This month has been a month of “finishing” – I’ve been working on finishing various projects. Of course, make no mistake… I have made progress… but I still haven’t finished a quilt this month! The first one, below, shows the progress I have made on my new “Borrowed Roses” quilt. The block is based on a traditional block called Prairie Flower, Missouri Rose, or Rose Tree. The border and use of the blocks is based on an old late 1920s Rose Kretsinger quilt called “New Rose Tree.” So far, I have finished four of the planned nine blocks and five of twelve border units. There will eventually be ribbons and tassels between all of the border units. The unfinished blocks are all basted, so they are easy to take along and work on at bees, meetings, doctor appointments, etc. – so hopefully, next month you will see the quilt top assembled… but don’t hold your breath! The next photos, below, shows another old project that I started on well over a year ago. My friend Cynthia and I exchanged 4-1/2 inch (finished size) star blocks which used civil war reproduction fabrics and shirtings – a favorite combination of mine. Together, we both have quite a stack of little star blocks – and I really love Sawtooth Stars. I’m going to use those star blocks in combination with some 4-1/2 inch (finished size) double nine-patch blocks that I finished making this month – all 175 of them! The little squares in the nine-patches are each 1/2 inch in size, so it took a while to get them all sewn. Now that those blocks are all finished, I’m ready to assemble the quilt top. In the photo below, you can get an idea of how the blocks will be set together. When it is finished, this quilt will be twin-sized, with the blocks extending edge-to-edge – and no border. Naturally, an antique quilt that I saw at the Houston quilt show many years ago inspired this quilt. Doing block exchanges with a friend is a great way to keep me on schedule – Cynthia and I set deadlines for swapping blocks every two weeks, and we met nearly all the deadlines! I can’t wait to sew these blocks together – hopefully you’ll see the quilt top when I post an update at the beginning of April. In between other projects, I have also been working on doing the last bit of touch-up quilting on a project that my friend Denise Green and I started ages ago. It was interrupted with a family illness, and I am just now getting back to working on this quilt. Denise and I collaborated on this quilt from start to finish – I did most of the applique, she did a ton of machine quilting, and I did a bunch of hand-quilting. We both helped each other a ton, along the way. This quilt is based on my “Lily Rosenberry” pattern and, finally, I will have my very own Lily Rosenberry quilt – I’m excited about that! Many thanks go to Denise –for her friendship and our teamwork on this quilt! Last but certainly not least, I have been doing more hand quilting on my Friends of Baltimore quilt. So far, 7 blocks have been quilted. These are 15 inch blocks, and I am quilting in the ditch around every appliqued piece, and cross-hatch quilting the background in each block. My goal is to finish the quilting in June (of this year). This is another quilt that excites me every time I work on it – I can’t wait to finish it! Below are pictures of two of the blocks, so you can see how the quilting is turning out on them. Finally, since spring is on its way, I’ll give you a peak at another project that I’m working on. It’s the center block of a medallion quilt; I haven’t figured out what sort of borders I am going to add to the medallion – but I want to finish the quilt by April. Ha! That will be a trick, but setting a goal is a way for me to finish projects. Until next month, enjoy the Spring! Check out my Yahoo group if you get a chance (see last month's posting for the link) – folks are starting to work on their own Friends of Baltimore (and other quilts) and one gal has already posted two finished blocks. Go Marian! You'll also find plenty of tips in that group - hopefully, they will help all of us finish more quilts! Happy sewing -- Sue Garman (c)2010 Susan H. Garman