Paducah - WOW!

Spent yesterday on a one-day bus trip to Paducah for the awesome AQS show.  Left at 5:30 AM for 3 1/2 hour trip and arrived home at 10:30 PM.  An incredible display of quilts, from huge to miniatures.  There was a whole display of minis that were under glass in a display.  Don't know how they got the half-square triangles in one particular basket block done - they were no bigger than a quilt-pin head.   Got to go to Hancocks of Paducah , where I had been ordering fabric for years.  I've never ever seen so many bolts of fabric in one  place.   All grouped by fabric maker - Moda,  Timeless Treasures, etc.  And all those quilts that you see in their catalog were hung from the ceiling with the pattern attached so you could go to the 3 walls of patterns they had and find it.   Most fabrics were $8.99/yd., didn't see more than 10.99, and lots and lots were marked down to $4.99 or $5.99.  There were 6 or 7 continuous-running shuttle busses (these are full-size tour-type busses) running all day to various locations (all free).  Did Hancock's first thing, then spent rest of day at Convention Center oohing and aahing and of course buying!   So glad I finally got to go - just moved from Texas where I had attended the Houston show for many years and now live about the same distance from Paducah as I did from Houston.   So I think I have an annual trip on the books!   NancyH

Progress on the Y2KQ reproduction.

Difference in value

 Last night I placed the border on the Y2KQ repro.  (Thanks to Anita Grossman Solomon for kindly providing the fabric!!! and to Judy in Ohio who met up with Anita at the Cincinnati quilt show and sent the fabric onward to Iowa!)


If you remember, the repro is done with 1.25 inch squares, using a 1/8 inch seam on my vintage Singer 15-91.  The final quilt will be 40"x60" plus the borer width. This is considerably (I do not exaggerate) smaller than the original which is a huge queen size.


As you can see there is considerable difference in value so I felt the black inner border might blend too well with the new "2000" fabric. 

Border on the repro...will bind in black

Instead I used a rather neutral fabric from my "recycled shirt" stash.  I admit, I put a few shirt squares in the quilt, too, wherever I could fit them in.  I just cannot get away from my shirt addiction. lol


I plan to baste today, hopefully. I had chemo yesterday and still have some extra energy from the steroid they infuse with the chemo.  If so, I will begin handquilting. 


I debated HQ vs MQ (mine or professional) and decided on HQ.  Many days I do not have the gumption to sit at my machine. Secondly, I worried that MQ might not set off the quilt as well as "quiet hand quilting" might do.  Thirdly, on my more tired days I can still sit in the recliner and hand quilt. Fourthly, the original is hand quilted.

The original Y2KQ border

I think a black binding will be the best.


So what have YOU been doing to finish up some UFOs at YOUR house!


(I'm hoping my package has arrived at Jean in Mill Bay's home. Mail to Canada is slow...darn customs!)