Waiting Patiently and then Heading North!

I'm waiting patiently to hear the results of an ultrasound.........tap, tap, tap!!!

Updated at 1 PM: Pink booties it is! Woo-hoo, another princess!

After work today I'm driving to Shipshewana to join some guild members at a retreat at the Farmstead Inn. I'm very envious that they have been there sewing, shopping, eating, laughing and just having a great time since Wednesday. But, I had quilts to finish, you know, not to mention that full time job I have.

So, I'm all packed and ready to go, as soon as the 5:00 whistle blows. (There really isn't a whistle!)



Raspberry Dessert

Don't forget to leave a comment by midnight tonight, April 1, on the Raspberry dessert post to win one of Julie Herman's patterns. And come back on Saturday to see if you're a winner.

Today's Quilts

Tonight I set up the quilt stand and took some photos of Janet's quilt. If you thought it was bright in yesterday's picture, just take a look at this one. (click on the picture to get a better look)



And the back:



Then I loaded Deb's Sampler quilt that she's having quilted for a friend. This is her friends first quilt and what a lot of techniques she learned with this one.



I quilted it with the Baptist Fan template, PermaCore Eggshell thread and Hobbs 80/20 batting. It looks quite classic, as it should.



Raspberry Dessert

Don't forget to leave a comment by midnight Friday, April 1, on the Raspberry dessert post to win one of Julie Herman's patterns. And come back on Saturday to see if you're a winner.

Scrappity-doo-Dah

I finished Janet's quilt last night, but it was dark outside, so no full picture yet. She said she would be quite happy with a panto on this 100" square quilt. Double Rose Vine was already on my table, so that's what I used and it looks very nice with PermaCore Camel thread.

This pattern is available here. It is one of those free patterns that they send you when trying to get you to subscribe to a magazine.

Next up is Deb's Sampler quilt.

Raspberry Dessert

Don't forget to leave a comment on the Raspberry dessert post to win one of Julie Herman's patterns. And come back on Saturday to see if you're a winner.

Raspberry Dessert and A Giveaway!

Raspberry Dessert is the name of the Quiltmaker's Scrap Squad quilt #2 for 2011. Mine doesn't look anything like raspberries though. I had a purpose in mind when I started this quilt. It was to be a wedding gift for Dan's niece, Annie and her husband, Josh. The colors in their home are aqua, teal and brown.

I started out with some ideas in EQ



and decided on this one:



I used 5 different teal fabrics (3 FQs and 2 half yards), 2 medium browns, 4 dark browns, and 2 cream prints. Not nearly as scrappy as my 1st Scrap squad Quilt, is it?
All cut and ready to begin sewing:



Here it is coming together on the design wall. I'm really liking it at this point.



The finished center. This is as far as the pattern in Quiltmaker goes.


But I wanted mine to be queen size, so I auditioned some borders. When I chose the borders, I planned to do custom quilting, but changed my mind at the last minute. And here is the finished quilt


Raspberry Dessert was designed by Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts. She is very talented and you'll spend a long time on her blog. Be sure to check out her patterns. She has generously provided a pattern for each of the Scrap Squad Members to give away on our blogs. So, leave a comment on this post by midnight Friday, April 1 (no fooling!), telling me what colors you might use in this quilt. I will draw a winner on Saturday, April 2nd, in the morning. So, come back and visit then to see if you have won.

Another Giveaway!
Also, Quiltmaker will have a fabric giveaway at Quilty Pleasures so, go there and leave a comment as instructed to be entered.

Check out the other Scrap Squad members quilts. They are stunning!
Jane
Dionne
Kim
Donna
Pat
Carol
Linda

Please join the Scrap Squad at Quilters Club of America

Design Wall Monday

How about a design floor?


All the blocks are finished, well, except for the blanket stitching of one wheel that I forgot.

More Baby Boy Goodies!

I really like the idea of making burp cloths using leftover fabrics from the quilt on prefolded diapers. I made these today



and they go with this quilt:




I pulled out some flannel and made her 3 receiving blankets also.



This will make a nice gift for the new mom.

Just One Star

I've made my block, have you?

Moda Fabrics is participating in a challenge to piece, quilt and bind 100 quilts in 100 days using the Flag of Valor pattern by Minick and Simpson.

And a tutorial is here

Here's my block:


I had it in an envelope ready to mail when I realized I hadn't taken a picture of it yet.

Stashbusting 2011 - #12

Fabric Added this week - 8.75 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date - 18.25 yards

Fabric Used this week - 8.375 yards
Fabric Used Year to Date - 62 yards

YEAR TO DATE STASH USED: 43.75 yards

Well, I certainly went the wrong way this week.

But, can you blame me? Janet and I drove to Always In Stitches and met Julie there friday afternoon to take advantage of their 25 for $30 Fat Quarter sale. We also had coupons for 20% off that they so generously provided to all our retreat participants, along with a FQ. So, I bought 2yards of rock fabric and some bright FQs for Andrew's Convoy Quilt, neutral and shirtings FQs made up the rest.

Another Day, Another Quilt!

I finished this quilt of Janet's tonight that she's planning to give to Visions of Hope, a residential treatment facility for young women.


The very first panto I owned was Double Rose Vine by Norma Sharp. I bought some pantos at our guild auction, even before I had a longarm. I had been to the quilt shows in Chicago and Paducah that year, and tried out all the machines. So I knew I was geting one, just didn't know which one. Little did I know that my machine came with almost all the pantos I bought at the auction. Oh well, I was able to share them with friends.



Anyway, back to this quilt....Hobbs 80/20 batting and Permacore Eggshell thread.

Carole's Wild Animals

I finished quilting this quilt that Carole made for her grandson. She wanted it more like a comforter than quilt, so I used Quilters Dream Dream Puff batting and is it ever puffy.



I wasn't looking forward to outlining all those animals, but the design of the fabric let me stitch around quite a few before I had to stop and start again.



The wavy crosshatching in the border is my chain link fence to keep all those animals inside.



I used Superior Brytes and Glide thread on top and Bottom line in the bobbin.

Design Wall Monday

The trucks now have wheels! It's taking me a long time to finish this quilt, but Andrew's birthday isn't until the middle of April, so I still have some time.



And the NICU baby quilt is finished and ready to cover some little tiny baby's isolette.



On Mabel today is Carole's wild animals. It's for her grandson and she wanted more of a comforter than a quilt. It's coming along nicely.

Quilting on Sunday

Adrienne came over on Sunday to quilt a baby quilt she just finished. It's just adorable and she chose to use the Circle Lord Fan Clam board and quilt clamshells. Perfect design for this soft quilt. She chose a quilters dream bamboo batting that I had here and that just made it softer yet. Glide thread and bottom line in the bobbin.




And the back:


After she left, I loaded a piece of wide muslin and quilted these 2 quilts.
The first one is a NICU quilt for a local hospital and I turned the Circle lord boards around and quilted Baptist fans.



The second is my entry for the Quilters Dream ALS project.

Stashbusting 2011 - #12

Fabric Added this week - 2 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date - 9.5 yards

Fabric Used this week - 2.875 yards
Fabric Used Year to Date - 53.625 yards

YEAR TO DATE STASH USED: 44.125 yards


1 yard to make the ruffles for Elizabeth's dress and a bunch of F-8ths and F-16ths at the quilt show. Janet and I saw a pineapple quilt in pinks and browns, and we are each going to make one. She bought LOTS of fabric, but I showed some restraint.

Carole's 2nd Antique quilt

I finished this one last night and for the first time in a long time, I was able to take some pics outside.


Square feather wreath in the plain blocks and spineless feathers in the 4 quadrants of the other blocks. I love the movement the spineless feathers give those blocks. So fine thread and Hobbs 80/20 batting.



And the back



And a little definition help from the sun.



I'm off to the quilt show in Schererville today, wish me luck.

Floral Baby Quilt

My daughter-in-law is attending a baby shower next week and asked me about a quilt. I had this one ready to be quilted and loaded it up and quilted it last weekend. I finished the binding at quilt guild last night. Hearts and roses panto, Hobbs 80/20 batting and Permacore Eggshell thread.



Such a pretty soft green for the back:


Before guild I sewed some leftover strips together and stitched them down the center of some bibs for burp cloths to match.



I even used one of my decorative stitches to stitch down the seams. You probably have lots of those stitches also and if you're like me, seldom use them. As I make more clothes for Elizabeth I will probably use more of them.


I threw it in the washer and dryer last night and now it's all ready to be sent to Dané.




Row-by-row
I can show you the latest row that I made as we meet later today to exchange row totes. This one is Cheryl's and she has a very retro style, even her house has a retro look to it, just cute as can be. Anyway, her fabrics are 1930's and I picked a bowtie block for her. I'm not sure of the "actual" size of a bow tie block, but I made mine 6" finished. I cut the big squares 3.5" and the little ones 1.75, so I could cut one 3.5" strip and then subcut.

Linda's Civil War Quilt

This beautiful quilt took 9+ prewound bobbins to complete. I don't think I have ever used that many on one quilt, but it's certainly worth it as I think it turned out lovely.



It is 100 x 115 and Linda provided a Quilters Dream Wool batting. My first experience with wool and I LOVE the way it quilts. It was rather strange to me that the batting didn't hold the quilt top in place as much as a cotton poly blend, but I think I'll be ordering some for myself.



I used So fine thread on top and magna-quiilt bobbins.



It's raining here today, so no outside full picture. Hopefully tomorrow...