Christmas Surprises!

    I've got two projects in the works that are Christmas surprises! Yes, it's a little early. But, I'd rather have things done way ahead of time than be rushed at the last minute. So ... I have two Christmas surprises in the works. = )

    Here are a couple peeks at the fabrics involved. The recipients will probably be able to figure out who they are by the fabrics involved, but that's ok. They won't be able to see the grand design. The first is from Lily & Will II and the second is from French General (both by Moda).

Two More Finishes!

    I got TWO projects finished last week! It was a very productive week, indeed.

    First, I put the final touches on my Summer placemats. If you'll remember, I did some Grandmother's flowers with hexes and scraps. I decided to applique them onto solid white, back them with a sunny yellow tonal, and bind in yellow, too. I started out hand quilting them, but quickly gave that up. Hand quilting through 5 layers is no picnic! (At the edge of the flower there's 1. flower fabric, 2. turned under hem, 3. white background, 4. batting, 5. backing)

    Anyway, I resorted to machine quilting. It's the first time I've done that (other than practicing on scraps). Didn't turn out too bad. All straight-line, of course. Not nearly confident enough to try free motion ...

    Second, I finished the scrappy baby girl quilt I made for my friend. I decided to machine-quilt it, too. Again, all straight lines. = ) It turned out cute. However, I think I like the look of hand-quilting better. Looks a little more ... oh ... primitive, unique.  I just like it better that way.

    So, now I only have four things going. Addison's big quilt is on my frame and about 30% quilted. I have almost all the blocks done for Jericho's big quilt. Will probably start laying it out and putting it together sometime in the next week or so. I have a couple "surprise" Christmas gifts in the works, too. = ) Oh! I almost forgot, I purchased a charm pack of the Grand Finale fall collection to use in my Autumn placemats. Need to find a pattern!  Plus, I think I want to try a rag quilt sometime soon ...

    So many possibilities!! = )

Time to Focus

    It seems I have too many irons in the fire!  Addison's quilt is on the frame. Jericho's quilt is probably about half pieced. Niece's quilt is about 60 percent pieced. Placemat flowers are finished; I'm working on the leaves. Oh, and I started a crib quilt out of the leftover triangles from Jericho's quilt for a friend who's baby is due in June.

    Made a trip to JoAnn's today to get a few things. White solid for background to grandmother's flower placemats, and bright yellow for the backing and binding ... green polka dot for borders and binding on the crib quilt, as well as backing fabric for it ... sewing machine needles ... thread.

    AND ... I decided to make a slipcover for our highchair. On Easter, Jericho slid down and got stuck in a wide space on the back left when one of the "spokes" broke (decades ago). It took several tries, but I think it turned out pretty cute. We'll see how it works with an actual child in the seat. = )

    All this to say ... I haven't posted anything in several days because I've been trying to get things finished before I begin something new. I'm trying to focus!!  It's a lofty goal, I know, but one I really need to stick by ... both for sanity's sake and the sake of our finances!

Placemats III - Grandmother's Flowers

    There's one particular quilt pattern that has always moved me. Here's a photo I found on flickr that displays it beautifully. It's called Grandmother's Flower Garden. It's made up of hexagons that have been English paper-pieced into a beautiful arrangement. I want to make one. I found one on one of the blogs I read, and she called it her "lifetime quilt," presumably because of the amount of time it would take to cut, piece and quilt such a beautiful, inricate piece.

    Well, you know me! The best way to start a long journey is with a simple step forward. = )  So, this weekend I began the process ... and what better place to begin than--PLACEMATS!!!

    It's a small project where I can practice a difficult technique, not getting overwhelmed with the process. It's an opportunity for me to work out many of the kinks and see if I really want to bite off the larger project.

    Here are a few of the flowers I've made for my placemats. I figure I'll make 7 ... since there are seven of us who dine at the table ... Grandson, Jericho is still in the high chair. I figure only two flowers will fit on each. So, I'll need to make 14 flowers. Almost halfway done!! In my quest to have an ample supply of seasonal placemats--these will be our Summer placemats!

I've linked this post up with Quiltstory's

Fabric Tuesday #35!!

Blessed, to be a Blessing

    One of the things I wanted to be able to do when I started this whole quilter's journey thing, was to make quilts to donate. I figured most likely they would be for fundraising type events. There are several charitable organizations that we've supported over the years; most of them because our lives were somehow touched by the disease or circumstance those organizations serve. We've made donations to:

    Juvenile Diabetes Foundation -- my sister was a Type 1 diabetic from the age of 12, and issues related to her diabetes are what took her life at the age of 38.
    American Foundation for Suicide Prevention -- our nephew was a suicide victim in 2006, leaving behind a family with lots of questions, memories, and reasons to trust God.
    Hines Heros -- an organization established in memory of our nephew, who was killed in the war in Iraq in 2005.
    City Gospel Mission -- an organization dedicated to equipping the homeless and underprivileged in our home town, Cincinnati, Ohio.
    Whiz Kids -- an organization established to pair Christian adults with inner-city, at risk kids from our neighborhood, for tuturing and mentoring.
    Faith Food Pantry -- run by our church to help meet the physical and spiritual needs of hungry people in our  neighborhood.

    These are a few that are near and dear to our hearts. Another is Connections,  an organization whose mission is to help victims of childhood sexual abuse find Hope and Healing. We, like lots of folks, have a close family member who was a victim of this horrific crime. She is a beautiful, whole, healed woman now, but the issue remains close to our hearts.

    So, when Connections put out a message requesting donations for their up-coming "Be the Scream" awards banquet, I decided to make a small lap-sized quilt to donate. = )  Here's what I came up with!

    I wanted to do something relatively simple, since I only have 3 weeks to finish it. So, I sketched out a simple arrangement of 12 colored six inch squares, with 3 inch solid white sashing and 6 inch borders. I wanted to do something with batiks, and I wanted it to be a little "girly." So, I chose pinks, purples, and oranges. I really like how it turned out.

    The back will be solid white and I got purple quilting thread. Now I need to decide if I want to quilt by hand or try doing it with my machine ... decisions, decisions.

    I've linked this post to Fabric Tuesday on Quiltstory! = )

Placemats II

    Since the placemats I did for Emily and Hannah turned out so cute, and were finished so quickly ... I decided to make a set for me!  I actually decided to try making seasonal ones. So, these are my spring placemats. I used the pattern I found on the internet to make two. It's usually just Larry and me eating at our small kitchen table. They turned out very cute ... and very Springy!

   Then I thought ... I need to make some for when the kids and grandkids are all over for dinner. We get together every other Sunday afternoon for what we call "family dinner." Hmmmm. What to do. I didn't have enough of the fabrics I originally got to make five more. So ... I tried something new. I'd read about half-square triangles. They look pretty easy. A placemat is a great place to try out something new. So, I combined the leftovers from my strippy placemats with scraps I already had on-hand to come up with these.

    I was on a roll! Decided to do something extra special for my granddaughter, Addison. She's in a booster seat at the big table now. No more high chair. That's now for 9 month old grandson, Jericho. Once again ... I used scraps to build a log cabin  placemat for her. I think it turned out pretty good. If I had it to do over again, I think I'd put in another color besides the white, but I like it. And, so did she. And, that's really the goal, anyway.

Placemats

    A friend of ours got married mid-March and I decided to quilt them a set of  placemats to match their kitchen. I searched for and found this pattern on the internet. I found fat quarters and fabric for backing and binding at JoAnn's. I also decided to get enough of the backing fabric to make four cloth napkins to match!

    There was also another motivation for making the placemats. I figured it would be good practice cutting, piecing and quilting--only with a much smaller (code word for quicker to finish) project. I was right! They turned out really nice. I didn't take a photo of them, but ...

    Since they turned out so good, I thought I'd make a set for my daughter, Emily, and a set for my daughter-in-law, Hannah! I didn't get a photo of the ones I made for Emily, but here are pictures of the ones I did for Hannah. The first shot is the front, the second is the back, and the third is just a close up.