Ending 3rd Quarter with Finishes

The summer of 2016 - it has been a really eventful quarter! After months of preparing for our trip to Japan, we were able to enjoy our time there and make new friends. I loved the people and the culture. Because it was a "working" trip, we did not have a lot of time for sightseeing and relaxing, but we managed to squeeze in some time for that. More on that later...

Teaching the ladies (and gentleman) how to piece and quilt was so rewarding. Their faces lit up with the joy of accomplishment as we completed our blocks together. 

The projects we designed and made for the Quilt Workshop in Ishinomaki ended up not being used because of time restraints.

Project One: Dresden Plate
A cheerful round table topper made with a line of fabrics in bright lavendars, greens, teals, and yellows. I added a lot of hand quilting to this little pretty because it feels and lays so nicely. It was given to our friend, Jill, as a reminder of out support and prayers for her and her family living in Japan. 

Project Two:
My own original design made with reds, black, grays and beige. Curved piecing is one of those techniques that come easier the more you practice. I've been intrigued with this design and plan to expand on it some more. Stay tuned. Perhaps I will make it available for download here later.






Trail Mix
Only one 3rd quarter goal was made this time.

I managed to complete my Trail Mix so I did get something finished. I took this in for show and tell at our Material Girls meeting last week and mentioned I have a love/hate relationship with this quilt. I loved the process of making all those little blocks, and I love the little trails made from the light fabrics, but without those trails it would be a muddy mess. 

It has been a great stash-buster though. I went through my container of loose ends and scraps and made a serious dent in its size. I would really like to try another pattern by Mabeth Oxenreider. Her Garnet Trace looks interesting. Maybe after the first of the year. I have much to do before Christmas.

Pumpkin Stars 
One other finish to report, even though it does not count towards anything more than just a picture here.  My bright orange Pumpkin Stars table-topper! 
 
I purchased these 16 paper-pieced blocks somewhere - I don't remember where and I never did anything with them. I put them in my daughter's recent garage sale and they did not even sell for $5.00! So I decided to use them myself (finally). I found some green batik that complemented the blocks well for cornerstones and added sashes to make it total a 16" square. I am so pleased and glad they did not sell.