quilts and more quilts

Last year was a quilty year.
And here's some of the proof. And when I say some, I really mean smidgen. I have made so many quilts in the past 12 months that I'm actually a little embarrassed.
I'll begin with a quilt I made for my little grandson. Simple four patches were cut to become ...

Disappearing four patches. Here is a link to a tutorial by Material Girl which shows the block technique I used. The only difference with mine is that I didn't use a solid color with a print but instead two prints.

I made this quilt with my outdoorsy son-in-law in mind. Don't you love the little foxes in the blue fabric?

And here is baby Blake's blessing quilt made last September. I took this photo while visiting my daughter and her family for Christmas. The snow on the ground is reflecting some yellow onto the white. I hope that wasn't because .... you know what can make yellow snow!

Isn't baby precious all wrapped up in it?  The pattern is from The Big Book of Baby Quilts and is called "Wonder Baby".

Both of these quilts were backed with minky for extra warmth and snuggliness!

And my final quilt post of the day is of the gift I made for my son-in-law for Christmas.

The pattern was called Apple Crisp, but a Google search doesn't show this block for that name. Hmm.

This quilt was made from two runner kits that I had bought at the shop where I work. But I noticed that if I cut the strips very carefully, I could get 2.5" out of them instead of the intended 1.5". With bigger strips I could make bigger squares, in other words an actual quilt - albeit a scrappy one.  Because I couldn't get enough out of one strip length to complete the large square each time, I simply made occasional blocks a little hodge-podge scrappy.The solid black square in the center keeps it from looking too hobo. I hope.
Cody loved it, and that's the main thing. My daughter says he uses it almost every evening. Success!

More later ...

quilting friends

During quilting class this week, we had our end-of-year/Christmas party.  The food was beyond delicious - my favorites being the stuffed mushrooms (ok, I brought those) and the bean dip (thanks, Holley!). Our teacher, Kathy, gave each of us a quilt block "rug" made from the gorgeous Moda fabric line "Midwinter Reds".

Seeing that I had something smart to show, I finally mounted the bird cage display that I had purchased about a year ago.  I'm sorry the photo is so lousy but it's in the corner, the day is gloomy, and I only have a cell phone camera (note to Santa!).  The little hanging bobble block is something I picked up a few days ago for $4 at the quilt shop. I'm anxious to add more interesting items.

And here is the mug rug that my friend Holley gave me (yes, Holley of the favored bean dip).  She had made a different one for each person in the class.  Holley is the bomb!

And finally, here is the darling pincushion that my friend Karen made.  She gave me three to choose from and I picked the red with dots because it so nicely matched "Bernina" written on my sewing machine.
Not true.
I picked it because I had been to Disneyland the day before and it reminded me of Minnie's dress.  But it does coordinate beautifully with my machine.

Christmas is fun!

dresden dish towels

I needed simple gifts to give a few of my friends for Christmas ... something inexpensive ... something homemade ... something quick. And actually in the end I got a bonus - but more on that in a later post.

For about a year now, I have wanted to do something with the vintage towels that are sold in the quilt shop where I work. First step: buy 10 towels in five colors: berry red, bright green, pale yellow, deep sky blue, and black (sorry, not all pictured). Nest step: think of something interesting to stitch on the front using what you have on hand at home.
 So I took this ...

Made by this company ...

And these simple tools ...

To make this finished product.
I like to think of it as "half a Dresden plate is better than none!"

I packaged them all in clear treat bags and slipped a Merry Christmas cupcake pick behind a twine bow.

And because I had them, I sealed the back with a bakery sticker.

I'm thinking I need to make just one more for my son's piano teacher whom I'll see tomorrow at lessons.
You know what I'll be doing tonight ...

H - A - double L - O - double U - double E - N

Halloween is just around that old creepy corner.  Although I'm not a big fan of the holiday ... except for the chocolate ... I do "get a little pumpkin on" in spite of myself.

The trick of treat banner is an idea I copied from a Pottery Barn catalog a couple of years ago (mine is a larger version), and the bewitched refused to focus wall hanging is one you might remember from last year.  Besides an orange candle here and there, this is the sad extent of my holiday spirit.  Fortunately, no one has complained.  Otherwise I'd have to get my witch on!

Oh, yes!  I do have this quilt as a shop sample where I work.  I'll probably get it back after the holiday.

binding stack

Last night my sewing project was to get some binding made for quilts that have been dropped off or are going to be dropped off at the quilter this week.  I stack the finished rolls on a paper towel holder to keep the binding tidy until sewing time.

The first binding roll is for a brown, outdoorsy looking baby quilt; the next is for a quilt for my new grandson's blessing day; the next is for a quilt which I made for said blessing day which turned out to be too big and now has no home; the next is for a quilt where I used "Seaside" by Riley Blake and the broken dishes block; and the final is for a funky, Anthropologie looking quilt that I made from Joel Dewberry's Notting Hill line.  All will be blogged once they are finished.

jelly & jam quilt

Sadly, my employer is not well.  I will be working Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to help out in the shop while she recovers.  Because I'm leaving Thursday to spend a few days in Sacramento, I decided I needed to get my latest quilt posted before my next quilts are back from the quilter (pressure!)

This one is for my niece Ana who is currently away at college in Rexburg, Idaho.
A long way from home.
In a wasteland.
In need of comfort!

I think you'd agree that because quilts are a labor of love, they are a perfect way to let people know that you care about them.  And I do love the practicality of them, too.

I'll never forget one day seeing a pick-up truck loaded with furniture with a beautiful vintage quilt being used to wrap one of the items in the bed.  That, my friends, is taking practicality a little too far.  How I wished I would have motioned for the drivers to pull over and had offered them money for it.  I would have taken the dear home and appreciated it like it had probably never been appreciated before.
I reasoned that the people probably would have thought I was a psycho, so I let them travel on.
But I still think about "what if"and dream that someone rescued the gem from her abusive owners.  Where's QPS (Quilt Protective Services) when you need it!

The main fabrics I used came from a fabric roll I had in my stash - Fandango by Kate Spain.  The quilt pattern is a Fig Tree & Co. named Jelly and Jam and made from one jelly roll, sashing fabric, and border fabric.

The backing is a soft homespun.  Perfect cuddling fabric!  I was happy to find it in pink.

As it is 2:40am and I have a b-u-s-y week ahead working and trip preparation (don't forget to sprinkle in bills, laundry, upcoming Father's Day, LIFE), I'd better run for my pillow now!

I can explain....

*cricket chirp*
repeat
repeat

I know what you're thinking.....
Is anyone out there????

I promise that I have some really good excuses as to why I haven't been around this past month.
Let's begin...

We drove 1600 miles round trip and attended my daugher's college graduation in Logan, Utah (yay, Nat!) and helped her pack up and move out of Cache Valley FOREVER, and....
I frolicked for 10 glorious days with my darling eldest daughter and her 2 year old son (aka, Grandma's Boy) while they were here visiting and....
I prepared and delivered a presentation to DUP (Daughers of the Utah Pioneers), and....
I added a day of work each week to my fun little quilt shop job, and....
I drove over 1,000 miles to and from Sacramento to visit my dear mother, and....
We enjoyed a calorie laden Memorial Day BBQ with friends... and
I attended my son's seminary graduation last night (I just randomly threw that one in).

Just so you don't doubt me, I'm going to give you some proof  ...

My girls on the Quad at Utah State University.

Graduation dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  Nat rode the "celebration saddle" while we all sang to her.  Perfect for the Equine Science graduate!

No trip to Utah is complete without feasting at Chuck-A-Rama.

Our day at Disneyland was SO STINKIN' HOT!  Evan's face says it all.

Jealous? You can't help it!

We stayed three glorious nights here at the Wyndam Resort (thanks MOM!)

A completion of four long years of EARLY morning religion classes. My son is second from the left.

People.
I missed three weeks of quilting class.  Ultimate proof that I was busy!!!

But today was the day that I dusted off my abandoned sewing machine and reacquainted myself with a needle and thread.

First, I finished the last of my broken dishes blocks.  These were made from a 10" stacker of Riley Blake's Seaside fabric.  I had cut each square into four 5" blocks and then using this method, made half-square triangles.  I had then sewed four HST's of the same fabric into one broken dishes block. After all 100 small blocks were made, I then combined four random blocks together to make 25 large blocks.

And here I've stopped. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing next (any suggestions??).
This dilema is a hazard of starting a project without a clear sense of direction.
For now, the blocks simply exist to make me happy.

ON to my next accomplishment:
These three quilts are donation quilts for Project Linus that someone had dropped off at the shop where I work.  They were unbound, so I volunteered to finish them up.  It's funny how I had just been thinking that I would like to do something service oriented using my quilting know-how when these magically appeared. No coincidence here, I think.

As you can see, I used a couple of baskets in my "photography" (term used loosely!).  That is so when my husband looks at the stacks of baskets I have stored in the garage and asks, "Do you really ever use these?" I can answer, "Oh, yes I do!"

just stitchin'

Here's what my sewing machine and I have been up to lately.
I do have other sewing projects to start (a robe for my daughter and pillowcases for my stepdad), so I'm going to hold off taking these latest quilts to the quilter until the other items are finished.  It's a self-imposed reward system that I have!

This quilt is going to be for my grandson, Evan.  He has an adorable nautical themed bedroom and the colors of these fabrics will perfectly match what is already in his room.  The pattern is from the Fons & Porter magazine Easy Quilts and is called Square Knots.

This  next quilt top is one that came from scrapping another quilt that I had started. I had only gotten as far as the 16 patches when I realized I was not going to be happy with it.  I cut the blocks on the diagonal and set them with a neutral background to make gigantic pinwheels.
No regrets.

I'm off to Utah this week to attend my daughter Natalie's college graduation.  Then my daughter and grandson are coming to visit for ten days.  LOTS of fun in my future!!!