The flannel quilts are done!

The flannel quilts are really finished!!! 

Quite a while ago, Lesley posted a couple of flannel quilts that she named Hugs. I loved them and decided to make that pattern in a larger quilt when I cleaned out the flannel pieces in my stash. Well I ended up with three large quilts. 

I finished Hugs right before Christmas. It is 80" by 88" with Dream Cotton batting it's all flannel - front and back.

It is very cold today (below 0 degrees) so no outside pictures. 

The blue border on the front and the blue back do not match - the border is a little darker.

I used some extra HSTs on the back. I like to use extra blocks on the back.

I quilted this with a walking foot. It's sewn about 1/4" from the seam on both sides of every seam. The quilt has been washed and has crinkled nicely. 

Hugs is ready to be gifted but it is not a Christmas gift.

 

You may recall the other two flannel quilt.

You can read about Hugs Squared here.

You can read about Diamond Hugs here.

 

Hmmm, they all look like they have the same HSTs. Well, they do! I began making the HSTs in September, 2016. These three quilts are all gifts for some important people in our lives. Two have been delivered. Hugs will be home soon.

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I've spent some time yesterday and today in my sewing rooms - yay! The Cricut Maker is working great and I have a start on my crayon quilt - no design yet, I'm just making crayons from solid colors. Here are some in varying stages.

I also began free-motion quilting a larger quilt, Tamarack. This is a quilt I began in March. Then it got put aside for flannel quilts and ??? Now, it is getting quilted. It really is time for me to do some free-motion quilting; it's been a long, unplanned hiatus.

You can see a little of the quilt here. 

I'm hoping that the next few days also have hours spent sewing - I might really make some progress!

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Learning, Knitting, and Quilting

It's been rather busy around here. I think we have everything ready for Christmas. The last month has been a little strange in that we have been acquiring things - for us.

In late November we upgraded our phones because we needed to and the time was right - the new phones ended up being free - really! Of course there is a learning curve which is getting easier now that the SIM cards are in the correct phones. The guy made a mistake and switched the cards when he set up the phones so weird things happened - when one phone rang, so did the other; text messages either came to both phones or only went to one iPad; when we were roaming, we had no data; ...

We replaced our laptops about the same time as the phone upgrade. 

A couple of years ago, we decided to see how long we could make our old laptops last. It gave us time to save for the new ones which we both love. Of course, we have another learning curve.

We began thinking about trading in my Jeep Cherokee about a year ago. Ray really wanted something larger (he often hit his head when he got in). We found a great deal and now have a Jeep Grand Cherokee. It's a compromise for me because I love driving small vehicles but I do love some of the features and the headlights give better light. And you guessed it - another learning curve.

And then this happened - a Cricut Maker. 

It cuts almost anything including fabric.

I can draw a picture, take a picture, find a picture... and put it on my computer and the Cricut will cut it! The black fabric has Heat 'n Bond on it so it is ready to appliqué. The melon is just cotton fabric. I am planning a quilt with crayons...

I am loving this machine and learning as I go - yes, it is one more learning curve! If nothing else, I'm keeping my mind active!

I've finished a few projects.

Ray has a new pair of Chicago Bears socks.

I made a couple of alpaca hats for the friends that gave me the alpaca fleece. They match their son's hat.

I have one quilt to finish this year - the last large flannel one. It is very close - I am hand stitching the binding! I'm not sure I'll show you before Christmas but it will be done!

Tomorrow is Cookie Day with our nearby grandkids. We'll make/bake/decorate cutout cookies and gingerbread houses. It's one of my favorite holiday traditions. 

 Merry Christmas!