Ann's Projects for July

My second granddaughter, Melissa, graduated from High School in June. We were not able to go to Washington for the occasion, but as I have said before, I have a goal to make a quilt for each grandchild when they graduate. She is #3 of 13. Her mother and sister had a trip planned to come see us and get a 5 generation picture with my mother, so I got the quilt finished in time for that visit.

This a Dorinda original, quilted around 1880, called Pine Tree

Dorinda's middle name was Melissa, and I thought it fitting to give my Melissa one of the quilt I have made from her collection.

The quilt made it to Washington yesterday, and here it is with Melissa holding it.

My free motion quilting is not ready for a big quilt yet, so I used the feed dogs and presser foot.

I finished the two rows for this month's QAL. This will be a throw size and I will be keeping this one for myself.

And our 5 generation picture

I am on the left, my mother, Marian (Dorinda's descendant), my granddaughter, Stephanie and her baby, Paul are seated, and my daughter, Vonda is on the right.

Ann: Paper Piecing and I Have a Love/Hate Relationship

For as long as I have been using paper piecing, I have had definite feelings about it. I love the sharp points and how the block looks when complete, but I hate making it. First, I feel like I am wasting a lot of fabric (which I am probably not) and it takes a lot of thread!
Second, my tension on my sewing machine does not like the tiny stitches, so I have to adjust it several times to get the right tension.
And third, it takes SO MUCH TIME! But today I completed my first "Fireworks Star" for the Americana QAL that we are doing on the DOD page. For all my frustration, I love how it looks.

I collected fabric probably 10 years ago to do an Americana quilt, but just never found a pattern that I liked. So my stash will now be put to use, thanks to Deana.