Still Quilting!

 I honestly have no excuses for not posting photos.  I did post some of them on Instagram.  I got very depressed with the holidays and things not being "normal".  I have nothing to complain about, we are healthy, we have jobs, our children and grandchildren are healthy, but working at a school and dealing with masking took it's toll along with winter blahs.  I do worry a lot about all the families affected by virus.  It has been a rough year for so many people, so I told myself to pull it together!

However, I did keep quilting, it kept my sanity!  I don't even have pictures of everything I made.  I switched phones and thought I transferred everything, but everything is out of order.  I also have a new computer.  Yes, nothing like new electronics to drive a person crazy!  

These won't be in the order I made them, but here goes!

A year ago when I visited my daughter and grandkids in Kentucky, she asked me to make a new tree skirt.  Their tree is decorated all with yellow duck ornaments (I also make or buy the twins yellow duck ornaments every year).  I had these navy Sparkle Suede fabrics and they seemed to set off the yellow ducks.  I had them for another project, obviously I hadn't started that project.  I drafted the pattern myself based on the size of their center opening in their tree holder.  It arrived in time to spend December under their tree!

I was commissioned to make a T-shirt quilt for a sort of relative by marriage. The weather was terrible and I didn't get outside pics so the pics are on my basement floor.  This is an original design/layout.

A friend and I participated in the Merry Mayhem New Year's mystery.  I am not a fan of green, but I loved the new line of fabric called Blooming Bunch for Maureen McCormick from the Brady Bunch.  I do like the layout of this mystery quilt and I really did piece it in one day!

From the same line of fabric I made three aprons.  The toddler size is in the picture.  I also made three tablerunners for my friend's quilt shop.

This is a topper/wallhanging I made this weekend.  It turned out pretty cute!  It is about 30" square.

The next two are for my friend's shop.

I made this tablerunner for a gift.  I loved the dimensional poinsettias.  I used red batiks.  It is hard to see the silver sparkles in the background.

Okay, I will try to keep up with reading blogs and posting on mine!

Linking up to Design Wall Monday.

Design Wall Monday and Retreat

It's been a super busy last few weeks.  We had our county fair, a family get together, work and a quilt retreat!  I finished another t-shirt quilt this month and delivered it for a Christmas gift.  I will take a chance on my boss not reading my blog.  She brought me a huge bag of her son's t-shirts and sweatshirts to make her a quilt from, but her parents were the ones paying me.  I love designing t-shirt quilt layouts.  This one was loosely based on a quilt I saw in Quiltmaker magazine this year.  I added a bit of pink here and there complement the one pink t-shirt!  For some odd reason the edges ruffled a bit, I think it's the polyester batting and not basting the edges together before binding.

I went on a quilt retreat in beautiful McCall, Idaho last weekend.  The hostesses, Corrie and Des are a sister duo that go all out for a wonderful time for Craft Taffy retreats..  The best part was my friend Valerie flying to Idaho from Colorado.  She and I shared a room and had a lot of fun.  This is the first quilt I worked on.  The colors are very different from my usual style.  Aqua, gray and coral.  The pattern is called Cotton Candy and it's about twin size.

There was a nice railing to hang quilts over.  These are some of the quilts others worked on.

Views of the kitchen where Des and Corrie made wonderful food and of the sewing area.  A little of it is out of view.

Kathy taught a Lone Star quilt class that several people worked on.  I did not take the class, but the results were stunning.  I have made Lone Star quilts before, but never out of a jelly roll!  Kathy did an awesome job teaching!  Check out her blog for lots of fun retreat photos at: kathystitchbystitch

 Flowers down the street.

 A young deer following it's mother.  I'm used to lighter colored white tail deer in my yard.

Beautiful Payette Lake at sunset.  Paddleboarders went by and the lake was cold, but one of our group couldn't resist jumping in the lake.  Some of us were tempted, but it was a ways to walk back to the lodge in wet clothes!

This is a preview of my next Quiltmaker Scrap Squad quilt.  Purples!  I slightly overcut on the purple strips, but they will be used in a border.  I can't show any of the blocks yet!

Check out other Monday posts at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

I have nothing on my design wall!  I have the quilt top that was up there the last two weeks sewn together and I'm in the process of adding borders.  I had hoped to have it done but this weekend, but the weekend did not turn out how I had hoped. I work part time at a school and we started school last week.  There were a couple girls who missed school already and Friday night I started getting sick.  I had a flu like bug, fever, chills, headache, backacke, head cold, sore throat, and now a cough.  It hasn't been a fun weekend, but hopefully this will be it for the year!  I had even asked the pharmacist Tuesday about getting a flu shot, but since I'm allergic to eggs he couldn't do it.  I have never been someone to get the shot and now I don't know if I should pursue it or not!

I did get a lot of cutting done this weekend for some upcoming projects.  I have my newest Scrap Squad quilt cut out, but can't show that and I cut up some batiks from some charity quilts.  A few months ago I picked up Fons & Porter's Quilting Quickly because I loved the cover quilt for a scrappy quilt.

inspiration quilt photo from Quilting Quickly May/June 2015

 I decided to do one in purples.  I have a "few" purple batiks.

 Then I cut strips for a fall themed quilt.  Generally I don't do the same pattern more than once, but this seemed like it would be simple and fun.  These are definitely not my colors!

 My order from the The Fat Quarter shop came!  I am joining in on the 1930's Farmers Wife Sew Along starting Sept. 28th and they put together this bundle.  I will use Kona white as my background. Now does it matter that I haven't finished my Farmer's Wife blocks or My Farm Girl Vintage blocks? Of course not, I'm a sucker for sew alongs, but rarely keep up.   I am taking my Farm Girl Vintage blocks on retreat with me in a couple weeks.

I am also working on another t-shirt quilt, this time for my boss.  This one will be different from the one I showed last week with a scrappy setting.  I have the t-shirts prepared with interfacing.

Linking up with Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday and Scrap Squad posting

My design wall is exactly the same.  I haven't touched the blue and green charity quilt from last week. However, I had school district meetings and made a t-shirt quilt from start to finish.  This is being made as a favor for someone and there are lots of Fire related t-shirts as the person was on fire crews. The quilt turned out to be a wide throw.  The sashing is lightweight denim and I didn't take a picture of the pine cone flannel on the back.  I used a lightweight polyester batting and it's still pretty heavy. I did very simple straight line stitching in the sashing and then custom quilted in each t-shirt print with matching threads so not cover up the print.

My big news is last week my quilt was featured on the Quiltmaker Quilty Pleasures blog!  It was a fun quilt to make and one I hadn't been able to show that I worked on.  Check out the blog for my post, but here is the quilt.

Deb's Oriental Garden

Check out Patchwork Times for other great quilt ideas!