Are you sure it's Monday?

 

Sure feels like Sunday to me.

I had a very nice Christmas with my family. We celebrate Christmas Eve so Christmas day was pretty quiet, my mom made a great ham dinner then whomped me playing cards.

Today it has rained almost all day. I've taken a shower but dressed in jammies and sweats. It's supposed to rain all week so this could be the dress code for the next few days. ;o)

Remember the ugly little quilt I showed last week? Well, put your sunglasses on, this is what it looks like now.

Just a little bit different (hehehe). I went through my batik scraps and cut them into 5 inch squares. I looked for something that would stand out against all the different colors and the only thing I had on hand was the green. Might be a bit too bright.

The top finishes at 41 x 50 inches. I went through my stash again to find 1.5 yards fabric with a 44 inch width. Put your sunglasses back on.

This is all I could find that wasn't flowery. 

 The quilt is loaded and ready to go.

I finished the flannel quilt I was working on last week.

Still needs binding. I don't think I'm going to add a flannel binding. The flannels are kinda light and stretchy, I think a non-flannel binding will stabilize it better...plus I don't have any flannels in my stash that would work color wise.

I didn't have any problems with the vertical back seams. They turned out nice and straight!

Here's a close-up of the blocks. Very easy pattern.

My two goals for this next week are to actually get dressed at least one day and to finish Bon Appetit with Ash. Don't hold your breath on the getting dressed goal.

See you all next year! I hope you have a very happy New Year!

 

Merry Christmas

 I should be finishing up my shopping, writing and mailing Christmas cards, wrapping gifts, and cleaning, but I've been puttering around doing a little bit (very little bit) of a lot of other things.

I haven't done any sewing so didn't think I'd have anything to share tonight. After downloading pictures from my phone, I have more than I thought I would.

First up. As a quilter do you like receiving quilts as a gift? I do! Donna in Idaho made this quilt for me.

It is soooo pretty in person! The back is a black Woolies flannel (sooo soft) and she quilted it using a layer of 80/20 batting and a layer of wool batting (sooo warm). Love, love, love it. 

Next up. Another ugly quilt picked up at Quilts for Kid. 

Joanne gets lots of fabric donated and sometimes there are quilt tops. This was one. One of the group picked it up, added batting and a backing and asked if I'd quilt it. Can't do it. This is not a quilt for a kid. The center is batiks. The border fabric is seersucker - old seersucker. The setting triangles feel like sheet fabric. I do like the colorful center and think it is a good start. I've already taken it apart and I'll add more batik squares and a few borders to it to make it a nice size. The seersucker was tossed in the garbage.

She also gets partially made quilts.

There are 2 finished blocks, 9 partially pieced blocks, and pieces and parts for another 3 or 4 blocks. A few of the blocks have the sailboat fabric shown on the left.  I think this will be a very cute quilt and won't take long to finish.

Finally, I loaded a quilt top that I picked up from my guild. 

The back is pieced with 3 different flannels (top is flannel also). When I initially loaded the back with the pieced seams running horizontally, I could not get the seams straight. I took it off, measured and check everything - all good - but again couldn't get the seams straight. So, I've loaded the back with the seams vertical. Outside edges are all over the place but the vertical seams are straight, and the quilt is centered nicely. Hopefully the vertical seams won't cause me any problems. I'll show you the end result next week.

Tomorrow, I really need to focus on getting my holiday tasks finished. Or at least started!

I hope you all have a very wonderful holiday.

Still Working on Quilt Tops

 Not much was done last week other than Xmas shopping.  Oh, and Joanne came by and picked up 20 finished quilts! Nine flannel quilts that my mom tied with yarn, and 11 quilts that I quilted and added binding. So the pressure is off but there are still so many quilt tops in my closet.

This past weekend I did get some more small items quilted and the binding attached.

Pretty sad when it takes two years to get two simple placemats finished. 

I love this little vintage fabric 4-patch. It finishes at about 14 inches square. Simple in the ditch quilting.

Both of the above were quilted on the Juki.  The best part of finishing the two items above is that they are mine. Mine. Mine! 

Below are two more donation quilts. Again, I didn't make either. Both are quilted with curlicue borders and meandering in the center.

Four quick finishes that put my count down to 21 tops left in the closet! Woo Hoo!

A couple of weeks ago I sent Rose of Pics & Pieces a box stuffed with some of my scraps and a few goodies. This week she sent me a box stuffed with some of her scraps and goodies. Others people's scraps are just so much more fun than your own.

Even Bella thinks so. Thank you Rose!

Eleven So Far

 Seems like I've quilted more than eleven tops in the last 3-4 weeks. They all have the binding attached. I'm hoping to get at least one more quilted before Joanne picks them up on Wednesday.

This is the quilt I didn't show last week. 

I was going to bring the backing forward for binding but nipped it when I was trimming the batting. I like the blue polka dot binding.

This is the last jelly roll quilt. I'm so glad these are done.

This quilt was fun to make, I'll definitely make this again. I added some wishbones in the triangles.

Angela made this baby quilt and gave it to me to quilt and donate. I think it is so cute! Very soft flannel on the back.

Here is all of them so far, plus the nine flannel tops my mom tied with yarn.

So, the $64,000 question is: do I stop / take a break, or keep going until all the donation quilts are finished? After the quilt tomorrow, I still have nine quilt tops designated as donation quilts.

Plus Zero, Minus Four

 

I feel like I've finally made a dent in quilting donation quilt tops.  I haven't done one a day (caught a cold Thanksgiving day, so took a two day break), but as of today I've finished four more.

This is Angela's sampler quilt. We made the quilts together so she could learn how to make various blocks. She doesn't like the quilt, so she is donating it. I've told her (with love) that she is nuts. I love it.

I quilted it with a soft yellow thread in an all over meander. The back is the softest flannel ever.

This simple fire engine quilt was another estate sale find. Again, an all over meander in light blue thread.

And another really soft flannel back.

This quilt, and the fourth quilt not pictured, are two that I picked up last week. I did curlicues in the border and an all over meander in the center. 

I don't have binding for these quilts so I'm trying a new-to-me technique of bringing the backing forward to make the binding.  Not my favorite process, but it works.

I still have binding to attach to a few of the quilts. I've also found I don't have backs made for all the quilts - coulda swore I did. I'll spend tomorrow making backs and adding binding then start quilting again on Thursday (gotta get some Xmas shopping done on Wednesday).

As they say, no rest for the wicked. (hehehehe)

I did something I've never done before - I purchased a mystery box! After seeing a couple of positive comments on Facebook I purchase a Handiquilter ruler mystery box. It gets delivered tomorrow. I'm soooooo excited!! I'll show you all the goodies next week.

Plus Five, Minus Three

 I said I wasn't but I did. Last Friday I picked up five quilts that someone else made that needed quilting.

With one exception they are all simple quilts and won't take any time to quilt. 

They all have backs and batting but no binding.

On the other side, Joanne has an urgent need for quilts before Christmas, so I've been stepping up my quilting. Instead of a quilt a week I've been doing a quilt a day.

I didn't make any of the quilts. The quilting on all is pretty simple as the focus is getting it done. The bindings are made and will be added later this week.

So 30 + 5 - 3 = 32. I think that's progress (sort of, maybe not).

Before Friday I was trying really hard to get caught on Bon Appetit with Ash as the "big reveal" was Saturday. I made pretty good progress there.

Two more food blocks. 

And Ash! Isn't he cute. I still need to applique everything down, then I'll be ready to finish up the top, hopefully before the next mystery starts next August.

Are you splurging on any pre-Black Friday sales? I did.

Happy sigh...new rulers and Glide thread. Can't wait to play with them all.

Still 30??

 How is it that no matter how many quilt tops get quilted I still have 30 quilt tops left on my list? I guess I did bring another guild community service quilt home last Monday, but to off-set it I finished Lucy.

I didn't do anything overly fancy but there were lots of starts and stops, and a little bit of unquilting, so it seemed to take forever. It is not perfect but it is done! Yeah!!

Next up:

Since these are just large rectangles, I think I'm going to practice different filler designs. The hard part is what to put in the border and sashing.

I have been working hard on getting cause up with Bon Appetit with Ash. This Saturday is the big reveal. 

I finished a few more blocks. I have two paper pieced and one applique block left to make. I have almost everything cut out and ready to go.

My not so helpful helper.

Nothing Exciting

 I've been making slow progress on quilting Lucy. The center should be interesting since it is a little puffy. I'm doing a meander in the white, hopefully I can absorb the puffiness into the meandering.

I've been trying to get caught up with Bon Appetit with Ash. In case you can't tell, below is cherry yogurt, cheese, pizza, and strawberries.

I'm still two weeks behind although I have the next clues prepped and partially cut out.

I won these cute fabrics from the guild name tag drawing.

I drew my own ticket - Oops. ;o)

Oliver is Done!

 Happy Halloween! Hope you got lots of treats and no tricks.

 I finished Oliver in the Doghouse...or maybe I should say I finished the top.

I think I would have liked red cornerstones better but didn't have anything and I wasn't going to go shopping. Done is better. The back and binding are the same as the border fabric and both are made and ready to go.

I finished the guild community service quilt, including adding the binding. Nothing fancy, meandering with a light blue thread.

I've also been doing some work in my front yard. All the old grass (more like weeds) is gone and mulch and pavers have been laid down.  Not very pretty but definitely easy to maintain.

I'll add some plants next spring.

Next up on the frame is Lucy.

I made the back way too big. I'm debating on trimming it first. This one will definitely be a challenge.

What I've been working on

 I've been working on a variety of things this past week. Some brainless sewing, some focused sewing, and some fun sewing.

First up, I finished Oliver in his doghouse.

I think he turned out cute. Today I've been trying to focus on finishing the Oliver in the Doghouse quilt top.

 

Close, but I'm done for the night. I still have to put the side sashing borders on (white) and the outer border (shown). I'm tempted to add a red pop border, but I don't have anything in my stash that I like. I think I have enough of the bone fabric for borders, binding and back.

I loaded, quilted, added the binding and donated the creepy girl quilt.

I didn't make this quilt. Joanne asked if I would quilt it a while ago and I said yes. It took a while to figure out how I wanted to quilt it. The stars were easy but what to in the panels?

I bought some curved rulers recently and used them to add some simple curved lines. Don't look at the pebbles on the top and bottom, they are pretty bad.

I recently found a tote containing a bunch of scrap fabrics that I didn't remember having. I think they came from Angela's estate sale fabrics. I cut them up into 5 and 2.5 inch strips and squares. Underneath them were the scraps from my kaleidoscope quilt. They were too big to just toss but odd shaped strip pieces. I got brave and tried making some crumb blocks.

I made 12 6.5 inch blocks and tossed the rest. I have no idea what I will do with them. I found it easier to make crumb blocks when the scraps were coordinated and partially pieced already. I'm thinking I should dig some of the pieces out of the trash bin so I can make cornerstones blocks for the sashing. Hmmm.

I had some odd length strip sets that I cut up and sewed into a long narrow runner.  

I also partially loaded this guild community service quilt.

What I should be working on is some yard work and house cleaning, but that is a totally different subject.

Pacific Internation Quilt Festival

I finished Angela's quilt last week. Here is a close up of the quilting:

Here is the quilt after Angela trimmed it and added the binding.

No other sewing / quilting happened as I drove south to attend the Pacific International Quilt Festival.

The international show had very few international quilts. I didn't "see" any at the show, however when I looked at the tags of the quilts I took pictures of I found at one international quilter who submitted of series of quilts.

Here are few of my favorites.

See a theme? ;o)