Flowers and Hearts

 

This quilt is a Christmas gift for my elder granddaughter, Lilah.  It is the companion quilt to the one that I made for Maddy.  It uses the other half of the same jellyroll, but on this one I made the outer border slightly wider, using different fabric.  Just like the one for Maddy, I machine quilted it myself in crisscrossed diagonal lines approximately 5 inches apart.   I'm happy with how all of the quilts for the grandchildren turned out.  I hope they enjoy them.

Mint & Gray Rag Quilt

 

I made this rag quilt because I wanted to try out a new quilting template.  It was somewhat successful.  I don't know if it would work better on regular cotton, but the gripper dots didn't hold too well on the flannel, so I had difficulty keeping the template in place.  In fact, I started clipping it to the fabric, then gave up on using it as intended and just traced the design onto the fabric before quilting in order to get finished up.  As difficult as it was to maneuver on something the size of a fat quarter, I can't imagine using it on a whole quilt top - even a baby quilt.

Here is a close up of the template and below is a close up of the quilting. 

The finished product looks nice enough, but it wasn't much fun to use.  

I haven't washed the quilt yet to really rag it out, so to speak.  I haven't decided it I'm going to donate it to charity, like I have with quilts like this in the past, or if I'm going to give it to my grandson.  If I give it to my grandson it will need a label, and I'd want to attach that before I wash it.

Update: I donated it to the Pike Regional Child Advocacy Center on April 24, 2024.

Hearts and Flowers

 

This quilt is a Christmas gift for my younger granddaughter, Maddy.  I machine quilted it myself in crisscrossed diagonal lines approximately 5 inches apart.  It think it worked out nicely and gives the quilt good body without being stiff. 

Adventure Friends

 

I finished this quilt for my grandson Gus a few days ago, but I'm just getting around to posting it. I decided to name it Adventure Friends because the figures on all the different fabric could be companions on imaginary adventures.  In fact, I decided to get him stuffed animals that are represented in each of the fabrics, too.  He's still a little small for imaginary adventures with stuffed animal friends, but maybe it will be fun for him as he grows.

I decided on a straight-line quilting motif that echos the concentric squares of the quilt design.  It was really easy to quilt using the seam lines as guides, sewing about 1/4 inch from each seam on each side.  It made for several threads to bury in the end, but it wasn't bad at all.  The quilt finishes 40 inches square.

Below is a picture of the quilt with the stuffed animals on each corner - a parrot, a monster, a whale, and a dinosaur.  I hope he enjoys it.

A New Quilt for Gus

 This quilt is made from my Four Corners pattern, and it's for my one-year-old grandson.  When his parents were trying to decide on a theme for the nursery they had several that they liked and had trouble choosing.  So I decided to make him a quilt that incorporates all the ideas they mentioned - pirates, ocean, space, and dinosaurs.  While the little monsters aren't necessarily aliens, I thought they seemed kinda space themed.  Also the fabric for the backing has bear astronauts, so I think space is sufficiently covered. 

I think that I have everything I need to finish this one up, so the next thing on my agenda is to quilt this one.  The problem is deciding how to approach the quilting.  I don't know if I want to do diagonal lines, concentric squares, or something else.

As a side note, I'm not 100% sold on this quilt pattern.  I feel like maybe it has a little too much background fabric, but I'm not sure.  I always intended it to have something of a modernist look to it, but it might need a little tweaking.  I'm thinking about it.

Clearly Canadian Quilt

 This is a quilt with something of a long story behind it, or at least a long history in its making.  Way back in 2017 I wrote the directions for making this quilt.  I figured out the fabric requirements, decided on how I wanted the blocks to go together, drafted color diagrams, and got them all typed up.  And then it just sat there for a couple of years.  Life happens, etc. etc. but I had the directions written down, so all was well and I could come back to it whenever I got ready.  

In August of 2019 I decided that I was ready to make this quilt.  I needed olive green, yellow, orange, red-orange, deep red, light brown, dark brown, off-white, and a fall leaf print fabric.  I went to the quilt shop and agonized over the fabric choices, like I almost always do.  After about 2 hours of agonizing, I bought the fabric just like I had figured up and written down.  I brought it home, and it sat in the bag - for a whole year.  Again, oh well, it's there when I get ready to actually sew.

Once the pandemic started in early 2020 I decided to focus on sewing project that I already had all the materials for.  That way I could still sew, but wouldn't have to get out of the house.  When August rolled around again (obviously August makes me really ready for fall to begin) I decided to work on this quilt.  I got out the fabric and I my already typed-up, detailed pattern and got to work.  I made the first leaf block and I hated it.  I thought that the color placement looked good in the drawing, but I really didn't like how it looked in the fabric.  The original color placement looked like this:

In the fabric, the value placements seemed all wrong. The brown near the stem and the red at the point were dark, but the orange and red-orange in the middle were lighter in the actual fabric than in the drawing, so the balance seemed wrong.  Plus, in the original plan, all the leaf blocks were going to be the same, so I just couldn't bring myself to go ahead with it using those fabrics.  I decided that I wanted a little variety in the leaf blocks and came up with two different colorways for them.  I had to go in search of more fabric.  Again, after much deliberation, I decided on new fabric, but kept the old, too.  I added another orange and another brown.  I rearranged the fabric placement and came up with two blocks that I really liked.  

But again, life happens, and the quilt had to be put on hold.  My mother-in-law, who lived 1000 miles away, had a fall, then got sick and finally passed away in January of 2021.  So it wasn't until February of 2021 that I finally got the quilt top finished.  I took it to the quilt shop to be quilted and in my haste to get it there I forgot to take a picture of the completed quilt top, like I usually do. 

I got it back quilted in late June 2021.  I attached the binding strips and started hand-turning the binding, like I almost always do.  Even though I usually do hand work in the car while we are traveling, and we were making multiple trips to work on clearing out my mother-in-law's house and settling her estate, I just wasn't doing much work on binding the quilt.  But finally, on our last trip to Tuscaloosa for our grandson's birthday party, I finished the binding.  This was actually a month ago (August 6), but I'm just getting around to posting it.

In fact, the quilt still needs a label, which I haven't made yet.  But at least I already have a name for it.  I decided to call it Clearly Canadian, because with maple leaves and flying geese it was indeed clearly Canadian. 

When I initially wrote the pattern up I was planning to offer it for sale in my Etsy store.  But now, since it has gone through so many changes in the process of actually making the quilt, many things will need to be changed in the fabric requirements and directions before I could offer it for sale.  Maybe someday I will get around to that.  It seems to be a quilt that inhabits the Augusts of my life, so maybe next August, or the next.  Who knows?

A New Quilt for Lilah

 

After making the quilt top for Maddy, featured in the previous post, I decided to make a few changes.  I constructed the hearts for the heart row just a little differently this time in order to have fewer seams.  I also decided that I wanted the border to be wider.  It may not be obvious between the two pictures, but this border is cut an inch wider than the other one.  I considered going even bigger, but decided that was too much.  I also had a floral fabric picked out for the border, but I decided that it was too busy.  I like the way that the monochromatic fabric in the border calms the quilt down a little bit.  With all those jellyroll strips it is a bit of a busy pattern to begin with, so a calming border seemed like a good idea.

I've written up the directions for this quilt, and updated it as I've made changes.  Once these two are quilted I may make the pattern available in my Etsy shop.  That's down the road still at this point. I've also been thinking about making this pattern with yardage for a less scrappy look, and also modifying it with different blocks in what is now the heart row.  So many fun ideas...

Update: The pattern is now available at my Etsy shop as "Love Struck."

A New Quilt for Maddy

 

Back in January of 2018 I had the idea for this quilt.  It was an alternate take on the larger Heart Strings quilt that I had patterned.  I've been thinking about it off-and-on since then, but could never find exactly the "right" fabric for it.  I finally decided that perfect had become the enemy of good, and so I just chose some fabric that I liked.  It is made with half a jellyroll of Chickadee fabric from Create Joy Project.  The border is from a different fabric line by Create Joy Project, but I forget which one.  I really like the watercolor florals that this designer uses in her fabric lines.

This quilt is for one of my granddaughters for Christmas.  I'm planning to make quilts for all three grandchildren this year.  The other two quilt tops will be posted shortly.  The other granddaughter is getting a quilt in this same pattern and the other half of the same jellyroll.  The grandson is getting something completely different.

More Trick-or-Treat bags

I made a couple more trick-or-treat bags from a different pattern. This pattern is modified from a Japanese Twist bag that was published in Quiltmaker Magazine about 19 years ago, I think. They are smaller than the first two bags.  The outsides of the bags are made from two fat quarters that I won at the quilt shop several years ago.  I really like the twist design, but it does make the bag a little trickier to put together than the first two.

These two are for my grandson and the grandchild that is still on the way. 
 

Trick-or-Treat bags

 

These two bags are made from orphan blocks and fabric from my stash.  My intention is for them to be trick-or-treat bags for my granddaughters, but they are a little large for that.  They are purse-size, or book bag size actually, so they could be used for those purposes if they prefer.  

It feels good to be doing some sewing again.  And I especially like making things for my grand-kids and using stuff from my stash.

Happy Trails quilt

 

This is a quilt that was a long time in the making.  I bought the fabric for it way back in 2014 and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.  But for whatever reason I didn't get started on it right away.  And so, like so many things, since I didn't start on it immediately it just sat there, for years.  Last year, early during lock-down, I decided to work on some projects that I already had all the fabric for, and this one fit the bill.  By the end of April I had the top pieced.  Once my local quilt shop was accepting quilt tops again I took it in to be quilted.  In December of last year I finally retrieved it, fully quilted, so it only needed binding and labeling.  

Since retrieving the quilt from the quilt shop, I've finished the binding on two other quilts.  One that was already in progress when I picked this one up, and one that I made from beginning to end in the meantime for my new grandson.  But after so much languishing and being put aside, it is finally finished.  Pieced, quilted, bound, and labeled.  Done.

I decided to name this one "Happy Trails" because the fabric on the front reminded me of bandanas, and the fabric on the back is a horseshoe print.  And what could be happier than rainbow colors?  So with a nod to Roy Rogers, and a little wink to my late Aunt Charlotte (who loved Roy Rogers), I give you a "Happy Trails" quilt.

August's Aquarium

 

This quilt is for my soon-to-be-born grandson, August Raye Henry, who should be arriving in about a week and a half.  I finished the binding on Wednesday, now it just needs a label.  I'm waiting until he is born for that, so that I can put his birth date on the label. 

The quilt is made from my own design, an ocean waves style big block quilt.  I wish there had been a bit more contrast between the fabric in the center of the quilt, but it's still good. I machine quilted it myself on my home sewing machine.  I used a dinner plate to mark curved lines and then used my walking foot to quilt them.  Overall I'm happy with how it turned out.

Blanket for Gus

 

I finally did some sewing this year.  Woo-hoo!  We are expecting a new grand-baby in August and this time it's a little boy.  His parents (finally) decided on an ocean theme for the nursery, so I got this cute flannel fabric at the quilt shop and a self-binding baby blanket was born.  

 I'm having less luck finding fabric that I want for an actual quilt, though.  Hopefully I'll find something soon.  Time is ticking.

Autumn Breeze Quilt

 

I have been amazingly unproductive for the past several months.  At the beginning of the pandemic I was trying to work on some projects that I already had all the materials for, but I really lost the will to sew during the summer.  I do have a quilt top in progress at the moment, but haven't worked on it in a couple of months.  It's been a rough year for me, like it has for everyone else.  As it turns out, sewing just wasn't my coping mechanism, like it was for some people, and that's okay.

I did manage to finish the binding on this lovely throw quilt.  I had really thought I'd get it finished in time for the fall season, but that was not meant to be.  Our fall was quite hectic, with many long car trips, which would have been conducive to working on binding in the past, but I do more of the driving now than I used to, so I'm less inclined toward sewing in the car.  When I'm not behind the wheel I'm mostly trying to rest.  I'm glad that I was at least able to get it finished before the end of the year.

Brioche and Baguettes quilt top

This quilt came from a pattern that I saw in a Connecting Threads catalogue years ago called Brioche and Baguettes.  I don't know if the pattern is still available anywhere or not.  The original pattern used half yards and fat quarters for the print fabric, but I did mine with all fat quarters.  The top is 57 x 75 inches. 

Mine is made from Frolic! fabric from Moda by Me and My Sister Designs.  So far I've made two different quilt tops from the fat quarter bundle that bought and I still have fat quarters left.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of them.  However, I think I will buy some yardage for the back and binding, and NOT try to use the remaining fat quarters for that.

I finished this quilt top yesterday (actually yesterday), so I'm finally caught up on my blogging.  Yay!

My First Art Sale!

Last year when I was doing Inktober on Instagram, one of my friends saw my work and she that she wanted to commission a piece of art.  She said that there was no hurry, she didn't need it for Christmas or anything, but she wanted a drawing of our church to give to her husband, our parish priest.  She thought that it would be nice for him to have a drawing of his first church done by one of his parishioners.  I had never done a drawing of building before, but I told her I would give it a try.  I did a couple of practice drawing, to build my confidence in my ability to do it, but she never mentioned it again.

Fast forward to June of this year and I get a call from my priest letting me know that he has accepted a call to another church out of state and that he will be leaving the end of July.  My mind almost immediately jumped to the drawing of the church that his wife had asked for.  I got out my paper and pens and drew this up for her.  When I was done drawing all of those little bricks I felt a bit like I was either going to pass out, throw up, or both, but I got it done!  Once it was all finished, I texted and asked if she was still interested in having it.  She said that she definitely was, and she was very excited about it.

I got it to her on Friday and she gave it to him as a Father's Day gift.  The finished piece it 6 x 8 inches on cotton paper.

Full disclosure: This post is back-dated to reflect when the work was done, not when I actually posted it.

Lap Protector Mini-quilt

The weather get pretty warm here in south Alabama, even with the air conditioner running.  In fact, we set our air conditioner at 78 degrees during the day and it still has trouble keeping the house at that temperature sometimes.  So it would seem like quilts in the summertime would be unnecessary...but, we have 2 cats and I like to wear shorts.  That combination usually ends with me having scratches on my legs unless there is a quilt between me and the cats' claws.  Enter the bright idea to make a small lap-only quilt to protect the skin on the tops of my thighs.  This way I get minimal warmth, but maximum claw protection!

This little quilt is made from leftover 2-1/2 inch strips of batik fabric.  It consists of nine 8-inch blocks sewn together into a 24 inch square finished quilt. I free-motion quilted it, on my home sewing machine, in an all-over wave pattern.

Full disclosure: This post is back-dated to reflect when the work was done, not when I actually posted it.

Mer-May

I haven't done much of any drawing since the end of Inktober, so I decided I'd sketch out a few things for Mer-May.  Above is an pencil sketch of Ariel from the Little Mermaid, and a very rough pen and ink drawing of merkitten.  I really need more practice drawing fur and hair!

Full disclosure: This post is back-dated to reflect when the work was done, not when I actually posted it.

Night Sky quilt

This quilt is a variation on the Sisters Ten Sampler that my guild did a while back.  I finished the quilt top back in January of last year (featured here) but I just now got it all bound up and finished.  It was quilted by the Gammill Girls at the Front Porch Quilt Shoppe in Ozark, AL, with an all-over stars and loops pattern.  My oldest granddaughter, who just recently turned 3, loves to look at the moon and stars at night, so I thought this would make a nice quilt for her.

Full disclosure: This post is back-dated to reflect when the work was done, not when I actually posted it. I've gotten so behind. *sigh*

Sunflowers

Again, I'm behind the times on posting.  I finished this quilt on April 17 and mailed it to it's recipient a week ago.  It is a graduation gift for a friend who is graduating from the University of Alabama this semester.  I had to mail it because the actual graduation ceremony has been cancelled due to COVID-19 social distancing and gathering size limits. 

Kudos to the US Postal Service.  I mailed it on Monday and she received it the next day, which really surprised me (She lives 3 hours away).  And I'm happy to report that she seems to really like the quilt.  She's so thoughtful.  She already sent me a thank you card.

Half-square Triangle quilt

I bought the fabric to make this half-square triangle quilt back in 2014.  The quilt shoppe had gotten in some charm packs of "Fancy" (by Lily Ashbury for Moda fabrics) and I bought one.  She was anticipating getting some yardage that never came, so I ordered some yardage of the blue bandana-looking fabric for the border and some polka-dot fabric ("My Sunshine" by Zoe Pearn for Riley Blake fabric) to be the background fabric from Missouri Star Quilt Company.  I knew exactly what I wanted to make, but for some reason I would never get around to making it, but now I have.  I actually finished the top on April 13, but I just haven't been inspired to set down and document things. 

I had originally planned to quilt this myself and use the polka dot fabric that is used in the half-square triangles as the backing fabric.  I'm not 100% sure that I'm still going to go that route.  If I have it long-arm quilted I'll definitely need more fabric.  I might need more either way.  I think it is pretty touch-and-go in that area.  Once the quilt shoppe is open for in-person shopping I may have to see if they have something that will work for alternate backing. But for now I'm happy that it is a completed quilt top instead of a box full of fabric.

The pattern is available here for free.  Enjoy.

Fabric Face Masks

One of the ladies in my quilt guild works at a nearby hospital.  She requested that our guild make fabric face masks for use at the hospital.  I'm honestly not sure if it is for the staff or the patients, but either way, I'm happy to help any way I can.  Mostly I've tried to do my part by staying home and sheltering in place, but it's nice to have some little way of helping that feels tangible.  I hope that these will actually do some good.  It is so hard to know.

Four Corners Quilt top

I made this quilt top about a week and a half ago, but I'm just getting around to posting a picture of it.  It is a pattern that I designed a few years ago, but never got around to making.  I had written out directions for it and bought fabric, but I just hadn't sat down and sewed it together yet.  But now I have.

I didn't really care much for the way I had written the directions, and there were only a couple of illustrations, so the directions will need some work before they get published (if they ever do).  But I like how the top turned out.  It is made with Frolic! fabric from Me and My Sister by Moda.  The line is a couple years old now, so it's probably not readily available anymore.  But it uses 4 fat quarters for the four corners and one yard for the background fabric.  The finished quilt will be 40 inches square.  That seems like a nice sized baby quilt.

Puss in the Corner quilt

Quite some time ago (Nov. of 2017, to be exact), I decided to make a small quilt to line the cardboard box that my cats had commandeered for use as a cat bed (more of the story available here).  I made the top from fabric out of my stash.  The plan was to use it as an opportunity to practice my free-motion quilting.  Well, over 2 years later, I finally got around to quilting it.

I'm generally pleased with how it turned out.  It's not perfect, but as I kept telling myself while I was working on it, "It's okay, it's for cats."  I learned that I have a really hard time quilting a star shape unless I start in the bottom left-hand corner.  If I tried to start from any other position they turned out really wonky.  I also learned that it's difficult for me to quilt a more open pattern.  I had planned to try to not have the quilting as close together as I had in my previous free-motion quilting endeavors, but it turned out about the same.  I think it may have something to do with having such a small area to work in, since I'm using my regular home sewing machine to quilt it.

I also machine attached the binding, which I don't normally do.  I usually attach the binding to the front on the quilt with the machine and then turn it to the back by hand.  But again, since it was for the cats, I decided to do it with the machine.  I watched a tutorial on YouTube from the Fat Quarter Shop on how to machine bind your quilt and generally followed their directions (I trimmed mine even with the edge of the quilt top and didn't leave the extra quarter inch or however much they said).  It turned out okay.  The stitching only missed the binding in one small spot near one of the corners, but I really can't imagine using that technique again.  I felt like I was sewing a porcupine instead of a quilt with all those pins sticking out all around the outside edge of the quilt.  Ouch!  Literally.  I stuck myself many times.  (Watch the tutorial and you'll understand.)

But now it is finished and Cleopatra seems to be enjoying it.  Dusty, my other cat, is still leery of it, but he's a totally scaredy cat about everything.  Clearly a quilt in box is some type of trap.  I mean, what else could it be, right?

Another Simplish Quilt

This is the quilt that I mentioned in the previous post.  It is made with the Simplish pattern, that I've done before.  This one is made with Jardin du Soleil fabric.  I'm making it for a friend who is graduating from college on May 1.  She likes flowers and loves sunflowers so I thought this fabric would be good.  The sashing fabric is printed with lots of different flower names, and I think she will like that, too.  I hope so anyway.

I took this picture inside and at night, so I don't feel like the color turned out exactly true to life.  Hopefully when I get the quilt finished completely I can photograph it outside with better lighting.

Block #2 - 20 Years of KTQ

Here is my second "block" of the 20 Years of KTQ sampler quilt.  This block also had some mistakes in the cutting directions, but this time I already had the corrections from the website, so that was good. 

I made a little change in the fabric color from the colors given in the directions.  Since I'm using a gold color for my background, I decided to use brown for the squares that were gold in the directions.  I considered using a gold print where the directions called for a cream print, but decided that I wanted to stick with the cream there.  I like the little sparkle that it adds to the quilt. 

We were assigned blocks 1-3 for today's meeting, but I didn't even get started on block #3.  I had another project that I thought should take priority.  It needed to be pieced so that I can get it to the longarmer.  It needs to be finished completely by May 1, so I felt time was of the essence there, more so than with the block of the month blocks.  I can catch up on them later.

Block #1 - 20 Years of Kansas Trouble Quilting

This year the quilting group that meets at the Front Porch Quilt Shoppe in Ozark is doing the 20 Years of Kansas Trouble Quilting quilt.  I'm using Kansas Trouble fabrics for my blocks, but I'm not using the featured fabrics.  In fact, I'm using Bella Solid "Hay" for my background and sashing, which is a much darker fabric than what is featured in the directions, but I thought I wanted something that was a bit darker and richer than the cream.  The darkness and richness of the fabrics is what I really like about Kansas Trouble fabrics, so I wanted to really embrace that in my quilt.

The pattern has some mistakes in it, but luckily they have posted some corrections on the KT Quilting website, so that is nice.  I didn't have the corrections yet when I was sewing these blocks and it was triggering my anxiety a little bit.  Hopefully that will ease off as I go.

Pink and Purple Fat Quarter Rag Quilt

This is my second flannel fat quarter rag quilt for the church blanket drive.  This quilt was a little bit more expensive than the Panda quilt because the FQ bundle cost about $32, but that is still very economical for quilt these day. 

It is also the last one that I will make for this year's blanket drive.  I have 2 more fat quarter bundles, but I don't plan to use them this time.  It's been really fun, but I have some other projects that I need to focus on right now.

Fat Quarter Flannel Rag Quilt with Pandas

As I mentioned in the previous post, my church is donating blankets to the Child Advocacy Center again this year.  Several people make the fringed fleece blankets for this project, and I have done that, too, in the past.  However, I've read about how much micro-plastic fleece puts into the water supply and I decided that I wanted to do something different instead.  I got the bright idea to make really simple rag quilts out of flannel fat quarters, and this was the result.

I ordered some flannel fat quarter bundles that each had 12 fat quarters.  I paired up the fat quarters, put scrap batting in between them, quilted them, and sewed the units together.  They take a bit longer to make than fleece blankets, and they are probably a little more expensive, but it was still really quick and economical to make.  This fat quarter bundle was only about $25 and the batting was leftover scraps (some pieced together) that I was thinking about just getting rid of anyway, so that counts as free in my book.  The white quilting thread was not very expensive either.  It came from Walmart in a large spool.

I'm actually really happy with how it turned out.  It gave me an opportunity to practice my free motion quilting, and I found that I really enjoy doing it.  The resulting quilt is very soft and cozy.  And I think that the fringe gives it a nice little bit of interest for a child to play with.  I think it should be very comforting for the child who receives it.

I finished the sewing and the clipping on this one at the quilting retreat, too, but I wanted to wait until it was washed before I photographed it.  Washing makes so much difference in the look of any quilt, but it is really essential for a rag quilt.

Fantasy Land quilt

I finished the binding on this quilt at my guild's quilt retreat yesterday.  I made the top so long ago that I don't even remember how long ago it was.  I'm thinking it is at least 12 years old.  It was definitely from before I started posting pictures of completed quilt tops and possibly from before I started this blog!  I wanted to start the year off by tackling a UFO and this seemed like a good place to start.

I decided to try free-motion quilting it on my regular sewing machine.  I have done some place-mats before but I don't think I've ever free-motioned a quilt before.  It is far from perfect.  In fact, I'm sure it can't even see perfect from where it is, but I'm good with how it turned out.  I think it is very respectable for a first attempt at something of that size (33 inches square).

The fabric that I used was not a panel, but continuous yardage with sort of overlapping fantasy scenery.  I fussy-cut the larger square that are in the corners and center of quilt and some of the smaller square that are in the border.  These many years later when it was time to choose the fabric for the backing, I decided to cut out the largest piece that I could from the fantasy yardage to use on the back.  I surrounded it with some light blue fabric that I had in my stash.  I think it makes a nice back.  It makes the quilt almost reversible, really.  Here is the back:

My church is having a blanket drive to donate to the child advocacy center in few weeks. I am planning to donate this quilt as part of my offering.

A look back at 2019

So for 2019 I didn't really set any quilting goals, and it's probably a good thing.  While I did accomplish some things in 2019, I felt like it was largely a lost year.  My husband has been battling prostate cancer most of the year and that has taken a real toll on our time and energy levels.  Surgery and radiation are now finished, and we are praying for good numbers and no need for further treatment going forward.  There were also multiple trips to visit out of  town and out of state family that also took up lots of time.  I only had 31 posts on the blog in 2019, which was the lowest since 2012.  I had trouble remember to post things even when I did find time to do them.

That being said, here is what I did actually accomplish, creatively, in 2019:

I finished 8 quilts.  Of those, I gave 4 away as gifts and donated another to charity.
I completed 4 quilt tops that didn't get finished.  Two of which are quilted but still need to be bound.
I took a watercolor painting class and posted some watercolors that I did.
I got back into drawing, with pencil, and post some of that.
I tried my hand at pen & ink drawing, including doing the full marathon of Inktober! I only posted a handful of the drawings here.
Several of the posts were of the blocks I made for my Vintage Christmas wall hanging.  And a few were of blocks for other projects. Some blocks were donated and one still sits in my sewing room as an orphan block.  It was made for a design challenge we had in my quilt guild.

Not too bad for a "lost year."  Here's to hoping 2020 will be better than 2019!

Under the Sea

I finished the binding on this quilt on our trip down to the beach over the weekend.  I'm calling it Under the Sea because of the mermaid fabric and wave-like design in the piecing.  It is going to be a Christmas present for my 2-1/2 year old granddaughter.  She loves to go swimming and playing in water, so hopefully she will appreciate the mermaid theme.  The quilting is an all-over dolphin design done by the Gammill Girls at the Front Porch quilt shoppe.

Other than attaching a label to this quilt and the one for my younger granddaughter, I'm finished with my Christmas sewing for this year.

Something Blue

This quilt was a wedding gift for my other daughter who just got married on Saturday.  I really cut it close getting this one done on time.  I finished the binding and attaching the label on the day of the wedding about 4 hours before the ceremony was scheduled to start.  The picture was taken on one of the double beds in my hotel room where we were staying for the wedding.  I hate to be down to the wire like that, but sometimes it just happens. 

I'm really happy that it was done in time.  I believe she had the wedding photographer include it in some of the wedding pictures.  They really seemed to like it.  I'm happy about that, too.

Inktober!

So this year I decided to take part in the online phenomenon that is Inktober.  It is a challenge to make art, in pen and ink, everyday during the month of October.  I had never done pen and ink drawing before, but I decided to give it a try anyway.  The whole idea is for it to be a learning experience and I feel like it was for me.  I enjoyed it, but it became something of a chore by the end. 

Here are some of the highlights.  (You can see them all at https://www.instagram.com/jcooper52371/ if you are interested.)  Each day had a separate prompt.

 Build (day 5)

 Dragon (day 12)

 Overgrown (day 14)

 Tread (day 20)

 Dizzy (day 24)

Injured (day 29)

Roll Tide, Baby!

I finished the binding on this one on our way home from the airport this week.  It still  needs a label.  It is for my youngest granddaughter for Christmas.  I'm calling it "Roll Tide, Baby!" because the border fabric has elephants on it and both my daughter and son-in-law graduated from the University of Alabama.  It seemed appropriate for their daughter to have a "Roll Tide" quilt, even though it isn't overtly Alabama football themed.  I figure she can use it while she's snuggled up on the couch watching football with her daddy, someday.  She'll only be 1 year old at Christmas.

Cosmic Gyre

I finished the binding on this one last week, but I just got around to taking a picture of it today.  It is the finished product of this quilt that I posted about back in February.  The pattern is called Simplish and it is available for free from Shabby Fabrics.

I decided to name it Cosmic Gyre because of the circular motif and the colors in the fabric.  Some of the fabrics made me think of the galaxy pictures I've seen.  I also wanted to use a term that evoked circles without actually using the word circle.  I decided on gyre because it means spiral (think gyrate), and Hozier uses the term in one of the songs on his newest album, so it was in my mind.

Autumn Breeze quilt top

This is my newest quilt design, which I'm calling Autumn Breeze.  It uses a jelly roll of fabric along with a little bit of yardage for the pinwheels and borders.  I actually drew up the design a few years ago, but I just got around to writing up the directions and actually piecing the quilt top.  Once I get it quilted and bound I can get the pattern up and available in my Etsy shop.

The fabric I used is A New Leaf by Mitzi Powers for Benartex fabrics.  I bought it back in 2014 (when I designed the quilt), so I doubt it's still available anywhere now.  The fall colors and pinwheels combined give me the sense of a cooling Autumn breeze, thus the name.  Unfortunately we still have temperatures in the 90s here in south Alabama.  But it's nice to think about Autumn and cooler weather, even if you can't experience it, right?

Using a jelly roll can make for a rather busy quilt, but I think having the pinwheel blocks and border in the same color add a little continuity and calm it down a little.  I'm pleased with how it turned out, although it was touch-and-go for a little bit there when I was putting it together.  The border did make a big difference, in my opinion. 

The finished size of the quilt will be 64" by 80".  I'm thinking I will probably use it on the back of my couch during the fall.  Maybe it won't be too big for my new, smaller, couch.