A Quilting Week

My company from last week left Saturday afternoon.  We dropped them at the airport and less than an hour later I had got my quilt stuff out and was already cutting out my next project.  Have you ever been super excited to do something and yet for whatever reason, you just can't get to it?  In this case it was a couple of charm packs of Hello Luscious and some yardage and a Schnibbles pattern.  I will show it to you later. 

The other thing I really needed to focus on was that Tuesday I was on tap to teach my favorite method of applique to my fellow Bee attendees.  I love Jeanna Kimball's back-basting method!  I needed to prepare some templates, a supply list, and some samples.  For the class, I taught a heart as it has an outside point, and inside point, and an convex curve.  The heart template I chose even had a bit of a concave curve.  I was a bit nervous about the teaching but then I remembered that my "students" were really my friends, so I relaxed.

Everyone did a great job!  For one or two, it was their first experience with needle-turning, but for others, it was just their first try with the back-basting method.

Here is a picture of everyone with their heart block.  One of them had the idea to lay it on her chest over her real heart, and it was so cute that everyone did it!

I have grown to really like these ladies and the others who come to the Bee and yet didn't take part in the class.  It is going to break my heart to have to say goodbye to them this summer when we move.

After the class, there was still time, so I sat and finished appliqueing all my samples.  When I got home I found that I had seven hearts.  I set one aside and trimmed the others down and made this quilt.

It is quite small--the blocks finished at 2.5"-3" (I can't remember which).  I cut the border strips at 2" wide.  Now I'm going to do some hand quilting (if I remember how,  ha ha) and it will be such a nice remembrance of the day and the Tuesday Bee.

I spent the rest of the week up in my quilting room and have other things to show you in future posts.  I hope everyone knows it is International Quilting Day tomorrow!  I plan to spend mine quilting!

Aloha,
JoAnne