Buoys... oh Buoys!

During the summer, the bays along the Maine coast are festooned with strands of buoys, those colorful floats that identify the locations of lobster pots (traps) and also the identity of the lobsterman.  In addition,  they hang the sides of cottages,


















in souvenir shops,  along driveways,  paths through woods.

Or as seat cushions on an arty couch (in Belfast). They are everywhere!

















Why not make a quilt of buoys - liberated buoys, of course, colorful, imaginative, all shapes and sizes?  I did just that this summer. (Actually I pieced the top while in Michigan and hand quilted it while in Maine.)

The quilter and her helper

If you are a cat, the only quilt that matters is the one being worked on!

Last October I was invited to teach a one-day quilting workshop at Lily's House in Stonington, Maine.  (click on the title page and and then on events).  On  Sept 7,  I did that.  Buoys, of course was the theme.  Seven enthusiastic quilters came, some were very experienced and others just beginning.  Once they got the hang of cutting/ sewing odd angles and gentle curves, they took off and had fun. As always, the hardest part was making decisions about what fabric to use.

Kyra provided great spaces to work in, an intimate setting where it was easy to work with each participant, a terrific lunch on the deck, and fresh scones, coffee, and melon just before we began the workshop.  The whole day was lots of fun.

L to R: Kim, Kathleen, Chris, Kyra, Dusty, Jean, Sue, Fran  enjoying lunch

How did my hand crank sewing machine work out?   GREAT!  I produced six curtain panels and sewed together a bunch of squares as parts for future projects.  I found I could easily manipulate the fabric through the machine.  However, the larger the piece of fabric, the more support it needed to stay straight under the presser foot. A typical problem for any machine, but more so when you only have one hand to control the fabric! That is about the only limitation I felt the machine has.