Hello all, Mary Ellen here.

It’s been quite a while since my last post. Life gets away from me sometimes. How about you?

The garden is still a work in progress. Will those maple whirlygigs ever be finished falling? It seems I rake and sweep them up and in an hour or so it looks like I never did it. Oh well, those of us who are gardeners put up with those things I guess.

What patriotic quilts are you getting our for the 4th of July? I have a set of 4 placemats that feature red, white and blue fabrics that I use for most of the summer. They work well on the tray that takes my dinner or lunch out onto the deck. Do you have a favorite summer project? I seem to gravitate to watermelon colors and designs for the summer too. Any that you can share with us?

One of the good things about the small scale projects that I tend toward in summer is the ease of quilting them. They are often where I practice a new free motion idea, or a new way to feature walking foot quilting. This article on free motion quilting is right in line with my philosophy on FMQ; nearly every piece of advice she gives is something I have said to my own students. See what you think: Click here for tips on how to free motion quilt “like a rock star”.

There are still 3 unclaimed blog prizes from the drawing held BEFORE COVID. These winners can claim the prize won at any guild meeting. If you do not want your prize, let me know and I’ll return them to the trove for the next drawing. Winners are Lois D, Pat McD, and J McG.