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Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Like many of you, I enjoy my summer vacation. My husband and I usually take the opportunity to do some camping, swimming and hiking. (He does the hiking and I do the swimming.) I also love to take my sewing machine along to do some quilting. A few years ago my brother gave me an old generator that would run my machine and I was hooked. I open the awning on the trailer and set up one of those fold up tables. On goes my cutting matt and sewing machine and away I go. It is so fun to sew outdoors in the fresh air! If you have never tried it, add it to your to do list.You will love it!  



When I get hot, I go for a dip in the lake or creek we are camping near. Or, I will spend a little time fishing. I never catch anything but I don't try very hard because if I ever caught something, I'd have to clean it.

This is one of my favorite places to camp. Lots of childhood memories here.



This year, I brought one of my UFO's. I'm happy to say that it is almost finished. I just need to add the outside border and I am done. I didn't think I'd get this far so I didn't bring the border fabric with me. The quilt is out of the book " Slice 'Em & Dice 'Em" Quilts by Nancy Brenan Daniel. The pattern is called "Scrap Bag Shadow Boxes". To make this quilt, you make blocks in pairs. You started out with two different Nine Patch blocks that you slice a couple of times in each direction. Then you take out the middles and trade it with the other block and then sewed then back together. The blocks you get look a lot more complicated than they really are. This quilt has been hanging around for a long time so I'm glad to be almost done.



I also worked on a new quilt I kind of designed. I say kind of because I really started out making a quilt called " Winter Cottage" from the book " 'Tis the Season" by Jeanne Large and Shelley Wicks. It is my favorite book. That quilt had light colored 8 inch blocks with a black appliqued flannel circle on it and then an appliqued star. I exchanged the star for a maple leaf for a more Canadian looking quilt. My Quild Guild has a challenge this year to make a stash quilt. So this is my stash quilt. I used many different beiges from my stash for my background and I used black flannel for my circle and scraps for my maple leaves. I didn't purchase a thing. I think of it as a free quilt! I'm not going to make this into a huge quilt. I think it will be a nice size to cozy up on the couch with. I used my Accuquilt Studio to cut out all my shapes. It took no time at all.

This is  the quilt from the book.


Tis the Season: Quilts and Other Comforts (That Patchwork Place)

Here is a few of my blocks.