Thanks for the reminder! Let's see. DH is planning a hiking trip, and may take the grands. That means I have the day to do as I please!!!!

Finish birthday blocks
Finish ugly fabric blocks
Find rag snips (yup, still missing)
Get batiks cut for MY quilt 8-)
Finish cleaning out scrap box

beverly

That's the day of the annual plant sale at our local botanical gardens so I know I'll be spending most of the day there. But I will be certain to devote a little time to quilting too! I can't let National Quilting Day go by without playing with some fabric!

Thanks for letting us know,
Kate

One of my guilds has their Quilt Camp that day with morning and afternoon classes. There are usually 4 or so classes in each session. I'm taking a great beginners Sashiko class in the morning and a fun sweatshirt backpack class in the afternoon!!

National Quilting Day is when I check all my rulers and make sure they have straight edges.

Sharon

March 20th is when we burn our old socks, drink, eat and get ready for the start of boating season. Sometimes we have to bundle up - this year there better not be snow on the ground!

Good idea Sharon. That is a good day to review all your equipment. I had to get a new 6 x 24 for cutting. The edge had worn and cuts were just a shade off. Think I may give the machines a good cleaning too. They deserve it.

beverly

I think I'll go shopping.

"...burn our old socks..." ??? That's an old sailor's custom right? Something about Spring?

My ds has a karate tournament that day, so I hope he doesn't mind me doing my applique while I watch.

Kate, yeah - burning socks on the Equinox is a local tradition that is supposed to drive away the evil winter spirits and signify the start of the boating season. Sailors do not wear socks!

That is my birthday....and it is a Big one.....so mayBE I will get to do some fun things sewing or maybe even shopping.....
bopeep

Happy early birthday bopeep. Enjoy the day Saturday.

beverly

My guild has "QuiltIn" on this day every year (3rd Sat. in March; the same every year). We have workshops offered in the morning and afternoon, plus a mystery in the evening if you want to do it. Basically, sewing from 9-9p. They provide breakfast & dinner, too.

For the 2nd year in a row, I've signed up for nothing other than the UFO room!! I expect to get lots done, just don't know what yet! (I did just order a Jinny Beyer kit, though)

I may take a few mini quilts. Or the borders of my bella bella if they aren't done by then. Or the Jinny Beyer. Or my clothesline bag/basket. Or maybe my fall embroidery quilt. Lots to choose from, huh?!

I want to burn my black cathedral windows UFO.

petalpatsy wrote: "I want to burn my black cathedral windows UFO."

NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Patsy, don't do it! If it needs a home, someone is willing to take it in and provide a good, stable, loving environment where it can thrive and prosper! I'd be willing to take it! I'm sure it can't be all that bad ...

Despite the fact that this sounds a little bit tongue-in-cheek, I am actually SERIOUS here. There is NO quilt that is too far gone to somehow "rescue". Perhaps you're just tired of it? Or maybe you don't care for the colors any more? Perhaps the fabrics just doon't speak to your heart like they once did? WHAT IS THE PROBLEM????

Can you tell I just hate to see these "babies" tossed aside like a pair of lime green and purple flowered polyester pants??? Seriously, patsy, what is the problem with it?

[I am just beside myself now ... can't speak ... can't think straight ... getting off my soapbox, running to my "safe place" to get calm ... hoping petalpatsy "sees the light" ........ Dear God, help me to RELAX over this!]

Odessa *winks*

Our guild is having a contest on this day. Our challenge is to make a quilt (any size) that must contain blue fabric, have a star and log cabin patterns incorporited into the piece. It is an open contest, just for fun, we have 3 months to work on your challenge. The pieces will be judged by members on different catagories. No one know who made which piece. This is always a fun meeting time.
Barbara

Ohhhh Pasty - I was going to offer to sneak it into the fire with our socks :) but since Odessa offered to rescue it- I think maybe her offer is better - LOL- and I'm afraid of her evil spirits if we burn it ----hahaha

Hey! I'm not really evil, "I just play one on TV"! *giggles*

Speaking of burning & evil spirits, did you all see that NBC show with Sara Jessica Parker last week where she traced her ancestory and her 10th great-grandmother had been accused of being a WITCH??? That's what popped into my mind when I read your post, MRG.

You all are too funny!

Odessa

ps - petalpatsy: my offer still stands ... send it to me ... I'll raise it and love it and give it a good home ... we'll even send pictures so you can see you "did the right thing"!......

Oh my goodness! Well, I wasn't kidding either, so you send me your address Odessa and I will pack up every single bit of it, including all the black, and black on incredibly extremely dark green, squares that I haven't ironed into folded squares yet. I have a lot of squares done that I haven't sewn together yet, and I'll send you my sandpaper ironing template. I put it face down so the fabric won't shift--but of course you finish with any technique you wish. Or burn it. (Heh.) It's quite nice from the back, instead of being solid black you get a black and emerald impression.

I didn't do a solid joining between the blocks, thinking I'd do that later and it would allow me some leeway to pull it back to square.

There is not one single colored window sewn in. I got distracted with the baby quilt, and then the applecore, and now the 30-something. Now after these two, I don't want to do another scrappy quilt, and I sure as h-e-double toothpicks don't want to make a bunch more black squares. I want to do a pattern block like Storm at Sea or Dutchman's Puzzle, and if I do applique I want something like the Hop Scotch one-bought the book, even. And my Little Lonestars--I want to do them, too.

Plus, I have been stunned by the cat hair my seven cat deposit on the black. My whole house is quite a bit cleaner, and I used to change sheets like once a month but I"m on the every weekend plan now.

I will go over it with a tape roller as well as anybody possibly could, but if you're allergic to cats let me know. I can't wash it, because the things are folded origami style and not stitched in place yet. It's not like, disgusting or anything, it's just has obvious cat hair on it every time they lay on it.

Here is a link that might be useful: The CW construction technique I was trying

Take it Odessa~ and make it beautiful~

Patsy~I can see what attracted you to the technique~I can also see why you don't want to finish it ! You will feel better as soon as you leave the post office.

A great way to celebrate Nat'l Quilting Day for you both!

SJP would make a scary looking witch! Maybe there's some truth in the report.

Patsy, if you're serious, put those babies in a box and get ready to ship them off to me. I promise to give them a good home.

Odessa

I am dying to try this quilt as I have seen a few beautiful ones in person, maybe when I retire from the looks of it!! Good luck Odessa, I look forward to seeing it grow and blossom!!

And, what's wrong with my lime green and purple flowered polyester pants??

TG - nothing is wrong with your lime green and purple flowered ployester pants ... they look GREAT on you, they just aren't my style, I guess. [*winks*]

Oh I got it all out and pressed the crumpled squares, ran it all over with the tape-y thing, and found a box to mail it. I really didn't get very far on it, really. I got a crap load of fabric cut into big squares. It's only got a hundred blocks all folded up and sewn (mostly) together. --10sq x11sq, and the blocks are 4 1/2 inches so yeah...45" x 49 1/2". I tried to count, and I have 104 of the open squares of the black on emerald black, and about 130 of the black. I know that's a lot of fabric--I got the whole bolt of the emerald black, and whole bolt of whatever thin black I started with. Some of the black squares past one bolt's worth are cut 10" instead of 9 1/2 because they are a Kona cotton and thicker. I wish I'd cut them all 10 inches as that's easier to fold and starch down.

You may tire of folding the squares as well, but if you work on it at all I'd like to send all the fabric that matches--you can never tell, you may sew in windows, get it up to 200 squares and pass it to somebody else who wants to make it 300 squares.

My next to last idea was maybe to use the CW part I had done as a medallion, and use the other fabric as part of a big pieced border. (Of course, we all know my last idea was to burn it.) I am very happy to pass this UFO to you!

Odessa I was going to post some wisecrack about the lime & purple poly pants---& then Toolgranny says she has some!! My,my-- while we don't critique one anothers' quilts, aren't we allowed(encouraged? maybe??!) to critique fashion?? or lack thereof?! *quiltpartner winks:)* I know spring is coming but Toolgranny, aren't you just a little carried away???! :-)

Now that I think about it, those pants just may be the same fabric I used for my clothes-pin bag! Cool!:-)

Oh shoot! Another technique I want to try! I'm guessing the better quality of the fabric the better? I can see where a cheaper linen would tend to ravel and cause a big mess. I'd love to see the back side of this where the "windows" are quilted all the way through all the layers. I like the batting in the middle to cause the puffiness, too. I can see a use for all these FQ's I've been acquiring :-)

One more question, since linen shrinks, would you prewash it? I know it wrinkles horribly, but for a quilt it wouldn't matter as much.

Quilting with linen would be very brave. The wrinkling, the shrinking, the relatively loose weave... I don't think I would try it.

Try again, Odessa. I sent you an email with my current email, but then I also updated my profile with my new email.

lafonda~ I don't want to say 'never' - but I don't know if I would quilt with linen, maybe in the right design. I've linked to a wonderful, fun blog~she uses linen and she presses her seams open - quite the rebel :). Her work is contemporary, and very non traditional ~ I enjoy reading her blog. scroll down a ways to see her Feb 13th entry using linen (past her incredibly organized closet).

Here is a link that might be useful: Linen

Thanks for the link! I don't know about linen, but I'm inspired to organize. I did refold and stack my stash on shelves, but my cat loves to explore behind the stacks. If I leave the door open, next morning a stack or two is on the floor.

I really like the pillowcase quilt, and the big pieced backing. That looks so cute and cottage-y. And easy!

Thanks for the reminder. I like to do a bit of quilting every day but I do know on Saturday it is the Womens World Curling opening ceremonies right here in my small hometown community. To say the least we are so very proud to be hosting this event and if anyone nearby plans to attend, please private email me and we can arrange a get together.
Jeane

Jeane-very cool! Enjoy and you should be proud!

I am sitting here LOL about petalpatsy's attic windows. I started one in peach. Blech............the only reason I started it in peach was I had a lot of peach material I didn't want to use on anything. Duh. So why would you invest time and painstaking work on a peach based attic windows. I also ended up with four in squares. Duh again. I still want to do an attic windows quilt, but Lord Luv a Duck, not tiny squares! Make them dudes biguns.

So, I got about thirty by thirty inches, sewn together and the contrasting blocks inserted and it hangs on my wall times three years. It's going to be a pillow sometime this summer so I can say it wasn't time wasted. Petalpatsy, I know how you feel. I even considered making it a medallion, too.

The moral of the story is use muslin for attic windows. LOL.