Spray Basting

It was a glorious day yesterday afternoon. I managed to piece two quilt backs and decided to spray baste three quilts out the back. Once I had cleaned the table and chairs off, I spent a lovely couple of hours out there cutting wadding, then stretching and spray basting the three quilts in the late afternoon sunshine. Various children drifted in and out to chat (including picklesticks who is now back home in Adelaide, she drifted in on the phone) and then the job was done. I basted the small zigzag scrap quilt I put together last week, little pieces of sunshine from here, and my do. Good Stitches quilt from May. So it looks as though quilting is my next thing!

Basting done and dusted!

Two quilts basted!

I did it! The blue quilt is one I have been working on in the last month or so and the pink quilt is a top from my stash. (I'm pretty sure I pieced it prior to 2009.) So I now have two quilting projects for this week. I also am working on the Little Pieces of Sunshine quilt top. Of course, there are three quilt tops in the cupboard that require basting and about a thousand (or so) other projects on the go! So many choices. I am very lucky! So lucky that I am off to the fabric shop next. *sigh* Great day.

Basting

I had planned to baste today, but didn't quite get that far. I did get the batting down from upstairs which is further than I have got any other day this week. Tomorrow might just be basting day. Instead we did Father's Day type things and went to church. It takes quite a bit to celebrate Father's Day here because my Bradley is a father eight times over. Well, we have been married for a million years now you know. Actually, we are closing in on our thirtieth wedding anniversary which is nothing short of amazing. Seriously. How can we possibly have a thirtieth wedding anniversary when we are both still in our twenties? It's quite mind boggling!

This is my Bradley shooting hoops with number one son quite some time ago now. He still goes to shoot hoops with son number three. (There are only three boys amongst our eight children) It keeps you busy all that hoop shooting! He has spent most of this evening chatting on the phone to our Adelaide based children. So, I hope your family's all had a great father's day. And tomorrow I might just baste a quilt.

Quilt top!

Dallin's 18th quilt

 I finished putting the borders on this quilt top last night. I figured I would wait for daylight to photograph it and as you can tell from these photos there is plenty of daylight today! (Well, it has been pretty overcast and the sun popped out right at the moment that Maxim - Mr 18 - was available to hold it up for me! It is dark again now.)

without the lights in front of it

Dallin is a friend of my kids' and drawing a block for this quilt was a part of his surprise 18th birthday party. It has turned out to be a good size (73" x 54") and I am hoping to stretch and baste it today so that I can finish it off and give it to him! So that's now five quilt tops waiting to be basted. I think that tells you that I am not yet over my basting phobia! Must go practice basting!!!

Burning the midnight oil.

I didn't baste all four quilt tops. I got two done and decided that was enough! I thought I just might be able to finish one of the two today if I got on with the quilting this morning. I picked the red scrappy quilt to start on and just finished the binding a few minutes ago. Fortunately I had the Commonwealth Games to keep me entertained whilst I sewed. The quilt is grided in the centre (using the blocks as a guide) and I have quilted some free motion flowers on the border. Done!

Confession.......

I am a topper. Starting is the best part for me. Looking at and choosing fabric is so much fun! I love to start on a quilt - it's so exciting! I even love the piecing. But from there it's all downhill. I really hate basting quilts and quilting........? I'm not sure. I haven't got past the basting stage that often to really know. At the moment I am working on two quilt tops and I thought that I would baste both of them after dinner tonight. As I collected them together I found another two quilt tops floating around.

Pile of three quilts, ready to baste.

That's when I realised that I really am a topper. I have quilt tops just lying around in my sewing room! So, no basting was actually done. (I'll have to do another post entitled "Confession..... I am a procrastinator"!) Instead I collected together and cut out tops, backing and batting for four small quilts. Once I had done that it was really bedtime.

This is the fourth quilt spread out on the table in front of my Bradley. (Lucky we have a huge table! Room for everyone!) It wasn't until I put it on the table that I remembered that I need to piece the back for this quilt. The back is pieced now, so tomorrow morning I will be basting. And basting. And basting. And basting.