Making Progress

I have not totally finished anything in the last week, but I have been sewing!  I mentioned in my last post about a contest to guess the number of quilts in my linen closet and instead of picking a quilt out of there for Chelsea, I found a top in my stash and quilted it.  Chelsea said she liked outdoor things, but also purple and teal and bright colors.  Years ago (more than 10, less than 20!) my guild had a block exchange where you picked the pattern and could provide fabrics and other members made blocks.  I chose a tree, but not in your typical greens, I chose turquoise.  I call it Blue Spruce.  I had the top together, but it was in my massive pile of unquilted tops.  I found some flannels for the backing in my stash (I will get a photo of those for my next post).  I have it quilted, and the binding stitched on, it just needs stitched down.   The interesting thing is that Chelsea's great grandmother was in my quilt guild for many, many years and recently passed away at age 95.  She made a block in this quilt!

I have been a charter member of a local quilt guild since 1993.  The guild has changed and lost a lot of members due to various reasons and they also moved the meetings to daytime.  I cannot attend with my work schedule except for two months out of the year.  Over the years we have done several quilt shows and I have been involved in several of the fundraiser quilts.  

A few years ago as a challenge we were each given a piece of fabric and asked to make something outdoor themed for a raffle quilt.  We didn't have a lot of members and didn't get a large amount of blocks back and the blocks have sat for a few years.  I made the larger center block with my challenge fabric.  This year the members made some 18" finished log cabin blocks  to try to extend the size of the quilt.  The idea was that the quilt could be finished and given to the recipient of a Habitat for Humanity house.  

I was asked to assemble the quilt as putting together odd size blocks is one of my specialties and I have given guild programs on this.  I played with the blocks for a while and finally came up with this arrangement.  I had to make 5 more log cabin blocks and adjust some others.  I am very finicky and blocks should measure the correct size at each step of the process as you are making log cabins and they didn't.  I square mine up after each round.  The quilt top now measures 90 X 108 and the last I heard the group was going to have it machine quilted and then raffle it off afterall and donate the proceeds.

Clearwater Quilters Opportunity quilt top assembled by me

closeup of my block based on a book I can't find right now!

There were 4 leftover disappearing 4 patch blocks and one applique block that didn't work in the quilt.  I made 6 more disappearing 4 patch blocks and assembled this top.  It is 38 X 48 and  might be used on the back or as a quilt for a care center resident.

I have been spending most of my time working on the row by row quilt.  I have 11 rows done and plan to do 5 more.  I actually went to all 16 of these shops!  I am making this quilt queen size.  This is not the arrangement I will use and it will have sashing.  I have more one more vertical row and the others are horizontal.  This is my third year and next year slap me if I decide to do this.  The instructions are generally quite awful and to support the shops I purchased kits and I was short fabric on more than one.  I do have another bright  row that I hope will offset the one bright one.  There was one that was all pastels and I redid it.

pastel row that doesn't fit in the row by row quilt

Fancy Fox is the pattern my daughter brought me in April to tell me she was pregnant and that was the pattern for her baby quilt.  I have not yet purchased fabrics, I will go visit in a couple weeks and do that, but for her I get to make two quilts, yes twins!!!!!!!   The fabrics pictured are for a quilted pillow cover swap on instagram.  I am making a small version of the Fancy Foxes with these fabrics.

Linking up for design wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.