Big Finish for 2013!

2013 is almost gone.  It honestly flew by for me.  This is the year that I fell into the blogging world.  A wonderful place where quilters share lots of ideas, tutorials, inspiration, thoughts, blocks, fabric stashes, books, patterns, photos and a piece of themselves.  A big, giving community that I have become enamored with.  Addicted to because we share the same passion.  My tastes have changed over the past year with ROY G BIV being one of my latest and greatest loves.

2014 is almost here.  I look forward to it!  My resolution is to use up a lot of the fabric lines that I have stashed.  I have big plans for most if not all of them; but time is a limited asset for me.  I have purchased the borders, the backing, strips for these quilts in my head.  Another is to finish the quilts I have started.  (Thank goodness for FAL's!)  Yeah, I took the quiz in Quilty magazine and I am mainly a "Finisher".  Hah!  Bits of the others, too.  If you haven't seen the magazine, it is one of my favorites.

Now, here is the finished, washed, dried Easy as ABC quilt.  Please click on the link to go to Blossom Heart Quilts.  Alyce is awesome!  I started doing quilt alongs this year and have totally enjoyed them even though in some I am behind.  But not too worry, after all I am a "finisher"!

Here is the front:

Close up:

Closer up of the quilting (E2E ABC/123 pattern in King Tut - Temple):

The striped black and white binding along with the Spot On Wide backing:

I love it! 

Without the support and love of my dear husband, I could not do all the things that I do.  Today is our 17th Anniversary!  Gotta dash because we are going out to dinner.

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!

xo~

Finishing up 2013

Okay, now that the Christmas rush is over, it's back to looking working on my 4th Q FAL projects.  A few will be carried over to 2014.  (A few!?!  Who am I kidding?)

Last week, I finished 3 small flannel lap quilts to be donated by CCMQG to a local nursing home.

Pulled out two stacks of Eat Your Fruits and Veggies charms, a bundle of low volume fat quarters and worked on this disappearing 9 patch.  Haven't made a disappearing 9 patch quilt before and wanted to give it a try.  I have spent way, way too much time arranging, rearranging, tweaking, looking, rearranging...driving myself crazy!

I needed a fast, easy quilt fix and the disappearing 9 patch with charm squares was perfect.  Except for the rearranging!  Yes, it's been changed from this photo.

I have my in house quilt holder here tomorrow to help display a couple of finished quilts.  Yay!  More later.

Sunday Stash Last of 2013

Here are some photos of these bad boys I have started making a quilt with in my spare time between other quilt projects.   They will be in a king size quilt that will be on my FAL list for 2014.

Now these are some of my most favorite fabrics yet.  It was love at first sight.  The colors, the saturation - my photos do not do them justice.  The fabrics are by designer Alison Glass; Clover Sunshine, Party Streamers, and Corsage.

A 2014 prediction:  the black streamers fabric may end up in some binding.

There you have it - some of my most favorite stash yet.   Linking up now to Finding Fifth Sunday Stash.  Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Holidays to you and yours!

T'was the Friday before Christmas...

My sewing room?  A complete disaster.  My house?  Not much better.  (Thank goodness we are not having company for Christmas this year!)  Between wrapping presents, carrying a doggy girl outside to do her business (she's recovering from knee surgery), doing payroll, cutting, piecing, sewing, blah, blah, I am happy to have TWO quilt tops done!  The backs for both are done as well.  Not completely finished but getting there.  Both of these are on my 4th Q FAL list.  (Whoooo Hooo!  Get to mark them off my white board.)

Easy as ABC QAL with Blossom Heart Quilts.  Sashed with 2.5" strips, this top ended up at 72" x 98".  Nice for a twin size bed.  The fabric is from Sew Lux Fabric.  Every month I would get the fat quarters from them for the blocks.  Great colors and fabrics!

I didn't have much to prepare on the backing because I used Robert Kaufman's Spot On Wide fabric in aqua.  Except that I only got two yards and needed 2 1/2 yards.  I did have to cut off some of the extra length and sew it on the side.  It is still going to be close.

Not sure what to bind it with yet.  Black polka dot fabric?  Some navy and green mum fabric from Simply Style (the fabric that the O is made with)?  Any ideas?  Would love to hear them!

Here are pictures of both quilt tops draped over the long arm frame.  It will be a quilt-a-thon weekend here with the house getting dustier and messier.  It'll wait.  Right?!?

Linking up now to Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.



WIP Quilts

Just about ready for Christmas!  (I think...)  August is the month I start working on quilts and other hand made gifts and yet it seems that I have something that is not finished until right before. This year is no exception.  Today, I pieced the last 5 blocks for the Easy as ABC QAL and got the first row sewn together.  This is one WIP quilt.

 

 

I plan on having the quilt top pieced together and ready to be quilted by Saturday, but we all know how plans go.  Aren't those some great colors?  Thanks to Sew Lux Fabric for the colorful bundles that I received every month from them.  Can't wait to see this one all pieced together!

 

Here are a couple of pictures of another WIP quilt.  Yes, it is another Dr. Seuss quilt.  This one is for my Granddaughter.  Yes, this is the 6th Dr. Seuss quilt I've made.  My friend Jessica joked, "That's a lot of Sam I Am!"  Yes, yes it is!  But I LOVE Dr. Seuss.  I have so many fond memories of reading the books with my Dad.

 

 

Here it is ready to be quilted; draped over the long arm frame.



Both quilts are twin sized, about 75" x 90".

This year, I am wishing for a couple of elves to come and help.  Does anyone else feel the same way?  Linking up now to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

TGIF! The 13th?!?

I am so glad there is something called "Finish it up Friday" hosted by Crazy Mom Quilts!  It motivates me to get things done!

I don't know about you, but this past week has been absolute craziness!  I have been drinking too much coffee, trying to accomplish too many things at the same time, wrapping presents, shipping presents, wrapping more presents...work, oh yeah, that too.  Work has been insane as well.   Not to mention one of our doggies has had knee surgery (poor baby!) and has to be kept in a doggie kennel, carried outside to do her business, medicated 3 times a day.  Been falling in bed at 9ish dog tired (hah!). 

Enough of that!  Odds are at this time of year, most everyone is busy, busy, busy and don't need to spend time reading about my boring busy-ness.

So... pictures below of what I finished:

Doll Quilt and Pillow for my Granddaughter.  Stitched in the ditch with flannel backing and satin binding.

Hourglass pattern made with some of my Heather Bailey charm stash.

Hop Skip Jump BOM #7  (Caught up!)

One of the blocks for the Coastal Carolina Modern Quilt Guild Bee.  Made with the HSJ Block #7 pattern.

 



Pictures of the Winter's Stars quilt all washed and ready to go!  (It's been shipped and should arrive at it's destination today!)

 

Linking up now to Crazy Mom Quilts and to TGIFF!

Finish it Up Friday - Winter's Stars

I have a finished quilt top for today!  The fabrics are Winter's Lane by Kate & Birdie Paper Co., charm packs (2), plus some tone on tone off white fabric from the local fabric shop.  Used the Creative Grids Lazy Angle ruler to make the stars.  Hence the name, Winter's Stars.  The quilt is about 63" x 68".  Nice throw size to cuddle under.

 

 

It is THAT time of year, and finished is better than perfect!  Not that I ever achieve perfect anyway!  This quilt is a Christmas gift for a wonderful family in Arizona.  I hope they like it!  The backing is pieced and ready to go.  Tomorrow, it goes on the long arm for some edge to edge quilting in a pinecone pattern. 

 

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts with my finish!

 

UPDATE:  On the longarm now ~

 

And now, all quilted in an E2E poinsettia pattern.

Another 4th Q Finish Dad's Quilt

I have had this quilt kit for almost a year. I have a lot of guilt for not getting it done last year.  It is from Connecting Threads and I bought the kit to make it for my Dad.  The quilt just looks like something my Dad would love; the colors, the flannel, the wildlife, everything about this quilt is my Dad.  But my Dad is in the final stages of Alzheimer's Disease.  He hasn't known who I am for a long time.  Not even a glimmer of recognition in his eyes.  My Dad was a very active, outdoors kind of guy.  Always had to be doing something.  If he sat still, he would fall asleep.  He used to feed the deer that were around on his property.  He even had a pet deer!  He's actually a farmer, which makes me a farmer's daughter.  (Oh, you know I am going to do something with that quilt block!)  So, anyways, it kills me to see him the way he is now.  Alzheimer's is called the long goodbye.  It is heartbreaking.  Seriously heartbreaking.  And another part of why I started to quilt a few years ago was because I saw the Alzheimer's Memory Quilts.  The second quilt I made was for my Dad.  A flannel rag quilt.

This quilt will be mailed off to my Dad today.  He is in Utah; I live in North Carolina.  Yeah, that part sucks.  Big time.  So, please, go hug your Dad if you can!  Tell him you love him.

 

Quilted edge to edge with deer antlers and hooves.  So appropriate!

 

Picture of the deer eating the hay put out for them.

Me (in red) with my older brother and my Dad.  Look at that John Deere combine!