Wednesday, March 15, 2006

This is so much fun!

Wednesday nights are almost always spent with our daughter and son-in-law. We go to dinner and then either play games, watch a movie, or watch our beloved Mariners during baseball season. Tonight was no exception, but I did manage to piece two more string blocks. I'm having so much fun doing this! But my string pile is growing and expanding! I guess I had really crammed them in there. Two baskets full have now become two overflowing baskets of pressed strings, another big pile of pressed strings, and a giant pile of unpressed strings. When they are all pressed they will take up at least 5-6 times as much space as they did before. I think I have enough strings for at least a couple queen size quilts!

Revisiting these fabrics from quilts made log ago is lots of fun too - even all the tiny calicos. I had so many of these because I had a doll and teddy bear making business for 7 years when my kids were in grade school, and they all had dresses, aprons hats, etc. made out of calicos. When I got tired of the business and went back to teaching my remaining fabric inventory - which was large even then - got renamed my "quilting stash". There are even some scraps from dresses I made my daughter and granny dresses and maternity smocks I made myself. What fun memories! I'm having so much fun that I've almost reached the point of deciding to take all these baskets with me to the retreat next week and focus on making strippy blocks. I can appliqué in between machine sewing sessions.

I can hardly wait - the last week before retreat is always the hardest. I only get to see these quilty internet friends from all over Washington and Oregon twice each year when we get together for a retreat. Isn't the internet wonderful! There are so many wonderful quilters that I never would have met - both in "virtual" and in person quilting sessions - without it!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've never done a string quilt- and it does sound like fun. I am excited for you to get to go to your quilting retreat- something else I've never done!

Anonymous said...

Patti, you've been one busy woman! I love the string blocks and the applique. Time sure does fly...I graduated from college in 92, has it really been 14 years!!! I feel old now, LOL!

Anonymous said...

I love string blocks!!

Anonymous said...

You probably have more strings than you even realize. I made a large lap and a king size quilt and didn't see any reduction in the amount of strings I had. Now I have two more bins full of them.

I've got a string quilt on my UFO list and I think I'll work on that next.

Anonymous said...

oh retreating with so many friends sounds just the ticket! Be sure and take photos and come back and share all the fun!

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to see what you are doing with the string blocks! It is so much fun to piece them from those cast off little bits, and they look so good!

Bonnie