This weekend is going to be crazy busy. Saturday my son will be in a tennis tournament, and it’s community day in our little home town. I promised mom that I would help her can peach pie filling and my son is planning his first date for Sunday afternoon. Plus, I’m scheduled for some hours with my regular volunteer gig.

Yes, I did say his first date. I am a little partial, but I think he’s a nice young man, albeit with way more facial hair than I am comfortable with, being his momma and all. I hope the date turns out well. I think he was a little shocked when she agreed to go. The plan is for us to pick her up and I’ll drive them to the county fair. I promised to drop them off and go to a park and read or something while they explore. However, I do believe that there is a small quilt shop nearby that is open on Sundays. Do tell!

My childhood friend, sister of my original quilt pusher, fellow Keuka Lake quilt retreat-er, and professional long-arming quilter (aka Ms. G) lives in my hometown, so I will drop off my picnic quilt on Saturday sometime between the basket raffle, the parade and the chicken barbecue.

In preparation for the hand-off,  I gathered all my red fabrics, including a deconstructed Portuguese cotton sheet and pillowcase set I purchased for $1 at a yard sale, and pieced together a backing. I love the history of quilts. This backing represents pieces of a baseball quilt I made for my son after his team won a city championship (solid red), the bandanna fabric used for the backing of a Lori Holt-inspired barn quilt, and of course the red gingham that brings back a fun memory of a summer day spent garage-saling with our older sister.

Wish me luck this weekend! Anyone want to share a first date horror story?

As @tierneycreates has pointed out in a previous discussion, even though the calendar says August, it’s not too early to start on your Christmas quilts!

But seriously, don’t you need a new gift quilt pattern for the upcoming season? One with a little pizzazz and personality? How about one that’s versatile too – using your stash of scraps, you can make a quilt for any occasion and add your own sense of style in a whole new, inexpensive, 3-d way.

Sandy and I have been working on a pattern we are calling  “Gifted 3-d”.  Today we released the first pattern–a mini quilt. If it’s 80 degrees and you’re not really in the Christmas mood, this mini would make a cute birthday ‘card’ for an office mate, a stunning gift in wedding colors for a bridal shower or a nice ‘gift of friendship’ mini for a friend.

One of the most fun elements of the quilt is the hunt for the appropriate “bow”. This extreme 3-d element will give you an excuse to let your imagination run wild. The bow on the Christmas beauty came from the health and beauty section of a Dollar Store.

You can download a detailed pattern here.