The Final Nine

It has taken a long time; but, these are the final nine quilted blocks of the 42 president's blocks that I received at the end of my term. Since I've treated each block like it was a separate quilt, I'm now calling this project, "42 Minis!"

Colleen's hang ten block!

Colleen is our current president. Her brain works at lightening speed. She has taught a lot of Saturday Workshops and is always gracious about sharing her knowledge and techniques with others. I wish I had her energy and stamina! She asked me if I had a dog or a cat so seeing this block with the dog surfing, fit me. In Hawaii, I liked body surfing; but, never tried surfing with a board. 

I stitched around the print elements in the batik and novelty prints. It was interesting to see how that little bit of stitching brought the design to life! 

Julie's cross block.

Julie had the important job of mailing the newsletter to the members who couldn't receive the electronic newsletter. I used a curved ruler to make the background. I repeated the flying geese motif in the vertical bar of the cross. For the horizontal bar, I also stitched flying geese that flew to the center of the block. I liked how it turned out.

Sandie's ocean waves.

Sandie was the president after me. I wouldn't have thought of using ocean waves as a border for a block. Sandie loves the color green and I was glad she included some in this block.  She and I have worked together this year putting together the Featured Artist Show for October. We have grandchildren of similar ages--she has grandsons and I have granddaughters. We have a lot in common!

I quilted some of the half square triangles with curved lines for rolling waves and some with a continuous curve for waves that flip. I quilted around the lines of the center print batik. This photo just doesn't do the block justice!

Cheryl's rescue buoy block!

Cheryl is another past president. There were seven past presidents who contributed blocks to my quilt! Three people made me a block with a rescue buoy in the center. I put these in three of the four corners. I quilted each one differently. Cheryl loves to sail and when I get cruising on a project, I refer to it as sailing along. I couldn't not quilt the word "sail" in the center of the ring buoy.

Kitty's appliquéd cross block!

The first time I met Kitty was at spring retreat in 1998. She was hand quilting a large quilt in a hoop and using cinnamon to mark her lines so that her marking would show on a white background. She has since finished the quilt and all the cinnamon marks came out! She said that quilters often marked light fabrics with cinnamon.

She appliquéd her cross. I used a curved ruler to stitch the lines going half the way in one direction and half the way going the other direction! I thought this background design would be a good tie in to her hand quilting. I know that I have her print going in the wrong direction; but, I decided I would rather have the print upside down rather than her name!

Rosanne's heart block!

Rosanne and Anne chaired the Outreach committee and made blocks that were similar to each other. This year, Rosanne is the publicity chair. All I can say is WOW, she accomplished so much in such a short time and I know she did a lot of learning while she was making flyers and postcards for guild events!

My plan was to quilt the two blocks similarly. . .well, I sort of did. Sometimes, a block just talks to you and says that it wants something a little different!

I quilted loops in between the polka dots!

Shelly's beach umbrellas!

Shelly used this beach umbrella novelty fabric to make her block. She and Colleen worked together during my term. I've lots of strips (2 1/2" wide by 45" long) and charms (5" squares) waiting to be made into quilts. I like that Shelly had a Pinterest board with ideas of what to do with strips and charms.

I quilted around the umbrellas and then stitched some lines in the borders. Other than making a lot of thread changes, the quilting went fast!

Kathy's night fireworks block!

Kathy thought of watching fireworks on the beach for her block. I love the print on the fabric and she used paint and glitter to make this block shimmer! Next to that umbrella is a black lifeguard chair.

She is an avant garde quilter whose life is full working, raising family and squeezing quilting in where she can make it fit!

I quilted fun doodles around some of the larger circles, squiggly lines, curls and cones in the spaces.

Bev's explanation block!

Bev printed the e-mail about the guidelines for the block. Of all the blocks, this was the one that I sweated the most about quilting.  I've never worked with ink jet printed sheets. This was thick and needle holes would show so I knew I had one chance to get it right!

I channeled my previous life as a layout/design editor of an agricultural newspaper when I was in college. I quilted it as if it were a page of newsprint!

This is an extra special block to me because Bev, also a past president, always took the time to meet a new person and connect with them. She was nicknamed Mrs. CCQ because during her term, she visited every small group to find out what people were most interested in doing at the general meetings! The love she shared with her husband was so precious.

Sadly, in July, she passed away. Guild meetings just aren't the same without her physical presence. Although, I know she is with us in spirit!

Bev's was the last block to quilt. I thought you might like to see how many silk threads I used on the top of this quilt. Here are the 21 spools of YLI and Superior silk. I like both brands equally. YLI thread is more available in my area; but, it is sure nice to have the amount of thread on a Superior cone!

I like using silk thread because the thread blends well into the background leaving a hint of texture. Because it has sheen, when the light hits the quilt surface, the thread will glow a bit. People notice my quilting; but, think it is the detail that draws them. I think the sheen effect is part of the drawing effect too. Look back at Rosanne's block to view what I'm writing.

Often, I used a matching 50wt 2 ply Masterpiece cotton thread in the bobbin. Superior makes Masterpiece although now, their Masterpiece is a 3 ply thread. The Masterpiece on the prewound bobbins is still 2 ply.

My personal preference is the 2 ply thread. 2 ply means two threads are twisted together in the end product and 3 ply means three threads are twisted together in the end product. Superior made the change so that longarm quilters would have less thread breakage using this product.

For my usage, the 2 ply is a finer thread and shows less. On my domestic machine, I don't have an issue with the thread breaking. As I use the Masterpiece spools in my stash, I'll be replacing it with Aurifil thread because it is a 60wt (a bit finer than 50wt thread) 3 ply and is a closer match to what I like to use now.

My next step is to begin quilting a continuous curve pattern in the 97 red and white sashings. The last quilting will be the 42 white squares. Then it will be on to the binding, sleeve and label!

October 21 is coming. I hope I finish in time for the show!