One last finish for 2013!

It's been busy around here. Add to that an ice storm then a snow storm. The storms may have helped since I was prepared and lots of baking happened while we were 'house bound'. 

I have finished one quilt - our great nephew and his wife are expecting a baby girl in February.

This quilt was a kit I bought in Shipshewana last May. At the time, I didn't know about this baby. The pattern was horrible. A friend of mine recently made the same quilt from a different pattern and that would have made a big difference! Also, the amount of  fabric didn't match up with the pattern. So I just worked it out!

I am definitely NOT the photographer in the family. I never seem to have my quilts smoothed out and my lighting isn't good. Oh well … I'm the quilter!

The back of the quilt is Cuddle Cloth - it's like Minkee. There is no batting in this quilt although I did add a plain piece of Kona white in place of the batting. This one's headed to Florida.

I did a lot of work on this quilt while we were in Colorado this fall. Because I was so frustrated with the instructions, I decided to pack up my sewing machine and fabric and finish it when we got home. A few hours later we evacuated the area - due to the floods - with less than an hour's notice. I am so glad that I had the chance to pack up my supplies before that frantic push to "get out". Isn't it amazing how things just work out?

A November finish!

I just finished a wall hanging! I haven't seen my sewing machine very much this month so it feels really good to have a finish.

I don't usually use panels but I really liked this one and bought it last month at Lucky 2B Quilting. I think I began this on November 2 - just as life was getting really crazy. The quilting is straight horizontal lines except for the leaves which have free motion feathers around them. 

This is now hanging on our side porch/entry way - in the narrow space between the door on the right and the wall on the left. 

I think this may stay on the porch all winter - and yes, it is winter here even though the calendar says not yet! The ground is totally covered with snow and more is falling right now!

Pretty in Pink

A baby girl quilt! I don't make a lot of pink quilts and I love how they look so sweet! I finished this a couple of weeks ago but haven't had time to post.

I began this quilt  while we were in Colorado this fall not knowing where the quilt would end up.

  
It has already been laundered.

 I love the texture with this quilting design.

The back is flannel with some left over pieces from the front.

And one more picture of the back.

Oh, I do  know where it is headed now! One of the nurses that lovingly cared for my mom is expecting a baby girl in a few weeks. The baby shower is Friday.

A blue baby boy quilt

I finished the baby boy quilt that I began in September while we were in Colorado.

I bought the fabric in Loveland, Colorado. I think the animal print is cute.

This is the first free-motion quilting I did after returning home from our trip - the first since July! I just stippled this and it went quite well!

 The back is a very soft blue flannel.

This is a donation quilt so I hope some little guy loves it.

A 30's type finish

At camp, one of the charm square challenge quilts was this one. I'm not a 30's fan but the more I worked on this, the more it became OK!

It's about 25" X 29". It's been quite a while since I did any free motion quilting. I quilted this in Paisley one of my favorite designs and was happy that all went well!

The back is an older looking fabric - I thought that fit.

And this is its new home - a sewing machine cover. When my machines are not in use, I like to cover them with small quilts.

This looks really good in my sewing room! Yup, I'm pleasantly surprised!

Baby Quilt done!

I finished the turquoise and gray baby quilt.

I decided to machine quilt it with vertical stitching at random intervals.

The back is Minkee.

This baby is due in November - I have it done with time to spare!

One more finish...

Before long, we are heading west for an extended vacation so I had a number of things I wanted to finish. Then I went on an impromptu retreat and started this baby quilt. Now it is done too!

I had a pattern but I didn't follow it! This quilt is square and flat but you can't always tell that when I throw it out on the grass! Probably my photography skills!

The quilt is about 45" square. I machine quilted this with a straight stitch alternating a fancy stitch every four rows. You can see the fancy stitch on the left.

The back is Moda Cuddle Cloth - oh, so soft! This quilt has been washed and dried with a little shrinkage, which I love. You can see this in the back.

We don't know if we need a boy quilt or a girl quilt for a November baby so I'll make one of each. Then there is also the February baby. Of course Project Linus can always use quilts too!

Starry Night is finished!

I began Starry Night in May. It is from a kit that I bought in 2010. I love the bright colors against the dark blue. It reminds me of an Amish quilt.

No flower baskets in the this garden since we are leaving soon.

This quilt is about 55" square and I haven't decided if it will be donated or not. 

The back - it really is square and does lie flat. I just flipped in on the grass.

I machine quilted this quilt. The dark blue areas are stippled. When I was trying to decide what to do inside the stars, I  watched a Fons and Porter Show on PBS. Marianne Fons was talking with longarm quilter Dawn Cavanaugh. Dawn said you only needed to be able to do 5 stitches to machine quilt - a straight line, a teardrop, a hook, an S curve and a circle. That sounds pretty simple but after 18 months, I still don't feel like I've mastered any of these stitches! Dawn was demonstrating each stitch and when she did the hook, she echoed it. It reminds me of a snail stitch that I once tried. The curves also remind me of a spiral.  I decided to use that stitch in the stars and it really added texture to this quilt!

When I quilted the stars, I did change thread color on top of the quilt. But I only used thread that I owned so the thread shows a little more on a couple of the fabric colors. 

We'll be leaving for a couple of months soon so I have been pushing to finish some projects. And this quilt finishes the list of what I really wanted done!

Now it will be easier to start new projects - maybe even purchase more fabric!!!

Coral Stars is finished!

I've been pushing a little this month to get some things finished. So not only did I begin the 50" square quilt that I named Coral Stars, I finished it!

Coral Stars

I began this quilt earlier this month using my Quick Curve Ruler and fabric that I bought on our trip to Elkhart County, Indiana, in May.

Back of Coral Stars

The quilt is machine quilted - I did loopy flowers in the diamonds and some echo stitching in the corners. There are feathers going around the 'diamonds' and lots of paisley. 

loopy flowers quilted in the center of the diamonds

echo stitching around diamond and in corners and feathers going around diamond 

lots of paisley stitching in the sashing and borders

I bought the fabric because I fell in love with it.  I knew at that time that this would be a donation quilt - it just doesn't fit in the style of our home. I've really enjoyed making it though!

B/W Orange All Over is finished!

Black White Orange All Over is finished! It is a lap quilt that will be a donation quilt. 

I had a pattern but made changes so I could use all of the fabric and have a little larger quilt. The quilt is 50" X 54" and has Dream Poly batting. 

I found some really neat black fabric with orange for the back.

I left my comfort zone, once again, and machine quilted this with a square stippling design. It has no curves, just sharp corners but not all 90 degrees. They should be though! I thought this motif fit the design of the quilt.

Crazy Eights Finished!

This is a "free" quilt - it is made entirely from my stash! But my stash didn't diminish in size???!!! I really like this quilt - it is bright and cheery. It is a little bigger than 50" square.

The whole quilt is machine quilted with feathers except for a wavy line in the small white inner border. I learned LOTS! I did the borders first and my feathers are too skinny. The interior of the quilt is much better. I'm glad I finally decided to just go for it - next time will be even better.

 The back is large scraps in the same colors as the front.

Crazy eights is a donation quilt. I hope it brings joy to some young person.

A dilemma

I watched the Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorial about The Big Star Quilt last fall. At the very end, Jenny Doan mentions using two charm packs for the project instead of a layer cake. I liked the quilt and just had to try it. I think I started this in late fall of 2012.

It was one of those projects that keeps getting put aside for other things - that is the only explanation!

This small quilt will be used as a table topper. It is about 30" X 40". I machine quilted it with a large stipple. I think it would have been neat to use gold metallic thread. Of course, you have to have gold metallic thread to be able to use it!

Notice the secondary design - the gold units in between the stars. Don't you just love secondary designs - I do! 
And then I saw a problem! OOPS!

Pretty obvious error!

And then a SECOND problem!

The top triangle on the left is wrong!

The quilt is totally done even laundered. What should I do?  I'm thinking the problems won't show when I use it but I know they are there... a dilemma for sure!

Snowman Quilt - done!

The flannel Snowman Quilt is finished. I bought the fabric as a kit and began this quilt in January. Then it just sat and waited.... I put the borders on in February and it just sat and waited. I finally pinned it this past week and it just sat and waited but not long! I quilted it a couple of days ago.

My inspiration for the quilting came from this carpet pattern. This was the carpet in out room at the Chicago Marriott O'Hare in April.

I spent a lot of time in our room quilting while Ray was at Nikon School and the carpet just intrigued me so I took photos.

I quilted this with a walking foot - it was a little hard to move around with all of the curved stitching. Next time I think I will just free-motion quilt it. I do like the texture of the quilt.

I hope you can see the texture:

Here is a photo of the back.

The patterns is Yellow Brick Road. The flannel is oh, so soft!