Monday, September 23, 2013

The Quilted Steeple

This past weekend my Mom and I went to the open house for The Quilted Steeple in northern Iowa. It's a new quilting and crafting retreat in the former Good Hope Methodist Church and parsonage.  
I was pleasantly surprised to see the many quilts hanging among the trees. I was just expecting to see the renovated buildings.
I always get great ideas of quilts I want to make or least different patterns I want to try but maybe in a wall hanging or table runner.

 It was a gorgeous fall day to walk around the grounds.



 The parsonage has five bedrooms with two beds each for overnight quilting or crafting retreats. 
 This one is on the main floor.
 More quilts to look at indoors.

Here's another Grandmother's Flower Garden. Still my favorite. I told Mom that maybe by the time I'm 80, I'll get one made.





The church has a space for speakers. The lower level has the work areas and a kitchen. Check out their website linked above to learn more about the beautiful setting in rural Iowa.  

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Doll Blanket

I had a birthday party this weekend and hadn't given much thought to a gift until the last minute. I just thought I'd run to the store and see what I could find. But Friday after work I decided to check out my fabric stash and make up a quick doll blanket. So I set aside my other quilt project and got started on this one.

 I found some great pieces.
 I decided to go with smaller blocks of 2 inches. I wanted a random pattern so I didn't use strip quilting on this one. I just cut all my pieces and started sewing.
The random pattern is more time consuming, but I really like the way it turned out.


 I usually hand stitch the binding, but because of time, I tried a zigzag stitch. I really like the way it turned out. The machine stitching will really help the quilt hold up over time.