Monday, February 19, 2018

Very Productive Weekend

I had a wonderful four day weekend.  I didn't feel like battling snow to go shopping so I stayed in my quilt zone.  We did watch movies so I could do hand stitching on bindings.  Today I finished two more projects and made a block for another project.  It was on my list!

This baby quilt is busy and not my style.  Years ago (7 or 8) I was at a quilt show and bought this froggie print kit.  When I made it I didn't have anything to do with it so I set it aside.  I still need to find a home for it, but it's quilted and bound and off my to do list!
I am in a small group and a couple years ago we did a group project.  The background is a hand dyed piece of fabric from a friend.  I hand wrote the words and everything else was added by six other people.    Someone embroidered over my words, someone added beads, someone did machine stitching, etc.  I wasn't sure where to go with it and finally decided to do minimal quilting and bind it.  It even has a label.

A couple years ago I fell in love with the quilt Baltimore Spring in the Keepsake Quilting catalog.  It was a spendy BOM, but the pieces are laser cut.  I decided to test a block to see if it's doable at a retreat and yes it is as long as I have my pressing area right beside me!  I stood at my pressing table for two hours to do this block!  I still need to add stitching and that is going to be tricky because some of the pieces are SMALL!!!  The block finishes at 12".

 Officially I have finished 14 projects so far this year!  I am down to 101 UFO's!!!

Five More UFO's Bite the Dust!

Although I still don't have my list typed up, I have it written on paper, I have knocked off five UFO's this weekend!  Admittedly I picked some easy ones, but hey they are done and not in my piles anymore!  We had snow this weekend so it was a great time to hide out and quilt.  The first photo was taken Saturday and that night we had massive wind and it knocked the snow off the trees.  The second picture is a walk in our woods behind the house Sunday.  It's hard to tell, but the snow was about a foot deep out in the open. 
I finished quilting and bound Tutti Fruiti.  It measures 60 X 72.  It was in a McCall's magazine and I used Moda Basic Grey Grunge and Compositions fabrics.
Tutti Fruiti
Here is a closeup.  I LOVE the background fabrics! I free motion outline stitched around the pinwheels and black squares, and the rest is a simple stipple for texture.

I finished three tablerunners.  A few years ago a local quilt shop was really into the 60 degree border print tablerunners.  I made these two out of one length of print, but the orange was pretty intense.  I put them away.  Now they are done!  One will be donated to the senior center fundraising efforts.  The make a bunch of gift baskets every year and raffle them.  The center one was a charm pack and a poinsettia print.  My prints were just really busy, and I set it aside.  Now I like it and it's finished!

 I started this tote bag 8 years ago.  I got bored sewing on raw edge strips and the size was odd so I set it aside.  I finished it in about 30 minutes!  I had the straps made, but not sewn on, and then I just had to sew up the sides.  I was supposed to add a pocket, but I am using it as a quilt carry bag.  It's done!
Not quilt related, but I work in a two room school (although we call it a one room as all the students do have a desk in one room).  I pull the Kindergarten and First Grade students out and we sit around in a table in our second room with the library and play center.  We have a half size gym.  Normally the students bring their lunch every day, but once a month parents cook a hot lunch in our tiny kitchen.  For Valentine's Day the students invited guests and they did the decorating with supplies belonging to a couple of parents.  We practice manners and dress up.
the door to the kitchen is in the corner.  Doors to the hallway are on the right out of view.
the door to the PE equipment storage room is in the far corner.  Doors to the hallway are on the left.
 Linking up with Design Wall Monday and Main Crush Monday and Monday Making.




Monday, February 12, 2018

Bitty Blocks Finished

This weekend we threw an 80th birthday party for my mom.  She only wanted family and thought it was just going to be my husband, myself, my two brothers and their spouses and my niece and her two kids.  My sisters drove six hours to surprise her.  It was fun that we were able to pull that off!

I am excited I was able bind my Bitty Blocks from Quiltmaker's blog quilt while watching the Olympics yesterday.  I am normally someone who "listens" to TV so having to actually watch is tricky!  I should have gotten a picture of my quilting.  I did a free motion allover design, having fun making swirls and suns and fun elements.



I pin basted another top for quilting this week!  It only measures 60 X 72.
 Linking up with Design Wall Monday and Monday Making.

Tuesday, February 06, 2018

Finally, another finish

The end of January became very busy with my daughter and her husband and the twins arriving for several days.  The twins are 2 1/2 months are just beginning to smile and are up over 11 lbs. now!  Remy is on the left and Finn is on the right.

I did manage to finish one quilt yesterday.  I posted a picture of the blocks in an earlier post.  They were sent to me when my son Brad passed away 4 1/2 years ago at the age of 22.  It was a very difficult time as who would have thought his heart would stop in his sleep for no known reason.  This blue/purple batik won the audition contest.  It's quilted and bound although I don't have a label yet.  I wrote on the back who made each block, but I missed six of them so they are unknown.  It was the right time to finish this.


This quilt top was made from the Quiltmaker blog a few years ago, from a monthly segment called Bitty blocks.  I am ready to quilt it!  Moving another UFO to the finished pile this week I hope!  You can barely see the border, but I will be doing a colorful binding.
pin basted and ready for quilting

Linking up with Design Wall Monday. (on Tuesday)