Second finish for 2015: Jason's quilt.

Another tumbler!  Can't believe it, after all the planning and worrying about making the perfect quilt for my son, turns out he loved the little tumbler lap quilt that I made for his partner the best. And so off we went to the store.  I let him pick the material and colours and we put together an awful looking little quilt. I was beginning to think that he or a quilt with his name on it was jinxed. After all this was my fourth try at a quilt for him.  So we scrapped that attempt...you should see my scrap bin now! 

He finally said just make me one like my friend's in browns, greens and with some bright orangy accents.  Part way through the sewing I realized that the rows were out of order changing the colour arrangement that I had spent hours placing. But in the end I came up with this ...

It is so so soft.  I almost don't want to give it to him!  

Actually the picture does not do it justice as it looks sort of like a jewel, the gold leaf pattern I used to quilt it adds to that illusion. It's an odd colour combo but I quite like it.  Hubby likes it too. 

It measures about 55x65 unbound.  I used a washable wool batting to keep it light but warm. The backing is a black plush material that is super snugly.  It's finally bound and ready to send!  

And just think about all that scrap I have to make another quilt. 

Bob's quilt - first 2015 finish

Finally I get to show you this little quilt I have been working on. Because it's a gift for a long time friend I didn't want to give the secret away.  

I don't usually use other peoples patterns but I fell in love with this one. It's called division and was designed by Andy Knowlton of A Bright Corner.  I love the subtle colours and the great pattern. It measures about 53x63.  If I was to do it again (which I might) I would add another row and column making the a much better throw size of 64x74 inches. It has two layers of Dream Poly and a steel grey Minky back. I used white and silver So-Fine thread throughout. 

I stitched in the ditch around the pattern pieces and then chose to heavily quilt it adding a layer of design behind the pattern, and of course, lots of feathers. I tried to give it a whimsical feel. 

All in all I am very pleased with it, just wish my camera was working.  It was iPad all the way. Anyway tomorrow it goes to its forever home. Hope you like it Bob!  Thanks for being such a good friend over the past 20 years. 

2015 goals

Holy cow, I can't believe I missed publishing my goals for 2015. Oh well better late than never and besides they have shifted ever so slightly from my January version. 

This year I am concentrating on building skills building and quilting 12 quilts(mix of lap, full, and queen). 

1. FMQ feathers

2. Circles 

3. Curves -(2) double wedding ring, orange peel

4. Appliqué portraits (2)

5. Hexagon (1) 

6. Kaleidoscope 

7. Improvisational 

8. FMQ geometric designs

9. Scrap quilt - colour study

10. Green leMoyne quilt

11. My own abstract quilts (2 designed)

Start quilting for others

Continue blogging 4 times per month

Make and Quilt charity/give away quilts (with learning goal in each) (30 in 3 years)

Christmas gift from GB

We saw this on the Sew Kind of Wonderful website. https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/post/4275983/3753915595 

She has given great directions in her tutorial.  I just warn you her directions are for an eight foot rack. It is huge!  

My husband decided to make it for me as a wonderful gift for Christmas.  And of course I had to get in there and put as many quilts as I had lying around up...even before it was anchored to the wall. 

2014 Review

My goals for 2014 were a bit ambitious for a beginner. 

Stats: I have finished 17 quilts this year :  

      lap quilts                          5

      Child/baby quilts.             5

      bed quilts (dbl/Qin)           4

      small test doll quilts          2

      Wall hanging.                   1

As follows 

1. Goal:  10 quilts for kids. Although these are not specifically for kids they are quilts that were not specifically identified:

  

     Done - brown tumbler for Keith 

     Done - orange and brown for Alma  

     Done - Kathleen's double bed child's quilt - done

     Done - Disappearing 9 patch  

     Done - rag quilt for baby Gus

     Done - one for Charles' baby  

     Done - baby hexi  - done  

     Done - green test quilt 

     Done - green doll quilt

     Done - green chevron lap quilt and a 

     Done - wall hanging - red

2.  Goal DONE my step dad's queen memory quilt. 

3.  Goal: DONE Make a lap rag quilt that I promised my son in law for his birthday. 

4.  Goal: DONE Make a queen quilt for my sister in law. 

6.  Goal: DONE quilts for Kasey and Rylee, two little preemies born April 14 and just now able to go home.  

7.  Goal: DONE Make pink lap quilt for mom.  

Other goals: 

5.  Design a series of modern design quilt sketches representing work and emotions at work.  I have designed about ten quilts with my little quilt studio.  Made two so far. 

8.  Blog weekly- started blogging in mid/late June 2014. I have done 25 blogs so on an average that is a blog a week. 

        

My present to my granddaughter (9 yrs old)

Last Christmas I sent my granddaughter a sewing machine.  In August, for her birthday, I sent her a beautiful jelly roll of material and instructions for a strip quilt.  My promise to her was that when she came to grandmas' at Christmas I would teach her how to use the long arm and she could quilt her first quilt. 

I had an ulterior motive (or two). First I wanted to pass on a love of mine ... My first love being sewing in general and now quilting.  Second I wanted to give her mother an opportunity to do something with her and/or to have something in common and build a bond with her step-dad's mom who is a great quilter.  Third I wanted to have the opportunity to develop a special bond between us.  

She and her mom sewed the top together and she was extremely excited albeit a bit intimidated with the giant machine. Despite some problems at first with tension and the side holders she took control of the machine and whizzed her way through it.  

We were all so excited that we forgot to take any good pictures and I had to parse this little one out of a phone video. It's not well focused but it will be a nice reminder.

After she was done I bound it and she slept with it Christmas Eve. 

Merry Christmas Sam!

Kathleen's quilt

I am so excited to finally be able to show you Kathleen's quilt.  Kathleen asked me to piece and quilt a fantasy quilt for her little daughter. She gave me some guidelines (her daughters initials within a circle on a plain band  and two bands of colour at the top) but basically left the quilting up to me. Because I have some material left I am making two pillow shams.

I incorporated a bunny, house, umbrella in the rain, and a kitten into a pattern of swirls, bubbles, flowers, leaves, and feathers.  The top border was swirls and the bottom border had a large pattern similar to one I saw on Angela Walter's blog.  

All the material is cotton. The batting is a cotton-poly and I used so-fine thread throughout. I backed it with a soft beige/brown Minky.  I bound it with the same material as in the stripes and I think it adds just the right extra pizzazz to the quilt. 

I love how the name band and bottom border turned out! 

Here is a picture of the centre panel.  

And another of how the panels look together.  

The back is beautiful too!  

I washed it and it looked wonderful but when transporting it it got creased.  I am hoping that with the next wash the wrinkles will hang out. 

Thank you Kathleen for allowing me to do this for you.