How I Spent Memorial Day!

With the last day of the three day weekend here, I figured I'd better get over my failures of yesterday and kick it into gear in order to get some things done before I have to go back to work tomorrow. This morning I finished getting the borders on my quilt top--now all that remains (besides the quilting) is to add some applique. There's not a great deal of space for it and the quilt's pretty busy as it is, so I'll probably keep it simple. I think I'll also need to dig into my stash for the applique fabrics because if I wait for the charm packs and use the same fabric line, I think the applique will just fade into the pieced background. Assuming I don't simply collapse on the couch in exhaustion tonight, I'll probably start working on adding the applique then.

And did I hear you ask why would I collapse in exhaustion tonight? Well, remember I mentioned needing to do a little house cleaning and wanting to change out the decorations from spring to summer? That's the other thing I've been working on for the last few hours, and I still have the kitchen to do, which is the biggest project of all.

Spike has been a big help as you can see. One of the first things I did was to strip the bedding and get out some of my summer quilts and runners--Spike just loves to climb under quilts to sleep, and it's usually right in the middle of whatever I'm doing. I can tell you, trying to make a bed is a real pleasure! Not!

Since most of you are quilters, I thought I'd share a few photos of my summer quilts. This is my son's former room. The quilt started out as one of those $5 quilts at one of my LQSs--each month we got a pattern for a different block, and I chose the Americana colorway. I added a bit to it like the chimneys and cornerstone blocks and finished it up a few years ago.

I also wanted to share with you the way I store my quilt tops. I have this theory that quilt tops should age for a year or two before being quilted. I have a small house and am always looking for ways to store things that are somewhat decorative, and this is what I came up with for my quilt tops. Once the top's done, I roll it and tie it with raffia and then put it into the basket. When the basket gets full, it means it's time to quilt a few tops. I adhere strictly to that rule. Do you believe that? Okay, you're right--I do have a couple tops that aren't quilted and don't fit in that darn basket. I think I need a bigger basket. Or maybe I could just get another basket to decorate another room? Hummmm.

This is my daughter's former bedroom. I'm still in the process of redecorating the room, but it's not a high priority in my life. It's a little bare, but this quilt livens it up a bit. Tracey just posted some similar roses on her blog the other day. I pieced the roses and then appliqued them onto the quilt along with pansies and leaves.

Finally, this is the quilt in the master bedroom. It's basically a Linda Ballard design called Stars Over St. Louis, but instead of a plain border as she did in the final round, I continued another round of stars. This is also the basic pattern I used for the Halloween/pumpkin quilt I showed you a couple weeks ago.

Well unfortunately my break is over and it's time to head out to the kitchen and get back to work. I've been rummaging in the cupboards and closets and I've pulled out a lot of the things I want to use in there and have put away a lot of the spring decorations, so at least I've made a start. The older I get, the harder it is to decorate several times a year, but I really do love changing my house to fit the seasons and holidays. Thank goodness for Advil!