Better late than ...

At Quilt Camp this last fall, I pieced this table topper. I thought it would be really nice to have for Christmas. 

a blurry picture of the back

I finally sandwiched it and machine quilted it last week. It is quilted with Paisley, which just happens to be one of my favorite motifs.

Last night I finished the binding. 

It will be really nice for Christmas - next year!

A snowflake or more!

We have snow - lots and lots of snow! Yes, we are in the blizzard area today and we've had over 10" already! Our neighbor has plowed our drive twice with difficulty - he tries to keep up especially when the snow is heavy like this. Ray (pneumonia man) and I just went out and cleared in front of the garage doors, the front walk and the front steps to our house. I said I'd do it but he insisted so we both did it. That snow is HEAVY! But it is beautiful!

It is still snowing hard and the wind is blowing. The house seems to be getting socked in - the wind is coating all of the windows/screens. 

*   *   *

I had this Snowflake TIP (Totally Inclusive Project) in my pile of projects. Not sure where I bought it - probably somewhere in Iowa since it is from B'Caprice, LLC, in Polk City, Iowa.

The 12" quilt square project went together in no time - the pieces were already cut!  After the top was pieced, I sandwiched the front, batting, and back. Then I added the organza square to the top and quilted through all layers.

The organza has sparklies in it.

I machine quilted this with the motif Matrix from Leah Day at the Free Motion Quilting Project.

Now it is hung on a small hanger and looks shimmering just like our new snow outside!

November Quilt Square Quilt Along

The pattern that Jo chose for November was this one 

from Lori Smith’s #6 Quilt Square pattern.

I machine quilted this in a cross hatch pattern.

The back.

There will be no quilting here for awhile. In the morning, we head out on a 3 week journey. Along the way we'll visit some family, visit some friends, do a little hiking, and do some sightseeing. I might even get a chance to blog once in a while! I can't quilt because I have nothing that is small enough to work on right now. So I'll be knitting - wonder if I can get my sweater anywhere near done...

A little quilt done!

Ray saw a kit for this quilt in August and we both liked it. I began making the squares in October at my private retreat. Later, I assembled it and machine stippled it in a 1/4" scale in the 'outside pieces'. The circles are not quilted.

Then I put it aside until I could buy some Stonehenge binding fabric to go with it. When I cleaned my sewing room, I came across the binding fabric that came with it! Oh, it does pay to clean once in a while!

It is about 24" square. And I really like it!

A Special QOV and More

Last Monday we celebrated Veteran's Day. This Monday (today) I had the honor of presenting a Quilt of Valor to my brother, Tom, a Vietnam veteran. He was exposed to Agent Orange and like many others, has some major health problems as a result.

I decided to make him a quilt and finally started it last April. You may remember seeing some pictures while I was at a retreat. After I finished piecing it, I needed more practice at free-motion quilting before I tried a good-sized quilt.  I finally decided that it was time.

Tom's quilt

"May this quilt serve you throughout your life as you served us. Thank you for your service, your sacrifice, and your valor for our country."

                  

And now the rest of this story. Tom received his draft notice when he and Sandy returned home from their honeymoon. What a sad time that was. Sandy, who now has her own health issues, is also enduring his. I decided she also needed a quilt so I made her a Great Woman Quilt. (You know - Behind every great man, there is a great woman!) There is no national registry but maybe there should be!

Sandy's quilt

"May this quilt serve you throughout your life. Thank you for your devotion, your sacrifice, and your love for my brother and our family."

Baby Boy Blue times Two!

A sister of our DIL is expecting twin boys - I think identical twin boys! That means two quilts! I wanted predominately blue quilts with little boy prints.

I bought fabric in Alaska - here and there, sending it home every so often. When I got home, I decided that it just wasn't going to all work together but the blue Minkee for the back would be fine.

On our Quilt Camp trip, I picked up fabric at various places. When I got home, I put two quilt tops together but they just weren't what I wanted right now. I had to add fabric and the tops became more primary colors rather than pastel blue. I'll eventually finish those for donation quilts.

A week or so ago I bought more fabric all at one time with a plan in mind! I came home and got busy. This time, I got exactly what I wanted - two quilts that were all little boy with lots of baby boy blue. 

They are flannel and Minkee with cotton binding. They are so soft and cozy. 

They are not exactly the same - the middle blocks are in a different order. Identical twins aren't usually exactly the same either - one is usually right-handed and one left-handed. Hmmm, why didn't I make the middle squares mirror images?! Oh well!

These have Dream Poly batting and are machine quilted with a wavy stitch.

I hope the new Mom and Dad love the quilts as much as I do!

October Quilt Square Quilt Along

When the October Quilt Square at Jo's Country Junction came out, I was sitting in our family room looking out over our backyard. The trees were in full color. The pattern that Jo chose was the four stars of Lori Smith’s #6 Quilt Square pattern. I decided that I just had to use the colors of fall. 

I went through my batiks and packed a number of scraps to take on my little retreat. I pieced my autumn inspired stars that day and pinned it so it was ready to quilt.

I wanted to quilt it with leaves. I thought about maple leaves - my favorite - but my small ones look more like ivy and the larger ones were too big. It finally occurred to me to use a simple leaf like an elm leaf. I remember trying this for the January 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge. 

January 2012 attempt to FMQ leaves

Here is a closeup of my quilt square.

October 2012 attempt to FMQ leaves

I embarked on my journey to learn to free motion quilt in January 2012. I think I have improved a little!

Here is one last photo - I think you can see the quilting..

Northern Lights

Have you ever seen the northern lights - the aurora borealis? I have seen them twice - not nearly enough! Once they were green and the other time red. I am fascinated by the lights and would love to see them in the far north.

I bought some material called Northern Lights in Alaska three years ago. I wasn't sure what I would do with it but I bought it twice at two different stores and didn't realize it until I was home! So it really did (and still does) intrigue me.

You can tell it has been folded...

A few weeks ago when we were in Alaska, Ray spotted a small quilt in a shop that reminded him of the northern lights. I agreed and bought the pattern which was a pattern for a Hunter Star. 

It was an interesting way to make the star pieces.

At my little retreat I pieced a small 15" quilt. I was trying to decide how to quilt it when Ray said "with stars". Of course! So I machine quilted the piece with stippling stars.

The whole quilt.

A close-up.

The back.

Wouldn't this pattern look great in a king-size bed quilt?!

Playing Hooky!

I saw these pillows on Facebook early Saturday morning - 

the pattern was a free download on Quilting Daily.

I had a long list of things to do Saturday including a number of quilts that needed my time and we had to leave by mid-afternoon for a wedding. When I went upstairs to sew, I decided that I really wanted needed to make a pumpkin pillow. I grabbed some batik scraps and started sewing. If that wasn't 'bad' enough, I also did the decorative stitching between the strips in the pumpkin like the pattern suggested. 

It was fun playing with my new sewing machine and altering some of the decorative stitches.

Here is the pillow - it is the only thing I accomplished on Saturday!

And I thoroughly enjoyed playing hooky from the things that really needed to be done!

Another Camp Finish

I made and finished this table runner at Quilt Camp - or so I thought! I washed it when I got home to remove some marking lines and some of the little prairie points came loose. (They are tacked down at the points.)

This is from the book Moda Candy - Oh Sew Sweet!. I had never used Moda Candy (precut 2 1/2" squares) and I loved it! The background is made with some neutrals that I had in my stash.

Aren't these prairie points cute? They are each made from two pieces of candy. The straight line machine quilting is what the book suggested - very easy and fast!

 And here is the back with a few pieces of candy that were extra.

A Halloween Finish

I began this little 18" square quilt at Quilt Camp. 

It is done from a charm pack using 

the disappearing 4-patch that 

we were shown at camp.

 There are spiders, owls, candy corn 

- all things Halloween!

These little squares were going to be a border on the front but I didn't like it - it was too busy. 

The back is a good place for them.

September Quilt Square Quilt Along

Have you been checking out the quilt squares at Jo's Country Junction? Every month Jo posts all of the squares for the Quilt Along. It is so interesting to see what everyone has done - they are all so different!

For September we did the Nine Patch square from pattern #6 of Lori Smith’s Quilt Square pattern. The finished square is 12" so the pieces are rather small.

I thought it was time to think about Halloween!

An Army Baby

We have 5 grandsons and 13 great-nephews, and 2 granddaughters and 6 great-nieces. Blue is my favorite color so I enjoy making baby boy quilts but it is always fun to sew PINK!

We are expecting a great-great-niece in November, the daughter of our great-nephew and his wife.

We found the fabric in West Des Moines and I designed this little quilt. It's about 45" X 45".

Ray picked out the main fabric with the butterflies and we found fabrics to coordinate. Then I just played with the fabrics/colors until this resulted.

Can you believe the theme for the baby's room is pink with butterflies!?! We really got lucky this time! Here is the back - a very soft flannel.

I just finished the machine quilting and put the binding on this week. The baby shower was a week ago but we weren't able to attend. So I'll put this in the mail soon - it's on its way to Fort Campbell.

Two baby quilts ready to donate

Two baby/child quilts are done and ready to go!

I started a quilt called Crumbs from 

Me and My Sister Designs in June. 

After working on the blocks, I decided that I really didn't want a 64 X 81 inch quilt. So I made two quilts each about 45 X 50 inches.

The first one is machine quilted in a motif called Paisley.

(Oops, I think I should have taken the photos during the day.)

The back is pieced. 

There really is no reason this isn't lying flat - 

I must be lazy!

I love the binding!

 The second one is machine stippled

Here is the back. It has the same binding.

I think these are going to University of Wisconsin Children's Hospital. This past spring a friend's 3-year-old son was treated there and received a quilt. He thought it was pretty special. Hopefully a couple of other kids would like these.