I finished the top I was working last week.  I like it, and decided to call it Garden City.  The name of the fabric collection in Flour Garden, but that’s not why I named it G.C.  My daughter saw the top and commented on how it contained “Beach House” colors.  My extended family used to own a beach house in the town I grew up in. My great grandparents built it in the late 1940’s (I think).  It’s a huge rambly place, lots of bedrooms, a wonderful screened in porch and huge sand yard with a paddleball court.  The extended family used to take turns using it, everyone one would have their week or two to hang out and go to the beach.  My family lived a few blocks away, so we would often walk over and visit.  Such good memories.  Once Labor Day rolled around, the house was closed up, and it would wait for summer to come again.  The house was always painted white on the outside, but inside it had a palette of aquas and blues with a touch of yellow.  The name of the street the house is on is Garden City Avenue.

I used the Accuquilt die ‘Hatties Choice’ to cut the main blocks for the center.  It is such an easy way to cut and  have exact shapes.  Easy to sew together, no dog ears to cut and once I got the “rhythm” of the piecing, I could assemble a block in about twenty minutes. The outer blocks I made from the scraps, piecing them into Kite in a Square blocks.  These I squared up with a Bloc-Loc ruler.  It was all going along swimmingly (beach theme?) until the outer border.  I carefully mapped the quilt out in EQ8, how wide to make the spacer borders so that I could use the 3″ blocks around the 8″center blocks and make it come out square and not have to cut any blocks in half.  The first two solid borders went on easy enough.  The block border was going along okay until it was an inch and a half too long.  What?!? everything measured out perfectly, I went back and checked the math and the EQ8 measurements, it should work.  Oh wait! bias edges on the kite blocks.  PINS! I must pin these borders, tame them, and coax them and sew slowly.

Lesson learned.

I made some really good sourdough bread this past week too.  Also made pita bread for Easter dinner, we had Gyros – sort of lamb.  The pitas were easy and so much better than the dry crumbly ones I get from the store.  

Yesterday I decided to sew a dress, change it up a bit.  I had bought a Washi dress pattern a few summers ago, thinking that it would be a great dress to wear when it was hot and summery out.  I had the fabric, a Cotton and Steel print, and the notions all ready to go.  I spent a few hours making it, and I’ll finish it up today.  Pictures to follow.

Linking up with Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday today.