Two more finishes

These are simple and easy. One is a panel growth chart and the other a combo of two blocks. Both used up some scraps, which makes me smile. I've another growth chart panel on the long arm. It might be done by the end of the day. It is only 11 am and only two interruptions so far!

Color is awful on this first one. It is a medium blue, not nearly as dark as this. The name, "Stuffies in Pale Moonlight" tells more about the colors and the lighter fabric. . . lots of teddy bears, etc. on it. It is 38 x 50." 

The other photo is not any better, but it is grey/black with a bit of color tossed in. it is 31 x 49" and called, "Mommy, I Can Read."

Lesson learned: Don't take pictures in artificial light. Even the excellent camera on my i-pad needs a little help (or tweaking).

 

 

Lots of snow outside means lots of time inside to get a few things done. Here are three. 

First is another charity for Basically Babies. "Monkeying around with a Giraffe" is just a simple panel. The dark binding set it off. I quilted it with a panto called "Amour" with big swirly hearts.

This "Blue-Green Blends" uses the same panto. It is a lap quilt size and still, I have more blue scraps. They must multiply in the night when I'm not looking!

The color in this photo is way off. It is very blue and green, a tiny bit of red in one narrow border. But too cold outside to take the picture in daylight.

 

 

Last one is a fun project a quilter friend challenged our bee group to try. I didn't like it until the binding went on. Now it is done, no clue what to do with it, but fun to look at!  

No name for LS-Colors other than it is a bit of a description, LS meaning long stitch. This fabric called my name in a store that was not in business very long. Very crabby owner, but she did know how to pick attractive merchandise.

Three Finishes and many plans...

 Jessica's quilt is finished, was delivered, and well received. I'd asked her a few months ago about colors and favorite things. She said pastels, cats, horses, elephants, beaches, sunsets, wildflowers and her son Cayden. Enlarge the pictures and everything is there. I called it "Jessica's Heart" and it is about 64" square. The colors are truest in the sunset one on the right and below in the upper left one with the horses.

 

Before finishing it, I took all my tiny leftover bits of old florals from the third quilt when it was in the top but not quilted stage, and made a table runner. I'd already pieced the much larger quilt (see below) but wanted to used up ALL of those bits. It is old-fashioned but looks okay on the top of a black bookcase.

 

The floral one was totally a blast. I had lots of these old print, either scraps or fat quarters. On Jessica's quilt I learned that fast and easy way to make eight HSTs at the same time. So I did that with my scraps and wound up with dozens of HSTs that would finish to 2" and 3" and 4" and 6" so they would easily fit together. Also some squares in the same sizes and a few strips. I started in the middle and made it up as I went along. The colors are anything but true in this photo. 

Now this is not a quilt that everyone will love, but so far, everyone does. It is called "It Started Out Sane" and became a little crazy, but there are no bits of old florals left in my stash. How good that feels. It will likely go to a charity but right now I'm still liking to look at it. 

I've many project boxes and as many more plans, but had to purchase the latest fabric from Northcott called Soar, the Moody Blues line. Yikes, this is so beautiful. Click here for my favorite story, but others will carry it.

 Yes, I have not been posting much, but finished four quilts last week, so that might explain it. On a whirl... use all that fabric before I die? something like that. Here are some pictures. All of them are going to charity or have already gone:

Purple Patches, a lap size leaving me with only a little bit of purple scraps. It is 50" x 50"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Count the Kittens, leftovers from Jessica's Heart (which is not finished yet. The top is done but not sandwiched etc.) This was fun to put together. I had lots of the little squares that did not fit in the bigger quilt and a few odd shapes. Added only the sashing and some of it also came from Jessica's quilt.

The smaller one is a close-up of the cats and it is a child's size. Lots of fun and no cat fabric left...none! But I do have more leftovers from that bigger quilt so will be making more this size from them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is Purple Squares in Squares. I published it before but the color was awful. Someone else took this picture and it is much better. It is a twin-size. Hopefully, someone will like purple!

This is the back of the one above. I used almost all my scraps and this is lots more fun than piecing or using a wider fabric for the back.

This is called Busting the Blues. It is also a twin-size. I had enough blue left to make a lap quilt. I'll load it on the longarm this afternoon. The color is not really true in this picture. I need an outdoor space to take photos!

Speaking of outdoors, I planted 3 big planters with new flowers and added to the soil from the few others that survived over winter in our garage... and on the same day took my hubby to the local air museum to celebrate our anniversary (51). He is an airplane nut, and I am not, but it was our first-time there and we were both impressed. Very interesting history in our city. His gift to me was the week before -- to our city's new library -- also amazing!

Hubby is on a business trip so I am purging closets and other spaces. Feels good. We have a city recycle place that takes everything but books and electronics. People go there for craft stuff, etc. I just found out that they welcome batting bits and narrow strips etc. that we quilters often don't know what to do with. My big bag is already packed full for a trip there in a day or two.

Two Finishes

Finally finished two projects. This 'tree of life' is quilted now and ready to go back to our guild. I was given the blocks and told "make something from these" but it took me a long time to decide how to quilt it. It is about 72" square. I call it Almost Autumn.

This is a gift, but doubt the recipient is checking my blog so feel safe to post it. I saw similar patterns online but drafted my own versions to suit the amount of fabric I had. The place mats and table runner might only get used once or twice a year, but the colors are striking and although I am Canadian, I love the American flag.

Today I finished a sampler block to see if I like it enough to make nine of them for a bigger quilt. It took about a day, lots of cutting and piecing. It is 21" so nine will make a good sized quilt. I get bored easily with repetition but each of the nine blocks will be slightly different, so will go for it. My sample is not quilted yet, so will post it in a day or two.

 

Our winter persists, but the sun shines most days. We still have a bunny sleeping by our back door most days and lots of ice in parking lots. Most of the sidewalks are bare. Need to get back outside soon before cabin fever sets in!

Two Finishes, lots happening

Finally. My TO-DO program keeps reminding me to post, but I tend to procrastinate progress reports in favor of finishes. Sigh.

Anyway, this is a queen-size, long because the man is tall, and these colors because his wife wanted a bit of pink in it, with grey and white solid. They read solid anyway.

The other one is a quilt for a 4 year-old boy who has an abundance of energy, likes bright colors, and enjoys the alphabet. It is 38" x 56" and was fun to do. 

This is a refugee family who fled their home because of death threats. The boy was born after that an has spent all of his little life in one room. Now they are free and he is learning about the big world outside of that room, and his parents are learning new parenting skills!

Photos of the two finishes...

Red Blocks and Trees. This one is a deeper red than the photo, but close. The pantograph is called Ebb and Flow and feels super nice, soft. For some reason, this one is not very photogenic. I think it looks much better in person! 😀

Something Old, New, and Blue. This is kind of a modern mix with the old fashioned look of Crazy Quilts in the blocks. The panto is called Saffron Blossoms, perfect for a lady from Asia.

Legend of Zelda and two more finished!

 The blue and red quilts are finished, waiting for labels and photos. The Legend of Zelda quilt is also waiting for its label to be sewn on, but I do have some photos. Remember, I wanted to quilt this one first, then sew on the iconic design so I didn't have to quilt around it, and so the recipients could take it off if they ever decided this game wasn't what they wanted on a quilt. (That might never happen... the news this week tells of an unopened, first version of it for Nintendo, sold for about $800,000 to a collector. Yikes!) I've never played the game but it seems to be incredibly popular!

Anyway, this was a good decision but difficult. The icon pieces were made by sewing right sides together of gold and green fabric, cutting a slit in the green, and turning it right sides out. I pinned the pieces in place and sewed them on by hand. I'll never do that again. It was hard work, physically hard. The quilt is a king-size and I had to lay most of it on a coffee table so I could manage to get my hands where they needed to be. I used Glide thread, a big help as it is strong and does not twist or shred. About every seven stitches, I did a double or triple to make sure that it was secure. It took a loooooooooong time. The label is an extra triangle and I put the words on it using a transfer for t-shirts etc. that looks cool. Just have to sew it in place and we will deliver this to our grandson and family this weekend.

Now I have a black quilt to make and several charity quilts for our local guild. Need to get at it!