Central Coast Quilt Shop Tour

I went on the Central Coast Quilt Shop Tour [one of the California shop hops] last weekend. I managed to go to 4 stores before I made it to Morro Bay and my son and dil's home for the weekend [actually to Motel 6, since they have a very tiny apartment]. The 3 of us went to the rest of the shops. For those of you who are interested, the web site is http://www.centralcoastquiltshops.com

My dil had asked if I would make a quilt for her 30+ year-old son who had been badly injured in a motorcycle accident. So we went shopping for [what else?] motorcycle fabric - with skulls, a bright swirly and lovely ladies sprawled on the motorcycles [maybe that one will be a pillowcase for him]. I'll find more down here to add to the collection and make him a quilt between a twin and a double. I think it will be fun.

The fabric above is the fabric I purchase for MY project. The dark colors are a variety of dark blues and with the tans and golds I think it will be every bit as stunning as the quilt in the magazine. It will have lots of 1-1/2" squares [strip pieced, of course], but I will put the fabric and pattern away until I have time to do this one [maybe I will start cutting some of the pieces as my cutting table clears so I don't have to do them all at once when I'm ready to make the quilt].

And, last but certainly not least] here is my mother's day present from my son and dil in Temecula. The chair couldn't have been more right for this table. It is comfortable and sitting down to have breakfast and read the paper is so much easier now that I don't have to balance the dog on my lap. Well, back to sewing.

Our quilt group in the retirement community is making quilts for 4th of July - and will hope to have them hung really soon. We have several tops ready for quilting, so I will get busy with them as soon as they are layered.

This is this year's Thangles Block of the Month a group of us are doing at our local quilt shop. We did not want to use the same ugly fabrics [well, we really didn't like the early American fabrics they chose for last year and this year] so they are cutting special for us. I think this quilt is going to be fantastic.

Here is the Orange Crush quilt - when I laid it out on the bed for the photo I was instantly dizzy!! I don't like triangles at all, but I used the Fons and Porter triangle ruler and my blocks lay flat on the bed and floor. I'm going to put a 1/4" border of black [or maybe my very dark purple] between the quilt and the border. I'm going to look for a Halloween stripe [since this is purple, orange and lime green] for the final border and am going to do diagonal corners with it.

That is Little Bit standing on the quilt [he misses very few chances to get into the photo - or just to stand on the quilts]

I'm on my way to Morro Bay [250 miles north of Duarte] this weekend for the Central Coast Quilt Run [that is in California]. I have a son in Morro Bay so I will go to the shops between home and Santa Maria and he and my daughter in law will take me to the rest of them.

I found a quilt in the August 2007 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting that I am going to purchase fabrics for. It is Blue Moon of Kentucky and is med/dark blue and tans. If I go on the run with a plan, I don't come home with scads of yards that I don't have a plan for. I will, of course, find some cat fabric that is just to irresistable [sp?] to leave in the store. With gas prices, I expect this years trip is going to be expensive - but I received and deposited my "tax incentive?" so that will pay for gas/food/lodging.