WORKING ON SOME DIFFERENT QUILTING IDEAS

I had some fabric left over from my cross blocks so decided to put a fast table runner together.  This was also a good opportunity to try some out of the box quilting.  

So I selected some 12 wt gray thread and my Sue Pelland Leaves Galore ruler and got to it.  

I still have a couple rows to go, but it has been fun to experiment with a different idea for quilting.  

CROSS QUILTS

 Cross quilts for some reason really appeal to me.  This particular one I am working on starts out with a 10 inch square and 1 inch strips for the crosses.

Here is my start on them.  I am using Lori Mason prints and dark and light gray Moda Grunge.  My crosses are wonky, and end up being 1/2 inch wide and I have trimmed them to 9 1/2-inches.  I'll need 48 blocks all together, 24 prints, and 12 each of the dark and light gray.  A fun project to work on during the holidays, while I have some extra days off work.  

Since this is a project in progress I would normally link up with Lee of Freshly Pieced but she has taken a short break for the holidays. So instead I will wish my blog readers a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  

GRAY MIX PLUS COMPLETE

I posted this quilt back in October when I started it.  I finished it up this week.  I happened to see a picture of a quilt and liked the idea of the blocks and different gray solids.  Love my quilter's loopy quilt designs.  

Since it is the finished project I am linking up with

Crazy Mom Quilts

and

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

FALL RUNNER

I saw this pattern in issue 2 of Simply Moderne.  This is a new magazine out in the last few months, originating in France.  I now have issues 1 and 2 and just bought issue 3.  Dangerous for sure, I have found at least three or four projects in each that I simply must make.  
I found this fabric while searching for binding for 12 fall fabric placemats, and just could not resist the green leaf print.  I ended up buying several other prints in the line and added some addition prints from my stash.  Wish I was a better photographer, to capture the really pretty prints.  It still needs quilting and binding, but it is on its way for maybe being able to use even after the Christmas season.  

So I am linking up with

Lee of Freshly Pieced

THANKSGIVING REVISITED

Just after Thanksgiving I decided that I would have liked some fall placements for the table.  I went on a full scale search through my studio and finally managed to find a few bits and pieces of fall fabrics.  There sure wasn't much there to work with, but I figured I would make do.  So I sliced and diced and came up with these strips.

I sewed them together into a basic 14 by 19 inch placemat.  I need at least nine placemats, but was able to get the components for twelve.

Some nice curvy line quilting.  I have found that runners and placemats really wash up well if quilting fairly heavily.

The finished product.  I did end up buying binding fabric so that all twelve had the same binding.  The backs got a variety of orange prints left over from Halloween projects done years ago.  So one down and eleven to go.  But at least one is done, and I have actually also finished up another five completely and one more ready for quilting. That still leaves six more to put together and finish off with quilting and binding, but I definitely have a project on its way to being finished by next Thanksgiving.  Since at least a couple of these are a finished project I am linking up with.

Crazy Mom Quilts

and

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

  

BLOCK OF THE MONTH SWITCH

At the beginning of the year I signed up for a Block of the Month through The Intrepid Thread.  I did a couple months of the blocks, and due to my short attention span, I stop doing them.  I continued to get the fabrics each month feeling obligated since I did sign up for the plan.  The fabrics are a variety of Cotton and Steel prints, so I really liked them anyway.  I purchased a Quiltcon Magazine in April or May and found the perfect plan for those prints.  It is a start, the first five rows of fifteen are done and sewn together.  

Definitely a work in progress so I am linking up with

Lee of Freshly Pieced

SCRAPTASTIC TUESDAY-SCRAPS AND MORE SCRAPS

This project started out here.  Lots and lots of scraps cut to make a quilt for a granddaughter's boyfriend.

We ended up here with 88 blocks, finished size with borders will be 80 by 107.  He's tall!!!!!

Here is the start, now to continue on with all 88.

Off to the quilters.

The finished project and the granddaughter Suren .

The leftover strips and the grandson Noah that helped iron all those strips and helped select fabrics.  
This really was a scraptastic project so I am linking up with

Scraptastic Tuesday Christmas and LeftOvers

THE FINISHED DEAL

Remember these?

Well here is the Christmas gift the granddaughter Suren wanted for her boyfriend.

And the grandson Noah, that worked so hard to help select and iron all those strips.  He got the leftovers!

Two projects finished so I am linking up with 

Crazy Mom Quilts

and

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

QUEST FOR CHRISTMAS DONE

I am continuing to try to finish up long ago started projects.  Not too sure this will get done by Christmas, but it is worth the try I guess.  The vines are hand appliquéd, but the leaves and berries are mid process of being machine appliquéd with a blanket stitch.  How to quilt it, no idea yet.  

As this is Christmas in progress I am linking up with 

Lee of Freshly Pieced

MODERN PATCHWORK RUNNER

This past weekend I finally finished up my Modern Patchwork runner.  I really like it.  Way back in July I started it with a pattern out of Stitch magazine.  I found a perfect back for it and ended up

buying 7 1/2 yards of it.  I think I like the back as much as the front.  

And the perfect quilting as well.  So nice to have a finished project so I am linking up with

Crazy Mom Quilts

and

Confessions of a Fabric Addict 

MORE LINEN TABLE RUNNERS

I finally have the blocks ready to put together on my Not Quite Granny runner.  A pattern that was featured in September on Crazy Mom Quilts .  I really like working with linens. 

I found the perfect back for it too.  While finishing up another runner I purchased a half yard of this Michael Miller by Laura Gunn called Collage in her Edges Collection.  I only bought a half yard as the price was $12.50 a yard.  Over the weekend I decided I HAD TO HAVE maybe another yard of it.  It is such a great fabric for my Not Quite Granny runner too.  As I scoured the store I finally located it on the sale table marked 1/2 off.  I bought the rest of the bolt all 7 1/2 yards.  Love it!!!!!!  In fact I sort of think the pattern on it would also make a great runner duplicated in linens.  

Its not done, but on its way so I am linking up with Lee of

Freshly Pieced

APRON DONE

I must admit that despite years and years of resolution to finish up projects I never seem to do very well with the follow through.  This little apron finally called out loudly enough this past week to make me decide to finish it off.  I had it all done, the hard parts, all those ruffles for eons.  The first bib top I cut out had the birds up side down.  I ended up having to purchase more fabric and that was the end of that.  I stuffed it all into a bag and hung it in the closet of my studio.  Well this week I pulled it out and wondered what was my problem.  All the hard stuff was done.  So here it is all finished and ready for a fashion statement in the kitchen during the holiday.  

This is a long awaited finish so I am linking up with

Crazy Mom Quilts

and

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

ONE DOWN AND ANOTHER TO GO

I mailed this little top off this week.  While visiting a friend I offered to help with this Christmas quilt to see if we could get it finished up for Christmas.  She will still have to get borders on it, and get it quilted and bound, but it was a good start.

I also managed to get this piece together as well in the past couple days.  I hope to have it off to the quilter soon.  Nice to finally get some projects at least almost done.  So I am linking up with

Lee of Freshly Pieced

CHARITY QUILT FINISHED

I finished up another quilt for my guild.  We are all asked to make at least one completed quilt each year to be given to various charities in October.  Last month they distributed 220 quilts.  I have found that once I have used a fabric several times it is time to just make up a quilt, quilt it and give it to the cause.  Most of these blocks were from the book Farmer's Wife.  Once I started the blocks I sort of lost interest.  I ended up adding a few orphan blocks from another project and it is done.  Nice to finish up something for a good cause so I am linking up with 

Crazy Mom Quilts

and

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

BAG #9

It is pecan harvest at our house.  That means the entire kitchen, laundry, living and dining rooms are taken over with boxes, buckets, and bowls of pecans in various stages of harvest.

No we are not farmers!  We have two BIG 40 foot pecan trees on the side of our home.  Every fall we end up with this project. 

 I really should not say WE, as I do not participate in any way with the knocking of these trees, or the drying, hand cracking, and drying again of the pecans.  This is all my husband's baby.  However, I do have to deal with the complete take over I my kitchen and the pecan shells all over the dining room floors.  

Gallon Bag #9, no this is not the end or the finish of pecan harvest. We probably are not even half way through.  Do our neighbors and friends love us and even more our crop.  OH YES!  Me not so much.  Besides cleaning up cuts into my quilting time!!!!!  As this is truly a work in progress I am linking up with

Lee of Freshly Pieced

HEXI RUNNER

Finished at last!  The runner top has been done for months, and some of the quilting was done as well.  However, it needed to be meandered around the hexi's and the border and that is something I just have not been able to accomplish well.  At the end of October I took a week and went to Minnesota to visit a very dear friend. My besty Brooke of Silly Mama Quilts kindly did the rest of the quilting for me. 

Here she is finishing up this runner for me.  Wish I could manage this quilting process like she does.  We had a great week, but it flew by so quickly.  But we both enjoyed the week together working on our projects.

Before we knew it our week together was also finished.  Sad to see such a fun week end. As both our mini quilt retreat and this runner are finished I am linking up with

Crazy Mom Quilts

and

Confessions of a Fabric Addict 

THE CHRISTMAS GIFT PROJECT

A couple of weeks ago I posted the beginnings of my granddaughter's Christmas gift for her boy friend.  At last the top is complete.  However, not without some difficulties.  She wanted the brown fabric border with the birds on it.  I knew I had just enough to do it for her with a red post in the corners.  Well that was not as easy as it sounds.  

I ended up with this problem.  Yes I made a mistake, but it also illustrated that I had a bigger problem.  There was not enough fabric length to sew the borders on the length size all the way to the end of the quilt, then add the posts on the short sides.  Plus I could not start on the short sides and add posts to the long sizes.  NOW WHAT!!!!!!!!  

The solution.  Surely glad to have figured this one out.  However, I have to admit not without some real head scratching, some ripping out, and one or two grumbles under my breath.  Well it is not complete, but on its way to the quilter this next week.

Oh my, this really has been a work in progress, I am linking up with  

Lee of Freshly Pieced

GRAY MIX PLUS

I recently purchased a new magazine published in Australia called Quilts & Crafts Simply Modern.  They showed a picture of a quilt that was done by Judy Durant that had been displayed at Quiltcon. 
Above is the first three rows of the quilt completely pieced.  

I really liked it and as I had a pretty good supply of half yards of a bunch of grays I decided to try my hand at it.  For the color pieces I used a number of different fabrics from several different lines.  Several of them were some Australian prints given to me by my VBF, appropriate I thought.  Here are the last five rows of the quilt ready to go.  I am anxious to finish these rows up to see how I did with the colors I selected.  This is still a project in progress, so I am linking up with

Lee of Freshly Pieced  

CORDOVA RUNNER

I  finally finished my Cordova runner.  I love how it turned out.  It is a keeper for sure.  Nice to have finished this project, so I am linking up with

Crazy Mom Quilts

and

Confessions of a Fabric Addict