My New Favorite Color is Red

I don't have much to show, but I have been sewing--a bit anyway.  Last week I took five tops to be quilted.  Don't be impressed by the number five.  Four are baby quilts, and most of them were already finished, just waiting for their day of quilting.

Since you've seen a couple of them in prior posts, and I won't show them again until they are completely done, but here's one of the few photos I took of two of them (only one photo because they're identical quilts).  It was at the point of choosing the borders.  I eventually decided the black was too severe for a baby, and went with an orange fabric, but got distracted at this point (back in February 2012), so it's nice to finally have them put together, and almost done.

The fifth quilt is a full size quilt I made around 1993, but never finished.  (Do you sense a theme?)  It is a quilt from the book, Star Gazing by Jackie Robinson, called Star SA-lute  I thought I bought a backing for it back then, but when I measured the piece that I had saved for all those years, it was much, much too small.  So a hunt for a back that would match entailed.  Note to self:  Buy a back when your colors are still available! 

I thought rust would be easy to find.  Not so much.  The fabric I decided to use really doesn't match it, but it looks like it does and was on sale--I didn't take a photo, so you'll have to wait for that "excitement". :)

I snapped this photo quickly without even unfolding the top all the way--I was just excited to get it finished.  Note to self:  When taking a quilt to be quilted that's been stored away for many years, look at it--on BOTH sides! 

When I got to the quilter, and took it out, we looked at it.  This is what we both saw at the same time:

 

See a little problem in that block near the bottom center?  So the top came back home to be fixed.  When I brought it home, I unfolded it to find the problem block, and low and behold, look what else I saw on that same side:

 

 

One block had the wrong background color.  How did I miss that?  And that jogged a memory.  When I put this top together, I came up short one of the outer blocks.  Note to Self:  Don't assume you miscut or miscounted.  Look!

 

Fortunately I'd saved the leftovers in with the top, so I could put together the correct blocks.  It didn't go smoothly.  My first try:

 

 

Notice how the left row is turned upside down from how it should be.  (it looks like it isn't square, but it is)   Note to self:  Don't sew with a migraine.  

 

All is fixed now, and the top is ready to be quilted--I hope!  

 

And, our big news (saving the best for last) is that we are adopting a new family member!  

 

 

For now we are calling her "Red" because of her collar color.  I hope Red likes to patiently watch me quilt.  I'm guessing the odds of that are slim.  She'll get to come home in a week or two.  Meanwhile, we're busy puppy proofing our lives!  If the photo is any indication, she may be named Shark.

 

Happy quilting!