Saturday, March 9, 2024

When they say thank you for the quilt!

     I  have made peace with the fact that not everybody appreciates or even really like quilts.  I know we have all put a lot of love and work into a quilt to be gifted and never really got a "'thank you", and often wondered if the quilt was ever used.  In fact I have given quilts that I'm pretty sure are still folded up on a shelf in a closet.  AND THAT'S OK!  Many people don't realize how much goes into making a quilt.  And a gift should be given with no strings attached and that's what I do.

     But......... I really love when my quilts are well loved!  It makes my heart so happy!

     Recently, my daughter sent me the following message:

Lori:  Mama the rainbow quilt ๐ŸŒˆyou made me for my 40th birthday.  I love it.  I was looking at it tonight and its so pretty.  I know I already told you that, but just wanted you to EXTRA KNOW IT.  ๐Ÿ˜The colors are so pretty.

Me:  Thank you honey.  That makes me feel good. ❤

     I love the part where she said , "just want you to EXTRA KNOW IT."

     The quilt she was referring to was the Rainbow Double Irish Chain Quilt that I posted HERE and HERE .......  almost 4 years ago.

     Now, that my friend makes it worth all the work!


Monday, March 4, 2024

Rowan Cade's Baby Quilt

Here is a baby boy's quilt that I have worked on for quite a while, a little here and there.  Then I found out another baby boy was coming in our family, so I finally finished it just in time for the baby shower!  






    I had a lot of the blue and green strips left over, so another identical quilt is in progress.  ๐Ÿ˜ I think a baby girl's version in pinks and other pastel colors would be pretty.

Monday, August 1, 2022

Two Simple Baby Quilts

 I have not been quilting very much so far this year!  I just haven't been able to get in the mood to work on them.

But, I finally finished two simple baby quilts for two sisters who were having babies.  One was for a boy born in March and the other is for a girl who is due in September.

Both quilts consist of a top that is one piece of fabric.  Both are Winnie the Pooh themed!

Here is the boy quilt made for Max:






The girl's quilt made for Aliza:



This one consists of pre-cuts from Walmart.  The Winnie the Pooh fabric comes in a one yard pre-cut and the backing is made from 4 coordinating fat quarters.  The fat quarters picked up the red, gray and yellow colors in the top.  With some careful cutting and sewing I was able to make the binding from one fat quarter.  It was so close to not being enough though!


Confession:  I had a small area of pleating on the back of this one.   I noticed it, but really don't think a non-quilter would.  But, I was able to strategically place the quilt label over that area!

I feel that when Fall and Winter weather arrive, I will be back to my normal quilting self. 


Saturday, April 2, 2022

Repairing the "Gentlemen's Quarters" Quilt

 

This post is linked to Alycia Quilts-Quiltygirl - Finish or not.

Here it is April 2nd in a new year!  So far I have no new quilt finishes, but one baby quilt is in progress and one OLD quilt has been repaired.

The old quilt is the very well loved quilt I made my son years ago, using his old jeans and flannel.  It has always been one of my favorites.  Y'all!  It is so soft and has a little weight to it.  It has been washed and dried so many times!

You can see a post from 2007 showing this quilt HERE.  I also posted a tutorial for this pattern HERE.  I really love this pattern

Here are pictures showing how it has been well used!
 




 

Below are pictures of how I made the repairs:

I now know better than to use recycled denim for binding....  I removed the old binding which was very worn and was a very time consuming job.

I would never hand quilt through denim again, but I did on this quilt.  Lots of the hand quilting stitches had come loose or the threads had broken.  As a result, there was no way to make the top lay flat EVER again.  In a few places I simply folded over the excess and sewed it down.  I also sewed straight quilting lines with the sewing machine across the whole quilt.

Here I was sewing on the new binding and thought I'd share how close I came to having exactly enough binding.  Had to sew some more on there!

And look how much thread was left on that spool as I came to the end of sewing on the binding. 

Here I was hand sewing down the binding on the back of the quilt on a cold day.  This is probably the coziest quilt I've ever made.

In the process of machine quilting lines on the quilt.

I hand sewed new patches on top of the ripped ones and also hand sewed rows of blocks back together.   Also, some holes were patched in several places.  Then all the new fabrics were machine sewn down as well.


I somehow must have deleted photos I took of the quilt after the repairs were all completed, but I'm sure you get the idea.  It definitely wouldn't win any awards for beauty or precision piecing, but its back together and back in use by my son and his wife.  I really should make him a new one with the same pattern and similar fabrics and that is on my mental list of new projects to dream about.



Friday, December 31, 2021

Final Project Finishes for 2021!

Here are a couple of final finished quilts for 2021. 

 First of all is the doll quilt I started over a year ago.  I finally finished it and gave it as a Christmas gift, along with a doll, to a granddaughter. 





Project number two is a Christmas quilt made in the same string quilt pattern that I have made several quilts from this past year.  The only difference is the fabric placement and using the same fabrics in the same places in all the blocks.  It makes a completely different looking quilt.

 

Here is the back.  I used what I had!
 


 Whew!  I set a goal for 2021 to make quilts without buying any fabric.  Mission accomplished.  I made 5 quilts during 2021 and only purchased quilt battings.

I want to make more Christmas quilts in 2022 using only what I have on hand.  I also think some Christmas pillow cases for the grandkids would be appreciated.  I could give them the pillow cases at Thanksgiving and they could enjoy them until after Christmas.

 

 

Sunday, October 24, 2021

October Sewing and Quilting

I saw a pillow pattern on Quilting Digest.Com that I loved.  The one shown with the pattern is made with Fall colored flannel fabrics.  Since the last several quilts that I've made were using the same pattern, it seemed like a quick project that I would enjoy making.  Mine's not nearly as pretty, but I used the Fall flannel scraps that I had on hand.

 

See that cute little owl head?



Here is a link to the pattern., found on Quilting Digest.Com.  I felt like the pattern was way more complicated than it needed to be, so I came up with my own way of doing it.

In other sewing and quilting news, here is my most recent quilt, in progress.  Its ready for machine quilting which I'll start hopefully today. 


This one is made with all blue winter and Christmas fabrics.  I keep thinking about the song, "Blue Christmas".  Or someone who has the "Winter Blues". ...... A possible name?....Nah, I don't think so!

Maybe I'll be able to post the finished quilt soon.  I still haven't purchased any fabrics this entire year, but I did use the last quilt batting that I had on hand in this quilt.

Sunday, September 5, 2021

A Rustic Christmas Quilt / "I Spy Quilt"

This post is linked to the following linky parties:  From Bolt to Beauty, Alycia Quilts, and Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.

This is my second Christmas quilt finish of the year!  I have been able to continue making quilts using this same pattern, using only what I have on hand.  I have only purchased quilt battings in the year 2021.  This means that I have purchased no new fabric to supplement what I have on hand, nor any backing fabrics. 

This quilt is being made for a family whose home has a cabin feel and I was thinking these fabrics would be cute in their family room.  My vision is that it would be a great throw size quilt and could lay folded on the back of the couch when not in use.  

As I was making the quilt, I realized that there are lots of Christmas items and words in the quilt.  So I decided to type up a list of all of them, put the list into a sheet protector and include it with the quilt when I give it to the family.  It might be a quiet activity during the time leading up to Christmas to find these objects in an "I Spy" kind of game.  There are 3 children, ages 5, 7 and 8, who will be using the quilt.   At the end of this post I included the list of items and words.

 
Close ups of some of the fabrics:




I incorporated this panel into the backing fabric.  You might remember that I made a Christmas Tree Skirt using an identical panel which was my first project of the year 2021.  Also, some of the backing fabric has tiny U. S. Flags on it.


Soy Beans are growing in the background.


List of I Spy Christmas Words:

Wreath
Santa
Christmas Tree
Truck Tire
Deer Antlers
Teddy Bear
Ice Skates
Log Cabin
Star
Smoke from a chimney
Snowman
Scarf
Sweater
Sheep
Red Truck
Bird House
Mittens
Bird
Bear Foot Print
Moose
Noel (word)
Christmas (word)
Snow Flake
Mistletoe
Holly
Rabbit
U. S. Flag (In the backing fabric)
Apple
 
I have another Christmas quilt in mind, coming soon, I hope!