"BONBORI", Japanese hexagonal paper lantern

I finished the hand quilting and binding.
I am so pleased. This one is for me.

Thank you again Janet, Quiltsalot, for sharing this pattern idea with us.

Collaborative Quilt in the works

Victoria at Bumble Beans was given fabric by Pixiedust to make a donation quilt. She put out the call for volunteers to make blocks and the packages are in the mail. I feel privileged to be included and excited to see what the fabrics look like.

"PUFFS", my first quilt at age 18

Nothing dramatic is happening. I'm still hand quilting and deciding on the backing of Kerry and John's quilt. So I'll show you how it all started.

While I was going to college, majoring in HEc, I worked for Singer in the summer, teaching sewing to teenage girls. My supervisor intrigued me with stories of making quilts in her home state of Kentucky. She showed me how to make "puffs".






At the time, synthetic stuffing hadn't become popular, so unfortunately, the puffs are stuffed with kapok but the batting is cotton. I gave it to my niece when she was a little girl (now 40+). She has treasured it and only now did we photograph it.

MAGICAL MUD Raffle

The quilt I made for the American Museum of Ceramic Art raised $1200 in donations. I made Magical Mud as a fund raiser for the museum last February. The winner is an active member of the museum and is truely appreciative of the images representing the collection and exhibits. The money raised will help fund educational programs.

Now for the Back...Cubs Fans

I'm really pleased. Now I need to look at what's left over and plan an interesting insert for the back. Kerry and John haven't seen the finished top (unless they follow my blog, doubt it). It's really big, 94x106". I need to find a quilter who can handle this size and is reasonable too.

Just because I love them so!

They will be staying this coming week so there won't be much quilting going on.

Soaring

When Jack retired, he was given a gift for us to fly in a glider plane over East San Diego Co and an overnight at Warner Hot Springs Resort. Here we are squished behind the pilot ready for take off.

It was exhilarating, soaring over Mt Palomar (one of the largest telescopes in the US). As a native Southern Californian, I had never visited this area. It's sparsely populated with ranches, retirees, and camps. Beautiful yet desert like.



Warner Ranch dates back to the 1800's as a stage coach stop and headquarters for Kit Carson and Fremont. Later it became a resort frequented by early movie stars such as Bing Crosby. The pools are feed by the hot springs where we enjoyed a leisurely soak.


The next day we visited the historic mining town of Julian. We enjoyed breakfast, walking the shops and a milk shake at this original soda fountain/drug store.



On the way home, we stopped at Quilt's Coop, Old Town Temecula. Here's what I bought on sale (Didn't NEED but couldn't pass up). 1 yard cuts were $5 and fat-quarters $1.50.








FINAL STAGE of Country Garden from Kaffe Fassett. I'm hoping I'm making the correct choice for the sashing to make the borders wider. The contrast is good but is it too light?

Country Garden, Stage 4

I so pleased, I've pieced all the blocks and joined the rows. I laid it on our king size to see how much I'll need to add besides the intended border. Looks like the sides will need something extra to make it a wider rectangle rather than a square.