My friends make amazing stuff!

I am little busy with all the "back to school" craziness around here like buying school supplies, going to open houses, meeting the new teachers, talking about schedules, packing backpacks, securing transportation routines, etc. None of that makes for good photos for quilt lovers. If you want to see the stacks of new clothes and cool new nikes, you'll have to check the family blog in a couple of days.

So I thought I would share what my friends are doing instead! My sweet Australian penpal also named Diane has been sewing along with the Temecula Quilt Co. Summer Star Sew Along like me. She sends me photos of her blocks, and since nothing is safe once it reaches me, I'm going to share them here. Aren't they cute? She's good with fabric, color, and sewing skills and I'm not just saying that because she sends me lovely packages filled with wonderful things! Really, I would admire her quilting even if I didn't know her!

 

Then there's my friend Mary Ruth. What can I say about Mary Ruth...well, I could say LOTS of things about her, but it basically boils down to the fact that the day we met a guild was one of the luckiest days of my life! She is so fun, and funny, and she's an awesome room mate on retreats. She's always up for an adventure. She has more energy and confidence than anyone I've ever met. And she just happens to be an AMAZING quilter! Also, she just became a grandma to the cutest little baby girl ever, so be sure to ask to see photos next time you run into her, okay?

She started this quilt at a workshop I taught in January. It is a really fun technique that uses strips sewn into a tube, then unsewn in different places and resewn to make nifty blocks that have chains running through them. It's also this pattern in the shop, but you might not recognize it because of the setting.

And look what she did to the back? I told you she was amazing!