FLYING GEESE

 I was in the mood to quilt something traditional ----

my all-time favorite strippy-style quilt ---- Flying Geese.  It seemed appropriate during this Autumn season.

Machine Pieced, Machine Quilted, 24" x 24"

Fabrics:  "Graditude" by Jo Morton, Moda

"Silver Linings" by Laundry Basket Quilts, Moda

Sashing, borders, backing, and binding from my scraps/stash.

This is not my first go-around with the geese, as I've made several variations of them over the years.  This was the very first one in 1983:

 Machine pieced, hand quilted, 82" x 103"

Still at the top of my list of favorite traditional strippy-style quilts!

I'm joining the following:
Love Laugh Quilt for Monday Making
Cooking Up Quilts for Main Crush Monday
Quilt Story for Fabric Tuesday
Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social Wednesday
Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop Friday
Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday
Busy Hands Quilts for Finished or not Friday
Sew Can She for Show Off Saturday

DRAG ME INTO THE 21ST CENTURY

I guess I am a creature of habit, and slow to embrace change.

I just now purchased my first pre-cuts.
The appeal has been there for awhile --- all of those different fabrics, in little pieces, for an outlay of a few dollars.

 I've been hesitant as I'm a "prewash all fabrics" type of quilter.  Everyone has told me that you shouldn't prewash pre-cuts as you would just have a big mess.  But, I worry about fading, shrinking, and the smell and feel of unwashed fabrics.
I did a little experiment; I took a red fabric from the packet and soaked it in hot water.  There was no noticeable fading; but after ironing there was about 1/8" shrinkage in the cross-width of the 5" piece.  No shrinkage was noted lengthwise, however.

I debated about if I should prewash all of the fabrics, as I didn't find it to be tedious or a mess.  However, I decided whatever -- I would just jump into it and cut and sew right out of the packet.

Occasionally, I get a whiff of the smell of the unwashed fabric and I'll sneeze.  Is that the sizing?
One thing I have enjoyed is the lack of large amounts of fabrics strewn all over my sewing room.  Pre-cuts are very efficient.  This is all I have left after cutting out pieces for 60 flying geese units.

Any suggestions or ideas on using pre-cuts would be appreciated.

Stay tuned for the resulting small quilt.  I'm especially loving the Jo Morton fabric designs.

I'm joining the following:

Confessions of a fabric addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop Friday

Quilting Readers Garden for WIPS Be Gone Friday

Love Laugh Quilt for Monday Making

Cooking Up Quilts for Main Crush Monday

Quilt Story for Fabric Tuesday

THROWBACK THURSDAY - PARK LANE VISTA

I had been to the Houston Quilt Festival a couple of times in the 1980s, and knew what to expect.  In October 1991, a friend and I decided to go again; but money was scarce in our household (college-age kids!).  I managed to get the money together from teaching gigs and a yard sale to pay expenses, but only had $50 spending money.

Back then, 100% cotton fabric was about $5 a yard; so I knew by buying 1/4 yard pieces, I could come home with a variety of new fabric.  

 I also wanted 3 yards of a stripe fabric to coordinate with 113 scrappy, saw-tooth stars that I had made.  I knew I would find something in Houston. 

Immediately, as I was walking down the first aisle of vendors; I spied in a stack of bolts --- the perfect stripe. 

  Oh my!  Checking the price --- it was from Japan and was $15 a yard -- unheard of in 1991!  I gasped, stood there a minute and decided to go for it.
Even though I spent my entire budget on one piece of fabric in my first moments of shopping, I've never regretted the purchase.

It was a great fabric to pull all of the scrappy stars together.

And, has become one of my all-time favorite quilts!

I'm joining the following:
Quarter Inch from the Edge for Throwback Thursday
Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday
Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop Friday
Val's Quilting Studio for Tuesday Archives

IT'S ALMOST HALLOWEEN!

Since I'm still in the table runner mode, I thought I would make my 20-year-old granddaughter a Halloween runner for her birthday.  

With an October birthday, she has always considered Halloween her own personal holiday!

“I take my hat off to you — or I would, if I were not afraid of showering you in spiders.” 
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

(Inspiration for table runner from various projects on Pinterest)

I'm joining the following:
Love Laugh Quilt for Monday Making
Cooking Up Quilts for Main Crush Monday
Quilt Story for Fabric Tuesday
Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social Wednesday
Busy Hands Quilts for Finished or not Friday
Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop Friday
Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday