Sewing With Friends!

 

Earlier this week, a really special reunion occurred when Dee and Sharon and I sewed together in the quilting room. A trip to Ross County is a 3-hour drive for Dee, so planning is essential. We'd hoped we could have this reunion earlier in the month with the idea of celebrating the end of our Spring Dream Sew Along; however life got in the way, as it often does. We finally managed to make things work for Tuesday. Yay!

Sharon, Dee, Jayne

We had such a fun day catching up with each other. It was nearly day's end before it occurred to me to take pictures, for heaven's sake, and even then, Sharon suggested it. If I'd had my wits about me, I could share so many more pictures here today, but alas, you will have to just trust that the company was so very grand that it was impossible to even think about grabbing the camera.

This leaves you looking at a small handful of pictures which are representations of a full day's work. Well, 'full day' and 'work' might be a stretch. There was much talking and various breaks for refreshments. We didn't overtax ourselves, for sure. 

Dee brought along a lovely variety of bright blue and aqua fabrics and a wonderful neutral to begin a new quilt. Above is one block. Dee's pattern is called Swimming the Backstroke from the book Take 5 Fat Quarters by Kathy Brown.

Sharon and I both are going to start a scrappy Irish Chain, and above is a glimpse of her first block. That very light pink solid will be the unifying chain around the scrappy blocks. It will be gorgeous! At this stage of the process Sharon says she is feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of this quilt, but we both know the way to quell that feeling is to just keep stitching. She is following the same pattern as I will follow, which you can at the bottom of this post from yesterday.

Sharon's other sewing for the day included making these burgundy and light blue 9-patch blocks.  The blue and white dot on the right was auditioned out of the mix (save for a future quilt!); Sharon will be using off white for sashing and red/burgundy cornerstones. Sharon really has a spot-on eye for this. No doubt it will be wonderful.

While Dee and Sharon both sewed, I spent the day at the cutting table. I had a list of three things needing cut. I did the one that I'd been procrastinating over - the remaining 9 stars for my red and white stars quilt. I shared this photo yesterday, but I will rerun it here.

My other cutting options included cutting squares for a baby quilt and cutting Ohio Stars for the exchange I'm doing with the Frankfort Girls. In the intervening days, the baby quilt has been finished - cut and stitched; the Ohio Stars are still waiting.

I mentioned refreshments earlier, and in background of that picture of Sharon's block for scrappy Irish Chain you can see some evidence. Because it was an extra-special day of sewing, I made a brunch-type cinnamon bread, and later we had cheese, nuts and berries with a refreshing sangria.  

Sewing with Sharon most weeks is always special, and having Dee join us was a real treat. We have such a long history of friendship that we never fail to pick up right from the get-go and we don't miss a beat with our conversations - family, books, teaching, sewing, travels - all the topics fall right into place. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!