Pattern tested Rabbit

I completed another pattern by Yanicka. I'm blown away at how awesome these animals look.
This guy took 1 day for templates and one evening for fabric and 2 broken up days to sew.

Keep them coming my way Yanicka!

Christmas gifts

Christmas gifts  have been gifted

I made this one for my mother. It was 10 years in the making and she LOVED it!! (there were tears involved)

This quilt was made for my Father in law to use while he watches TV. He LOVED it.

This quilt was made for A. of Course He LOVED it! 

This quilt was made for E. He LOVED his also.

THIS YEAR was a WIN!!! 6 UFOs completed. 77  new items sewn and at least 10 new UFOs created that 2017 should handle just fine.

Quilting through paper

Christmas is fast approaching!!

(This quilt is finished but it must remain a surprise)

^^^^This was my game face last week^^^^^

   One thing I would like to share today is quilting through paper. Below are 4 examples. The first and second are relatively easy to figure out where to start and stop. The designs are easy to see after being quilted and the paper is ripped away. 

  This beauty was a bit more challenging and not as nice in the end. I was extremely sad when that list large chunk of paper was ripped away to reveal a big mess of lines running all over the place. I didn't get the helmet quite right and it ended up looking more like a bowl cut on a 2 year old who took a bath in his spaghetti instead of the angry face of a dog. Life goes on and all is well.

I quilted Cotton on a puffy batting and then layered it over fleece. I am not a fan of fleece quilting yet but I'm sure the more I practice the better it will be.

This is my favorite line art in quilting. The face looks more angry than I intended.

Live, Learn and Quilt on.

** Disclaimer: None of these line art pictures are mine. I searched google for football images and the images didn't have copyrights.

 All sewing on fabric is mine.*****

#Bravequilter

This month i would like to try paper piecing.

 I'm participating in the Pink Doxies new link up, #BraveQuilter. As part of the link party for October, my goal is to try making one 2 1/2" X 5" block. 

** i copied the bold text from Pink Doxies ***

Here is the pattern i have chosen: http://quiltingdigest.com/bunny-peeps-quilt-block/

***This picture is not my own. I copied it from the URL link above, made by sewhooked.com.***

Granny square quilt

This top is finished. I would have had it quilted by now except I'm not sure which is the best way to go about it on the long arm. i want something that will blend in and not detract from the blocks.
any suggestions would be great.

also an update on finished projects for this year is 73. I had forgotten about the pincushions and pillowcases!!

Circles, rectangles & squares

Circles, rectangles & squares

I love scraps. I enjoy working with smaller pieces because I feel I have better control over them. These blocks ended up 10 1/2" square. As I was working on this quilt Mr. Joe asked if he could have it. Of course I said yes because if he liked it enough to ask for it then that is who it belongs to..... right? I had to pick out new backing fabric because well, he loves green and I had black picked out. I had even purchased 4 yards of 108" utility backing to make sure the back matched the front. I have used those extra yards on 3 other quilts and I've got some left. 

2016 UPDATE:

Ready to Quilt for charity:

• Boy coin quilt
• Girl coin quilt
• 2nd crib size

To make/finish for my family:

• maternity pants quilt (never worn as they were to big)
• twin little twister - top needs finished
• busy bee sew bag- not yet started
• 2 mine craft quilts - in the works
• Up to date on the 365 day challenge
• 2" many trips around the world -top is finished, my quilt guild ladies told me i must keep this quilt.
• Civil war log cabin - orphan blocks/fabric from guild Christmas exchange. 2 blocks were finished. i set out to make 7 but ran out of fabric on #5. I turned it into a wall hanging consisting of  6 16" blocks. ready to be quilted
• Modified Triple Irish chain. Started, didn't like color choices and put it in a box
• Teady Bears- needs bound
• Green triple Irish chain- needs bound
• Hawaiian box quilt -needs bound 

gifts

• bumble bee baby quilt - ready to quilt

To continue to work on:

• twin/full grandmothers flower garden (hand piece) - haven't touched it this year

What does your 2016 hold?

I have added so many projects for 2016 that I have a list of 21 27 going strong. 

Finished:

1. lined pouch for toys at church
2. lined pouch for violin chin rest and pencils
3. wheelchair quilt -donated
4. throw quilt -donated
5. crib quilt -donated
6. Quilt guild Bicentennial quilt block
7. "Mom's pride and joy" - twin quilt
8. birthday turtle
9. Chicken pin cushion
10. Thread catcher

bow tie by hand

 I fell in love with the bow tie quilt. I make these blocks by hand with only 3 straight line stitches. Really easy and portable when taking your machine is not an option. Can you just see it now, the looks you'd get if you set up shop in the pediatric waiting room?

This bad boy is custom quilted with a light brown (fawn maybe) thread. I let the quilt shop chose the color as long as it blends in. I was more of a pattern Nazi a few years ago when i had this one completed but now, i like to have suggestions(choices, who doesn't like choices) but then i give the final say to the long arm master.

\

(Binding matches the back of quilt, the true color is of the binding, not the backing)

I made this quilt for my boys and as such i wanted a back that didn't scream i'm full of flowers and pink. Nothing wrong with pink, my oldest really likes pink but i tend to work with girl fabric because it catches my eye so much quicker than boy fabric.  That totally could be because there is maybe one tiny section with 6 bolts in it for boys. (over exaggeration but you get my drift)

i have also switched to 108" "Utility" Backs. In the long run they are more economical, without cutting and piecing. Time saved, AND you have less math because length is already taken care of.  I just purchased 1 2/3 yard @ $13.95/yd for the back and binding for a 50 X 72". The binding is included in the length and the sections are longer strips for less piecing. Total win-win.

On Point

Once there was a girl who loved on point quilts. So she tried it and good thing this quilt is small because i'm not sure there is one single point that didn't get sewed into the boarder! Alas, i will have to keep trying because just as Danial Tiger says, "Keep trying, you'll get b-e-tter!"

Then i looked at the boarder. I love scraps, i wanted to use the fabric i had but i just couldn't leave this little bitty thing looking like i slapped fabric on and called it done. SO, painstakingly i ripped off the boarder and put a new one on.

Much better, not as eye catching.

Then, to my quilter's minds horror, i found the book i took this pattern from. There, tucked inside was the inner boarder already cut and ready to go. I had planned to use the flower print that is the sashing squares but i must say i do love the purple.

Sometimes quilt's have a mind of their own and sometimes we just forget what we had in mind. Have a lovely Saturday!

6/2014