All Around the Edge

Oh ho ho, you thought you'd seen the last of the Lupine Mystery quilt, well, nope. As I was taking it down from the design wall I noticed an issue. Many of the seams that joined the Flying Geese double units had come undone along the outer edge of the quilt top. So, I took the time to go all the way around the outside of the quilt top and re-sewed all those little bits of seams. All the handling of the heavy quilt top as you sew that final border on is too much stress for those seams to hold up. 

I think a good addition to the directions for making that border would be to pre-stay-stitch along the purple Flying Geese. Because this is what ends up being the outer edge of the quilt. Or maybe just to emphasize the big need to either make sure you back stitch or lock stitch at the end of that seam. An easier choice would have been to add a small purple border around the whole thing.

Okay, after all of that, I then performed the last step in making a quilt top. I stay-stitched all around the outer edge. That's to help make sure that all of those seams don't pop open as the quilt is being stretched around getting loaded onto the long arm machine.

Now "all" I have left to do is to make the binding, trim all the loose threads, and choose a wide-back backing fabric. And to drop it off at a long-arm quilter to do the quilting.

 

BAMQ B.O.M. Layout Party

 

Yesterday at BAMQ Sew Day, we had a record turnout, two extra tables were require to make enough room for everyone. Possibly because of the Bamq BOM Layout Party that was happening. Everyone that had been working on our guild's great BOM this past year put up their blocks on the design partitions. The surface requires pinning unfortunately, and I chose a spot on a corner so it was bit odd to layout the blocks. I worked on sewing a lot of these together during the day, but didn't take an "after" picture.

Our Bam BOM leaders, Jaye and Sue,  brought some examples of finished BOM quilts to show us, the blue one in the foreground and the grey one in the background. They're holding up Melinda's finished top, she challenged herself by using all solids. There were some other great finished tops that I didn't snap a picture of too. It's pretty great that people are into it and getting it done. 

We used both sides of the partitions to pin up our work and then the group went around to each one and discussed and added in suggestions if the person welcome them. It was a great process that was both helpful and supportive. Sue did an all Christmas fabric version, and Lee-Ann's is all batiks in fall colors. I liked that idea of choosing seasonal color schemes, some really creative (no spell check suggestion, NOT cretinous! sheesh) design possiblities there. Maybe I'll do a Halloween one next time I do a BOM project.

Robbie brought hers all laid out and rolled up in a portable design wall, ie a plastic tablecloth with a flannel backing. Those things really do work well.  I love her Creamsicle color scheme, very yummy.

I particularly like that extended Flying Geese block on the middle left. She said it was done using the Deb Tucker's Wing Clipper Ruler. I have that ruler and may try my hand at that one.

There were so many other people's work that I didn't take pictures of, but I think it was a super showing of our guild's creative range. We had beginners and very experienced block piecers participating and the organizers of the project really did a great job of providing guidance and resources to everyone.

Lupine Top Done

 Four corner blocks made for the Lupine Mystery quilt.

Then the previously pieced together final borders were added.

And then ALL of the ironing. My new pretty pretty Oliso is always happy when she matches.

That means the Lupine Mystery Quilt top is officially done!

Wow!

And I think it's going to be a purple binding.

Lupine Blue Border

The Lupine Mystery quilt is getting its first border today. There's the first one curled up on top of the quilt. It's so nice to have the sunshades down, now that the afternoon sun isn't so bright.

Lots of measuring and pinning before getting down to any actual sewing.

A look at the corners once the blue border was added.

And another corner.

Next step, is adding these final borders, as well as making the four blocks for the corners. 

Getting closer to done!
 

Lupine Middle Done

 

I got the Lupine Mystery quilt into two sections, while watching all the fabulous election returns. One section having four rows, and one with three joined-up rows. But hold on, wait a second, do you see the issue here?

Thank goodness I noticed the error before sewing that very looooong seam.

Okay, that's all together! Woot woot!

It all came together so easily.

I'm very pleased with the overall look of it.

The super dark purples almost read as black, isn't that interesting?

The use of non-white or white-on-white fabrics worked out, especially those polka dots and prints, phew.

Okay, now to do the two borders. I have to cut a thin blue border, and then sew on the assembled final borders. Oh and make the corner blocks. So, very nearly there compared to all the rest of the sewing on this one.

Voting/Hoping/Sewing

 

I'm just feeling too wound up to even sew today with all my worry and concern over how the election is going to go. So, I went out and did errands instead. First I picked up my replacement pedal for my sewing machine at the post office (hope it works better than my iffy one), went to the pharmacy and then worked out at the gym really really hard. The gym really helped the most.

But my main errand today was *Voting Naked*. This is a new thing that our county is promoting, you take the ballot that you received in the mail, fill it out at home where you can do all your research easily and spread out all those zillions of mailers and chunky ballot explainers, then you take it down to your polling place, sign in with a poll worker, then you get to put your "naked" ballot into the ballot box. The naked part is that you don't put it into the ballot box clothed in the envelope that you could have mailed it, or dropped it off in. 

It's a pretty cute/funny idea, the poll workers even have t-shirts that say "Ask me how to vote naked."  I walked in today, and said to the poll worker, "I'm here to vote naked." She laughed and said, "well you just start stripping then." We agreed that it was too cold and rainy for that. What a hoot! At this point, they're trying just about anything to make voting a fun experience I guess. I'm all for it really.

Anyways, hope you got your vote in too! Here's hoping🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

Okay, I'm going to go do some sewing after all, and try out my replacement sewing machine pedal, fingers crossed that it works!

November To-Do

 Here's how my design wall is looking on the first day of November. Similar to last month with big changes to the Lupine Mystery quilt top which is almost done.Patchwork Palooza and my finished Kawandii are still pinned up on there on the left. The rows of the Lupine Mystery quilt still dominate the majority of the space and I really want to just get it done and off of there!

 Note: the use of 🥏👽  by a project name indicates that it's on the 2026 UFO Finishes challenge list of six projects that I committed to finishing at the beginning of the year (more on that list later). Note, this is not the same list as the UFO Challenge for BAMQ, that UFO will have this next to it on the list:🌀🌐  

QUILTS

Design & Begin

Pantone Project - work on an overall design, either in EQ8 or up on the design wall.

Lupine & Laughter Mystery Quilt - finish assembling into a top, so close!

BAMQ BOM - assemble finished blocks into a quilt top.

Color Study - Alison Glass quilt-a-long - make blocks

BAMQ Group entry theme to SMC Fair 2027 theme TBD (placeholder pic)

Stretching Art and Tradition 27 - Lines due in January 2027 (placeholder pic)

Continue Assembly

Patchwork Palooza - Definitely needs borders, make backing & binding

Keep working on Sour Grass Grace from Jane Sassaman class.

Old Town Mystery Quilt - make a backing (use a wide-back?) & binding, definitely having it quilted

AG Stamp Quilt - continue to make more blocks using the final group of fussy-cut stamp block centers from Tula Pink fabrics.

Continue the piecing of Selvedge Candy (maybe the name) quilt originally designed for the 2025 MQG challenge.

🥏👽 Sew the last 6 columns and sashing together of the 2023  Temperature Quilt together to make the quilt top.

🌀🌐 David Owen Hastings class piece, assemble into quilt top, quilt, finish🥏👽 

                                      

Quilting

🥏👽 Bohemian Wife - Finish quilting it🌀🌐 

Final Steps 

🥏👽 Bending the Calendar - Cut up? Re-arrange? Embellish?🌀🌐 

HANDWORK/BAG/CLOTHING PROJECTS 

Make a Cotton Candy pouch for myself.

Make a Charlie's Aunt wool purse for myself, first felt the wool from Pendleton Mill.

Toned-Down Circle Sampler - arrange and appliqué the circles, start embroidering.

Y.E.S. Coat - continue making pieces/blocks. assemble on foundation, cut out lining pieces from the fabric that I dyed

Snake In The Garden - Finish hand stitching -  🌀🌐

Hey! These Are All Finished!

Body Pillow-knit cotton pillowcase - 🌀🌐  Yay! It's awesome and cozy and I'm so glad it's done. 

California State Park Centennial Quilt block. Not even on the list last month as a to-do but it should have been.

Continuing on with the seventh month in a row with some actual finishing happening. 

Once again, the finishes are fairly small projects, relative to the others remaining on the UFO lists, but that they actually got done is still the main thing. 

I'm definitely taking that ongoing finishing energy with me into November.