Quilt #3 - 14 Karat Gold Fish

    Granddaughter Addison's quilt, Belle, is well under way and, in fact, on the quilt frame in the process of being hand-quilted.

    Therefore, I needed to choose a pattern and a color palette for grandson, Jericho's, quilt. I picked the quilt called "14 Karat Gold Fish" from my Simplicity pattern book.

    However, I didn't want to use the blues, yellows, oranges and pinks shown in the book. Per his mother's request, I opted for green, blue, orange and brown. The sashing is green and navy.  I have 12 (of 48) blocks completed. Here's a peek! = )

Quilt #2: Belle

    Surgery for my cancer was scheduled for August 20th. The week before, Bev, Alice and I headed east to this local quilt shop. I think there were several purposes for the trip. One, to take my mind off the coming surgery. Two, to spend some time together before I went "under the knife." And, three, to see what goodies we could find!

    Oh, did I find some goodies!  Particularly, a book with a dozen or so patterns called, "Simplicity."  All the patterns are pretty simple (not to mention beautiful) and perfect for the beginner.  There was one that especially caught my eye, "Belle." It was absolutely perfect for a little girl--or a big girl, for that matter!  I decided to make the quilt for our granddaughter, Addison.

    I picked out 20 blue and pink print fat quarters for the  flowers, 7 different green print fat quarters for the stems,  3 yellow print fat quarters for the flower centers, and a white on white print to use for the background.

    I didn't really get too many of the pieces for Belle cut before my surgery. And, after my surgery I had to wait a quite a while to get back to cutting since my right arm was sore, swollen and pretty much useless. Then, four weeks after surgery, my chemotherapy began. The first treatment really knocked me on my butt. I learned to be a little more proactive in subsequent weeks, as well as how to better prepare myself for the required dose of poison. So, most weeks during my chemotherapy, I felt well enough to pursue my new hobby some.  All that to say, I really didn't get the bulk of the cutting done until probably some time late in November--some 3 months after I bought everything.

    Oh, well ... It's a process, right?  It's not a race. The point is to get it done well, with passion and joy.

    Hmmm. I think there's a life lesson in there. Pretty sure there's something God's telling me about my life ... especially my life in Him.

    It's a process. It's not a race. The point is to get it done well, with passion and joy.

Quilt #1: Ashley's Journey

    The first stop on my Quilter's Journey was in northern Michigan, July 2010. We go there every summer for a ten-day break from life here in Cincinnati. We love it up north. When temperatures are topping out at 90-something in Ohio, we enjoy the 70's during the day and often have to break out the jeans and sweatshirts in the evening. Oh, how I love those days in Michigan. We also get to spend those relaxing days with four of our dearest friends--Tom, Alice, Greg and Bev. Alice and Bev are both quilters. They've just been at it for a few years, but that's a few years more than me.

    Anyway, Bev let me look through her stash of quilt patterns. I chose "Ashley's Journey." It seemed like a fairly simple, straight-line, square and rectangle quilt that would be a great place to begin. It was about the size of a twin-sized quilt. I decided I'd use it to cover the twin bed we have in our extra bedroom, the bedroom dedicated to our grandchildren.

Ashley's Journey quilt pattern

    Then, the three of us went to a quilt shop up north. I purchased the 20 fat quarters I needed--five patterns each of the four different colors I'd chosen--green, yellow, red and blue. My goal was to be as cheery and gender-neutral as I could. I chose fabrics from a 1930's reproduction line, hoping to give my simple, brightly colored quilt a kid-friendly look.

    When I got back home, one of the first things I did (per Bev's instruction) was head to the local fabric store to purchase a self-healing cutting mat, a ruler, and a rotary cutter. All basic and essential tools I'd need for my Quilter's Journey.

    Cutting the squares and rectangles went really quickly. Actually, I think I finished them all in a day. Granted, I didn't really do much else that day!  = )  The piecing, however, took a little longer. Using my machine to sew as-perfect-as-I-can-get-them quarter-inch seams, I think it took me a week or two to get that done. I thought I was flying!

    Then I realized that I had failed to purchase matching fabrics for borders, backing and binding. So, three fabric stores (in Ohio) later, my borders didn't match quite like I'd wished they would. It looked ok, but I really wish I'd purchased fabric in Michigan, to do the borders from the same fabric line. Then they'd match perfectly.

    Oh, well. It's a journey, right?  I'm learning as I go.