Tea Fire: Finishing Up

You've seen this piece right after I finished the top. It hung on my design wall, along with many others, waiting for quilting inspiration to hit, but it never hits. I know this. Why does it take me so long to start? Once I start quilting, it goes well enough. I don't understand why I have this block. Deadlines give me a reason to finish. Without deadlines, I would probably have a room filled with quilt tops.

Here's a photo of some of the quilting. I like quilting through two layers, front and batting. If you look real close you will see two vertical areas that aren't quilted as dense. Those areas will contain the final quilting lines.

After the majority of the quilting is finished, I attach a back, then I add the last

bit of quilting . . . just enough to hold the layers together.

This is what the same section looks like from the front. I'll be adding the back tonight and finishing up with the sleeve and label tomorrow night. Almost done with my third fire quilt.

Funny Face

Check out this face! Isn't it a riot? I had a lot of fun playing in my studio last night! Just need to embellish, layer and quilt. You may remember that my friend lost her house in the Tea Fire. My Fibervision buddies decided to make her a quilt to cheer her up and let her know we're thinking of her. Susan Italo will mount these little quiltlets (8.5 x 11) onto a Wild Onion quilted background. I'm sure she will love it . . . wouldn't you?

Hope you all have a very happy and prosperous New Year. Given the state of the economy, I'm sure that 2009 will have many challenges, but I'm optimistic that we will be able to reverse some of the damage.

I'm grateful to have such a wonderful stash of art supplies to help me make 2009 a very colorful year!

Another Fire!

Who would have ever guessed that we would have 3 major fires in Santa Barbara county within a 15 month period. The first was the Zaca fire, then the Gap Fire, now it the Tea fire. Unbelievable . . . yet it's true. And this one is by far the worse of all. It's in a heavily populated area in Montecito and Santa Barbara. Multi-million dollar mansions are burning to the ground. The unofficial count for the first 24 hours is 150 homes lost, and the fire is 0% contained.
I helped my boss evacuate last night and talked to several friends that also had to evacuate. It sounds like one may have lost her home, but we can't be sure yet. And of course, the air quality is horrible again. I wore my mask today and I can honestly say that I am over my mask phobia.
Tomorrow, I will draw 2 winners for the 100 item Giveaway. If you haven't left a comment yet, you still have time. Make sure to leave a comment here.