The original Sunflower Girl Quilt!

I have always loved sunflowers and had planned to make myself a sunflower quilt for a long time.  Finally got around to it after my regular couch quilt has become almost worn out.  I still love that quilt seen HERE.  I replaced the binding recently and its still folded on the back of the couch.  I think I have a picture with each of our grandchildren with that quilt.  Its special to me, to say the least.

......But the sunflower quilt!  Its so cozy and I love it.  Here are some pictures I took of it recently.  We took down the old clothesline that I used to take quilt pictures on because it was in the way and really didn't look nice.  But, where there's a will, there's a way!  After finally getting a day when the wind wasn't blowing so hard, I hung it from a tree limb on hangers, draped it over the swing and a tree limb and laid it on the ground for these pictures.

 

The back:  I made a row of blocks that went along with the front to make the amount of fabric I had work. It worked out perfect.  

I tried to make a cross (Christian), but it probably looks like the letter t or a plus sign.  LOL

 

The backing fabric has birds and butterflies on it.  This was in my stash and was given to me by my sister who was getting rid of most of her fabric.

I made this quilt "almost" completely from fabrics I already had on hand along with some scraps.  The only thing purchased was one fat quarter.   Some of the sunflower fabric came from a quilt shop many years ago in the Mountains of Tennessee.

The size of the quilt is 55 by 73.  Perfect for me on the couch!

 I'm sorry, but I can't find the website where I got the inspiration for this quilt.  As soon as I find it, I'll edit this post to include that!

Quilt #3 in 2024!
 

"BEACH BOUND" - Lori's Beach Quilt Number Two

 I finished quilt number 2 for 2024!  This is a second beach themed quilt I have made for my daughter.   The first one was made years ago and is shown on my blog in a post HERE.

For this new quilt, the fabric line is called "Beach Bound".  I added lots of other fabrics to that though.    I love the colors and how it turned out.

I started out with the panel in the center and added borders from there.  There are six borders.  It took me a while to figure out what to do, but I am pleased with it.  I actually started working on this in the fall of 2023.  Once I finally got going on it, it came together pretty quickly.

The finished size is 61 X 83.  I meant it to be used as a couch quilt or throw, but its a good twin size as well. 

Here is a close up of the panel.

 

This picture shows the backing fabric which is filled with sand dollars.

Lori gave me this cup a couple of years ago. :o)  Btw, she loves the beach and also white daisies!

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 🌈you 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.  😍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!

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.  😁 I think a baby girl's version in pinks and other pastel colors would be pretty.

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. 

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.

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.