Quilts for June and July

     June and July haven't been very productive for me, as far as quilting goes. What with visitors, summer activities and general  lethargy, I haven't accomplished much. In the meantime, here are two "multi-fabric" quilts I finished earlier in the year to be counted for June and July, so I'm still on track for my "Quilt-a-Month" project.
     The first is "anything goes" Wonky Diamonds sewn from an over-flowing box of strips with no particular colour pattern beyond  using lighter fabrics for the diamonds and darker ones for the background stripes. A quick and easy pattern with a "piano-key" border.

Wonky Diamonds

     The next is made from a lot of fabrics I collected on a trip to Australia many years ago. I cut out the initial pieces and arranged them on my design wall according to a picture I had seen in an Australian magazine. That pattern just didn't work very well with the fabrics I had, so they were put away for a long time. Always, in the back of my mind, was the feeling that I must do something with them. I finally chose to use the " quilt as-you-go" pattern, and after using the same pieces, but rearranging the fabrics, I ended up with the quilt below. The back is a mixture of fabrics from my stash, including some Australian and Indonesian fabrics.

Aussie Multi-fabric Quilt  -front

 

Aussie Quilt back 

 

 

I've recently started another quilt - a much more elaborate pattern - which I will have to send out to be quilted and then

 add three-dimensional floral appliques to the quilt top.  This will take a while, and, as I'll be travelling in August, I'll have to play "catch-up" in September to keep on track.  In the meantime, there's no shortage of patterns and ideas to play with.
That's the fun of being a quilter!

Two more quilts for March and April

 March's Quilt:  Zig-Zag Rail Fence

Zig-Zag Rail fence

Here is my take on a "modern" quilt. I used the traditional rail fence pattern, but put the blocks "on point. "  It is laid sideways on a bed in order to get the whole quilt in the photo.
The second picture below is the back of the same quilt.

 

 

April's Quilt is a simple Disappearing Nine-Patch baby quilt. Easy to do and quick to finish. A fun project.

 

 

For May's Quilt I'm finishing a UFQ that I started several years ago. The pattern I had in mind for a collection of fabrics on hand  just didn't work, so I had to re-think it. Check the blog in May for the finished (I hope!) project.

Resolutions

     I don't normally make "New Year's" resolutions, but as a quilter, I make resolutions all during the year, such as: I will try to make all my seams even; I will try to work more slowly and carefully to prevent " reverse sewing", I will use up as much of my stash as I can, before buying more fabric. In fact, I find myself making these resolutions over and over again, year after year!
     But this year, having got off to a good quilting start with "Grace's Butterflies" quilt in January, I decided I would try to finish at least one quilt a month. They don't have to be large quilts. I don't make many large quilts any more, but at the end of the year I would have the satisfaction of having achieved my aim with twelve quilts completed. So far I'm right on target or perhaps even a little bit ahead. Below are photos of two quilts I completed in February. The first is a "baby-size" quilt using bright pinks, white and a dash of lime green. The block pattern is a traditional album block.

 

      While in Hawaii in January I purchased a packet of pre-cut five-inch squares of Hawaiian prints. I combined them with fabrics from my stash to make the quilt you see below. This quilt is larger than the one above; approximately 50 x 60 inches. The photo is slightly at an angle. The quilt is actually even on both sides!

 

 

I've already started on my next project. With any luck you'll be able to see that in April.

Happy Quilting!

 

 

Butterflies

     The month before and the weeks after Christmas were very busy. Apart from the usual festive activities, I was trying to finish a quilt for our little three-year old grand-daughter, Grace, whom we were to meet in Hawaii in early January. Happily, I was able to complete it in time for it to travel with us to Hawaii and from there to Singapore where Grace and her parents live.  We had a lovely time together in Hawaii and now are trying to adjust to the winter weather again in Edmonton. Fortunately the temperatures are above zero, which makes it a little easier. With the fabric I bought in Hawaii (not to mention what I have already on hand!), I have lots of options for new quilts and the only problem now is to decide where to begin.
     Apologies to all my friends, who never received an invitation to our home over Christmas. With any luck we'll get together in February!
     Here's the quilt I made for my grand-daughter called "Grace's Butterflies."

 

 

Praise the Lord!

Yes, I'm happy to say, the Mission Possible Sale was a success. This is the third time we've held it  (we only do it every other year) and the best so far. We have a very dedicated group of ladies who work very hard to organize it and with help from lots of others in our congregation it went well. It's so great to know that my quilting not only gives me great pleasure, but can be used to help others who don't have the resources to help themselves.
Here are some photos of my corner of the sale room. I was very pleased to be able to sell all but one of my larger quilts and all but one of the baby quilts plus quite a few of the smaller items, as well.

After taking a VERY short break from quilting I'm now working on a "Butterfly" quilt for our little grand-daughter Grace who has turned three and needs a quilt for her "big girl bed." Pictures of that next time.

There and Here

It's been nearly six months since my last post, and you may be wondering if I'm still around. The answer is, happily, Yes, and I'm still quilting. The summer passed quickly, as we spent a lot of it in Newfoundland and then were fortunate enough to have a trip to Ireland at the end of August, which included a stop-over for a week in London, England. Difficult as it may be to believe, I didn't do any quilting during that time, but have been making up for it ever since.
In two weeks time, we will be having our bi-annual Mission Possible Sale at the Salvation Army and I've been very busy finishing some quilts and making other items for sale.  After finishing a double-size Ohio Star quilt on my basic home machine, I turned to smaller items for a change. Here are some of the items I've stock-piled for the sale. The tree ornaments were lots of fun as they make up fairly quickly and gave me a rest from the sewing machine. The next blog will be after the sale and I should have more pictures and I hope to be able to tell you that it was a great success!

 

Ohio Star Quilt 

 



 

Table Runners and Coasters
 

 

Christmas Tree Ornaments

Christmas Aprons

 

More Quilts, What Else?

"And thick and fast they came at last
And more and more and more."
(from The Walrus and the Carpenter by
Lewis Carroll )

Well not quite, if you're thinking about quilts, but in spite of (or maybe because of) the delay in blogging, I have been finishing up some quilts. Here they are.
    
The first two are made from two identical panels I bought intending to use them for quilts for our two little grandsons. By the time I got around to using them, the boys had outgrown the designs and so they will go to some other children. I did use  different coloured fabric in the inside border, so if they go to twins, they can easily tell which quilt is theirs.



Twin Quilt One

Twin Quilt Two

The next quilt was the result of my buying a jelly roll in a variety of blues. I had no definite plan in mind, but was thinking it might work for something simple like a strip quilt. It didn't and the quilt went through a few designs and quite a bit of "reverse sewing" before I finally decided on a pattern I could live with. It is about 52 inches square. I call it Sky and Sea.

The final quilt is made from fabric given to me by my quilter friend Linda. It took a couple of years before I got around to using it, but I finally made it up into a crib-sized quilt and called it Linda's Stars