Gift quilt and Odds and Ends

Have you ever lost things and think you are going crazy?  In the last six weeks I have lost my two favorite rotary cutters, a good pair of scissors, my 60 degree ruler and my jar of modge podge I bought to try the applique techniques in the book Crafted Applique.

I mention this because I was desperately looking for my 60 degree ruler to make a border print tablerunner.  My mom had asked for donations to the gift baskets they give at the Senior Center fundraiser.  I looked on youtube and managed to cut them out (with errors) using my regular ruler and the 60 degree line.  I had a couple issues, but managed to make a tablerunner and a topper.  After they were done I moved a pile and found the ruler.  I also found the modge podge, but not the other 3 missing things!

 A friend had these scraps leftover over and sewn this square background and gave it to me and said do something with it for the seniors.  It languished for a few months and then I decided to add applique.  Seriously it looked like it matched well when I was making it, but now it looks washed out.  I think I did my duty with donating 3 items.

 I finished the square dance quilt and mailed it off Friday to a friend who recently completed her master's degree while teaching and being a mother to three kids in school.  She did so much for us when my son passed away and I have always wanted to give her a quilt.  I thought a master's degree deserved one!  I originally met her through quilting.  She hasn't had time in recent years for it. 

 Wavy line quilting closeup.

I found the perfect backing online for a science teacher and the colors were a perfect match for the front!  I had a matching sort of stripe for the binding.

In October I took 4 quilt tops to a friend 3 hours away.  She has a longarm and was trying to get her business going again.  I have MANY quilt tops.  I was able to pick them up Saturday since I had other errands to do about an hour north of her.  Yep, it was a long day!

I got all 4 quilts trimmed and ready for binding.  This quilt top belonged to a friend who passed away and I inherited it.  It's not really me and I will be donating it after I bind it.  The blocks were all made by members of a quilt group we belonged to online.

 The same friend loved country fabrics and years ago Pat Sloan had a couple lines of fabric that Debi purchased.  I ended up with the fabric and it's not my favorite but I made this queen size 10 minute block quilt.  This is what I consider my ugly quilt, but I would like to make one out of batiks.  It's quick and easy and fun!  I know the top is as least 7 years old.  I will also donate it.

Another friend from South Carolina passed away and had wanted me to have her featherweight.  Her sister shipped it to me along with a bunch of unfinished projects.  We had been in this row robin together (my row is the 3rd up from the bottom).  It's pretty, but I didn't have extra fabrics and decided against borders and will just bind it with red.  I do like this quilt!

 This is the last Bonnie Hunter mystery I did.  Grand Illusion.  I dislike it intensely.  I LOVED my fabrics, but they didn't work well here.  I only used 5 fabrics and maybe that was my problem  I added pieces to the top and bottom to make it rectangluar.  It is quilted in an allover design.  I will probably donate it unless I find somebody who actually likes it!  It is queen size! I haven't done any mysteries since.

 Last, but not least, here is the pillow I received in the pillow swap on Instagram.  I love it!  I have never had a desire for an embroidery machine, but I do love the effects!  I have been busy photographing my Christmas decorations and Christmas quilts so that will be my next post!

Finish-a-Long

I decided to join in the 2016 Finish-a-Long.  For the first quarter I am listing six projects as my goals.  I hope to do a few more than this, but things come up and change my schedule.  Excuse the unpressed pieces, my tops cupboards are CRAMMED with tops waiting to be quilted and I didn't take time to press them.

First and foremost I need to finish my Quiltmaker Scrap Squad quilt by mid February.  I can't share what the pattern is until it's posted on their blog.  All I can say is the paper piecing is intense!  I love to paper piece, but somehow misjudged how long this would actually take.

parts of Scrap Squad quilt

 This project is so close to being ready to quilt.  I have just a few flowers on the border to hand stitch.  The DJB stands for Debra Jean Bepple, my good friend who passed away in 2010.  She had purchased the BOM but couldn't get it going so I inherited it.  I will do closeups when it's quilted.

This is a scrappy Fairy Frost leftovers baby quilt.  I think I will add one more border and then quilt it.  The scraps are from Gemstones shown in this post.

 Super scrappy 2" squares used as a leader/ender project made up this project.  It will also be donated.

This wallhanging was hand appliqued and will go in my main floor bathroom when it's completed.  The pattern was gifted to me and I used an earth colored batik for the applique.

I still have two months worth of blocks to add to this top, but I need to take all the rows apart and narrow the sashings.  It's just too long and skinny.  I totally mis measured and need to remove some length.  This is the Itty Bitty blocks project from Quiltmaker's blog in 2015.

There it is, six projects to finish before March 31st!  I am looking forward to getting some UFO's done!

August UFO #23

As I mentioned previously I got involved in swaps on the internet and made a lot of friends.  I became particularly close to two women who both passed away and whom I acquired things from.  Vicki from SC was heavily involved in the Pat Sloan internet group and Debi from WA was a fan as well.  I did make several of the Pat's designs and was involved in several swaps and she also designed several fabric lines.  Through Vicki and Deb I seemed to have acquired a lot of Pat's fabric.  Honestly some of it really wasn't my color choices but I had a HUGE bin of it so a few years ago there were postings on You Tube about the "10 minute block".  Next thing I knew I was cutting fabric and made a queen size top.  I don't find it super attractive and have no clue why I made it so the top sits in my cupboard!  Be careful, if you say you like it you will probably end up with it!

One of my favorite quilts

This is one of my favorite quilts. I do have quite a few favorites, but this was my most time consuming quilt at the time I finished it in 1993. It was based on a quilt I saw in an issue of Quilter's Newsletter magazine and I ordered the back issue from 1982 with the pattern in it. I love the contrast of fabrics and I hand quilted it with pink thread. I sent a photo of this quilt to Country Woman magazine and they published the photo in 1995 in the blue ribbon winners section.
This is a top I finished the borders on this morning. The blocks belonged to my late friend Debi and they were from a swap in 2000. She gave the blocks to me last summer and after she passed away last month I got them out and had them on my design wall. This was her layout and her border/sashing fabric. It's a little busy, but it is a special memory quilt as the blocks were made by a lot of people we both knew.