Catching Up on Finished Projects!

Wow, the last post was in October!  This will be a LONG post!  To catch up since then... we took a trip to visit our daughters and grandkids.  It's so exciting it is now just a six hour drive to visit both daughters and my two sisters.  I went on a quilt retreat in mid November and worked on assorted projects.  A couple of them you will see in these finished photos!  I did a major house cleaning and hosted Thanksgiving with company for several days.  Now on to the quilt projects!  The first several photos are seven wallhangings (about 45 X 60) I quilted for a friend.  I tried to do something different in each one and not over quilt them.

crazy quilt fabric snowmen

closeup crazy quilt snowmen, preprinted fabric

Two identical quilts, quilted differently, black binding

Two more quilts!

closeup

Two identical quilts different setting fabric than above and green binding

closeup

For those that have wondered, I do not have a long arm quilt machine, I quilt everything on a many year old Pfaff Grand Quilter stuffing them in!  I quilted a large quilt recently on commission and forgot to get a picture!

The next projects are all gifts, but the recipients have them already!  I bought this kit called Town Square made with the Town Square fabric line by Holly Taylor and the kit came with a book by Doug Leko.  I had a gift certificate from turning in my row robin quilt first this year and put it towards the kit.  I pieced the blocks at quilt camp in November and then decided it would make a great gift for my boss Jenine (aka head teacher at our little school).  I quilted an allover design with a flannel backing as shown in the second photo.

Town Square large throw size quilt

Town Square backing

I am in a small online group and we did a secret sister exchange.  My secret sister likes gold and cream so I made the backing first using the 60 degree ruler and then made the front to fit!

tablerunner for a secret sister gift

tablerunner backing

This is what I received from my secret sister.  I had put 4th of July as my favorite holiday and now I have a patriotic tablerunner!  I am thrilled!

A few years my boss friend Jenine sent me a link to this Kaffe fabric kit on Craftsy.  I ordered it, but never got started on it.  I pieced blocks at quilt camp and realized I only had half the papers with me, but the tablerunner was turning out plenty big!  I have plenty enough to make another one.  Jenine is silly and said it's too nice for the table and hung it on the wall!  So yes, she got two quilted gifts from me this year!

Crazy squares tablerunner

In October I was in Spokane, WA for their big quilt.  I met several friends there and three of us bought this pattern or kit called Minnesota Flurries.  I bought the kit and got the piecing done at quilt camp and then have been working on the handwork.  All the stitching on the snowmen is by hand.  They are wool pieces that were included in the kit.  The buttons were also included.  It finishes it 20" X 20".  I gifted it to my friend/coworker Donna.  She is the afternoon aide at our school.

Minnesota Flurries

Minnesota Flurries closeup

Last year when I took my Row Robin quilt in first I also got a quilt kit with my winnings.  The same designer as the one for Jenine above, Holly Taylor, but this line of fabric is called Winter Song.  I had pieced the top last year and a friend saw it and said it was her colors, and loved it.  I put the top in my "to be quilted" stash and Saturday I got it out, basted, quilted and bound it!  My husband delivered it to her Sunday at Search and Rescue dog training.  She loves it!

Winter Song gifted to our friend April

Winter Song closeup

Each year we have the students at school make ornaments for their parents as gifts.  We made caribou ornaments earlier (half went to D.C. for the small trees in offices) and we did our annual swirled craft paint in glass ball ornaments.  The students really enjoy watching the paints mix and the color combinations they pick are interesting!  I have learned to let the excess paint drain out in egg cartons.  We have 25 students, grades K-6 at school.

swirled paint ornaments

In another post I mentioned the very large tree skirt I made for the USDA building in Washington D.C.  My cousin was in charge of over 18,000 ornaments and she made some out of wheat from our farm.   The fall of 2015 was the first year Huffman wheat was available for planting for harvesting in 2016.  This wheat was named after my son, Brad, who passed away in 2013. Here is a link to the story about the wheat naming in 2014.  The ornament is heavily shellacked and has chunky spray glitter on it.  I was given one when I delivered the tree skirt.  These ornaments are hanging on the Capitol Christmas tree on the west lawn in D.C.  My cousin got to go there for the tree lighting Dec. 6th.  I need to steal her picture of my tree skirt!

Huffman wheat ornament

Lastly, we have had a LOT of snow so far this year, not so much in total accumulation, but enough every day to be treacherous.  We have already had two snow days, one of them mostly because the bigger elementary school in town didn't have heat!  This picture was taken yesterday morning out my front door.  Thank heavens I have a pickup with 4 wheel drive and studded snow tires.  My car is all wheel drive, but I feel better in the pickup and it has higher clearance! 

sunrise Dec. 18th

Check out what others are working on at Patchwork Times and Main Crush Monday