Starting up again

To say it's been a long time since I posted anything is probably a bit of an understatement. However, I've been busy. Really. Really busy. And when you're a contractor, being busy is a good thing. I did get a free day this last weekend to do some sewing...just for fun. It's been a while since I've had time to do fun sewing. I've looked at the Carpenter's Star pattern on the http://blog.MaryQuilts.com site and I wanted to make it...really wanted to make it. But there was that time issue. Randy was back in ND visiting his folks. Which meant I was the full-time entertainment for Charli. But she finally laid down on Saturday late afternoon, and I was able to get the squares and half-square triangles cut, then sewed together on Sunday. (By the way, the lightest color in this photo is white. Actually it's white-on-white - I was shooting without the flash so it looks not-white...oops! It's better if you squint your eyes when you look at it. Really.) Now I just have to decide on borders. I've gotten input from my sister. Now I just need to find time to get that part done!

College Quilts

I sewed college quilts as high school graduation presents for the twins in our family. I waited until they had selected their colleges before picking up the fabric because I wanted to make the quilts in the college colors. Needless-to-say, that put me behind a bit! I did finish the quilts before graduation in June, then sent them off to be quilted. The specific quilter I used did an absolutely amazing job. Our niece is planning a career in medicine and is at UCLA, so the colors are blue and gold. The quilting - this just blows me away - is the hippocratic oath. You know it - it's the "do no harm" speech that you hear on every medical TV show. It's tough to see on these photos, but it's there...trust me! Our nephew is planning a film career. He's been into movie making projects since he was very young, and he's very talented. He's at Chapman University in CA...hence the red and white for that university.His quilt is quilted with the names of actors, movies, directors and producers - very fun and very unique! I got them back a couple of weeks ago, added binding and labels, then sent them to the twins. I hope the quilts keep them wrapped in hugs whenever they're feeling a little homesick. The patterns are from a favorite blogger of mine - http://blog.maryquilts.com/. Check it out - you'll love her work!

On the Design Wall...

I've been doing more applique this summer so the projects that take shape on the design wall have been few and far between. I do have some finished appliqued wallhangings on there but they'll stay there until I decide how I want to finish them. And, knowing me, they could be there a long time. I read a few blogs everyday. One is called Mary Quilts (http://blog.maryquilts.com/). I like her style of writing (very casual) and I like the scrappy quilts she designs, makes and gives away. And she always gives step-by-step instructions so that if you like the quilt, you can make one for yourself. I really like that. When I saw the lattice quilt design, I knew I needed to make one. Earlier this spring, Randy's cousin gave me some yardage that she'd picked up at a garage sale. There are quite a few yards and it's a pattern I've always liked. In fact, I had the same fabric in 2 other colorways...and still have a bit of each! Since I'd gotten a lot of the blue colorway, I decided to use it, along with a navy-on-navy floral and a rose-on-pink fabric ...to make my own lattice quilt. I cut and pieced enough for a few blocks on Friday just to see if I liked it. Then, Sunday, I cut and pieced a few more. One thing I really like is that you oversize the blocks when cutting; then square them up after piecing.It makes for a bit of waste...but more importantly, it makes for very square blocks!

Now that I've got a few blocks done, I'm thinking I may need to applique something in the middle where the four blocks come together. To me, it looks a bit blah:Since the 4 blocks together make a 12" finished block, I could applique something, but what?

And that's why it takes so long to finish quilting projects!

Finished...well, almost

I made college quilts for our niece and nephew who graduated from high school this spring. They're both off to Los Angeles this fall to attend college and while they might not need quilts in California, I thought it would be a nice idea for them to be able to wrap themselves in a warm hug if they start feeling a bit homesick. Sappy of me, I know, but it's who I am. Here's Emily's finished quilt top:

And here's Jack's quilt:Right now, the tops are waiting for their turn to be quilted by a local machine quilter who does exceptional work. In fact, I'm probably more anxious to see the final quilts because I know the quality of work this quilter does.

If you're interested in either of these patterns, you can download the instructions for free at http://www.maryquilts.com/. She's written easy-to-follow instructions for many patterns. Just scroll down and check out the left column under Instruction Sheets!

On my design wall

I enjoyed piecing the blue paisley Double Four Patch so much... ...that I decided to make another using some larger pieces of fabric from my stash. Here are the strips that I've already sewn together and cut apart again. They're ready to go into the four-patch blocks.

As I finish sewing the individual blocks together, I put them up on my design wall so I can watch the quilt pattern forming. Have I mentioned lately how much I love this design wall?

Finally, all the blocks are sewn. This quilt pattern is so nice for me because I don't need to have a huge chunk of time available to work on it. I can use any free 10 or 15 minutes to get a bit more done. And that makes it go really fast!

This morning, I got four rows sewn together in about 20 minutes.

So, five rows to go, then it'll be time to add borders.

Sad to say, but I've already thought of another group of fabrics I have that I'd love to sew into this quilt - using all primary (bright) colors for the 16-patch block and brights on black (it's a great floral) for the 4-patch units.

Quick Note: I have been working a bit on the Midnight in the Tropics applique blocks but only at my small quilt group meetings once a week. I need to get it laid out in the family room so it's handy. Unlike the Double Four Patch, I always feel like I need an hour chunk of time when I want to work on applique.