Saturday, December 26, 2009

A Quilt with a View

I made two quilts from the pattern "A Quilt with a View," which was in the September 2005 issue of McCall's Quick Quilts magazine. In both quilts I used corduroy from yardage and clothing (pants, shorts, etc., which I obtained mostly from garage sales) and backed one with flannel and the other with homespun. I serged the corduroy squares with the black cotton strips and they went together really fast -- a perfect quilt for using this type of squares -- or so I thought. However, after having them quilted, I took them to a laundromat to use front-loading washing machines and dryers to launder them as they were too heavy to launder in my home machines. In a couple of places on each, I noticed that the corduroy is tearing away from the black strips. :-( I guess corduroy maybe wasn't the best choice afterall. I made these for my two oldest, college-aged sons for Christmas and was hoping for something that would withstand lots of wear. They did like them though, so I will repair them and they will use them.

Kip and his quilt.

Micah and his quilt.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Shea's quilt

My 10 year old loves purple and blue.... I also embroidered her name on all the purple blocks.


Kathy Tree did the quilting. So perfect!



Monday, December 21, 2009

Red & Green

This is my "red & green" quilt that I did many years ago. It was a free quilt-of-the-month (November) pattern from Wal-Mart -- I have no idea of the year. It was one of the first quilts that I actually sewing-machine quilted myself, but I think it needs much more quilting in it. Because of the colors, I like to pull this out for use in December.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Fok Art Angel

I started this block-of-the-month quilt in a class at a local fabric shop several years ago. The sample quilt at the store was made with 1930's reproduction fabrics and I thought it was so beautiful. It is in this class that I learned how to do machine applique. I found out then I really didn't like doing machine applique at all. I didn't like how the angel blocks looked and felt frustrated, so I put the entire thing away. Well, as time passed, I learned that I really do like machine applique. In fact, it is one of my favorite things to do now. When I was looking through my stack(s) of unfinished projects, I happened upon this and realized how much I really did like it now. I remembered showing the blocks to my mother once and how much she liked them, so I decided to finish the quilt and give it to her for Christmas. I almost wanted to keep it for myself, but it is now on its way to my mother. I know she will enjoy it too.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Puppies Baby Quilt

My mother embroidered the puppy blocks and asked me to make them into a quilt for her newest great grandchild (#4) due to arrive sometime in December. Since I didn't know whether it would be a boy or a girl, I went with the green dotted fabric (from my stash) for the front.
For the back I found this cute puppy fabric (in my stash also). My mother embroidered blocks and made them into baby quilts for each of her ten grandchildren. She continues to do embroidery, but has given up quilting and just asks me to do it instead.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Christmas Goodies

It’s time to put away the fall and bring out the winter. Christmas Goodies, from the book Ladybug, Ladybug... by Black Mountain Quilts, was an enjoyable quilt to make for the holidays with its gingerbread cookies and peppermint candies – fun and festive. I made the quilt top a couple of years ago and finally had it quilted this year. Cathy did another excellent job in quilting it – notice the “Merry Christmas” on the gold strips. See Bliss' quilt here.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Saying goodbye to another friend...

My friend, Melissa is moving (Take a look at her fabulous blog)

So sad for me. Can you guess what her going away present was?

A quilt.

Of course!

Note the kitten at the top.... my son thought it would add a nice touch to the photo.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Giveaway Win

Yep! I actually won something! A big thanks to Shari at Mumsyblossom's World for sending this wonderful Australian magazine my way. When I opened my mailbox and saw the envelope from Shari, I could hardly wait to open it. If you haven't seen any of the Australian quilting magazines, you are missing out. Their projects are soooo nice. Now all I need to do is decide on which project to start first!

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Pumpkin Patch

Here is another fall quilt I started and finished this year. It went together really fast and then I had Cathy quilt it -- and she did a wonderful job in quilting it too. The pattern for "Pumpkin Patch" is found in the book Season to Season by Patchwork Moon. On the pattern it says "little details like quilted stars, leaves, and pumpkins make this harvest wall hanging 'fall-tastic'!" So true!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Pictures of the wedding quilt

Remember this sneak peak? I finished the quilt quite a while ago and sent it up to get quilted by another friend of the bride. This is one quilt that I DID NOT like as I was making it... but by the time it was finished it had grown on me.




Thursday, October 22, 2009

What was I thinking??!!

I LOVE using my scraps and stash... so when I see a pattern that works with lots of colors, I'm ALL excited to get started. This pattern was in the February 2009 American Patchwork & Quilting. I actually cut it down about 1/3. But it was still crazy.

How crazy?

429 pieces of fabric.
429 pieces of fabric cut.
429 pieces of fabric sewed back together.

But I LOVE it. And now I'm sad that it is going to live at my MIL house. It's a good thing I love her more than my quilts. A very good thing.




Monday, October 19, 2009

Another UFO done!!

I finally finished my Block-a-Day Nine Patch. I obviously didn't do a block a day (since I started it waaaayyyyy back in April).

But I love how it turned out!

Monday, October 12, 2009

Bernina club quilt

This quilt was started 6 years ago, This summer I worked on
trying to finish up projects that had been put aside. I got 5 quilt
tops done and only 2 quilted so far, Hopefully more to come soon

French Roses


This is a quilt I started about 3 years ago, I collected the
fabrics on our travles back east.
Pattern is French Roses designed and created by
Heather French

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Another UFO done!!

Last year, Jen (one of our quilt sisters) gave me a wonderful birthday present....

She and Grey had both done this blessings wall hanging and I kept saying how much I loved it, but just hadn't gotten around to starting it. Jen cut out and fused on ALL the pieces.... and guess what??? That's the part I DON'T LIKE. Now that's a perfect present for me :)

Here's a photo of the one Grey did - rather than quilting it, she put it over an old picture frame and hung it from an old board. Beautiful :)

Thursday, October 1, 2009

New Quilting Project


This is the beginning of Melissa's new quilting project using the beautiful 30's fabrics. It's going to be beautiful!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Pumpkin Party

Fall is in the air! I enjoy fall with all it brings -- cooler weather, colorful leaves, pumpkins, etc. I've always liked oranges and earthy colors, so I was able to put them all together in this quilt. Pumpkin Party by Crazy Old Ladies was a fun fall quilt to make.

Friday, September 18, 2009

UFO #1 COMPLETE!

I love quilts for the different seasons and started this one about 2 years ago. After I sewed all the circles together I realized that the half-circles were backwards... I quietly folded up the quilt and put it away. But with my new dedication to finishing projects, I pulled it out. It was the easiest of all the UFO's so I quickly got started.

Summer Time is going to be a gift for "someone". I know this "someone" reads my blog.... so there will be no names :) Ya'll just have to hope it is you :)


I LOVE the look of pebble quilting,
but just the border took EIGHT bobbins of thread.
and a WHOLE lot of time!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Blue and Cream

I have a friend with a son getting married... I needed something quick and easy! He is in the airforce and their wedding colors are navy and cream.




I used bit of patriotic fabric for the back....

Monday, September 14, 2009

A Neat Quilt Story -- Part 1

It will hopefully have a happy ending...but it will be up to me. How's that for putting a little pressure on myself?

Last Friday morning, the 11th, I headed to a garage sale that had advertised "quilt and cross stitch material." What a gold mine! I was sifting through all the available goods, wondering why someone would be getting rid of the great fabric, and why it wasn't very organized, when a nearby man mentioned that all this stuff belonged to a woman in her 30's who recently passed away from a sudden illness. She was an avid quilter, and her mother, who knew nothing about quilting, had to clean out her house, sell all her things they didn't need, and settle her affairs. Suddenly, this happy moment took on a little sadness.

I picked out all the stuff I was interested in (it was really hard to keep within my budget!), and took it to the woman to pay, asking her if I could pay for part of it now, and I would go to the bank to get more cash and return to pay for the rest. She had no problem with that. While going to the bank, I called my quilting friend who is also into making aprons to sell. On the spot, she postponed her canning of carrots until after a trip to the garage sale.


Some of the fabric was grouped into bags, which looked like partially finished projects. Other fabrics were in piles of flat folds. There were books and notions galore. This is what I got for $40.00.



3 rulers
1 small cutting mat
8 quilting books
a pile of folded fabrics and fat quarters
4 bags of partially finished projects
a small collection of neutrals
a bias tape maker
a value finder
Quilter's Speed Grids
Quilter's Template Kit
and a couple of music CD's

When I was paying for the loot, the woman pointed to the largest project bag of fabrics, mostly purples, with some things sewn together, and she said, "That quilt was going to be mine. My daughter was making it for me. I'd love to see it if you ever finish it." So now you can probably see where I am going with this. I have to finish the quilt and give it to this woman!

When I got home and dug into my new treasures, I discovered that there were some fabrics in the partailly finished projects that didn't seem to match up with anything else, and I remembered seeing fabrics in the piles that should have been put with the partially finished projects. I debated...should I run back to the garage sale? I called my quilting friend to explain the dilemma. She brought her purchases over to my house and we mixed and matched...she had some things that went with my projects, and I gave her some stuff she could use for aprons that I probably wouldn't need! It was a win/win. Together, we tried to make sense of the unfinished quilt projects.

I did find a piece of graph paper with a sketched out pattern in one of the books I bought. I goes right along with one of the bags of unfinished projects. It is made of "Grecian Square" blocks in red, blue, green, black, and cream.


The "purple bag" and one of the other bags seemed to have things sewn together in a similar pattern. I've seen quilts like it at shows, but have never know anyone who made one. The constuction was totally foreign to me; there were strip sets sewn into tubes. My friend suggested I take it to our quilt group which was meeting that evening. Another friend there was not familiar with the "tubes," but knew these kind of quilts were called "Bargello" quilts. We were all confused by the fact that some strips were narrow, and some wide. Without a pattern, I could not see how we could figure this out.
The first friend then recalled that one of the books at the garage sale was about Bargello quilts!
First thing Saturday morning, I was off to the garage sale again, and sure enough by some miracle, a book called "Colorwash Bargello Quilts" was still there! A pattern called "Enchanted Carpet" in the book was marked with a post-it note, and the narrow and wide strips and the tube constuction in that pattern matched those of the first of my two unfinished Bargello quilts! Also, I found an additional bag of numbered fabric strips that matched the fabrics of the first Bargello quilt.














The purple bag, the more important one, does not have nearly as much done as the first one does. And it also may not be complete on having all the needed fabrics. But there are also a lot of large triangles in the bag. So I figure I've got to practice the Bargello technique by getting the first one together, and hopefully come up with something to do with what there is in the purple bag.

Stay tuned for more as the story unfolds, and if you know anything about doing Bargello quilts, please contact me!

Baby Quilts

I had all seven back in the nest for the summer...barely got a turn on the computer! I have finally sent them all back to college and school. The only projects I completed this summer were two baby quilts.

This one was made with all left-over scraps from my two daughters' quilts I did a few years back. There is no batting; just a flannel backing, which is what I actually prefer for babies. Soft, flexible enough to wrap them up in, and not stiff.




This one was made for an expectant couple on their way to grad school at BYU. I figured the little guy will have no choice but to become a loyal BYU fan! I was overly surprised to stumble upon flannel BYU fabric at Joann's here in Michigan...sandwiched right between fabrics for Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Purdue. Who would have thought? Hubby was overjoyed with a pair of homemade BYU flannel pants for his birthday, and the little tyke got a baby quilt from the left-overs. This one is all flannel pieces for the top, cotton on the back, with batting.


Saturday, September 12, 2009

How many do you have???

I was going to buy some fabric this week for a new project, but told myself I had to organize my stash. (which definitely did NOT look like this post) About half way through I started feeling VERY ANXIOUS about the amount of my stash and all my UFO's (unfinished objects) and decided I needed to EARN my new fabric by finishing all the projects I have started.

I have five UFO's. Six if you count Nice People Nice Things - but since I am doing TWO of each block, this is on my 100 year quilt plan. Definitely not on this list!

How many do you have?

Let us know in the comments and I challenge everyone to finish up those old things!!

Come on - we can do it!!!!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Back in the saddle again!!

YAY!!!
I am quilting again
I missed my fabric
I missed my quilt friends...


Remember this fabric? Well... after I got the wedding quilt all laid out on my floor, I HATED it. There was TOO much color and it made me nauseous just looking at it. I made some changes (sorry, you can't see the finished project until it's quilted) But then I had lots of cut out squares and triangles. What to do??

Make another quilt!!

This one is for my Uncle's 79th birthday.


And I decided to try pebble quilting.
Lots of thread.
Lots of time.
Not-so-perfect pebbles.

But I really liked how it turned out.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Heart & Home


Heart & Home was another fun quilt to do as the blocks were simple to make and it didn't take long to finish. The instructions for this quilt are found in a book with the same name, Heart & Home "Quilt of the Month" by Suzanne McNeill. As in a previous quilt I did, Vintage Holiday, I used fabrics from the Oak Leaves and Reel fabric line, plus a few others. The instructions give yardage for both the use of jelly rolls or fabric yardage, so that was helpful as I used yardage. Cathy did the wonderful quilting on it.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Quilt Display

Last week my daughter, McK, and I went to a local quilt display (sponsored by Hardtops and Bernina in Lubbock). There were many quilts on display, so I thought I would just share a few of them with you.

A bright Texas Tech quilt, pieced with embroidered blocks.


"Recycling Like Grandma"

Hundreds, maybe thousands, of little finished 1" squares!


"Lost Socks"

Several of my sisters have done this quilt.
I borrowed the pattern, but haven't started it yet!


A fall wall hanging or table runner.


Bernina Quilt Club Sampler from 2007.

They are doing this quilt this year also.
I am taking the class and especially enjoy doing the applique.


"Father's Ties"


Here's a close up of the ties used in the blocks.


"Eagle Scout"

I would have liked to have been able to see all of this quilt.


"Dessert Blooms"

I like the black and white stems.


"Checkerboard Flowers"

I have the pattern for this quilt but haven't yet made it.


"Americana"

This quilt was done in a class at Bernina.
I have yet to finish my quilt. :)

Another "Americana"


Machine embroidered on black and white.
I really like this quilt,
but don't have an embroidery machine. :(


A close up of a couple of blocks.
Doesn't the white on black and black on white just look stunning!


McK picked this quilt as her favorite.
It didn't have a name, but it was made using the "Taxi" pattern.


"Old Glory"

Probably my favorite
I need to find a pattern for that flag.


A bit long, but hope you enjoyed seeing the quilts. There were many more, but I didn't get pictures of the others.