Panel Quilt

I didn't know if I would be able to participate in this weeks challenge. Here in central, northern Michigan we have received quite the weather situation. Not that weather directly impacts a quilter, but it does have factors affecting how much cam be accomplished when power is lost.

I was a little leery to begin anything because after having severe storms to include sleet, then freezing rain, and then a dump in temps, and then 40 mph winds, we were certainly going to lose power. We live on a dead-end road and our power would have been one of the last restored in the area should this situation have happened.

But yesterday, after an almost three-day ugly weather event, the sun came out again. The winds started to calm, and the race was on to get something done. What I had planned in my head just wasn't going to happen in two days. Now the search for a project.

I found a panel in my stash while rifling through to locate some quick inspiration. I've had it for a while and never really had any plans for it. Because I was in such a rush to complete everything I didn't even take time to get many pics while feverishly wielding the rotary cutter, the iron, and the long arm.

Here was the panel roughly being created into something.

Making something out of a found panel

My husband delivers propane and is on-call for the next week. He had to head to bed rather early last night because he was scheduled to work again today. I certainly could not long arm while he was in the loft catching some Z's. So the long arming commenced today.

Some of the quilting detail

Despite having to have to finish my grandsons Fire Engine quilt (the rule is to get the binding on the quilt just taken off the long arm before another can be loaded)...

Tristan's Fire Engine quilt (had to be finished before getting this one put on the frame).

...and despite having to chop 1" of ice off all of our decks, I was able to get the quilt off and on the long arm before the sun set today. I machine bound it during the Spartan basketball game (a great husband babysitter) and here's the finished project.

The finished piece. Still haven't named it yet.

It measures 59" x 70" so the size requirements are certainly met. 

20 Weeks Today!

I can't imagine our lives without this not-so-little girl in it anymore. It amazes me how quickly a dog can worm their way into your heart and your life.

Hello Everybody!

This pic is actually from yesterday, but it's close enough to her 20-week birthday (since that's today).

Nearly 20-Weeks Old 

On to quilting things...

Project Quilting 10.2 was released Sunday night. The theme for this week is red, white, and blue colors. And ONLY those colors. Nothing else is to be incorporated into the project.

Katie is already working on hers. I started thinking about mine while I was long arming Antelope Canyon, and then thought some more about it while piecing section 1 of 9 on Tristan's Fire Engine quilt.

Once Jim started watching the basketball game last night, I had found my background fabric; pressed that. Found my foreground fabric; pressed that. Found and transferred a map of the world onto overhead projector plastic. Transferred the world onto the blue fabric with quilt chalk and am now ready to actually start my project today. Well, after I get Antelope Canyon off the long arm and get it bound.

The gal sponsoring the Project Quilting challenge said most of the flags of the world have red, white, or blue in them. This is what prompted my direction in which I traveled with my thought process. We'll see where I head with this today and decide whether it was a good direction to travel.