A Good Labor Day's Work

Today was the first day I was able to do some serious quilting since we moved from our house in Novato to the condo in Oakland. It really feels good to be sewing again.

I have this great antique quilt (it's on the container in the Pacific, steaming toward Sydney, at this very moment). Sadly, it's so fragile now I don't like to use it on a bed. So...what else to do but remake it! Here's the design, made in EQ5. Today I made some of the blocks and set 9 of them together. I think I'll continue that way, rather than have rows and rows to deal with at the end. Easier to work with smaller bits and put them together later, I think.



Here's a pic of the 9-block piece I made today:

In the original quilt, the pink middle squares are actually an old red and white calico-like print that has faded to a nice pink color. Trying to find a new pink that would mimic that look proved difficult. Anyway, it is what it is at this point!

I ransacked eQuilter.com for a zillion plaids, stripes, dots, etc. in colors like the original quilt. I'm hoping I'll like "my" version as well as the original.

While I'm working, I think about the woman who made the original...wonder who she was, where she got the pattern, and what her life was like.

I think I'm quilted out for today. The quilt I'm planning will be 89" x 89", so I'll be at this awhile. The blocks are 7", and the shot above shows 9 blocks.

Beautiful end of summer day in Oakland. I think it looks like a good day to take a stroll down to Piedmont Avenue and have something yummy for dinner that I didn't have to cook. Better take advantage of this convenience while I have it! Serendipity, the 25-acre farm in Exeter in New South Wales, has no such choices three blocks way!