Quilting Again

I finished up two quilts this week.  It's been a long time coming because neither one is very large.  This brick layer quilt was started last winter just because I'd seen these brick type quilts all over the internet and wanted to make one.  I made up my own pattern and I love how it turned out that the bricks are staggered in groups of two.  That happened by accident on the blue version I made first, but since I liked the look of it I made another in pinks.  All the brick pieces came from my stash.  Some of the fabrics dating back to the 70's, fabrics I received from Warren's aunt's stash after her death.

The backing and binding are new purchases.  It's hard to tell in the picture but the floral fabric has a light yellow background which I absolutely love.  The yellow and pink go so well together.

 

This quilt measures 35"x39".

The second quilt I finished this week is this tiny carriage quilt.  I found this pattern in McCall's Quick Quilts, May 2001.  I loved the quilt when I first got the magazine, but it took until this summer for me to actually make it happen.  Then I set the 16-patch blocks aside because I couldn't find the right setting square fabric until this fall when I was searching for fabric to make Amber's bean bag chair.  I just happened to run across this brown on cream print which I knew instantly was going to be perfect.  The pieced blocks and border fabric were all from my stash.  The setting squares and backing were new purchases.  I chose an ultra soft flannel for the backing so it would be super soft for a newborn.

 

This quilt measures 29"x33 1/2".

One girl quilt, one boy quilt!  Which one will it be?  We'll find out in December.

For more finished projects by people all over the world go here.

Tis the Season

HUNTING SEASON THAT IS



Hopefully that means a little more time for this.

 

Sewing Projects

 

Back in August my quilting buddy and I embarked on this adventure to make a purely scrap happy wall hanging.  This bear paw pattern was found in an older issue of Quilt.  The original pattern was for a bed size quilt, however, after all the piecing we're both glad we did this as a wall hanging.  We made one block and added a border, the original called for 16 blocks.  Simple, but time consuming.

I tried a new free motion quilting pattern; it's called pebbles.  I really like how it turned out, but it was time consuming and used a miles of thread.

Here's a closeup of the quilting.  I'm not sure if you can see it but each pebble has 2-3 rounds of stitching.  In order to achieve the look of continuous pebbles you have to quilt the pebble and then stitch around it again to the starting spot of the next pebble.  I would definitely do this again in small areas, never an entire quilt.  I suppose the pebbles could be made much larger on a bed size quilt.

Ironically, I sewed a flannel crib sheet for Little J today even though we're having an Indian summer.  His last flannels were from my sister-in-law.  I don't know how many of her children they warmed, but they warmed our first four and were basically thread bare.  Anyway, I used this tutorial at Everything Your Mama Made & More.  It was easy to follow and the project was done in no time.  I will however, make the next one an inch shorter in length and I will do a zigzag stitch all the way around the rectangle before cutting the corners and adding the elastic.

This post wouldn't be complete without a bit about Down syndrome.  See that little space between Little J's big toe and 2nd toe?  That's called sandal gap.  It's a physical trait of Down syndrome, but nothing to fret over.  It's just a variation of normal.  He'll never have to worry about flip flop blisters.

What We've Been Up To

Yes, I ended that phrase with a preposition. But really, what would be correct?

What we've up to been.

We've been up to what.

Up to what we've been.

As you can tell, we've been doing a whole lot of grammar around here lately. Emily and Nick are really moving along in their Language of God workbooks. I'm finding Level E to be extremely helpful and look forward to advancing to Level F in spring.

Warren and a few heating and cooling guys installed an outdoor wood burner. If you plan on taking on this project be forewarned that it will be way more involved than you think and will end up costing way more than the estimate. Today at about 3 pm it was completely finished. We are now heating the house and shop with the wood burner. The basement is cleared of the old wood stove, extra duct work installed, trench filled in and yard somewhat raked smooth again.

I finally finished Amber Lou's Kitty Cat Love quilt.

Amber Lou took a crack at riding the dirt bike. She progressed quickly. After about 10 times around the house she asked to go further away from us where no one could see her. So she dirt biked to her beloved horses and back and called it a day.

And Little J is 15 months. We are quickly approaching the anniversary of his heart surgery and as of yesterday's pediatric and cardiology appointment he is in great shape. He's up to 16 pounds 10 ounces, always smiling and just learned to clap his hands, too.

Kitty Quilt

This is for Lou. It's just a floppie right now, but hopefully soon I will get it sandwiched and quilted. I love it and so does she. It's such a happy quilt.

A Few Completed Quilt Projects

I've been playing around with bag patterns and came across this one which started with double-sided, pre-quilted fabric and turned out just lovely. My photography skills need work and that's why the coloring of the fabric looks off, but in real life the colors and shape are perfect. The pattern came from a Fun Quilts magazine and is super easy.

I also just finished Lee's quilt. It started as a Christmas present, turned into a birthday present and then was finally finished two weeks later. He's happy because it's just what he wanted. He asked for something camo and puffy.

And just to remind me how summery summer is I finished this wall hanging which I started last summer. The pattern was a gift from a friend. It's from Homespun Charm.

Quilting Day

Quilting Day is one of my most favorite days of the month. Good company and conversation. Fun for the kids, 8 in total between the two of us. Today I will be starting on a new project - a baby quilt for baby Joseph, due in late August. My track record isn't so hot for finishing projects in a timely manner so wish me luck. Here are a few of my most recent completed projects.

My very first quilt project ever started. Began 1999 - Finished March 2008

Our bed quilt; I started this when our wedding quilt started to shred at the seams. Began 2006 - Finished April 2008

A Valentine table runner. I fell in love with the fabrics at a quilt show back in February. The dark red is a tone on tone heart print. Began April 2008 - Finished May 2008

Sweet Grace made a matching pillowcase for her bed quilt, which I finished many years ago. If I was a good quilter, I'd make tags with the date and name of quilt and affix them to the backside of the quilt. But, by the time I get a quilt finished I am so excited to get on to the next project that I just skip the quilt tag part.