Sweet Baby and a sweet surprise

The label went on, the record page is in my scrapbook, and this one is officially done. It will likely go to Basically Babies, but I like it so much that I might wait to see if someone near has a baby in their near future. It is a panel. I added the borders and find the color combination exciting. A name didn't come to mind so just used the writing on the fabric.

My surprise? This quilt below was made in a class in 2007. The teacher had been with Ricky Tims and was given permission to teach his kaleidoscope quilt. We purchased the pattern and had so much fun making it. Mine turned out about 50" by 50" and since then, I've made several more. Of course they all turn out differently. Anyway, when we recently moved, there is no place to hang it and it does not work with our warm color scheme so I decided to donate it to our Guild Community Outreach group. This morning the coordinator of that group called to tell me what happened to it -- it is now hanging in this city's Ronald MacDonald House! What a lovely surprise. There is a story how it got there, but that was not anything I did. I'm just blessed that the Lord decided to get it there in a place where others can enjoy it.

I'm working on my 12th quilt since our move the last week of October. All but two are baby quilts made from panels. It seemed I was finished but this week found four more in my stash. One is grey and black with a bit of bright blue in it and will use up the rest of my bits of blue in a border. Two are growth charts with the alphabet on them and the third is another alphabet panel with every color possible in it. That will make a big dent in my box of solid-colored scraps.

I'm still very tired most days and need to rest often. As my Dad often said, too many birthdays!

A quick finish: Over the Waves

This is my 'cure' or therapy for keeping on when a project takes so much energy... make another project using a panel. This one is simple and cute. I used a panto on it for practice. The only 'extra' is the yellow piping with the red binding. I used the method explained by Susan Cleveland and her excellent tool to help make it. 

Our city has a group known as "Basically Babies" who collect a year's worth of items for layettes to give to needy families. Quilts are welcome, so this one is designated for them.

I have several other quilts ready to go on the longarm, so back at it...

Ready for quilting

It is nice to have a few quilts ready to quilt, and the tarp off my machine which was there to protect it from flying plaster/dust. Now to get at it...

Scott's king-size is draped over my craft table, ironed, all the hiccups fixed, etc. Hi Edith... It looks much better than it did when you were here. I washed the backing and it came out smoother and no wrinkles at all. The batting was one long piece equivalent for two kings, so hubby and I rolled it on the bar under my machine. It needs a trim but it is ready too. This has been a huge challenge, and if anyone has made a king, you know 'huge' is the correct word. That backing is 120" wide. The batting is like wrestling an alligator. The quilt top is too large for my design wall and for the table it is folded on, but it looks great on a bed. Glad to get this far!

 

Others: The purple slab hangs with batting and backing, ready to put on the machine. I have a wonky log cabin in the same state of readiness and a large crib quilt also. Right now, there is a large table runner pinned on the machine. I just need to have my lunch, put supper in the crock pot, add the correct thread and do it! Yeah. 

Also have neatly folded four shelves of fabric. Only about 20 left, but this is progress. Neat makes me feel ambitious.

Onward and upward... thank You God! 

This top is finished and now ready to put on the longarm. I'm happy with the little guy -- made the pattern from a copyright free clip art. Not sure how to quilt it, but fell asleep last night with a few ideas. Apologies for the shadow on the top. Forgot to turn on the flash! Hope you are having fun in your sewing room today... 😊

Not much to say today, just working away on the king-size and the Celtic table topper. Finished and gave the Courthouse Steps runner to it's new owner. The delight on her face blessed me more than her check!

Right now, I'm building an elephant. All of the pieces are ready to assemble, but only showing you his eyes! For some reason, the shadow of my arm is yellowish under a combo of daylight and LED lights. Mmmm. Anyway, this cute guy will need a name...

Basically Babies – Lions

Our city has a group called "Basically Babies" that makes one-year layettes for babies in needy families. They accept quilts, so I purchased some panels and am planning to give them to BB. This one is my third so far, a cute lion with cubs. I didn't need to do anything to it except trim and add borders. I put a flange in there too, just for the color. The outer border is about 4.5" and the same rusty color in the shadows on the lions. 

Actually, piecing the backing took longer than assembling the front. It will finish at about 44" x 50" — a nice size. Quilting panels is good practice on my longarm also.

Btw, a tip for some: My dryer has two steam cycles that I thought I would never use. However, when I take fabric out of my stash (I don't wash it when I buy it) the wrinkles are heavily impressed... so 20 minutes in one of those cycles 'irons' it perfectly! It probably does a bit of 'shrinking' too. I'll have to do a before & after measurement. This has been a huge time-saver and likely saves electricity too. Give it a try if you haven't already!

Noah Rides the Waves

This one is for our fourth great grand-baby. His name is Ethan and he was born April 28 this year. I had a small panel with Noah and wife, and the other fabrics from that line, a few in my stash for more borders, and it is really colorful. Feels good to have it finished. All it needs is the label (just printed it) and a trip through the washing machine. I always do that with baby quilts. 

"It's A Boy!"

Confession: the middle of this quilt is a panel. Another confession: I no longer call them "cheater" quilts! At least not this one, because it was a lot of work. I added borders and used it for practice quilting on my HQ Sixteen. I went around all the toys, filled spaces, did some in the ditch, and must say that a baby quilt isn't the best for all the stops/starts that this one wound up with. There were oodles of thread ends to bury, but it turned out better than I hoped. I still need oodles of practice. Panels are a quick way to try new stitches.

I've no particular newborn in mind but several women in our church are pregnant. It will eventually find a home. It just needs a label — and a baby boy.

Fuchsia meets Fuchsia.

I've finished another UFO and posted it to my PhD site, not here. So if you know me personally and have a new baby, DON'T peek. I cannot gift this one until after the 26th (she pleads as she grins mischievously).


So I will post this one. I cropped the border a bit. It is called "Fuchsia meets Fuchsia" and obviously a Ricky Tims harmonic convergence effort. I've a plan for another one, but not urgent. This one has appliqued fuchsias with some beaded parts I took out of silk flowers. It is about 30" square and doesn't fit anywhere in my home, so it needs a new one.