the view from here

We are lucky to be staying with a fellow quilter here in Oregon with a wonderful view of Mount Hood. Today we visited our first Shop Hop shop in Mount Hood where I bought a prize for the QQ show and a novelty FQ for me. Then up to Timberline Lodge at the foot of Mount Hood with ski lift, in use, for access to the slopes.

Inspirational mural design at the lodge

Rug design but could easily be a quilt

Back to the house and a Show & tell from our host's quilt group, a hugely talented bunch.

Gayle's stunning quilt from Guatemalan fabrics

Rhonda's small piece but would be equally good in a larger format.

A lotta Lotta's

The back, a wonderfully graphic print from IKEA.

Keepsake "Glimma" kit designed by Ashley Newcombe and using
Lotta Jansdotter prints and Michael Miller plains.

The binding on this quilt was interrupted by other things on the "to do" list but on Wednesday I completed the final 2" of binding sewing. Despite its being a kit there was a lot of serendipity in the making and I had to work put how to line up the crosses myself. I made it one row wider and longer than the pattern. I bought two kits so have enough fabric for another quilt or two I want to make.
It was quilted by Maggie Kingston.and measures 59 by 74 inches.
I am leaving the house in the capable hands of my husband and our NZ visitors and leaving with two Usual Suspects for Oregon today for a shop hop, visiting with other quilters and finally classes at Sisters and the Show on Saturday July 11th. I hope to post pictures of our progress and projects.

Usual Suspects Sewing Day

My two sets of sampler quilt blocks

There were only 8 of us on Tuesday as some of us had family duties elsewhere. I laid out my sampler blocks for two separate quilts. Mostly I've done the same block in both versions but sometimes an alternative seemed more suitable for the modern, such as for the stained glass and house blocks. Lynne Edwards' sampler books are my chief source.
Judi is taking part in a modern guild transatlantic red and white block swap. Several of supplied fabrics  I just had to buy her the striped one. She has made her Patience Corners very cleverly. We also spray basted her HST top, again lovely fresh fabrics.

Judi's HST "sandwich"

Judi's starting point which is then cut into quarters

and rearranged into "Patience Corners"

or a cross.

Our group quilt was back from the Sandown show but I was so occupied pointing out its felicities I forgot to take a photo but did take a photo of Maggie's showing the fabric on the back.

Maggie's "African" quilt

Ingrid has completed her bright scrappy top.

Ingrid's jolly top

Lunch is a major item on the agenda and Maggie's reversible quilted tablecloth and mats lent a refinement to the occasion. We didn't spill anything!

The table setting, lots more dishes to come.

So pleased

The three Queen Beez have made a quilt together - utter joy as we all worked well together and the design lent itself to group work. We pooled fabrics and eliminated those that didn't fit and sewed our stint of four patches and completed decorative centres for some of the blocks. We are two Marys and a Margaret, all names of queens of England and/or Scotland  hence Queen in our name. I'm one Mary and the other one created lots of exquisite embroderies, I did one or two redwork pictures but along with Maggie mostly little appliques. Maggie longarm it quilted after mutual discussion about design. We showed it at Sandown and are absolutely delighted that we got a judge's merit rosette as did Maggie's individual quilt. I went yesterday while the others are going tomorrow and will pick up the quilt so no group photograph.

Vintage Squares

Maggie's rosette

Maggie's quilt in African fabrics with a framed lion's head in each block.
What a fantastic border!

Building works

My "modern" version of a  house block; the glue-baste-it  helped to secure the freezer paper templates
when they threatened to come off.

A single 6" unit

Freezer paper templates helped

My source was in this title - "Row Houses" by Judy Spahn which I resized to 6" houses,
not 8". The cover quilt block was the basis for my blue and white schoolhouse block,
resized from 11.5" to 12". In 2000 I finished a plaid version very like the one shown.

Changeover

I changed my bedding today and put this U3A teaching quilt out. I thought these more modern fabrics would look good but last year was very disappointed with the rather stark effect. It looked a bit better this year but it will be for the chop eventually.

Blue House

First modern house unit.

I should have said the fan block is also called "Letha's Fan" not Leila's Fan as in my last post. I'm now making the Friedlander type version which should also look good and I've made a house block but the modern one will be different with four circling 6" houses with fiendish set in seams. The first one went well. Fingers crossed for the others.
On Sunday Mary showed a flag quilt she has made for a friend to give to the husband of another friend - got that! It is the original US flag with an explanatory label on the back.

Mary's flag quilt

Bonnie follow up

Lynne Edwards calls this block "Electric Fan" in her New Sampler Quilt Book but I know it as "Leila's Fan" from when Jennie Lewis made it for the BQL Pick 'n' Mix block swap.
I showed it to the others with partial piecing but finished it yesterday evening and steam pressed only for the iron to spit gunge. I rinsed it in cold water and "Vanish barred" it and left it to soak over night. To my amazement in the morning the gunge had vanished. Now thready round the edge but otherwise intact.

Bonnie meet

We met after a longish absence because of holidays and we won't meet again for five weeks because of more holidays including my Sisters trip and holidays and family weddings and wedding sewing have held up progress for Fran and Trish but Mavis is on track and here are her blocks, both to be found in Lynne Edwards' first sampler book.

Stained glass tulip

Honey Bee

Bagmaking

Completed bag

Detail

I have been using the braids from the weekend workshop to make  a Japanese twist bag. I stabilised my braids by marking a sewing line for the joining strips, sewing them and then stabilising with lightweight iron on vilene and trimming.
The lining was inserted into the outer bag wrong sides together and the top edge bound. Next time I will leave a gap in the lining bag and place the outer bag inside it right sides together, sew round the top, turn out through the gap and topstitch.

1.Prepped Braid strips with joining strips on one side laid out
ready to sew

2.When joining I leave 1/4" unsewn at the opening.

3. I pressed the seams all in the same direction; the scissors
lie under the unsewn 1/4"

4. The strips turned up and pinned ready to join. The unsewn
1/4" next the yellow pin makes this easier.

5. Once the sides are joined this is what the base looks like.

6. Bag inside out

7. Now the lining strips are joined in the same way.

Pocket and straps ready to go.

Bordered

I had planned to mitre the borders and cut lengths accordingly but when I tried it out I thought the join was too discordant so I've added the strips logcabinwise with partial piecing. I am going to teach a class on the technique so the borders will give students the chance to see the fabric in the piece.

On the bed

Laid out on the floor

Trying out a mitre, no idea where that white strip comes from!

Braiding

Centre top done

There was quite a lot of sewing over the weekend. On Saturday there was an Oast workshop with Ann Wood which we all enjoyed and enjoyed too seeing everyone's different fabric choices. Ann had thoroughly prepared and there were extra detailed bite sized pieces of information as the day progressed so we could all absorb what we needed to know plus variations such as "stones" and a braid with half hexagons as well as strips. I have a very useful bag which is made with strips but it's nearing the end of its days so I made four strip sets for a fresh version.

Next to me Valerie was sewing up a scrappy
storm

At the end of the day

My neutrals

I liked this one very much and using a couple of the greens in a current project

Lynne's in lovely colours

Judi's made earlier with "stones"

On Sunday I sewed my rows of shell blocks together and then sewed the rows. Today I'll add the previously cut borders and then it will be long arm quilted.