Countdown to "Lift Off!"

I've had the design for this "Lift Off!" quilt in my head for over a year. I sketched it out about six months ago. Now I'm finally seeing it in fabric form! The finished quilt is due to be machine quilted on September 7th by the same whiz who machine quilted all 20 quilts in The Little Box of Baby Quilts. I begged her to take three of my quilts at the same time and she accepted my plea. Thanks, Cheryl.

I used a fat-quarter pack from Starr Designs for the balloons. Starr Designs specializes in beautiful hand-dyed fabric packs. Even better are the names they give their packs--Hot Flash, Groovy Grapes, Baby Face, Sweet Cheeks. Heelarious.

I used Moda's cotton rick rack--the extra-fat variety--for the balloon ties. I love this stuff! I've machine stitched it on fabric before, but this time I'm hand appliqueing. Time-consuming for sure. But I like that I'm not tied down to my machine. The other quilts I'm working on are mostly machine pieced, so it's nice to have a break from the whine and whir of my sad little sewing engine. She's seen better days. She's followed me through four bumpy moves. She's fallen out of the back of a truck. I think I drop-kicked her once--oh wait, maybe I just wanted to that time. The poor girl has survived. For her obedience and diligence, I will never let her go--she will remain with me for all eternity. Or at least until Jack learns to sew.

T-minus 12 days and counting until all three quilts need to be completed. My machine and I are going to see a lot of each other over the coming days. I hope she doesn't read this blog. I'd really, really hate for her to find out about my drop-kick wish right now.