Finish-A-Long Qtr. 3

Time, once again, to get delusional about what I can finish in the next 3 months.

I purchased this pattern and fabric back in April.    I have 35 of the 81 blocks done.  They involve quite a bit of ironing and it's been hot.  Enough said.

These blocks are from the Fat Quarter Shop BOM.  I got a bit tired of them and have 10 of the 12 done.  I think I may just sash them and be done with it.

Since all Irish babies need an Irish knit sweater, this has be be on my list.  There's a little pumpkin due on Halloween and I want to have this done by the baby shower in September.  If I have time, I may do the hat.  I haven't made this type of sweater in over 10 years so it's taking me a bit to get used to the pattern.  Once I establish the first repeat, it should go quicker.

And just for the heck of it, I'm putting these two quilts on the list again.  I didn't touch them last quarter, and probably won't this quarter either.

This is the Summersville top I started at retreat in March.  It's all pieced and just needs to be sandwiched and quilted.

This quilt top is also complete.  Assembly required.

Joyful stitching,
jane

Finish-A-Long Finish

I'm happy to report that I finished another one of my goals for this quarter.
I started this quilt in March at a guild retreat.   I fell in love with this quilt design in an ad for Freespirit,  tore the page out of the magazine and waited for the right fabric.  Along came Tula Pink's Saltwater.

The pattern was easy.  It's just squares, rectangles and flying geese.  Each block finishes at 12".

 

I added a scrappy border in between a couple of rows of white sashing. This finished at 60"x75",  a bit bigger than my usual lap quilts. I may need to invest in a taller clothesline.

The quilting is straight lines within each block.  I added a diamond pattern on the inner white sashing, which is very fancy for me.

 I used the blue seashell fabric for the binding.

The back is pieced using yardage of 6 different prints.

The sun was bright this morning and the bottom fabric looks washed out in this photo. (It's light blue with little anchors.) However, the sun was also hot this morning and I didn't feel like going back out there to retake the photo.

Joyful Stitching,
jane

Something for Lucy

There's a little story behind this baby quilt.

 A couple of years ago, my son's girlfriend Jamie was a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding.  It was a summer wedding and the bridesmaids wore knee-length, strapless dresses in either a deep fuchsia pink or a bright green.
Fast forward to December 31, 2012 when my son Joe finally proposed and presented Jamie with a lovely diamond engagement ring.   Within a few hours of the proposal, her friend gave birth to a baby girl named Lucy.

Jamie asked if I could make a quilt out of the bridesmaids dresses.  The girls didn't care if I cut up the dresses since they figured they would never wear them again.  The dresses looked like silk, but I wasn't sure since the tags had been cut off.  I knew I would have to wash and dry the dresses to make sure it was suitable  for a baby.
After 12 washings, the color-catcher was still coming out deep pink.  I knew I couldn't make the quilt out of the dresses since the dye was just going to ruin any other fabrics in the quilt.

Plan B was to find fabric that matched the dresses.  I think I succeeded.  The center panel of this quilt is from a line called Gypsy Bandana.  I think the dark pink print is from the same collection.  Some of the other prints are from a Moda collection called Snap Pop.  I added some solids in there as well.

I stitched around the designs in the center panel and then just stitched-in-the-ditch on the rest of the quilt. I added the baby's name to some of the blocks.

The binding is the dark pink.  I kept the backing fairly simple since the front was very busy.

I did, however, get to use some of the dress fabric.  I made a gift bag for the quilt using one of my favorite patterns.

I used the green lining from one of the dresses for the inside of the bag.  (The green silk turned brown when I washed it.)

Joyful stitching,
jane

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Finally, a productive week

I feel like I actually made some progress on my mile-long list of things to do.
I finished my disappearing 9-patch using a charm pack of Happy Go Lucky that I won from this nice blogger. 

 I used white Kona for 4 of the 9 blocks in each 9-patch.  It makes really makes a charm pack go a long way.  I put 1" sashing between each of the patches.  I think it makes the blocks look like they float as well as make the design look a bit more complex.

I used an all-over stipple and went with the light turquoise for the binding.

I didn't want to buy any additional fabric for the back and the binding, so both are from my stash.  I liked the fact that this collection has some orange in it and decided to go with some Kaffe Fassett that I had.

 The weather finally cleared on Sunday, so we took a trip into Boston to see the "To Boston with Love" project.  I have 3 flags in the exhibit and my daughter also made one.

It was an amazing thing to see.  Many thanks to Berene and Amy for all their hard work.  The location couldn't have been more perfect.  It was so great to see lots of visitors looking at all the flags and pointing out their favorites.

Of course Daughter Dear found her's right away.  It's the peachy colored one on the end.  She's a big Vera Bradley fan and used a VB cloth napkin for the heart on hers.

Our guild is busy working on the Quilts for Boston  project.  I finished one top and am ready to baste it. (Ugh, my least favorite part of quilting.)  I also have a second one ready to piece. 
Onward and upward!

Joyful stitching,
jane

Boston is My Home

Yay, I finally finished my flags for the To Boston With Love project. 

I found the pattern for the peace sign here.  It was really easy to make.    I probably should have made it into a paper-pieced pattern.  It would be easy to do.  I didn't realize it until after I finished the teal and purple one, but I forgot one of the trimming steps.  It's not the same size as the red one.  Doesn't matter.  I like them both.  I think this pattern would look really cute on a zippy pouch or maybe a baby bib.  (Hmm, did someone mention a baby?)
The patchwork heart was very easy.  Just squares and half-square triangles.

Making these flags made me feel better.  I was born in Boston and have lived just a few miles north my whole life.  My first real job was just three blocks from the finish line.  One of the victims lived 3 blocks from my home.  

Off to this month's BMQG meeting to deliver my flags.

Joyful stitching,
jane
 

WIP Wednesday

Not a whole lot of progress in the past couple of weeks.  I finished the quilting on the disappearing nine-patch. 

I also made some blocks for the Quilts For Boston project.

The photos are not the best, but that's what happens when you wait until dark to take the pictures.
I wasn't able to make the sew-in this past weekend, but based on this post, some great things were accomplished.

I also finished basting another block for my Rose Star quilt.

I decided to do this one in the Boston Marathon colors.  I'll finish stitching this while watching the next Bruins game (sorry Toronto).

I really wanted to finish so much more, but I was dragged, kicking and screaming, away from my sewing room and forced to spend a few days here....

Yup, the hubs and I took a lovely anniversary trip to Bermuda. 

Joyful stitching,

jane

WIP Wednesday

I've not been very productive this week.  I did manage to finish piecing this quilt top.

I won a charm pack of Happy Go Lucky a few months ago. The pattern is the disappearing nine patch.  I wanted to make this a decent sized baby quilt, so I used some white Kona with the charms.  It measures approx. 39" x 44".   Hopefully, I'll get it quilted next week.

I also finally finished April's Lucky Star block,  It's a good thing, since today is May.

I'm using Mod Century for this project.  I like the way it's coming together.  You can see my other blocks here.
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Joyful stitching,
jane