A quilt for Joey!

A quilt for Joey.... he was born Sunday so I had to hurry up and finish this one!!!

So little Joey is getting this....

It is from the pattern in the latest Quilty called Chevron and on. I used a combination of chicopee by Denyse schmidt and Michael Miller fabrics. I dont know why I bought these but when I looked at the bedding she had on her baby shower list, they were perfect.

My plan was to practice FMQ on this... but little children had been playing with my machine settings. I have never ripped out so many seams in my life... so i decided to do color thread (stepping outside the box for me!) and do my traditional straight lines.

The back is left over peices of the Michael Miller fabrics. Big dots, little dots and stripes. Binding is the grey dots.....

The pictures are horrible because we have rain forecasted for the next few days and its dark in here! But... wanted to finish this and share it on TGIFF Octoberquest.... but i read the rules and one per week, this makes more than one... so... its posted here:



I have one other baby quilt to finish and they will be off in the mail for my great nephew and great niece! My goal is to finish it today for one more TGIF Friday finish!!!

OctoberQuest #4

Yeah! the finish is actually on my goals list!

I had started doing two x five strips of red, blue and yellow 2 1/2 in squares.... i dont even remember their purpose or what i was going to make with them... i just had about 10 of them done.

In my quest to rid myself of unfinished projects taking up space... i made them into this....

the border was a blue sheet (same one i am using in the plaid quilt) and the back was a sheet I bought at a yardsale.

Partially why i finished this one is because i am out of my go to peicing color of thread.... im waiting for my shipment of thread and batting from connecting threads. I had blue... blue quilting would work!!

Oh no! I was out of the red and white stripe I use on all of these red and blue projects. I had some of this red and white vine... I think it works!

Other things i have been working on. I didn't use Beth's border exactly... i decided to use the extra 4 patch blocks I had... but i like how it turned out.

My pile of ready to be quilted is growing. They go in this pile when there is a flimsy, a back and binding prepared!! (i have a whole tub of ready to be quilted flimsies... without the back and binding)

Just to keep track of my quarterly goals:

• Darla's Quilt
• 2 Tshirt Quilts
• Riding out the Storm (ready to be quilted pile)
• Home Grown Tomatoes
• Twin Vintage Sheet
• Liberty
• Dallas' Soar
• HST Vintage Sheet Throw
• Orange it Great
• Red, Blue and Yellow 2 1/2 in squares
• Square Dance
• Cloth Napkins
• Train Wall hanging
• Plus Quilt
• Vintage Star Quilt

things I've started that weren't on the list:

• jellyfish for Audrey (ready to be quilted pile)
• chevron and on for Joey (ready to be quilted pile)
• plaid monster for Ralph and I (ready to be quilted pile)

I am linking to OctoberQuest at Quilter in a Closet

and Quilt Story: Fabric Tuesday

and

Mad about Plaid?

I finished the flimsy I was working on yesterday so when I got home last night I didn't have anything in my "to be sewn" pile. I did something i shouldn't have! I pulled out one of those unfinished projects and started working on it. I had this huge pile of 4" blocks sewn into 4 patches.... I first thought i would make a baby quilt out of them... but kept sewing.... then it became a throw..... now i think i have enough for a queen quilt and im thinking i will keep it for Ralph and I.

How the pile of 4 patches started is a while back  one day I decided I had too many men's shirts scraps. I really did, more than a large tub of them. I sell the shirt backs on my etsy store but the fronts and short sleeves end up in my stash. I had a 4 inch ruler and its easy to cut 4 inch squares so I started cutting. I was planning a large queen quilt for Ralph, but i still needed a BUNCH of squares, and I just wasn't loving the quilt... they never got cut.

Then I saw what Beth did at Love Laugh Quilt with her plaid quilt. I admit, i have a border phobia, i am just not creative with them because i dont like putting them on... i am getting better and braver... however, this would be perfect to break up the monotony of the plaid squares.... so... i felt inspired to pull it out again. I have enough 2 1/2 in precut plaid squares for the border, putting a border on means i dont need anymore 4 in squares!! i can do what she did! Thanks Beth for the inspiration... so here it is again, on the table and im working on it again.

the bad thing is... i had set these quarterly goals for myself... yes i have finished 2 but look.. the three projects I'm working on now weren't even on the list! maybe i shouldn't make lists! lol.

most of the list is on hold because I'm waiting on batting. I've ordered some from connecting threads so i should be able to knock a few of them off quickly when I get that package.

Just to keep track of my quarterly goals:

• Darla's Quilt
• 2 Tshirt Quilts
• Riding out the Storm 
• Home Grown Tomatoes
• Twin Vintage Sheet
• Liberty
• Dallas' Soar
• HST Vintage Sheet Throw
• Orange it Great
• Red, Blue and Yellow 2 1/2 in squares
• Square Dance
• Cloth Napkins
• Train Wall hanging
• Plus Quilt
• Vintage Star Quilt

things I've started that weren't on the list:

• jellyfish for Audrey
• chevron and on for Joey
• plaid monster for Ralph and I

I am linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

OctoberQuest #3

This baby is done! It seems like it took forever but wow has life changed for me during the time that i made it! It is a custom order. They saw the twin size of this that i had made my grandchild and wanted a large queen/king for themselves. The fabrics were entirely from my stash and its a mixture of new fabric and men's plaid shirts.

she wanted vintage sheets on the back, rather than large pieces i have started cutting some of my larger scraps into 16" squares for piecing backs.

the binding is a plaid fabric i had on hand. I like how the red frames it.

I also signed up to join the Fabric Scrap Swap  Its a fast easy swap where you exchange 1 yd of scraps with someone else! I have scraps and who doesn't like the idea of getting some new life in your scrap bins! I think you have a couple days left to sign up if you wanna swap some scraps!

The flimsies are finished for the two baby quilts. They are for my great niece and great nephew. (my sisters both have children having children right now!)

I have also been working on a quilt for the "for the boys" quilt I'm making. No sneak peaks yet on that one...

I have been productive. I hadn't been sewing alot because of the family of 5 that moved in (my husbands son) I just couldn't get much done with all the kids around. But.. I've started sewing later at night (decided that i didn't care if the noise offended them, its my house too and if thats when i need to sew, i will) So this past week, i have been on a roll!!

Linking up with TGIFF OctoberQuest!!

OctoberQuest #2

My second finish for OctoberQuest....

More Tiny Stars. I really love this one and I am getting a whole series of red white and blue table runners and table mats. I want to do a whole photo shoot with them for my store, but they sell before I can get a collection of them! lol I really have had WORSE problems.

these tiny points are left over from the flying geese border on the big monster quilt I'm finishing now. I had to take a break and play with them. The 4 patch are 1 1/2 in squares. 

The back is extra blue fabric, the binding is my favorite red white stripe (that i am almost out of so I must find more!) I quilted this on my machine with "straight" line

yep more bad points... but it looks like i planned it that way... at least that's what I'm telling myself. My 1/4 in seam was way off... it has been adjusted since.

so i was talking to my sister on the phone. At the end of October she will be a grandmother for the first time. (I have 16 grandchildren and she is 5 yrs older! lol) She said... "you are going to make my grandchild a quilt, right?"  ummm... i had thought about it, but life has been crazy and this late... there is a deadline... and i have 35 projects started but not finished...none of them a baby boy quilt that her daughter would like. But I said what every good sister would say "of course! what does Danielle like??" So after that discussion I pulled the pile on the Left. Then... I thought well my other sisters child had a baby a couple months ago and I didn't make her a baby quilt, so i pulled the pile on the right.

so I'm starting (and finishing by the end of next week) two more baby quilts that I'm going to send to Michigan! (ok, its the first quilts i will make for my family... Ive made a ton for Ralph's kids and grand kids...time my family shared in the quilty love!) Speaking of Quilty... im going to copy the Chevron and on pattern out of it.... typical me.. i cant say use because i of course have the magazine but looked at the directions and said... i wouldn't do it that way... so im doing it my way with my sized blocks. But... i have to give the inspiration credit to Quilty on these.


Im linking up to Richard and Tanya's Link a Finish Friday and to OctoberQuest of TGIFF and of course at Can I get a whoop whoop! on Confessions of a Fabric Addict's site!

4th Quarter finish along post

I found She can Quilt's quarterly finish-along link up and I thought i would join the challenge but this post took 5 days to complete!  so... although i missed her deadline... Here are my WIP's I would like to finish this quarter. Challenge or not.

Those with Deadlines...

Darla's Quilt: This is a consignment piece and I have been working on it for over 8 weeks. Life got stalled for a month or it would be finished. I sandwiched it yesterday and plan to quilt it today and tomorrow... binding... by the end of the week.

2 Tshirt Quilts: more customer work. I finished one and she wanted 2 more. I have started chopping and ironing the first one, the other I haven't even looked at yet.

Riding out the Storm - a boy quilt that i have to finish by the blog hop in early november. The name has changed a few times... it has become riding out the storm because of the living situation here!

waiting for borders...

Home Grown Tomatoes - cuz money cant buy true love or home grown tomatoes....

Twin Vintage Sheet: not sure about border or just quilt it... but its ready.

Liberty -  the only quilt ive ever followed a pattern on. I love it and cant wait to finish it!

Started and Stalled... 

Dallas' Soar - seriously, I have it in rows, i just need to join the rows! It doesn't even need a border!

HST Vintage Sheet Throw - need to peice it together

Orange it Great - ready to quilt!

Small Projects to clear out....

Red, Blue and Yellow 2 1/2 in squares: I dont even remember what i was going to do with them, so... its going to become a table runner.

Square Dance: This one is definately going to become a table runner, baby quilt or throw... depending on how many blocks i have! What i was going for on the quilt isn't working for me!

Cloth Napkins - I just need to top stitch them!

Train Wall hanging - oh the dreaded applique!!

Just Finish it...

Plus Quilt - I started quilting this by practicing FMQ... but totally lost interest in the whole FMQ thing, total pain in the you know what! But i do still want to learn and get better so im going to finish this one. (besides its for Ralph and I and its gonna start getting cold here soon!)

Vintage Star Quilt - I love this throw but hate the quilting i started. I may rip it all out and start over. (maybe practice FMQ on it too and keep it!)

Additional Goals....

put all of my stock on my etsy stores. I have over 100 patterns to add to uneeda pattern and about 70 more vintage sheets listings, 15 shirt packs, and 5 handmade items to add to upcycled fabric. Cant sell it if it aint listed!! right?

take the THREE LARGE tubs of scraps and cut them down into precuts!!! I cut them into 2 1/2 in strips (or smaller) then 1 1/2, 2 1/2, 4 1/2 and 6 1/2" squares, and I also cut bricks of 2 1/2 X 4 1/2.


So that is about 13 big quilts and 4 small projects. Thats about right and i should be able to finish that!

Getting my stock on Etsy... OMG just do it. I know im killing my husband. Its a perfectionism thing with the pictures. I just have to get over it. Same reason it took 5 days to create this post!

Whats not gonna get done this quarter!!

still peicing:
Orange and /Blue Twister
Snowball
Plaid Star Quilt
Rainbow String
Faiths Flower Garden
1" 9 patch quilt
Window Pains
Scrappy Trip Around the World
Blue scrappy trip around the world

Needs borders:
Trevor's Hug Qult
Irish Chain Quilt
Granny Squares


Needs to be quilted:
Do the Math Donation
Strip Donation
Bright 70's quilt

Most of this is in a bin that will just get moved... maybe next quarter!!

easy week

First let me say, i am going to participate in a blog hop. I saw this one and thought this is right up my alley and I definitely have thoughts on making boy quilts (I have a husband, 4 step sons, 2 son in laws and 7 grandsons and I have made all but one of them a quilt now!)

so be sure to check out the great boy ideas in the "For the Boys" blog hop Nov 2-6. Im not sure which day I am going to be posting, but I will let you know when I do.

I had a pretty easy week this week, it rained so Ralph didn't horseshoe alot and the grandkids seem to have settled down and are getting into less trouble. lol... either that or I am letting them get away with more. I still find myself saying things I thought I would never say. I am saying less of "put that away, no one wants to see it" to Tristan (he is a little flasher) and more things like... "sophie what is that you have, why is there a carrot stuck in my plant... no no dont eat the dirty carrot!"

Life is never dull in a house with three generations in it...

I did manage to finish a couple things!

this is called "Rainbow Pie" We have been listening to a Guy Clark tribute cd. "Cold Dog Soup and Rainbow Pie" is one of my favorite Guy Clark tunes... and i couldn't get it out of my head to name it anything else. I have another finish coming soon called "Home Grown Tomatoes" because money cant buy true love or home grown tomatoes. I guess i am as enthusiastic about being wrapped in a quilt as Guy Clark was about eating home grown tomatoes!

ut oh... i lost the good pictures... well for now here it is!

I have decided to participate in TGIFF's October Quest... basically a month of finishes. So... this is the first post hopefully for the rest of the month I will have a bunch more! Be sure to check it out, lots and lots of finishes!