Making progress on Old Tobacco Road

This was a mystery on Bonnie Hunter's website Quiltville.  I finished most of the top last winter, then my sister-in-law Carol helped me pick out the border fabric when we were in New Braunfels in April. I finally got around to attaching the borders today.  This is the largest quilt top I've made in years - it's a long queen - 84 x 104.  I guess I'll try to get around to making the backing and getting this quilted.

Gypsy Wife plus 2 Spinoffs

When I went to the Silver Thread Guild's quilt show in Creede a couple of months ago, I picked up Jen Kingwell's Gypsy Wife pattern. It looked like something that would be fun to make. It was!  You select your own fabrics - no directions are given for that - and you plug your blocks into whichever size spaces you want.  I like how there are 1 1/2" strips running vertically through the quilt that give it some continuity. 

Gypsy Wife

When I finished Gypsy Wife, I thought that Jen's concept would translate easily to designing more quilts like hers, so I grabbed some graph paper and planned out one that would use up some of my orphan blocks.  I'll be taking it to the longarmer's tomorrow, but thought I'd post a pic of the top.

As I was looking around on the web for sites about designing your own quilts, I saw this page, about making a crocheted blanket using different sizes of squares. I thought it would translate well to a quilt, and grabbed my bags of 1.5" strips.

I think that I can teach a class on doing this, so I'll be talking to my local shop folks tomorrow about that.   Wouldn't that be fun?

Things I've been working on lately

I haven't posted in a long while, but I've been busy!

Used up a bunch of low-volume strings - a smaller version of "Sunday Morning" from Sunday Morning Quilts

"Parachute" - inspired by Jacquie Gering

"Fake Geese" - actually pairs of HSTs

Top made from blocks acquired from a swap

Star Struck

"Christmas Swoon" - hanging at my local quilt shop - I taught a class on this one

Baby quilt for my great-nephew

Two Finished Quilts - Which version do YOU like best?

These are both made from the same block - the X+ block.  The first uses coordinating fabric; the other is scrappy.  So far, I've heard that everyone likes the scrappy one best.  I like them both equally.