up center squares made me unhappy, but I could not change them. In May, I finally loaded the top on the longarm and then there was a three month redo of the longarm basement space. Eventually, I started quilting it. I quilted all the light squares with lines that alternated 90 degrees from the one next to it. In the dark small blocks, I quilted one design on one half the block, and another on the other side of the slash. I did the big gray blocks the same way.
      It took forever. I am the slowest longarmer on the planet. It did get finished, I trimmed it, and laid it on the floor in the family room and went to get the camera. And Tugger somehow roused himself from slumber and found the quilt by the time I came back with the camera. How does he do that?
     I pinned the quilt on the design wall for photos. And, oh yes, I still have to bind it before it is totally done. Looking for some real dark gray. When I put the binding on, I will photo the backing. 
     And those inner squares are still bugging me. It was called Square Value and I have the pattern around here in my files.

Searching for a leader ender quilt

     Having finished the Wonky Star quilt, which was a leader-ender for a couple of years, I have been trying to get another one established. It has to be interesting, scrap based, and friendly. I have had a hard time finding a good candidate.
     I tried Bonnie Hunter's Shoo fly, and it did nothing for me. I tried her new Leader-Ender, but endless squares did not hold my interest. The other day, I tried her Snail's Trail scrap blocks, drafting my own pattern, but when I did 6 blocks, the result seems menacing to me. 
     I like the Wonky Stars because they all looked different and the angles made things move. I am searching for another candidate and would love to know if you have any suggestions.

Nah

Drafted the pattern

Too scary for me

ADK Stash Enhancement

     While in the ADK, I always shop at a small quilt store. For a small store, they have a very nice selection of outdoorsy flannels that I buy every year to make pillowcases for Christmas presents. I also buy a selection of batiks and choices for border fabrics. I spend a chunk of money there. The owners are capable and nice, but are always silent and you can only get one word answers out of them. No music, no friendly atmosphere. I try to look past that and keep them in business. This year, having little outside contact with quilt people, I tried engaging them in conversation about anything. Nothing. All the time during two visits while cutting all the fabric, no talk. It drove me a bit nuts. I crave small talk from shop owners about what they are up to. Here is the fabric.

Batiks and some border fabrics as well as some neutral batik for mask linings

Pairs of flannel fabrics for pillowcases- cuff and body, photo muddied the colors

Hoffman water ombre fabric, just had to have after staring at lakes all week.