First 2025 FINISHES.....long time no post !

 Well, I have certainly let this blog fall to the wayside, but I am still quilting !  Last year I got involved in helping finish quilts that my Church makes for rehab graduates.  I do alot of the bindings, and I really enjoy being a part of this ministry.

But every now and then I squeeze in a personal quilt.

This past January I experimented with using some fabric that was donated to me.  This VOILE was intended for making shawls, but I doubled it as the back for a small lap quilt, or baby quilt.  I have to say that it turned out marvelously.  I used an older charm pack for the print squares in the top, along with scraps of a muslin-type of fabric that was leftover from trimming some of the donation quilts.

But the back of this quilt is the STAR !  I used a polyester batting, and the back of this quilt is every bit as soft-feeling as a minky fabric, but won't pick up pet hair like that fabric does !

                         LUSCIOUS VOILE BACKING                    Ignore the fan quilt lying below

I gifted this little quilt to Teresa Capps' daughter for her expected baby girl.

                                      

And, this past week I got a hankering to try piecing some diamonds, thinking I would like an entire quilt top made from them........but, I'm now thinking...uh, NO, don't think I want to go there (bias edges !)    BUT I do love the table topper that I made from my trial piece !

Just the right fit.  The roses are artificial.  A friend at Senior Bingo was giving them to all the ladies.

 One more little make.........this birthday banner was finished this month as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*****Side note.......I am no longer dating Adrian .***** 

FINISH ! First quilt of 2024 ! Four-Patch Squared

 This little guy only finishes around 38 x 39 inches.  

Here's the finished top before being quilted.

Nothing purchased for this one.  Made from 2 1/2 inch squares and 5 inch charm squares halved, for the colorful blocks, a grey print for the alternate setting blocks,  and 2 1/2 inch strips for the binding.  Blocks squared to 6 1/4 ".

I loved how this one looked after quilting on my Jazz 2, with a diagonal cross-hatching. 

 I used more of the 80% cotton/ 20% wool pre-soaked and dried batting.  I hoped that it really wouldn't get that crinkly post-laundry look , but IT DID.

And here is an 'after' photo.....

EDIT : *****************

Following a kind suggestion on FB, I ironed this little quilt, and I must say that I am much happier with the look.  I used the wool setting on my little iron.

          I couldn't resist including the birds in this block.

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EDIT:  I gifted this small quilt to Janice Bridges this past Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, in appreciation of all of the volunteer work that she does.


 

FINISHES- (2).... Star Boxes ... and...Aqua Rolling Stones

 I think that this will probably be my final finishes for 2023.  For me, it's been a really good year for quilting.

In the last couple of days, I finished these two quilts......

 

Star Boxes, measuring 53 x 64 inches.

Pattern adapted from Missouri Star Triple Play video

   Diagonally machine-quilted on Jazz 2.  Cotton/Wool batting

  58 inch wide backing from Hancock's of Paducah

UPDATE:  Not satisfied, I went back and pretty much doubled the diagonal quilting on this one.  I have these two photos of the finished quilting.

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Last finish, Aqua Rolling Stones, finished at approximately 52 x 71 inches. 

Standard Rolling Stone block, original design setting

            Backing purchased at Hobby Lobby, Hobbs 100% cotton batting

  Basic hand-quilting in majority of quilt, BigStitch quilting in Flying Geese borders

 

FINISH- Isaiah's toddler quilt

 I  squeezed one more quilt in that was pieced in April, actually, but finished today, May 3.  

Today I actually sewed the binding on TOTALLY by machine.......an unusual thing for me, never done on a quilt even this big (40" x 50" approximately ).

This quilt came about because the boy and girl (a friend and neighbor's great grandkids) for whom I made little quilts when they were small, now have a little brother who is approaching his third birthday in July.  His granny let me know that he has been dragging their little quilts out to use, and she suggested that he needed one of his own.  

So, as soon as I finished the Nine-Patch Squared quilt, shared in my last post,I started designing Isaiah's quilt.  I had all of these fabrics, and after making the quilt top, I found out that he has a July birthday.  Perfect, ......fireworks, stars and stripes, and baseballs for the backing.  How much more Americana can you get????

Isaiah is a beautiful mixed-race little boy, and this fabric is made up of images of children from many races and cultures.  His brother and sister, are both involved in softball games, so he is very accustomed to seeing the use of a bat and ball.  This blue fabric came in very handy for a backing.

Excited that I had gotten it finished, I rushed it up the street to him WITHOUT getting pictures of the finished quilt.  I handed him the quilt, tied up with a long selvedge. He said thank you, and then tossed it onto the bed.    I took the selvedge off, he grabbed it immediately, (THE SELVEDGE STRING) and we started having a tug of war.  He thought that THAT (long string) was just THE greatest gift EVER from his "aunt" Dolly !

Hopefully, one day in the near future I will get a photo of him with his quilt.

His granny did call me later to let me hear him responding MINE when she teased him and said, "that quilt is granny's".

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Quilt finished at approximately 40 x 50 inches, was machine-pieced, quilted, and bound.  

FINISH--Nine-Patch Squared

 Well, I managed to make another quilt, setting a record for me at one per month this year !

Below is the top before being quilted.....

It may be my age, but I have developed a love for a more simplified quilt........I think that it has to do with polyester batting.   With bigger piecing (4 " finished squares in the nine-patches, and 8 inch in the frames),I'm leaving room for the poly batting to 'fluff'.  I think that the crinkly look of cotton batting goes better with smaller piecing and closer quilting.

  And I'm satisfying my desire to do some hand-quilting again, although now I do "big-stitch" rather than going for the most stitches I can squeeze into an inch of quilting, like I did when these hands and eyes were young.

Having said all of that, this is my latest finish.........I call it Nine-Patch Squared, and it is not my own original design.  I ran across it in some pages that I have cut out of magazines and catalogs (sorry, I don't save the info).  I save these pictures as ideas and inspiration for future projects.

Back of quilt......same fabric as center of framed squares on front.

Hopefully for the recipient who takes a closer look, the hand-stitching shows up well around the solid frames.  

Deb let me make her this one to trade back for the last one that she took, when I explained to her that the kitty fabrics and little girls climbing trees might have been too 'juvenile' a choice of fabrics for a quilt that is to be gifted to her daughter-in-law.

Quilt info:  Polyester batting , low-loft, by Fairfield (PolyFil), Thread--Coats Bold Hand-quilting thread in Natural....... finished size, approximately 48" x 60" after laundering.  I made the binding finish at around one-half inch because it matches the framed print, and ties it all together.

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AFTER NOTE:  I delivered this quilt to Deb on May 15, 2023.  She was happy with it.  

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A salt shaker spilled in my raincoat pocket, and not realizing that there was salt in the bottom of the pocket, I put my keys in there while I ran errands in the rain.   Now I can hardly get the key in and out of the ignition.  I think that it got salt in it, and it tarnished something or who knows what.  The key feels rough on the end, and even a second key hesitates within inserting and removing.

It's a Honda, and I only have the one key that does everything....ignition, keyless entry.  My local mechanic thinks he could replace the ignition, but a Honda dealership has to reprogram the key unless you know a locksmith that can perform that task.  The nearest dealership is in Franklin, and I DON'T DRIVE TO FRANKLIN.  A new key was over $250 when I bought the car in 2018....I can only imagine the price now.

Stay tuned for update........for now I'm just going to use the car as sparingly as possible, and PRAY !

FINISH--2 Sides of the Heart

 First big finish of 2023, this quilt's front was blogged here in 2022.

 In December of 2022 I assembled an 'after quilt' from a large panel with a bicycle, 4 small panel blocks depicting the 4 seasons, and several favorite fabrics which I had found difficult to use elsewhere.

  The blue abstract-looking flower in multiple sizes was especially troublesome, but one of my cherished fabric gifts from Jodie Ann (now deceased).  The yellow chevron I found a yard of at a second-hand store recently, and I just loved the punch that it added.  The striped division strips were an after-thought but very satisfying to my eye.

 I thread-basted this one in my living room, and machine-quilted the bulk of it from the front side on my BabyLock Jazz 2 machine.

 I flipped the quilt to the other side to machine-quilt the outside border, finding it easier to see the marks that I made (using a plastic stencil and pencils).

Cotton fabrics, MSQC 80/20 cotton/poly batting (former wonderful daily deal purchase), cotton thread cone from Connecting Threads in silver.

Finished size is currently 60 x 66 inches.  I haven't laundered it yet, enjoying the silky smoothness of the nice fabrics on the back.

Finishing Farm Fresh Jubilee quilt

 

This one is SO CLOSE, but not quite finished.  Finally I'll have a twin-sized quilt that is actually long enough to be tucked in at the foot of the bed.  I am continually making quilts that seem to all wind up around 60 x 80....nice for an extra layer on the twin bed, but not long enough to tuck.  Atleast they DO make wonderful nap quilts for the couch or recliner.

I'll tell you where the inspiration for this one came from.   I was perusing an Annie's catalog earlier this month when I spotted a quilt that I really liked.  It looked easy enough to graph for myself, and I knew that I had fabrics that would work, so I set to drawing it out for myself. Here is one block....(pardon the wall quilt that it is pinned onto.)

 Kudos to the actual pattern designer, Jocelyn Ueng for It's Sew Emma .  A kit, called Farm Fresh Jubilee, is available from Annie's Craft Store catalog, and I much prefer HER colors.  But I just had to try to use up this Anna Marie Horner layer cake that I had purchased from Missouri Star Quilt Company.  And I had been hoarding the blue, turquoise, and green batik fat quarters , awaiting inspiration for just the right quilt.

Well, they're 20 inch blocks, and I got it pieced, and then realized that, with borders added, I had managed to make a top that measured 90+ inches long !  I thought that it was going to be longer than my quilt frame boards would accommodate for basting.  I cleared away all the furniture that I could from my living room and managed to achieve a space just big enough to be able to barely walk around the frame while thread-basting the three layers. 

Then, while trying to decide on a quilting design to use with my machine, I started looking differently at a border stencil that consists of three concentric wavy lines.  I have it in 3 sizes for three different widths of borders.  But I quilted up a sample, using the medium sized template, 4 1/2",  where I used it repeatedly for the length of the sample, and I LOVED the results.

So........the next day, I spent the WHOLE AFTERNOON drawing those wavy lines across the width of the top, for the whole LENGTH of the top !

It then took me 2 daily sessions......with breaks........to quilt the entire quilt.  AND I COULD NOT BE HAPPIER !  

I used a polyester batting, also purchased from one of MSQC's daily deals, and a 108-inch fabric from Fabric.com.  All I have left to do is label and bind this quilt, and wait for those cooler Autumn nights where I can snuggle and smile !

EDIT....UPDATE....

This quilt IS FINISHED, as of August 2, 2022.  Twin-size, finishing approximately 67 x 86 inches, after laundering, (quite a bit of shrinkage, but I had not prewashed the fabrics. ).  Cotton fabrics, polyester batting from Missouri Star Quilt Company, 90 x 108. Begun approximately July 11, 2022.

 

Finished ! Autumn Nights twin quilt

 As of midnight, January will be OVER !   Hurrah !  and Hallelujah !  

And I have my second finish for the year, 2022 !

 And,more than that, it is the last of my 'brother quilts' !  I have now finished quilts for all 5 brothers, (large lap/twin-size,) and have presented 4.

This one is for my oldest brother, who turned 75 last November, and whom I got to speak to , this past Christmas, for the first time in atleast 43 years.  We have sent cards on birthday/Christmas, for the last 10 years or so,  since we both have November birthdays,  but we were finally reunited via telephone at Christmas.  And an in-person visit is in the plans for the near future !  I hope he'll be surprised and pleased with this quilt, as I've been made to understand that he and his wife quilt together !

  I pieced this top on July 12 of 2020, and it languished in the closet for a year and a half, with no inspiration for quilting it.  It only came out this year because I bought the backing fabric online (with a different possible future quilt in mind), and the color was not at all what I had expected.

 But then I realized that it was an exact color match for this stripe !  

On January 17, 2022, I brought it out while stuck at home after our massive 9-inch snowstorm, and got it thread-basted in my living room.  

I believe that I worked on getting it basted from about 9 in the morning until 6 p.m. with only a break for lunch. 

Being alone, I even had to stand the framed quilt up against the living room wall in order to reach the very center for basting.

Probably starting the next day, January 18, I machine-quilted it on my Jazz 2, sewing machine, using an open-toe applique foot, and pinning every inch-and-a-half or so on these long stripes, to prevent getting tucks. (I finished quilting on January 28, 2022.)

I drew the cables on with a plastic template, and used a shiny thread for effect.  First time quilting with poly thread; found it to be a bit thin, and easy to fray, but it looks beautiful.  I hope it's durable.

The top measured 70" x 83" before quilting, so I imagine that after a good wash and dry it will be slightly smaller than that.  Good for use on a twin bed, I should think. 

I don't have a pattern to share with you all.  It's just something that I made up as I went along.

 

I used Fairfield's 80/20 cotton/poly batting, ordered from Walmart.com.  Essential Cotton 50 wt. thread in Fawn and Amazon, and Glide 40 polyester thread in Bronze.  The sheen on the poly thread is beautifully highlighting the cables in the four corners.  

 Messing around after tying off threads one night, I laid it out on the couch for a look.  It was all I could do not to decide to keep this one for myself as a lovely couch cover !  But didn't want to give it THAT KIND OF WEAR !

So...........what do you think ?   And what in the world shall I get into next ?????????  Keep a look-out !  You know I'll be sure and try to share it with you whatever it may be !

Come on in, FEBRUARY !!!!!!!!!!

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UPDATE:

I mailed this quilt to my brother at the last of March.  When I spoke to him later, he and his wife both were raving over the quilt.  They really liked it, and she said that these were 'just his colors!".