October and the first part of November was a busy month for Miss Molly and me. She had her wellness checkup and several necessary shots. Also went to the spa for a day. She came home beautiful and well-trimmed. She is very healthy for an almost 12-year-old dog. I had all my necessary medical appointments. Just regularly scheduled appointments. We are both set to go for the next six months.

In the meantime, I have been giving quilting lessons to two ladies. They wanted to piece and quilt by hand. This has been fun. It’s how I started quilting, As I prepare each lesson, I remember how hard it was for me in the beginning. The ladies have learned how to read a block. Also, color and how to choose fabric. They are excited. Last week, they went to the fabric store, without me, and picked out the most beautiful fabric combinations. They had several quarter square triangle block components pieced at their last lesson. Next week, at least one block should be finished. They should be ready to layer the block, batting and backing. and learn how to quilt. I am teaching Georgia Bonesteel’s lap quilting method. They will quilt each block and then put the quilt together.

While I was preparing the lessons, I showed the ladies the first sampler quilt that I made. They chose one of the blocks and want to repeat it for a baby quilt. I made three-star blocks in different colors. The blocks do not play well together so I have to make three different quilts.

One quilt will be a reproduction of the original sampler quilt in much different colors. I’ve finished two of the twenty-four blocks in the quilt. This should go faster than the original. I’m using a sewing machine this time.

The second one is a pretty green, with red star points. I fussy cut the center, The ladies also fussy cut their centers. I have a baby that will be born next year in mind for this quilt.

The third has fussy cut triangles. I have cut enough triangles to finish this quilt. The rest should be easy. I’ve been hand quilting this block in the evenings. The dragonfly section is finished as are all the white corners and outside triangles. I should finish quilting this block tonight. Then I have eight more blocks to piece and quilt. I’m not hand piecing. I am using the machine. It’s much faster. The other blocks will be hand quilted because I hand quilted the first block.

In the meantime, I saw a pattern for a quilt that I just had to make. The original pattern was for a full-size quilt. I wanted a baby quilt, so I made only nine blocks. The center is finished. The borders and binding are cut and ready to be sewn. It is a baby quilt, so it won’t take long to quilt. Hopefully, I’ll stick to my new plan of quilting every new quilt that I make. I don’t want it to go into the pile of ufos and never resurface. If you look closely, you will see that the center of the block in this quilt is the same star block as above blocks. It has sashing that is flying geese, squares and half square triangles. It is made differently. There are just squares and half square triangles.

My sewing room is an absolute disaster. I need to spend a full day organizing and getting things in order. There are too many projects going on at the same time. Maybe tomorrow will be a good day for that.

Have a great day and happy quilting.