Squares for Cyndi, with a border

I've been playing around some more with my pattern, and I came up with a few ideas for borders.  This top has a 3 inch (finished size) border around the outside of the last round.  That makes it finish at about 40 inches square.

It is made with My Sunshine fabric from Riley Blake.  Much of it was left over from the jelly roll strips from the coin baby quilts and jelly roll race baby quilt that I made earlier this year.  It took about 21 charm squares along with the left over pieces of strips.  Some of the leftover pieces are smaller than 5 inches long, but that's no big deal, really.

I also have a plan, and the fabric, to make one with a border that will set the original design on point. It will be made from Happy Tones fabric by Michael Miller.  I'm really looking forward to seeing how that works out.  It should finish at about 48 inches square.

April Moda Blocks

Here are the blocks that I made from the patterns we got on Wednesday at the Moda Friendship meeting.  Two are 6-inch blocks and one is a 12-inch block.  They were super easy to make, and it's a good thing.  After the day I had today, I'm glad I was able to get something accomplished. 

I had planned to work on my guild block today, but it just wasn't working for me.  I just couldn't decide on fabrics and nothing that I tried seemed to be quite right.  Maybe I'll have better luck with it tomorrow.

Cyndi mini all finished

Here is a picture of the miniature version of the Squares for Cyndi quilt all quilted and bound.  I think Melanie did a great job with it.  The quilted circles are such a good contrast to the squares in the pattern, and the red binding really pops.  The little mini quilt is photographed resting on the basket that the patterns are displayed in.

From the Candy left overs

This is the little project that I made from the left over fabric after I finished the March Candy Project.  The main part of the mini quilt is made mostly from the cut-aways from the flippy corners.   Four of the squares were made from the two left over candies that weren't called for in the original project.  The border, binding, and backing are all left over from their matching component in the original mini quilt.

The finished product measures about 12-1/2 inches x 14 inches.  I think it would work well as a burp cloth or lap pad for a baby.  Like the original project, it is machine pieced, machine quilted, and machine bound, with a straight stitch.  I figured anything that was designed to have a baby throw up on it didn't need any fine hand work.

A Bag for Spring

Remember that spring bag that I mentioned yesterday?  The one that I was going to make from the "Chance of Flowers" fabric I bought yesterday.  Well, here it is.  That must be some sort of land speed record for me.  I don't think I've ever picked out fabric in less than 5 minutes and then used that fabric the very next day.  Wow, that was fast.

It really is a good feeling, though.  So often I have an idea of something that I want to make, and I buy the fabric for it, but the fabric just ends up lying around in my sewing room.  It feels good to have an idea and be able to act on it almost immediately.  And finishing a project on the day that I start it is always nice, too.

March Candy Project - Finished!

Every month at our Moda Friendship meeting, we are given a pattern for a small project made with a Moda candy.  If we finish the project by the next meeting, and bring it in and show it, we get a free fat quarter.  I didn't do the ones from January or February, because I didn't really know what I would do with them if I made them.  But this past month I decided to go for it anyway.  I've been wanting to do something with the Giggles fabric line ever since I saw it, and this seemed like a good project for it (The sample was done it "Hubba Hubba" fabric, from the same designer).

The little quilt finished at 19 x 22 inches.  It is machine pieced, machine quilted, and machine bound.  I quilted in the ditch between the rows and between the piecing and the border.  I outline quilted inside the white hexagons and on both sides of the border.  The binding is sewn down with a straight stitch, nothing decorative this time. 

I thought it would make a nice little changing pad for a baby.  I don't have anyone to give it to at the moment, but baby showers will probably be in my future at some point.  I may make a little burp cloth out of the left over fabric to go with it.

A new bag - from a Moda candy!

I finished this one today.  I've been wanting to make myself a new bag that could be used on an everyday basis, not just season specific.  This one was made from a Sweet Pea candy.  It uses a half a yard of fabric in addition to the candy for the exterior of the bag, and another half yard of fabric for the lining.

When I went to the quilt shop today, I bought another candy and more yardage so that I can make another bag, this one spring themed.  It is from the "Chance of Flowers" fabric line.  I think it will be really cute.

March Moda Blocks

In March we got three blocks at our Moda Friendship meeting.  I've been busy with other projects, so just finished them a couple of days ago.  I really like the Greek Cross block.  I've made it before and it is simple but still interesting visually.

This month I didn't even try to figure out a combination for the blocks.  It might could have been done, but I was just so busy working on the shop samples that I didn't even try.

March Guild Block - Poinsettia

This is our guild block from March.  It is a pieced poinsettia block with appliqued stems and leaves.  I finished it today.  I did the piecing a couple weeks ago, but I just couldn't make myself do the applique.  I don't enjoy doing applique and I had several other projects that I wanted get finished first, as well. 

I did the applique with a machine blanket stitch.  As far as I can remember, I've never machine appliqued before.  I might have done some in high school for home ec. class, but I don't really remember doing any.  I think it turned out pretty good for a first effort.  There are a few stray stitches on the first leaf that I appliqued, because I was just getting accustomed to how the stitch worked, but all in all I think it looks nice.  But I'm also very glad that it is all finished.  However, I've already been told that this month's block will be applique as well. . .

Squares for Cyndi, sofa sized

At the request of Melanie, the shop owner at Front Porch Quilt Shoppe, I made a larger version of the Squares for Cyndi quilt.  This top measures 74 inches square. 

I've also figured the measurements for a really jumbo sized one - 100 inches square.  That should fit a king sized bed.  I've already written up the directions for the two larger sizes together in one pattern.  Once this one is quilted and photographed, I can print up the patterns for sale.

Cyndi Mini

This is another shop sample that I'm piecing for Melanie at the Front Porch Quilt Shoppe.  It's hard to tell from the picture, because there is nothing to show scale, but this is a miniature version of the Squares for Cyndi quilt.  It is made with Moda candies (pre-cut 2 1/2 inch squares) and about 1/8 yard of solid color fabric.  This sample is made with an April Showers (by bonnie and camille for moda) candy and Snow Bella Solids by moda fabric.  It finished at just over 13 inches square. 

More Squares for Cyndi

This is another shop sample of the Squares for Cyndi pattern.  This time we used a colored background fabric.  The charm pack is Mixed Bag by Studio M for Moda.  The background fabric is Simply Color by Vanessa Christenson of V and Co. for Moda.  I think it would make a darling little quilt for a baby boy.

Squares for Cyndi

Back during the Iron Quilter challenge, I made a quilt. Some of the ladies at my local quilt shop said that I should write up a pattern for the design. So recently I wrote up the directions and got them printed.  The pattern is named "Squares for Cyndi" because Cyndi, at the quilt shop, really encouraged me to write the pattern and would ask about it most times that she saw me in the shop.  The pattern is now for sale at The Front Porch Quilt Shoppe, as a printed pattern, and at Etsy as a PDF download.

This is a shop sample for the pattern.  It is made with daydream fabric by Kate Spain for Moda.

Butterfly Trails

I finished the baby quilt made from the February Moda blocks (featured here) today.  It finished 38 inches square.  I machine quilted in the ditch between the blocks and through the center of each block in both directions.  I also quilted in the ditch on either side of the white border.  The binding is also done by machine.  It is top-stitched down with a star decorative stitch.  I named it "butterfly trails" because the fabric is butterfly fabric (including the backing fabric) and I thought the pink and blue patches sort of made trails across the quilt.

Pixie Stix

 I finished sewing the binding on this one on Tuesday.  The quilt top is originally featured in this post.  It is the third top that I made from the jelly roll, but I finished it second.  Mostly because the uninterrupted straight-line quilting meant fewer threads to bury than in the second top I finished. 

I decided to name it Pixie Stix after the candy in the paper straws.  One of my sons said that the fabric made him think of candy.  Once I was thinking about candy, the long strips in the pastel colors made me think of Pixie Stix.

I sewed the label on yesterday. For some reason, the date that I put on a quilt is always the date that I finished binding it, even if I don't sew the label on until the next day.  I guess it is because the quilt is finished and usable at that point.  In fact, my grandmother and father don't even put labels on their quilts.  I've told my dad that he should, but he still doesn't.  He has started quilting his initials (and I think maybe the year) into the quilt, so that is something.  My grandmother doesn't quilt anymore (she's 97 years old), so the best I could do is label the quilts of hers that I have.  I may do that, at least with her name.

February blocks in a baby quilt

I really like the pattern that these blocks make when they work together.  I did have to fudge just a little bit on this one.  It is actually the two blocks we got in February for the Moda Size Matters quilt, but it also includes the mirror image of one of the blocks. 

I just used fabric from my stash on this one.  I like the fabric, but the pieces are so small that the butterflies on the fabric doesn't really show up that well.  It probably would have been better in different fabric, but I used what I had.  The fabric that I have for the backing, also from my stash, is multicolored with butterflies on it.  I'm not sure yet how I want to quilt it.

February block - guild quilt

This is my Santa face block for our guild sampler project.  For right now, his eyes are just dots, but they will eventually be buttons.  I'm not adding any embellishments until after it is quilted.

The original pattern that we were given was assembled as 16 squares in a 4 x 4 configuration, but I redrafted it so that it had fewer unnecessary seams.  I had heard that several of the guild members were having trouble with one of the sections (the square where there was background, hat, and hat trim all coming together in one square) so I decided to avoid the problem all together.  Other than the fact that it has fewer seams, the finished block looks the same as the original.

Ellie Ann quilt

When I first saw this fabric, I fell in love with it, but it has given me fits as to what to do with it.  When I bought it, I had a plan of exactly what I was going to do with it.  However, once I had the layer cake in hand, I didn't think it would look right in that pattern, so I went back to the drawing board.

I decided to go with fence rail blocks, but then I wasn't sure about the layout.  For me, the issue is that the variety of colors in the collection are not equal, so it makes it hard to design around.  I think that I'm going to go with the general layout pictured above.  It is mostly symmetrical, so I think it works.  I also considered a layout where the colors moved diagonally across the quilt, but my kids thought the symmetrical layout was better.

Now I need to sew it together and order some fabric for the borders.

A New Bag

I made this bag as a gift for my daughter-in-law.  Her birthday was on Sunday, but I just made the bag today.  Her purchased gift didn't arrive until today either, so she can get her gift in a homemade gift bag. :)

The bag is made from some of the left over fabric from the wedding gift quilt.  This time I decided to try using 2 1/2 inch strips instead of 5 inch squares to make the bag.  The dimensions turn out a little different, but it is basically the same as the other bags I've made recently.  I hope she likes it.

February blocks - Size Matters

Here are my blocks from February's meeting of the Moda Friendship group at the Front Porch Quilt Shoppe.  I did them both as 12-inch blocks this time.  I really like the block on the left.  It is a simple block, but it has good motion in it.

I haven't come up with neat combination for these blocks yet.  But I'm still working on it.

Autumn Splendor

I finally finished my row swap quilt from last year's guild project.  I got it back from the long-armer last month, I finished sewing the binding on Tuesday, and I made and attached the label last night.  It is made for a twin size bed, but it is shown here on a queen size bed.  You can see the whole quilt better on the queen sized bed because almost none of it hangs off.

Even though all the rows were made by different people, it really blends together very well.  I really enjoyed working on the row swap project.  And, it is nice to have a quilt that was made by the combined efforts of so many friends.  It is a good memory to cherish.

Bear Hug

It's finished with time to spare.  Last night I finished sewing the binding on it, and this morning I made and attached the label.  I decided to name it "Bear Hug" because of the bear paw blocks in the corners and the circle (the Hug of Xs and Os) in the center.  I also thought hugs were appropriate for the Valentine theme of the fabric.

It finished 20 inches square and is machine pieced and machine quilted.  I quilted it in the ditch around the main elements of the blocks - the bear paws, the diamonds (including the line across), and the circle in the center.

January blocks in a wall hanging

I was playing around with the Moda blocks that we got directions for in January (see previous post) and I came up with a design using just those three blocks.  I really liked the design, but I wasn't quite sure what to do with it.  I considered using 12-inch blocks and making a baby quilt out of it.  I considered using 3-inch blocks and just making a 9-inch block out of it that I would then use as part of a larger quilt. 

However, after looking around at the fabric at the quilt shop, I finally decided on some cute Valentine fabric from Basic Grey by Moda (Kissing Booth, I think).  I thought it would work best as a small wall-hanging.  I used 6-inch blocks and then put a 1-inch strip of border around the outside.

I'm hoping to get it quilted and bound before Valentine's Day, so that I can hang it up this year.  I really need to plan these things further in advance.

Size Matters blocks - January

This year I decided to join the Moda U (I think that's what it's called. Update: apparently if is officially called Moda Friendship) group at the Front Porch Quilt Shoppe down in Ozark.  We will be doing the Size Matters blocks from the Moda blog-hop back in the fall.  Each month we will be getting the directions for two or three of the blocks and making them in whatever size we like.

There are 27 blocks in the series and I only wanted to use each block once, which creates something of a challenge.  I also liked the idea of using more than one size of block, since we would be getting directions for multiple sizes.  After much consideration, and much sketching, I came up with a layout and a size that I liked and figured up how much fabric to buy.

I went down to the quilt shop and wandered through the various fabric collections.  I had originally considered something bright and spring-like, but couldn't settle on anything that I liked well enough for the design I had chosen.  I finally decided to ditch the bright/spring idea and went with a layer cake of "Sweet Pea" fabric from Kansas Troubles.  They have great lights and darks in the collection.  However, I ended up getting my background fabric from the "Icicle Kisses" line, also by Kansas Trouble.  I really think that anything from Kansas Troubles would work well in the quilt, and I plan to pick up a few fat quarters from some of the other KT lines the next time I'm in the shop.

Here is a picture of the blocks I made from the January instructions.

Two are six inch blocks and one is a 12 inch block.  As the diagram above indicates, I will be making 15 blocks in the larger size and 12 blocks in the smaller size.  After making these blocks, I'm thinking that one layer cake may not be enough fabric for the blocks anyway, so I'm really likely to need those extra fat quarters before all is said and done.  And, of course, making blocks that I'm not happy with and starting over doesn't help matters any either.

I liked the idea of using a dark and a medium fabric on this block instead of a dark and a light.  I thought that having the lighter colored background in the fabric would give enough contrast, but I just wasn't happy with it.  It is much more striking in the dark and light fabrics.

January block - Guild Quilt

Our block for January was a Christmas Tree block.  I used four different green fabrics for the tree, graduating in value from darkest at bottom to brightest at the top.  I haven't decided yet if I'm going to put any embellishments on it.  If I do, it won't be until after it is quilted, most likely.  If I decide to have it quilted, I would have to take the embellishments off first anyway.

Sunshine & Flowers

Last night, I finally finished the first of the stacked coins baby quilts that I made from the Riley Blake jelly roll.  I decided to name it "Sunshine & Flowers" because the fabric line is called "my sunshine" and the main fabric of the quilt has flowers on it.

I machine quilted it in the ditch around all of the "coins".  As it turns out, that makes for a lot of thread ends to bury.  I may try to come up with a different plan before I quilt the other stacked coins baby quilt.  I really pleased with how the quilting turned out, though.  No puckers at all.  The combination of a new sewing machine, with a good walking foot, and spray basting adhesive really worked out well.

I also machine bound it.  I used green thread to match the border and binding fabric and used a feather stitch to sew it down.  It is not as neat as if it were hand turned, but it looks okay and it should be very sturdy for regular use.

The final measurements on the quilt were 38 x 38 inches square.

A race to the finish

This is the final baby quilt top from that Riley Blake - My Sunshine jelly roll that I ordered from Missouri Star Quilt Co.  Instead of doing stacked coins, I made this one into a race quilt, which had actually been the intention for all three quilts in the beginning.  This one measures 40 inches square.  I think that this one would also make a nice little quilt for a baby girl.  So many tops, so few finished quilts. . .

Stacked Coins in Pink

This little quilt top is made from the same jelly roll as the last quilt top.  (There is a third one yet to come.)  It measures approximately 38 inches x 38 inches and uses 13 jelly roll strips, just like the last one.  I'm not sure yet which baby girl will be getting this quilt once it is finished.  I have two cousins expecting baby girls and there is a new baby girl at our church.  I guess only time will tell.

Stacked Coins baby quilt top

This is my latest project.  I worked on it on Tuesday, but never got around to posting it.  It is a baby quilt that I am making for one of my husband's colleagues whose wife just had a baby.

The quilt top is made from 13 jelly roll strips, for the coins and inner sashing, and half a yard of matching yardage for the border.  I plan to use the blue polka dot fabric for the backing, and the dark green floral (from the border) for the binding.  My intention is to machine quilt in the ditch between each of the coins and between the coins and the sashing.  Then I will probably quilt one or two straight lines around the whole quilt in the border.

Christmas Stocking

Today I made a Christmas stocking for my new daughter-in-law.  I wanted her to have a stocking here at my house so that hopefully she will feel like part of the family.  Her's will be a little different from the guy's stockings, because theirs have white fleece at the top, but I don't think she will mind.  I don't know what happened to my white fleece. . .

Anyway, the stocking is made from poinsettia fabric with a solid green lining.  The top fabric is quilted to the batting.  Then the lining and outside fabrics were sewn together wrong-side out.  Then the whole thing was turned pillowcase style.

Birthday Bag

Today is my mother's birthday, and I made her this bag as a birthday present.  It uses the same basic pattern as the other bags I've made recently, but it doesn't use charm squares.  I wanted this bag to be a little bigger than the bags I made previously, so I cut 6 inch squares to use instead of the charms.  I also cut the strip for the bottom of the bag a little wider, too; it is 9 inches wide instead of 7 inches wide.  When I boxed the bottom of the bag, I came in 2 inches instead of 1.5 inches. 

The only thing that is smaller on this bag is the handles.  My mom wanted them shorter because she says she doesn't carry her purse on her shoulder.  Because of the shorter handles, I moved the handles closer in to the center of the bag.  She also didn't want a closure for the top of the bag, so that was omitted as well.  I hope she enjoys it.

Christmas Chaos

This is the finished quilt from the top featured in this post.  It is made from a Christmas Countdown layer cake.  I machine quilted straight lines across the quilt at 3 inch intervals.  I considered quilting at 3 inch intervals going up and down as well, but decided against it. I also considered machine binding it, but opted to hand turn the binding instead.

This is a picture of the label on the back.  After much agonizing, I decided to name it "Christmas Chaos".  Since the quilt has a random design, I thought that chaos was an appropriate descriptor for it.  Plus, Christmas time is often a chaotic time of year, so it seemed fitting in that regard as well.

Auburn Coasters

This Saturday is the Pike County Habitat for Humanity annual Giant Cookie Sale.  And while these certainly aren't cookies, I plan to donate them to the cookie sale.  (The sale actually includes cookies, candies, cakes, and crafts.) 

I made 8 coasters that measure approximately 4 inches square.  They have Auburn Tiger fabric on top.  The top is quilted to the batting only.  Then they are finished by adding an orange square of fabric for the backing, using a pillow turn technique. Then finally, it is top stitched close to the edge all the way around.

Here they are all packaged up for the sale.  I was thinking I would price them at $5 per set (of 4 coasters), but I'll wait and ask at the drop-off before I actually put a price on them.

Christmas fabric purse

I enjoyed using my fall themed bag so well that I decided to make one out of Christmas fabric.  This one uses the same pattern as the last one, but with a few utilitarian additions.  I added a small pocket inside to keep my chapstick and nail clippers. 

 And I added a D-ring to clip my keys to, so they would be easy to find.

The D-ring is attached to a fabric strip that is then sewn into the seam that attaches the outside of the bag to the lining.  It was added at the same time as the shoulder straps and the top closure.

Square Dance

This little quilt was made to enter in the Iron Quilter 2 competition over at the Missouri Star Quilt Company.  It is made from one Lovely (by RJR fabrics) charm pack with the addition of some some off-white " Basic Gray" fabric from Moda.  The quilt is made completely by machine.  The only exception is that I added the label by hand.  It finished 34 inches square.

I really hadn't intended to enter the Iron Quilter competition and didn't even initially purchase the charm pack when it was the Deal of the Day.  However, when I was ordering some other fabric later, I noticed that they still had the charm packs at the discount price, so I ordered one.  I really had no idea what to do with it that would make a quilt and use all the charms so I just set it aside and figured I wouldn't enter. 

But on Friday I got an email reminding people to enter and I had an epiphany.  I could use the same idea used here in this jelly roll quilt, but use half charms instead.  I headed down to the quilt shop that afternoon, and voila, now I have a finished quilt.  I'm sure it won't win anything, but I really enjoyed making it.  I think it will make a pretty wall hanging for the spring.

Christmas Countdown Throw

Today's project is a throw sized quilt made from a Christmas Countdown layer cake.  I didn't actually have a pattern for it.  I used the same technique from a Turning Twenty quilt, but used 10 inch squares instead of fat quarters.  It makes a block that finishes 9 inches. 

From each 10 inch square, I cut off a 3.5 inch wide strip (3.5" x 10").  Then I rotated the remaining piece 90 degrees and cut off another 3.5 inch strip (3.5" x 6.5").  I was then left with a 6.5 inch square.  I mixed up the pieces and sewed them back together, sewing a 3.5 x 6.5 to a 6.5 inch square, then sewing the 3.5 x 10 inch square to the unit that was formed.  I then trimmed off the excess to make a 9.5 inch square.  I then set the squares together in the same layout as a Turning Twenty.  I didn't measure it, but it should be about 54 inches x 63 inches.

It's not the prettiest quilt top I've ever made, but it may be the fastest.  It went from being a layer cake to being a complete quilt top in about 6 hours.  And that includes several interruptions and lunch.  I'm hoping to machine quilt it and have it finished to use this Christmas season.  I still need to buy backing and binding fabric.  I see a trip to the quilt shop in my future.

Rolling in the Deep Wallhanging

Before I start on this week's project, I figured I should post last week's project.  I actually finished it on Saturday, but just now got around to taking a picture of it.  It follows the same pattern as a Jelly Roll Race quilt, but only uses 13 strips in 16 rows.  I wanted to try out the pattern in a smaller scale before I did it with a whole jelly roll.  I was happy with the result, so I bought a couple of jelly rolls to try it full scale.

The quilt finished about 32 inches square.  It was machine pieced and machine quilted.  The quilting is straight line, in the ditch quilting, all the way across the quilt top.  The only hand work on the quilt was turning the binding.  I considered doing the binding on the machine as well, but I enjoy hand binding, so I did it my normal way. 

I named it "Rolling in the Deep", inspired by the Adele song, because it used jelly roll type strips and it reminded me of the ocean.  It has a much more abstract feel than most of my quilts, but I like the change of pace from the graphic style quilts that I normally do.

Christmas Present Block (November block)

This month's block is a Christmas present block.  It is an enlargement of the block used in this quilt.  It was my month to teach the block, so I went with the one I had just finished.  It is made entirely of fabric from the Holiday Accent line.  It is a really easy block to sew, but can be a little confusing getting it laid out correctly.  I always had to consult the diagram to make sure I had those center squares in the right orientation.  Other than getting it oriented correctly, it is just rectangles and squares with a few flippy corners.  The pattern came from Quiltmaker's Nov/Dec 2008 issue.  The pattern was called "Silk Wrappings."

Sunbonnet Angel (October block)

For our current guild project, we are making a Christmas sampler quilt.  Each guild member teachers a block, and we get a new block each month.  Last month's block was a Christmas Sunbonnet Sue, which could be a plain Sunbonnet Sue in Christmas fabrics, a Sunbonnet Cat, or a Sunbonnet Angel.  I decided to go with the Sunbonnet Angel.  She's not finished yet, but here she is, all ready to be appliqued down.  I don't know if you can see the blue line in the photo or not, but the block will be cut down to a 12 1/2 inch square once the applique is finished.  I'm planning to hand applique it, using a blanket stitch in gold thread.

My First Jelly Rolls

Remember that fabric that I said I had ordered from Missouri Star Quilt Company?  Well, it came in the mail today.  The odd thing is that I don't remember getting an email saying that it shipped.  Oh well, better to get it when I wasn't expecting it than to be waiting for it and it not come.

So anyway, what we have here is a First Ladies jelly roll, a He Still Loves Me jelly roll, and a binding tool.  If I had known that it was coming today, I would have waited until I got it to put the binding on the quilt that I bound today.  That's okay, I'll use it next time. . .hopefully soon!

More Fabric!

I've gone a little crazy buying fabric lately, and I just realized that I forgot to document my latest purchases (from late October).  Again, I ordered some pre-cuts and yardage from Missouri Star.  Those pre-cuts really are addictive and I haven't even used any of them yet!

Below I have a Salt Water layer cake, a Lovely charm pack, and some Holiday Accent yardage. 

The yardage was intended for the borders on the Christmas quilt feature in the previous post, but only the white background holly fabric made it into the final quilt.  I'm not sure yet what I'm gonna do with the pre-cuts.

Then my local quilt shop was having a sale, so I bought even more fabric.  Below I have one Christmas Countdown layer cake, a half yard of green fabric, a fat quarter of novelty fabric, and a remnant of brown fabric.

The green yardage (along with an additional yard purchased later and not photographed) ended up as the outer border to the previously mentioned Christmas quilt.  It will also be the binding once I get to that point.  The novelty FQ is tentatively slated for a frog themed baby quilt I have planned.  The layer cake probably is going to turn into another sofa-sized Christmas quilt, this one using a cutting method similar to a Turning Twenty quilt, except using 10 inch blocks instead of FQs.  The brown fabric is completely uncommitted at the moment.

Oh, and I've order more fabric from Missouri Star, but it hasn't shipped yet.  However, I did manage to skip the Veteran's Day sale at the quilt shop yesterday.  It was a temptation, but I managed to resist.

My border solution

Here is the finished quilt top.  The consensus seemed to be that the green fabric was best for the border.  I think it turned out good and the green fabric really pulled it together.  The finished size of the quilt top is 49.5 x 58.5 inches.  The plan is to bind it with the same green fabric as the border.  Not sure yet what the backing fabric will be.