A whole lot of sewing going on

Actually, not so much sewing as pinning and cutting and all the things that make sewing possible, but I had a good day yesterday. My primary focus right now is finishing up several quilts that I want to put in our guild's show, all traditional quilts, but the creative switch has finally turned back on and I have a couple of ideas for art quilts, including one "reboot" of a theme I tried earlier but didn't come out quite right.

So yesterday I finished a little piece I'd started earlier in the year. I had been walking on the beach and was intrigued by the patterns left by the seagulls walking on the dry sand. I wanted to see if I could recreate the pattern in quilting, so did this little piece. Originally I was going to quilt in a human footprint, but didn't like it, so I covered it with a flipflop. It has some composition issues, but I'm pleased with the effect of the quilting.

If there is one part of making quilts I can't stand, it is pinning them. Lots of reasons, primarily that I don't have enough room. But over time I've found a system that makes it less awful. It's based on Sharon Schamber's basting system, using two pieced of wood to wrap the top and backing, opening up a section at a time. I modified it to use two 1x6 pieces, wrapped in batting, and, of course, I pin rather than hand baste. I had been using a small crochet hook to close the pins, but a couple weeks ago I got a Kwik Klip and that really helps.

So, yesterday I got the backing assembled, found some batting the right size (love it when a leftover is the right size!) and got the bow ties quilt mostly pinned. I'll be finishing pinning today and testing out some quilting ideas, though I don't know if I'll get started on the actual quilting.

One more little project yesterday. Last year a member of one of my groups showed us how to make some cute little sewing kits. I couldn't find the instructions, but found my kit and figured it out. I made one up as a test, then cut out several and started putting them together. These will be great for our boutique at the quilt show.