Road to California-design class

I had a great time at this show. Went twice!  I took a class in Backgrounds from Linda Thielfoldt. It was on the longarm, all freehand designs. Lots of fun. She is a great teacher. Her quilts were inspirational and she encouraged us to give everything a try and see how to make our designs unique. I really needed this class. I love to freehand and have  a few designs that I use. I needed to expand  my portfolio and try something new. Get out of the box. I also had a big quilt that called for  lots of design and not just meander the whole thing!
Practice, practice ,practice and on to the quilt:

Pebbles, Crosshatch

Swirling Curls

Hosford/McTavish variation

Mary did  this gorgeous quilt! It is full of animals and fun touches! Way fun to quilt!

Layer Cake 7

Block 7

Here is the latest in the Layer Cake quilt a long. I love how this turned out. being able to use some scraps in this block was an added plus. My leftovers are dwindling and I want to be sure to have some choices for the remaining 5.
Here is the group so far:

Layer Cake Quilt-a-Long

I am also joining a BOM online and will post a picture of that soon. I need to decide what fabric to use. Maybe I should raid my batik stash..hmmm.  Will keep you posted.
What are you working on?
Linking up to Patchwork Times, Design Wall Monday.

Works in Progress

Here's my Monday update.

This is a row quilt done by my friendship group and the challenge now is to get it together. I took apart the rows that were pieced blocks and resewed them vertically. Playing around with the settings in EQ7 I decided this was the best. I didn't want a long narrow quilt or a big wide one. I needed this to fit  on a certain wall . Added a few plain blocks where I can doodle when I quilt, maybe add the month name or quilt a turkey, flag etc, I'll decide as I quilt it.

One of the challenges with this type of quilt is finding a sashing fabric that works and a border. There are so many different types and colors in these blocks. My first choice was black with white polka dots but I didn't have enough fabric, so went with the check. Using the check meant I had to ditch my stripe border as it was just too much. I am auditioning this multi color flower print that I picked up at the Road to California show. This may be the one.

I am also continuing on with the Lost Socks blocks that I thought were due this month. Got a reprieve, so I can do them  when I have a moment. This is an easy pattern, once you decide on the fabrics for the socks, heels toes. I cut them out in groups and then play mix and match.

We are doing this in a "homespun" look, but, it would be really nice in red, green ,gold with cream backgrounds. Sort of Christmas looking but with no"Christmas" fabric.

So what are you working on?

Linking up with Judy L for Design wall Monday.

Border choices?? Leave a comment with your pick.