Finish-A-Long First Quarter Wrap-Up

March 31, 2013March 31, 2013 Elizabeth E.15 Comments

I joined Leanne’s Finish-A-Long because I had too many quilts malingering in the closet together, and thought this might help me. This post is a wrap-up of my first quarter with FAL.

My opening post mentioned the following 7 projects:

Wonky Star Quilt • Wonky Star Pillow Shams • Autumn Quilt • English Paper Piecing Quilt Top • Lollypop Tree Quilt Top • Summer Treat Quilt

I found out later that quilt tops are not considered part of the finish, so I get to roll some projects over into the next quarter. But here’s my wrap-up of finishes, in the order I finished them:

Finish #1: Autumn Quilt was given a name of Into the Woods, and I did finish it and get a label on it. I let my father have it — on “long-term loan,” as he would say — because he loved the colors so much.

Finish #2: Summer Treat, shown here in her glamour pose, languidly draped across a chair. This quilt has a tutorial, found *here.*

Finish #3: Once There Was a Snowman, an improv or wonky-construction block quilt. Glad that’s done, and I owe it to the FAL.

Finish #4: Star Mother’s Youngest Child, based on a Moda Bake Shop pattern. I’m already looking forward to Christmas, when I can put these last two quilts out on the guest bed. Anyone coming to visit?

Finish #5: Wonky Star Pillow Shams, to go with Star Mother’s Youngest Child, above.

So I finished five of my seven projects, as outlined by the rules of the Finish-A-Long. But even though I didn’t have all seven finished, I don’t feel bad, because I add the following to my finishes for the first quarter of 2013:

Lollypop Tree Quilt Top

Springtime Table Runner from Far-Flung Bee blocks (last year’s bee) Tutorial for block *here*

Cushions for the sofa. I know it’s not quilting, but the fabric had been draped around the forms for about six months. Happy to have it done.

Hot Mitts for my kitchen, Tutorial *here*

A quilt for my newest grandson, Chris

Sunshine and Shadow, a quilt for my sister-in-law Janice
Tutorial *here*

FourArt2_Full

An art quilt for our Four-in-Art group: One Black Leaf

A satchel (or purse) called the Bag Bostonian.

Two handmade pouches

Snapshot, a Polaroid Quilt, and last. . .

. . . my EPP quilt, which is all pinned up and still can’t be shown all the way. Yet.

Now I have to go grade my brains out. Or take a nap.

If you want to add some notches to your quilt frame, racking up those finishes, please visit Leanne’s Second Quarter Finish-A-Long sign-up. I’ll post a link when I declare my projects for the next quarter. By the way, shoot high. I noticed that some add their smaller handmade projects to this, but I don’t need motivation to get to those–it’s the BIG projects that I need to move forward on.

FAL · Finish-A-Long · Quilts

Wonky Pillow Shams

March 30, 2013March 31, 2013 Elizabeth E.5 Comments

Breaking News!! Last Finish-A-Long Project Slides Under the Wire!

Pillow Shams Now in 3D!

Ooooh!

And a reminder for Sewing Corners!

Check back tomorrow for a complete wrap-up of the first quarter of Finish-A-Long 2013!

Update: Original Finish-A-Long post is *here.*

200 Quilts · Quilts

Snapshot: Polaroid Quilt finished

March 29, 2013October 3, 2022 Elizabeth E.12 Comments

Debbie of A Quilter’s Table hosted a Polaroids swap last summer, and although I put together the top fairly quickly, I didn’t send it to the quilter’s because I wanted to do the quilting. Finally I wised up and took it over to Kathy. Smart move, because now it’s finished and not still hanging on its hanger in the closet.

But it’s all done now! Dave and I snuck out yesterday morning in our jammies to grab the few rays of sun that morning, he holding up the quilt for me. Thanks, hon. (We always have cloudy mornings until mid-summer.)

When I put this up on Instagram, some folks said they wanted to see some details shots of the little blocks. I think of this quilt as kind of a travel, a memory book quilt, with all its little snapshots of different things.

So when I found this circle design, my quilter agreed to quilt it for me; it reminds me of wheels on a car, going round and round for a summer trip.

It was fun to use some old novelties in my stash, like the block that has “2000” on it–from all those turn of the century quilts we were doing thirteen years ago — when we thought all the computers in the whole world were going to crash.

This one’s kind of like an album block. Krista and I hatched up Project Gingham last year after I found a bunch of ginghams at a garage sale. She made this block for me and signed her name. It’s a treasure. How do you make these little blocks? Diagram *on this post.*

I found this stripe-y fabric at a little quilt shop not too far from my house, and it turned out to be perfect. The Polaroids are bordered in Quilter’s Linen in bright green and blue. Tutorial on how to make this quilt *here.*

The backing is a Marimekko print that looks like a grassy field.

And here’s the label. I love the quote from Eudora Welty, a great Southern writer: “A good snapshot stops a moment from running away.” Amen, Eudora. Well said.

This is #110 of 200 lifetime quilts.

200 Quilts · Family Quilts · Quick Quilt · Quilts

Chris’ Welcome-to-the-Family Quilt

March 24, 2013April 2, 2024 Elizabeth E.10 Comments

This is where I was Wednesday morning, after listening to hours and hours of a new audio book: Beautiful Ruins. My mother’s still ~~reading~~ listening to it, so I’ll withhold my review until later. But the really good thing about audio books is that when they are playing on your desktop computer in the same room as the sewing machine, a lot gets sewn, like a quilt top for our new-to-our-family adopted grandson Chris. This is my Sashless Quilt, with the tutorial found *here.*

Full length shot on our front porch, with hands belonging to my tall husband Dave.

This isn’t a complicated quilt, it sews up quickly, and I love using favorites from my stash like the bicycle fabric. I’d been saving that for a long time and this was the perfect use because my son (Chris’ Dad) loves bike riding, owns a bunch of them and takes all his sons out on bike rides.

I started cutting this on Monday, sewed Tuesday and Wednesday morning, quilted Thursday, did the binding on Friday. Hey! I felt like Rita from Red Pepper Quilts, only I’m not listing it in my ETSY shop. (I don’t even have an ETSY shop.)

The “label.” Sometimes with quilts I know will be washed and washed, I don’t mess with a formal label, but simply write directly on the quilt with a Micron Pen.

Glamour shot, reclining on the sofa. I did the basic quilting: stitch in the ditch. I’d played with the idea of doing echo-quilting alongside the seams, but in the end changed my mind.

I gave it to Chris as they arrived on Saturday evening to celebrate my husband’s birthday. Chris’ younger brother Andrew used it first.

Later on, after dinner and all the adults talked, Chris nabbed it and settled into a movie. Or was it a game? I can see that at the dimensions of 46″ x 57″ he will soon outgrow the quilt, but I didn’t want it too big–it’s a “welcome to the family” quilt, like what his brothers received when they were newborns.