To be clear and fair -- I take no credit for the beautiful pattern, colors, and fabrics in my quilt top. It's a kit. As I mentioned (perhaps too softly?), it's the "Colored Happy" quilt designed by Valori Wells using Robert Kaufman "Kona" fabrics. I saw that it required only basic skills and loved the pattern, so chose it to get my feet wet in quilting. The fabrics were mailed to me in fat quarters; I cut them according to the pattern and pieced them together. The kit doesn't contain a pattern or fabric for the back, so I did do that on my own. Now comes the biggest challenge: quilting it on my little Janome Magnolia! I'm planning to straight-line quilt it as soon as I figure out the best ways to do that! Still playing with a practice sandwich to find a good stitch length/tension combo. Plus I wish I could find a definitive answer on whether I should be changing directions as I make my straight quilting lines -- so many opinions online conflict about whether this is the best or the worst way to proceed!

Welcome to the board, homefrontgirl!

McG... I've done lots of straight line quilting with a walking foot. I usually try to sew the long lines all in the same direction until it becomes impractical to do so. I work from the center out, in both directions. I tend to press down with open hands as I feed the fabric through, so there's not much shifting. It works. Just experiment!

This is my first time to join in the weekend quilting group. I have several projects in the works that I need to get completed. I will probably work on a quilt for my grandson for Christmas. Yes, I am getting an early start this year! Cars and trucks are his life right now so I am putting together a quilt that he can play on with all his vehicles. I will share with you when I get back home and then see if I can get it completed this weekend. I look forward to seeing everyone's projects. Should be a great sewing weekend!!

cmcnab, those are some beautiful fabrics. Enjoy your retirement! I homeschooled my three now-grown children, and was so relieved when the last one finished. I'd much rather quilt than teach school...

Fizzle, those double-slice layer cakes go together really fast!

Today I go to teach water aerobics and then I'm heading to the quilt shop where I 'won' the Row by Row this year.... they have had my quilt for three weeks and I just heard that they have still not hung it in the store! So I'm going to pick it up. I'm actually sorry I left it there. :(

Maybe some sewing can happen later this afternoon.

Virtual Quilting Weekend (New Member)
 

Hi. My name is ​Denise. I have been lurking for a long time but the Virtual Quilting Weekend brought me out of hiding! I have been sewing since I was twelve and quilting a long time also.
I live in NE Pennsylvania. I am a school librarian who will retire at the end of the 2017 school year.
I will be posting photos of my virtual projects for this weekend
later or tomorrow. I am working on a Dresden Table Runner
made using batiks and an Honor Flight Lap Quilt due Aug 24th!

I am going to try and be in too! Got some things I need to finish up. Am having rotator cup surgery on the 12th and don't know how long I will be down.

Still have quite a bit to do on this baby quilt but the top should be done by Sunday.[ATTACH=CONFIG]555354[/ATTACH]

Welcome to all the newcomers! I have all the squares for my stitch n fold wreath sewn and pressed, ready for the decorative stitching on the applique... pics to follow... need some buttons...

I am joining a VQW for the first time. I have to finish quilting a patriotic wallhanging and then bind it.

I am also making a few walker bags and mug rugs for our neighborhood craft show. I also have to sandwich and quilt a top I have finished.

I have never posted pictures, but will give it a try. Enjoy, everyone.

So Many lovely projects in the works by all of you! I will join in for a little bit this weekend. I am also working on a string quilt, in metallics, silver/gold and grays. I think I am really going to like this one.
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What a cool baby quilt!

Gorgeous strings, JeanneS!

Oh my goodness, everyone has posted such great photos, thank you! I "need" to get off this computer and into the sewing room! I have the pieces fused now on my owl row but will wait until I get some stitching done on it before I snap a picture.

Jenne - Love that string quilt! Those colors are excellent!

Thanks for the welcome everyone!

know where you are at! Our Guild has been making large lap quilts for charity for 3 years now--will have made 600 by this weekend when we "end" the project! Think all of us are feeling somewhat burned out and it shows when we don't so up for the sew days for other things either. Now you are under a deadline, but maybe the group needs a breather to just work on own stuff for a few months--that is what we are planning to do , and then focus on charitable projects that don't require so much fabric, long arm quilting, and such a commitment!

Oh--got sidetracked! I definitely will be quilting and doing quilting related stuff this weekend--spent about 5 hours today doing what I hoped was the final day of quilting on my daughter's wedding quilt (they celebrate 2nd anniversary in Sept!) but have about 1-2hours left--will post a pic tomorrow. Also blocked a wall hanging that goes to a wedding next week (yikes!) and set up for a quilt presentation for Vets tomorrow, which will take most of my afternoon. Then on Sunday my daughter comes out to collect her two machines which I worked on for her. We'll also get her Guild block done for President's quilt and I may have time to sew up some quilted stuffed animals, too. Photos later!

McGargantuette - that is one bold quilt! Love the colors!

I've had two bargellos strips cut for almost a year. They are both from the 70's fabric I got from my sister. Figured I'd better get to work on them before I used up the extra fabric I have in other projects, just in case I messed up figuring what I needed when I cut the strips. Being 40 year old fabric, I don't think I'd find more LOL!!

I started on the red last weekend, and today got the rows all sewn. I did need to cut more strips from several of the fabrics, and had extra of others, but I think that's because I changed the pattern a bit after I cut the strips!

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psk1noxrlj.jpg

I'm going to set it aside now and move to the brown. I am staying with the original pattern for this one. Got my strip sewing and cutting layout ready to go.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psgtixxno7.jpg

Great bargellos in the making, Macybaby. Some of those old fabrics look very familiar... I think I still have some of them!

Wow! love all those solids! I have a basketful waiting for just the right quilt--you sure found a great design--is it original??

oops! just saw you said it was a Valori Wells kit!

Looks great! Spectacular choice of fabrics.

Ha! I took a look at your photo IrishgalfromNJ, and thought it was a Quilt, not just a block. I love it!

Our quilt guild has a Sew Day the First Saturday of each month. We bring UFO's and work on charity quilts.
Have a Happy Quilting Day everyone!

I am loving all the participation this month, especially all the people joining us for the first time. It's so much fun reading through all these posts to see what everyone is working on. New ideas keep trying to pop into my head, which I so don't need! Yesterday I quilted at a friend's house. We both finished our tops. I'm off to the sewing room to sandwich something, just not sure what yet :)

[ATTACH=CONFIG]555377[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]555378[/ATTACH]Hoping to finish binding on baby quilt while doing laundry after my sons week at camp and getting ready for the start of school on Monday. Happy quilting to everyone.

That baby quilt looks adorable, Skhf. The laundry... not so much! Would love to see a bigger shot of the baby quilt laid out.

Pictures of VQW activities
 

Here are some of my pix of my Virtual Quilting Weekend activities. This is my table runner made of batiks and a linen-like cotton. Going to do sunburst quilting radiating from the wheels. [ATTACH=CONFIG]555381[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]555382[/ATTACH]

I got an hour in on my baby quilt (the green and blue one with roads/cars/buildings/bears). Found a few places I missed and a few places where I could add more quilting. I have my binding fabric all ready to be cut, just need the help getting it going! (I can do videos, read, etc, but there is nothing like having someone right there to walk you through it and answer all your questions).

Now it's time for bed! (worked nights this week, just one more to go, then I can sleep! :) )

VQW activities
 

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Table Runner using batiks and linen-like cotton

Working on cleaning out a bunch of charm squares left over from various project sorted them into colorways and am working on using them up into large lap/crib quilt tops. Finished my half hexie and strip quilt top last night and today I will work on the white and black top and the baby girl colored one lots of pinks and sweet fabric. I also pulled out some large blocks that I did several years ago made from a jelly roll. I just did not like how they did not blend well together finally decided instead of doing the jellystone pattern I would instead sash them put a simple border on and call it good. Someone is bound to like it even if I don't so I need to press them and square them up.

Nesie, love the colours you have chosen for your dresdens!

This weekend I am cleaning and organizing my sewing room, creating a new cutting area with cabinets I keep fabric in and plywood top, will by 4 ft. By 6 ft. Bought plywood this morning, sweetie is sanding it now.

I wish I had seen this post earlier. I'm in even though I am late. I'm taking a class on a blooming nine patch and I've started the process. I just finished the 3rd colors nine patches all 24 of them Whew! I'm loving it so far but it is a lot of sewing so having everyone's moral support will help tremendously.

Now as far as the quilts and other projects I've seen so far...loving it....as the mcdonald's commercial says. The black gold and silver diamonds are amazing just to name one.

Here's pics of what I've been working on this weekend. The first is a tote that has been in the UFO pile for 3 years. The second pic is another UFO that I've decided it's time to finish--the pieces are on the design wall in the arrangement I've decided to use. The 3rd and 4th pics are of a collaborative piece I'm working on with another artist. I've couched several strings of crystals to it, and done some rudimentary FMQ on it to tack it down to the batting and backing, and also added extra batting underneath the painted portion. My next step will be to FMQ around some (maybe all) of the individual circles and they should end up standing out a fair ways from the background since I've added several layers of extra batting under them. Then it will get some border fabrics and go back to my collaborator. I'm also trying to get some table hot pads done--no pics of those yet.

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Some really interesting projects to see. I made a patriotic table runner for my parents for Christmas. The other picture is the quilt top I did yesterday, frivol #11.

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tTook time out from my scrappy quilt blocks today to work on a new wall hanging for the living room. Three sawtooth star blocks framed. I'll sandwich, quilt it, and bind it tomorrow.

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what a lot of nice pictures to look at!

I've been working on the brown bargello - does not look like a lot of progress yet, but I'm on my fourth bobbin. I wound 8 before starting this AM.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psnmsgzges.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psb6fezybw.jpg

We have the same Juki, Cathy! :D

What I've done today is create a hanging sleeve for my Row by Row quilt that I just retrieved from the quilt shop I had lent it to. After three weeks they still had it folded up on a chair, so it was definitely time to bring it home! Poo on them. Now I can hang it up on the wall here and enjoy it. I really love it.

I also was able to find some more of my cardinals in the snow fabric and made another dozen of these hexagon blocks:

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used it all up and all the red too, but now I can make a decent lap size quilt of it, to donate at Christmas.

I've gotten more done today than I have since my last real retreat.

Cutting area is done except for getting a new large mat. Three sides are glass fronted cabinets where I put my stash. They used to be along the wall, using them as a base freed up so much space in my room. I still have to organize the fabric better at a later time. other photos are shelves in corner for storage where the cabinets used to be, my ironing station, peg board for tools and rulers, books below shelves, my machine where I put the old cutting table behind it for more area to hold weight when quilting. It's coming together. Will vacuum and dust tomorrow, tired from moving furniture today.

Wow! I love all of the awesome projects! Thanks for sharing.

Welcome to all of the newcomers. You will love this virtual event!

I'm only following along but I have been doing quilt-related things. It's Minnesota's Quilt Shop Hop and I went to 14 quilt shops over 2 days. I met lots of nice shop owners, employees, and customers but I'm sure beat. :).

I tied the trip in with a quick stop at the county fair where my great nephew was showing his calf. He was so cute showing it.

Tomorrow I will be picking up my friend and we are going to Itasca State Park in northern MN. Of course, it works out perfectly to go to more quilt shops. :). If a thrift store is near, I will drop off my non-sewing friend(read that as totally uninterested in sewing friend) while I go to the quilt store.

I will be checking in tomorrow night.

Time to pack for the trip.

Connie