Friday Finishes

Since January our quilting group at the church has completed over 60 quilts. We make baby quilts for the neo-natal unit at one of our local hospitals and we make adult sized quilts for a hospice care unit at another local hospital. Here are a few of our sixty four finishes.

To see all the quilts we completed this year, go to

https://www.flickr.com/photos/14534350@N08/sets/72157644290599901/

Some Baby Quilt Finishes

The dedication for our baby quilts for the neo-natal unit at the local hospital is next Sunday. I’m slipping these finishes in just in time.
These four quilts were all made from my collection of 2 1/2” squares and 5” squares. It was fun sorting through them and remembering the quilts and projects I made with these fun fabrics. The candy squares ones were made with 289 two and 1/2” squares, sewn together in 17 unit strips.




The Hugs and Kisses quilt was made with this tutorial.  I did make some changes in her directions and just used 5” squares and 2 1/2” squares to make a simpler block. All four quilts measure about 35” square. The backs are from Jenni Baker’s Color Me Retro collection.


I hope I’ll have some photos to post next week from the dedication. It’s always so exciting to see all our handiwork displayed in the sanctuary.
Later…

Fabric Fast Update

I’m midway through the fourth month of my six month fast and I have barely made a dent in my fabric collection. I’ve pieced six tops. I find myself working in a fabric series like I used to do when I first began quilting. Back in the day I purchased fabric for a project, made the project, and if there were any scraps left over I made another project. Then I discovered quilting blogs and Twitter accounts, and oh my, Instagram. So much temptation to lure me into purchasing fabric. Thus my need for a fabric fast.
I’ve used up all the green, orange aqua and mustard Simply Color fabrics I purchased and most of the coordinates I bought to go with them. But I still have the blue, grey, plum and pink fabrics.

I still have a lot of Lotta Jansdotter’s Glimma

I’ve been resisting sale notices in my inbox, but one day I pulled up Instagram #greatfabricdestash, and this Heather Ross fabric was the first image. I confess, I grabbed it.
It’s a small piece, and I have no idea what I will do with it, but who can resist a dachshund in a raincoat? it was just one tiny purchase… and I have been so good.

Works in Progress

Using the fabrics from my abandoned paper piece project I pieced two twin sized churn dash quilts. Modern fabrics give this traditional block a fresh new look.

The tops are complete, but I have yet to make the pieced backs.
After I made the twin tops, I cut my remaining scraps into 5” and 2 1/2” squares, and made four baby quilt tops.


The baby quilts are pin basted and ready to quilt.
I’m not sure where I’m going with these blocks, for now they are on my design wall waiting for inspiration.

The fabric fast continues with only one minor lapse. We’ll talk later about that.

Breaking Up

I was doing so well with my Vintage Revival Blocks, I was pleased with the palette and the blocks looked like they would make a great sampler.

Then I hit the foundation pieced blocks. After hours of cutting, sewing, ripping out tiny stitches and taping shredded paper, I produced two blocks.

Then I started block 9. After much frustration and some swearing, I threw it the trash can. In that moment I had an epiphany, I’m done, over it, paper piecing and I have broken up for good. Roz Chast said it well.

Baby Quilts Galore

We are getting ready to make a delivery of baby quilts to our local hospital’s neo-natal unit. Here are a few of the recent ones.
Stack of Coins front (measures 32” x 32”)

Stack of coins back

Two quilts from Jen Ski’s Ten Little Things line made with a charm friendly pattern (measures 34” x 34”)   the first one is quilted with  cross-hatched design, the other with a circular quilting pattern.


Scrap yellow and green quilt 34” x 34”


And finally, a tiny one made with vintage Raggedy Ann and Andy fabrics. It is only about 20” square.

later…

Fabric Fast Update

I’m into the third month of my fabric fast and I’m still pinning the new introductions onto my Pinterest page After the Fabric Fast. You may have to have a Pinterest account to access my pins, but don’t blame me if you get addicted to Pinterest.
I’m a huge fan of Lotta Jansdotter and her new line Mormor is just beautiful. I love Lotta’s Scandinavian designs on a crisp white backgrounds.



Ah well, just 3 and a half months to go.
I did acquire some fabric this month. I bought a yard of some lilac fabric to finish a quilt for our hospice quilt project, my daughter gave me some fabric, and yes, I made a purchase for myself…but I can justify it.
I have made an interactive swatch card with a 2012 Kona Cotton fabric card. Since new colors were introduced last fall, I purchased a charm pack to update my swatch card with all the colors in the collection.

To make this card, I cut up the original swatch card, and attached Velcro to the swatches and attached them to a piece of poster paper with the other half of the Velcro. Now I can remove the swatches from the master card and see them on the fabrics I want to match without the confusion of the surrounding colors. When I am finished, they just reattach to the master card in color order. Obsessive? Maybe just a tad…

Candy Scraps Quilt

Another Moda Bake Shop quilt, this time in Wimbledon colors (thus the grass background) Our Wrapped in Love group had some purple and green scraps as well as some printed lined and assorted whites. It was an easy fun quilt to make and I used up a lot of 2.5” squares. This one will go to a hospice patient in our area.

Here’s a link to the pattern on Moda Bake Shop

I quilted it with purple thread in a simple cross hatch pattern. I broke my fabric fast and purchased some lilac fabric for the back and binding, but hey, it wasn't on my dime.




In other fabric fasting news, L gave me ten fat quarters from Kate Spain’s discontinued Honey Honey line.


I've already slashed into them for my Vintage Modern quilt blocks.

Valentines 2014

I’m taking a break from sewing to bring my annual review of our family’s home made valentines. They are always heavy on puns.
I am not as clever with words as the rest of the family, so I have to get out art supplies and my sewing machine

Here are the bookmarks I made for L and P

and the stitchy card I made for T

T is always the punster
Here are his for L and P


Give that man a needle and thread, here’s the one he made for me!


L sent some clever ones

the hands open for this message

P got out the power tools and the paint, she made T a wooden heart and a scratch off one for me


and the scratch off reveal


For more valentine fun, check out Pattiwagon’s blog, she has some additional ones.
Until next year