AMB Winners & Quilting Options

The winners of the give aways for New Mexico's stop on the AMB tour are announced at the end of this post.

I've managed to find a bit of time to put the borders on Sweet Loreta's quilt top and picked up a length of green print from Albuquerque's Quilt Works, pieced some extras into it and have the backing ready to go.

 I love what the border is doing for this quilt.  (Not loving the fact that I couldn't find a spot without a breeze or sun shining through in order to photograph it.)

I also love the way the pieces worked into the 10 extra inches I needed in the backing.  If the backing were the quilt, it might have to be named "River of Tranquility."  I'm looking forward to seeing it after quilting.

I did have three blocks left and was wondering how the variegated Affinity thread would look,  so I decided to create a runner to try out the thread  because I thought I might prefer a solid color for the larger spaces.  Of course, for years I've wanted to make a cover for the keyboard of the piano my mother purchased in 1967.  It was a demonstration model for the showroom floor, built to demonstrate the musicality of Wurlitzer workmanship, and, as such, it was built without the usual cover for the keys.  I've kept various fabric runners over the keys, but as I worked with the wonderful fabrics for Loreta's quilt,  I knew those colors would look refreshing in my living room.

I'm glad I decided to do a test run.  This lovely thread doesn't really work that well on the solid fabric, partly because the design requires quite a bit of backtracking and partly because from a distance the design tends to disappear.

The thread adds a great deal of interest to the patchwork, so I'll use it there, and probably in the quilt border.  I haven't made a final decision.

The runner is giving me a chance to play with some free motion designs that I've been drawing in my head and in my notebook.  I do not yet know if this butterfly will make it onto Loreta's quilt, but it made it onto the runner.

I did something I seldom do; I drew a few lines on the fabric with the blue disappearing marker.  I'm not sure I'd need to do that next time.

I also added a new collage to my blog header, but I haven't yet decided if I like that either.

Now for the winners of the AMB blog tour's New Mexico stop.
Winning the bundle of American Made Brand fat quarters is Quilting Babcia of Amity Quilter.
The winner of the strip set to make the New Mexico Block is Barb of Nana Barb's Musings.
They have been e-mailed, but if I don't hear from them, I'll generate some more random numbers Friday night.  (I made it a little harder on myself, I guess, because I had to insert numbers for the people who e-mailed me directly, but I did want everyone who wanted to enter to have a chance.)
I especially thank AMB for asking me to be part of this tour and all the people who found my blog and started following as a result.  I feel like I was a winner too since I've discovered new blogs to follow as well, not just from the people who posted on the tour blogs but also from those who began following me.  I do love the world of quiltmakers!

Happy quiltmaking...and knitting....,