Scrappy Hearts

This quilt was also finished on our last trip to New Jersey (Sept. 5), and I didn't take a picture or post about it either.  I've just had too many irons in the fire lately (plus I need a new iron, but that's another story), I guess.  It also still needs a label, and this one also needs an official name.

For the moment I'm calling it Scrappy Hearts, but I don't know if it will be the pattern name or the quilt name.  And I don't know if I would even write up this pattern.  The heart pattern is the same heart from my Heart Strings pattern, but this time with scraps instead of a jelly roll, and obviously in a different configuration.  Hopefully it will at least get a label made for it soon.  I'd hate to forget!

Update: I decided to name this one Piece of My Heart, after the Janis Joplin song.

Felina

I actually finished the binding on this quilt over a month ago (Aug. 29), while we were on our latest trip to New Jersey, but I forgot to post a picture of it.  It is actually still waiting on a label because I have other hand sewing that is getting priority over it, but I wanted to go ahead and post about it before it gets any farther away from it's "finished" date.

The pattern is called Latin Lady, and I was having trouble coming up with a name for the quilt.  One of my sons suggested the name "Felina" - the name of the lady love in the old song El Paso.  We also used to have a cat by that name.  I decided to go with it.  It's as good as any other name, I guess, and Felina was a Latina Lady.

Mischievous Wife top finished - really this time

I ordered some dark, batik, multicolored fabric to add as a border to my Mischievous Wife quilt.  I decided against adding a white inner border.  I'm still not loving it, but the dark border adds a nice frame to it.  I wish it wasn't quite so dark, but hey, you take what you can get. 

The quilt top finishes at 72 x 80 inches, so it's a fairly big quilt.  I have no idea what will become of it once it's quilted and finished.  I can't really imagine using it anywhere.  Maybe one of my granddaughters will like it and want it some day.  Who knows.

Mystery Quilt Blocks 10

At our last guild meeting we got the instructions for the last set of blocks in our mystery quilt.  I sewed these together this afternoon.  Nothing too difficult.  The patches that make up the plus sign in the middle are all rectangles, except in the very center, but that was the only "tricky" thing about it.

I will miss next month's meeting because I will be out of town, but I'll be ready to sew it all together when I get the instructions once I'm back home!

Texas Treasure Baby Quilt

Today I finished the quilt top for my forthcoming granddaughter, due in December.  I tried to match the colors and theme that they are using in the nursery.  Below is a picture my daughter sent me of the decorations they have bought so far.  It may not be exact, but hopefully it's close enough.

I designed this quilt based on the Texas Treasure block found in the Better Homes & Gardens 501 Quilt Blocks book.  That's the only place I've been able to find this block, and in the book it is a 4 inch block.  Obviously I enlarged it.  I also added a couple of borders.  The quilt is 38 inches square.  I've actually made a similar quilt top in the past, but the focus fabric had bigger pictures, so it is done in a different scale and doesn't have the outer border.

This quilt doesn't really fit with my goals for this year, because I bought the fabric this year and I had already made a quilt from this design before, but I figure gifts for grandbabies are sufficient reasons to deviate from the program.  Especially since this grandbaby wasn't even conceived yet when I set my goals for the year.

Whole Wheat Bread

In addition to all the sewing I did today, I also baked a loaf of whole wheat bread!  I got the recipe from King Arthur Flour's website.  I haven't tried it yet, so I have no idea how it actually turned out.  It smelled really good while it was cooking, though.  I used the maple syrup option in the ingredients, so it will theoretically have a hint of maple to the taste.  Fingers crossed!

The plan for the bread, or at least part of it, is to make avocado toast with a fried egg for breakfast in the morning.  It sounds yummy.  Hopefully it actually will be.

Self-binding Baby Blanket

Today I made a blanket for my granddaughter that is due to be born in December.  I followed the tutorial from Missouri Star Quilt Company, and I ordered the fabric from there as well.  Thanks to a screw-up with the USPS it took a side trip to Hawaii before the fabric made it to me, but at least I got it.  The fabric is just well traveled, that's all.  And I guess it has more traveling to do, because the baby will be born in Washington state.  Oh the places we will go...

Mischievous Wife Section 1 and Done!

I decided not to wait any longer to finish my Mischievous Wife quilt.  Several other members who are actually doing the Gypsy Wife quilt have already finished and shown their completed tops, so I figured that I might as well too.  I mean, what's the point in being Mischievous if you can't break a few rules, right?  So above is my finished Section 1 and below is my completed quilt top.

I say it's completed, but I might still add a border.  I didn't originally intend for it to have a border, but it might need one.  I'll have to see if I can find fabric that I like for the border or not.  I could maybe see a narrow, white inner border and then a multi-color, wider outer border.  We'll see.

Mischievous Wife - Section 2

We are finally coming into the home stretch on this year's Moda project.  The only section left after this one is Section 1, and for me that is strips and a 6 inch square that add up to a 12 inch section.  I may even go ahead and do that one tomorrow.  I just want it all done!

But for now, here is Section 2.  It consists of one 12 inch Pershing block, two 4 inch square-in-a-square blocks, and strips.  The section adds up to 24 inches square.  The Pershing block went together pretty easily, so I was happy about that.  I had one little screw-up sewing the section above the Pershing block together and had to take out a couple of seams, but at least I noticed it before it was all done.

Nursing Aides

My daughter is expecting a baby in December.  She is planning to breastfeed and asked me to make her something called Nurselets.  I had never heard of them before, but she sent me a link to what they look like.  They were really easy to make.  I just used 2-1/2 inch strips of fabric, heavy interfacing, and sew-in Velcro.  The idea is that they hold your shirt up out of baby's face while she's nursing.  When not in use, you can wear them around your wrist.  Pretty cool little invention.

Mystery Quilt blocks 8 and 9

 Blocks 8

Blocks 9

Last month we were given directions for 2 sets of blocks instead of just one.  The original plan was to get directions for a set of blocks each month January thru October, and then get the directions for putting the quilt together in November.  However, the project leader decided that it would be a good idea to finish up a month early, so that maybe we would be finished with it before the holidays.  We will at least have the option to be finished before then, anyways.

I'm pretty happy with how the blocks turned out.  I really like the block 8 with the fussy-cut flower in the center.  Block 8 took more time than block 9, but I'm not exactly sure why.  Probably just more pieces and smaller pieces I'd guess.

One more set of blocks and this one will be ready to sew together.  I'm looking forward to seeing how it all looks in the end.