Wow, Almost the End of April!

I really do have good intentions to post on my blog.  I just need to be better at it on my phone and then I could manage it easier.  Getting the pictures to my computer takes effort.  Well, not really, it's just plugging in a cable...  

In my last post (two months ago!) I mentioned our house flooded.  Almost all the repair work has been completed (the bathroom still needs baseboard and the floor guy said it wasn't his job) and I spent my entire spring break working on the house putting things back together and cleaning EVERYTHING, absolutely everything in this big house from the construction dust.  "Someone" still needs to install my new laundry sink, but he has been busy farming.  The laundry sink was old and since it had to come out we chose to replace it with a nice stainless steel one.

I have gotten some quilting done.  These pictures are going to be in a random order.  

Wildest quilt top I have ever made - Kaffe fabric blocks from two swaps, assembled into one top.  The string blocks were sliced in half and I made the middle fit by adding black and white.

I used red and green Christmas low volume prints for this Chamomile Quilt.

Disappearing 4 patch

Another view at dusk with a bit of sunshine.

Brown Bag mystery 2020 Kaffe version.

Brown Bag Mystery 2020 - Batik version piano key border

Partially finished block of the month sample quilt

Easy Stripe Tablerunners

Quilts I made for a 16 year old girl (she went to the one room elementary I work at) and her mom.  The girl is undergoing treatment for her third bout of cancer.  I put two different fleeces on the backs so they could tell them apart.  All the blocks were made over the last couple of years as leader/enders.

Gnome is Where Your Garden Grows - shop sample top

This is a VERY old UFO, more than 15 years old.  I had the blocks done all this time.  Today I put them into a top and I have a backing ready to baste and quilt it.  I needed a gift for a college graduation and the young woman loves blue.  I am using a fun a nd funky backing with pink, her other favorite color!

Linking up with Design Wall Monday.

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.

Making Progress!

I have made progress on the twins quilts!  I had to do a lot of juggling to get all the pieces to fit, but ended up sewing blocks in units and adding filler strips where needed.   I also worked on a few other projects.  I also can't believe how cold it is and the snow we have already had this year!  I hope it is not a prelude of what is to come over the winter.  Work continues to be stressful, but at least we are in school every day, so I need to be thankful I am not teaching Kindergarten and First Grade via Zoom like last spring!

Remy's quilt top without borders.  

If you will notice there is a difference in this one.  I accidentally switched the unit with the green bear, it is supposed to be on the other side of the top!  I noticed after all six sections were assembled and I decided to leave it so it isn't the same as his sister's!

Finn's quilt top

I made 6 border stripe tablerunners for a friend.  They are quick and easy and use the quick turn or pillowcase method of finishing, no binding!  These use the 60 degree ruler.  The ones on the bottom are wider, using the bigger 60 degree ruler.  I didn't even know there was one, but a friend had it.

Linking up with Design Wall Monday.

Two Finishes

I thought I would have something else to show, but it is taking longer than I expected.  I decided to just show that I have two finishes for January so far!  I got the bindings done on my scrappy leftover triangle tablerunner and this Sparkling Gemstones quilt.

Scrappy Gemstones is the name of the pattern in the book Jelly Roll Quilts.  It is not the first one of this pattern I have made.  I originally started this quilt four years ago for a teenager who loves pink.  I never got it to her for graduation.  She will soon be graduating from college and I have no clue if she still likes pink!  I will have to do some sleuthing. I quilted a motif in each elongated 4 patch section, but you can't see it!

Sparkling Gemstones

closeup

These triangles were the cut offs from a sampler BOM quilt top I made.  I couldn't bear to throw them away, so I sewed them up last year.  It's a fun tablerunner now!  I just did straight line quilting on the diagonal.

Scrappy Triangle Tablerunner

pinwheel closeup

Quilting Spree

I have had a lot going on, but I did go to a quilt retreat recently.  I took my Grand Quilter and did some machine quilting.  The room is big with great acoustics and several people use Juki machines and machine quilt at quilt camp.  I made a small dent in my basted pile!  By noon Saturday I was ready for a new project and I had this tablerunner kit.  It was all laser cut but difficult to figure out piece placement. I worked for 8 solid hours on it (with a dinner break of course). It is all fused and thankfully another quilter had brought her applique pressing sheet!

 I ordered the kit from Shabby Fabrics.  It will be trimmed to have rounded corners and I have a packet of embellishments to add after it is quilted.  Quilting will be a challenge!

Here are some of the my projects I have recently quilted at retreat or home.

disappearing 4 patch

quilting closeup

disappearing 4 patch (twin to above quilt)

straight line quilting

These two disappearing 4 patch quilts are going to be gifted to two sisters.  

This simple one patch quilt was made from leftovers of another project.  It is the perfect size for a patient in a wheel chair.

fun flannel backing

I received these blocks in a guild UFO exchange.  There were more, but not made as well and this will also be a perfect care center patient quilt.

fun cat print backing

Laurel Burch panel.  This is all quilted in the ditch.  I am the world's worst quilt photographer.  My quilts really are straight!

This one is currently what I am quilting now!  I am about half way through the blocks.  It is set aside for now as I have been deep fall cleaning my house and we are hosting Thanksgiving for about 30 people and some will be staying a few days.

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.