Of Dogs and Quilts

I spent yesterday afternoon upstairs, quilting on my longarm machine.


This is my faithful dog at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for me to come back down and play.

She often lies on one step and has her head on the next.

At least, that's when she's not sneaking a nap on the leather couch.

The little rug by the front door looks just like our last dog, Maggy.  Sometimes Kasey lies right on Maggy.  It makes me smile.

Here is a cute little charity quilt for my guild's Quilts on Wheels program.  They are given to senior citizens in rest homes to serve as lap warmers in the wheelchairs.

I bought the blocks for this quilt on E-bay a long time ago, pieced the blocks together, and there it sat for more than six years.  I brought them to my bee's sew-in day in January, along with the extra fabric that came with the blocks.  Carolyn Ormond added a white inner border and the floral outer border.

The floral print looks like geranium leaves with little blue flower clusters.  I tried to quilt in a design that evokes that shapes in the print.

I used a soft, almost aqua blue thread.  It gave definition to the white background, and blended. right in with the floral print.

I searched my stash to find a backing fabric that would look nice.  I think I hit the jackpot.  It's a dark blue and green abstract floral.

I didn't realize it until I was taking the pictures, but the shapes in the backing fabric are very much like the free-motion quilting designs.  You could use either side of this quilt, and it would look pretty.

So, another UFO is finished (or will be when Carolyn does the binding.)  Now that it is done, I wonder why I never finished this one.  It would make a very cute table topper in my home!    I may be prejudiced, but Quilting Makes the Quilt, doesn't it?  At least it's now ready to use and add warmth, comfort, and hopefully pleasure to somebody's grandmother or grandfather.  And if you have ever visited a rest home, the visitors and staff also enjoy something fresh and pretty.

If you have an old UFO (Un-Finished Object) in your closet, I challenge you to get it out and finish it for Project Linus, one of your guild's charities, a wounded soldier, a charity auction, or even for someone in your family. It's a good feeling!