Weekend challenge

I worked with my sister-in-law Jan at the quilt shop on Thursday and mentioned to her that I hoped to get 2 quilt backs ready this weekend to mail to our Idaho longarm quilter.  She said she had a quilt she wanted to send and asked if she could include it in the box with mine, so that gave us both a deadline.

I'd planned the entire weekend to work on them, but ended up not getting into my sewing room at all on Saturday.   I woke up Sunday morning to get an early start and immediately ran into a snag.   I discovered the leftover pieces of Chez Moi I was planning to connect for my Granny Squares quilt back were not going to be large enough - not by a long shot.  So what's a girl to do?  I hopped online and searched for an extra wide quilt back that would coordinate.  Good luck.  I ended up with something resembling Aunt Grace that looked vaguely like it would work with a granny square theme and hope it arrives quickly.

Next up was piecing the back of the Cinnamon Stars sampler.  I had two blocks that didn't make the cut for the front of the quilt, but weren't quite pretty enough for pillows and thought it would be fun to use on the back and pieced in the center is the label I made.  I decided to name this quilt Imaginary Friend, as the project was inspired by and I was spurred on to finish it by my no-longer-imaginary friend, Nicole.   Here's a little peek at the back.

I also had time to finish the 9-patches for my Drumbeat/Cupcake quilt from our Carrie Nelson class at the Buggy Barn this August, which Nicole is also working on in a different color combo.  I'm sticking with the blue/caramel combination from the kit for my hourglass blocks.  I'm a blue girl, what can I say?   I have 118 9-patches completed and all the cutting for the hourglass and border pieces is also finished.  Now some serious chain piecing will commence.  Here is the incredible mess on my sewing table.

I also worked on the hand-stitching binding of my orange version of Zuzu's Petals (Nicole suggested the name Kowabunga because of the wild surfboard fabric on the border and - DUDE! - it's perfect!).  I have just one side left and I hope to be able to finish one other quilt's binding before our guild retreat November 7-11.   Oh, did I mention - WE GOT IN!  I just got the email yesterday and I'm so excited!   Space is limited and the retreats are hugely popular, so we're always on pins and needles after we send our registrations until we get the official word.  Now to figure out a project and get the preparation work done - there's not much time!

I've also started a THIRD part-time job (yes, my sanity is in question at this point) and the scope of it seems much bigger than what I originally agreed to, so my sewing time is going to be severely limited until the end of this year at least.  I'll just have to make time because sewing is what makes me truly happy.