Countdown to the Berkshires!

Every year Marion and I go to the Berkshires with our Brown Bagger buddies to sew for five blissful days. I look forward to this trip for months. I think that this is our 14th year in the Berkshires, but I've lost track.

Although we are not leaving until Tuesday, this year I got smart and also took Monday off from work. This way, I won't be staying late at work on Monday trying to finish things and then run around in a tizzy on Monday evening trying to get ready for my trip.

So far, I've identified the projects I want to bring. I've chosen four new projects that have no deadlines, two of them aren't even started yet.

These are my projects for the trip:

First is the project known as the World's Most Expensive Quilt EVER, aka Spring Bouquet. This is Edyta Sitar's design from Laundry Basket Quilts, block of the month. I fell in love with it when I first saw it, so I signed up as soon as the kits were available. I was lured in by Edyta's precut laser Fabric Silhouettes. First, because she had chosen all the colors for the flower blocks and second because they were all cut out and had the fusible already on the back. What could be easier?

This is a photo of Spring Bouquet from Edyta's website. Isn't this a gorgeous quilt?

Spring Bouquet

Of course, for me there was one small problem...look at the ugly beige background fabric! We all know how I feel about beige! So, I've bought a lovely shade of lavender batik for my background.

Here is one of my blocks.

So far, I have two blocks laid out on fabric and I've started to machine applique the first one. I think that I received the kit for Block 9 in the mail yesterday so I have more than a little catching up to do.

Next project is my Kaffe Fassett Swoon Quilt, block of the month, possibly the second most expensive quilt in the world. I saw this on Waterwheel House Quilt Shop's Facebook page. When I called them on the phone, even though I had missed the sign-up deadline, they were too happy to subscribe me by mail. I have never been to Waterwheel House Quilt Shop which is in Londonderry, Vermont, although ironically my husband Michael went there on the way home from a ski trip. Wonderful husband that he is, he bought me some fabric. Mike said that it is a great shop, lots of contemporary fabric! Note to Joannie: Roadtrip?

So far I have two blocks cut out and ready to piece. I think that I have received four block kits so far.

This photo is from Waterwheel House Quilt Shop's Facebook page.

On the plus side, this is a very large block and I only have to make nine of them. On the minus side, there are a lot of pieces in this block. Each month's block is a different color way, with a Kaffe Fassett print and a coordinating Kaffe Fassett polka dot. I'm in love!

Swoon is a quilt design by Camille Roskelley. You can also purchase the pattern on her website.

My third project is a Kaffe Fassett Mystery Quilt by Glad Creations, Inc. in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I've never been there either, although I have been to Minneapolis (about 10 years ago) and visited a whole bunch of quilt shops. I think that I stumbled upon this through an Internet shopping expedition. Although Marion will not believe me, I have not cheated and looked at the finished quilt. This is a Mystery by Mail project. You get a new clue every few weeks, although they send you all of the fabric up front. I haven't started this yet, although if I am ambitious, I may cut out Step One before I leave on Tuesday. I have received all of the steps, so I could potentially come home with a finished quilt top.

My last project is from a class that Joannie and I took last December with Sue Pelland at the Quilter's Way in Concord, MA. I never got a chance to blog about this class, because I forgot my camera. The teacher was nice enough to send me her photos, but then the bad email fairy ate them. This quilt is called Magic Carpet Ride and it uses Sue's Leaves Galore template.

This is a photo from Sue's Facebook page.

I'm using the same colors that Sue used. My quilt top is actually assembled, however, I need to go back and satin stitch all of those serpentine lines that you see in the photo! That will take some time and a whole lot of thread!

Funny, I just realized that three out of my four projects use Kaffe Fassett fabric.

So, that's what I'm bringing to work on. I know that I won't finish everything, although hopefully the Quilt Fairy will smile upon me and I will make a small dent, plus I'm sure that I'll buy at least one new project on our visit.

Have a great day!

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy