No fooling - I have a finished quilt!

I am slowly finishing quilts. Whirly Jig, which is aka Backyard 1, was made from a bundle of fat quarters, Ruby Star Society Backyard by Sarah Watts. Backyard 2 is finished and is here. Backyard 3 needs to be quilted.

I remember seeing a quilt with a design similar to this a few years ago so I drafted a pattern. Unlike the quilt I remember, I sorted my fabric into four colors and put the whirly jig center in the center of the quilt. The quilt I remember had the center near one corner.  

I quilted this 62" square, donation quilt with meandering, using Glide #17543 light gray thread on top and #10430 battleship on the back. 

The backing and binding is made with is a rose colored fabric.

Some of the things keeping me busy are:

• a graduation quilt that isn't done (no photos 'til it's gifted)

• a Colour Value Mystery QAL hosted by Joanne Keaton. I have my pieces cut and am caught up on the clues!

• healing my finger after an accident with a rotary cutter. I'm not sure exactly what happened but it wasn't pretty. Healing is going very well so all is good.

• a quilt retreat with friends. It was a great, relaxing time with a little quilting.

I'll have another finish before long...

Some quilting

I try to quilt most days, sometimes for a few minutes and sometimes a few hours. 

My first finish is the 30's Quilt. Last fall I won a bundle of 30's fabric fat quarters. I hunted and finally found a little fabric in my stash to go with it - 30's fabric isn't a normal choice for me. I also added a little yellow fabric to make the quilt 50" by 58".

I used Glide #80607 Lemon Ice thread on the top and #10430 Battleship gray on the back to quilt this with a double loop spiral. 

I bought purple for the back and binding of this donation quilt.

A couple of years ago, I bought a pack of fat quarters - Ruby Star Society Backyard by Sarah Watts. I made three quilts tops. Backyard 2 is the first one to be quilted and finished. This donation quilt is 58" by 60" and used the leftover HSTs from the 1st top. 

I used Glide #17443 Bone thread on the top and #10877 Sterling on the back when I quilted this with a loop-de-loop motif.

I think the quilting shows better here.

I purchased a dark pink fabric for the back.

I have a number of quilts in progress. Here are a few I don't think I've shared before. I'm continually trying to clear out fabric with more donation quilts.

A few days ago, I decided I had a lot of charm squares and some mini charms that I wanted to use. So... I decided nine-patchs of 2.5" squares (any color and any fabrics paired with white) would be good. I have it started.

Since there were LOTS of 2.5" squares, I also started a large postage stamp quilt. I have really enjoyed sewing on both of these quilts lately - very relaxing!

I have a graduation quilt to make and I just decided (finally) what I wanted to do so I need fabric and lots of time in the studio. When I finish that, I have a memorial t-shirt quilt and pillows to make for my brother's family. Somewhere in there I have a quilt retreat. So my future looks sunny with a great chance of quilting!

It's been a while...

It's been a while since I've posted so here goes...

Sadly my oldest brother passed away in January. Tom was an Agent Orange 'survivor' from the Vietnam War. He was totally disabled for a number of years. Before that, he was Santa to a lot of people. He was loved by many. 

His visitation and funeral were so hard but definitely helped his wife, children, grandchildren, great-granddaughter, brothers, and sister (me) know how very much he meant to so many people. I miss him.

Four days after Tom's death, Ray had an appointment to see his oncologist for a checkup. His testosterone (affected by his hormone blocking drugs) had to be normal before the PSA score was reliable. We hoped to hear the words "no signs of cancer" in May. Surprisingly, everything aligned on January 30, and we heard those wonderful words - "no signs of cancer". Ray is cancer free!!! His energy level is slowly improving as his body is still recovering from treatment. Hopefully by May, he'll have near-normal energy.

Life has been like a roller coaster and we are just hanging on! We both love ordinary days. We've been able to watch our Illinois grandsons play hockey and indoor soccer. Ray spends time taking and editing his photos while I spend time quilting. 

We recently took a day trip to Olbrich Gardens in Madison, WI, to see the Orchid Escape which was awesome! Here's just four of the many photos that I took.

We were in Chicago on Sunday watching one of our grandsons play his last youth hockey game. He played in the 18U NIHL Blackhawks Tournament championship. The game was at the United Center where the Chicago Blackhawks play. Quite the way to end his youth hockey career!

Grandson #15 in white sweater

We were able to visit our niece and her family in Wauconda on our way home yesterday. It was wonderful to see them and visit their businesses.

Bungalow Printing
Beats Plastic Refillery

We have spent today resting, catching up from the Chicago trip, and trying to adjust to the time change. I've been doing a little quilting and have a couple of finishes that I'll share soon.

Time moves in one direction,

memory in another. 

                           -William Gibson

Lot's of Quilting!

I've been quilting off and on for the last month and I actually have something to show for my time!

First, I have a finish. I found a number of small rectangles in my stash and decided another potato chip quilt was in order. I decided this one would have a ‘border' of light fabrics and I would just make one large block.When I needed to cut more blocks, I decided it was large enough.

The light fabrics include pinks, yellows, tans, and creams.

This donation quilt finished at 50" square. I quilted it with a large meander using Glide Sterling Gray #10877 thread on top and Ruby Red #70187 on the back. 

The back is a red from my stash.

In November, I shared a few finished tops. I really need to start quilting some of those. My longarm was difficult to get to during the holidays so I've been sewing instead. Anyway, I had quite a bit of fabric left from one the tops I finished so I put this top together with some of the leftover cut pieces.

There are still more pieces and tonight I started putting some together only to find that all of the squares aren't the same size. So I've been trimming as I go. It'll be interesting to see this one finished.

I saw a 'woven' quilt and decided it would be fun to make . I decided using 3.5" pieces would also help tame my stash. So a  scrappy weave was started.

I am putting this together with 3.5" squares and 3.5" by 9.5" pieces. I like the way it is looking.

I am finally sewing my Scrappy Triangles into a quilt top. Guess I'll have to find another long term project.

And...one day recently, Ray and I went looking for the snowy owl that's been hanging out about 45 minutes from where we live. It was a very cold, windy day but it was worth the trip. 

I wish you all a Happy 2025. 

We are looking forward to a much better year.

Two-Colour Mystery Quilt is finished at last!

At the end of February, Joanne Kerton, Canuck Quilter Designs, hosted the Two-Colour Mystery Quilt-Along. 

Earlier that month, we had found out about Ray's recurring prostate cancer and I thought the mystery would be a good diversion for me. I used fabric from my stash.

Joanne's directions were very clear and easy to follow. She also gave great hints and advice along the way. This was really an easy quilt which went together quickly. I posted about my quilt here, here, here, and here. Staying current with the mystery, I had the top together by mid-April. And now, it is finally quilted and bound.

I made the lap size, 48 1/2" by 60 1/2" and I quilted this with a meander stitch using Glide #17453 Light Gray thread on the top and #10787 Ruby thread on the back. The backing is red fabric from my stash.

This quilt will be donated. I'd like to make a larger quilt with this pattern - one with more contrast between the two colors. I loved the red/white, blue/white, and black/white quilts made by some of my mystery mates. 

The pattern, which is now known as  Half 'N Half, is in Joanne's Etsy shop.

Flannel quilt done

 Lakeside Gatherings is finished!

I bought a fat quarter bundle of Lakeside Gatherings Flannels by Moda while on a little shop hop with friends in August. I planned to make a summer flannel quilt but as I was making this, our weather turned cooler and I added batting. The quilt is very soft, cozy, and warm. We'll definitely use it all winter.

I quilted this 65" by 81" quilt with Glide #38201 Steel Blue thread and a loop-de-loop motif.

I do love the way quilting looks on and gives texture to flannel.

All of the extra fabric was used on the back. I had to add a border to make the back large enough. I was happy to recently find matching fabric for that border and the binding.

The quilt now resides in our family room and has already been used a few times.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our US friends.

Finishes!

I have finishes!!! 

Dignity II is 58" by 62". 

I bought fabric for a quilt in 2019 while we were traveling through Chamberlain, South Dakota, near the Dignity statue. I made a quilt, Dignity, in 2020. I had quite a bit of fabric left and now I have another quilt which will be donated. The back is turquoise. 

I quilted this with a large double bubble motif using Glide #10877 Sterling thread.

I spent a few days at our annual quilt retreat last week and I finished my Santa Table Runner. I bought this as a kit when I was shop hopping with friends in August.

The runner is 18" by 42". Can you see the Santa heads just above the red with the holly?

I quilted straight lines with Aurifil #2315 thread using my Juki with a walking foot.

At the retreat, I also worked on 30's Quilt with some 30's fabric I recently won.

I also pieced Frosted Window Panes, a red and white table runner. I bought this as a kit at The Quiltmakers Shoppe in Manchester, Iowa, while on that shop hop in August. The pattern is theirs.

I did most of the piecing for Bursting in Air at the retreat also. Here is the progress so far;

Top middle and left side middle pieces are

turned the wrong direction in this photo.

My design wall has had some activity in the last few weeks; recently Whirly Jig was there.

Butterflies also spent some time there. I'm not sure about this quilt - it might change.

I have quite a pile of tops to quilt and a couple quilts to bind. All in good time.

Ray and I were recently in Madison, Wisconsin to see his oncologist. He still has energy/endurance issues and feels like he has brain fog. At this most recent checkup, we learned these issues all normal and to expect it for a few more months. I do see positive changes but, of course, they just don't happen fast enough. Of course, it's still too early to know if he is cancer-free.

When cancer happens,

you don’t put life on hold. 

You live each day.