Violet comes home

      My new granddaughter, Violet, made her appearance on Nov. 14th via a very speedy labor that offered her mom no opportunity for any pain meds. We were called as we were walking into church, had to retreat, pack and drive 2 hours to Erie, PA where we picked up our 3 yr. old grandson who was being watched by a friend, and took him home another 35 minutes. In the snow. The rest of the family arrived home the next afternoon. My husband had to go back home, but I stayed for the rest of the week. There is something magical and miracle laden about newborns. So grateful I got another chance to hold and care for this one.

     Because my daughter asked me to make curtains (lined) for her room (I am techically challenged except for quilts), I sweated through the measurements and finishing as well as making a tabbed blockout panel and did not have time to finish the custom quilt I was making the baby. At my quilt retreat, a friend gave me a partly done top and fabric that was pink so I completed the quilt, made a backing, spray basted it, and quilted it on my 301 while I was at my daughter's. Been a while I quilted not on the longarm. Masterpiece Lavender top, and DecoBob Dove Gray bobbin.
     I will finish the custom one with the birds and butterflies. Of course, just like home, the cat appeared as soon as the quilt hit the floor to photograph.

Baby Quilts times three

     For this year's Hands2Help Challenge, I am making three baby quilts. I was able to use orphan block pieces to create a center medallion and did a simple surround. The request was that the quilts were anywhere from 36" x 36" to 48" x 48". I think these will finish around 45". The two blue ones are identical in size, so I made one backing and will try to quilt both at the same time. The pink/orange one will be quilted by itself.

All the quilts jammed on the wall. Time to clear off.

Leftover pieces of double hourglass

Leftover ends of strips from 2 Diagonal Variations

Four for the Basket

     Four done baby quilts for Jack's Basket. I used scraps donated, partially done blocks donated, and some stash. The backs were given to me also. I tried to quilt two at a time on the longarm (different backs next to each other and it was a bit challenging). These are for the Hands2Help challenge sponsored by Sarah Craig.
     You can go to the link and see all the other quilts people have made. I had other tops for another charity, but I could not get them quilted in time. Now, I have to get these packed up and shipped out. I enjoyed making them and I hope they give the recipients some smiles.

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Finishes come slowly

     There is too much to do in so little time. I am sorting scraps and  cleaning out the backlog of them in my garage. Grand kid sitting, cardio rehab, and non-sewing duties quickly diminish available time. I have 4 baby quilts to do for Jack's Basket by next Sunday. Two are quilted, two are on the longarm. The Diagonal Variation quilt sat on the longarm for over a month and finally was done. All have striped bindings, done. The OBW octagons finally got a border, but needs quilting. My floral colorwash is still being tweaked on the design wall. I am not a good multi-tasker, so it goes slowly.

The sewing machine is a phony- it is a planter. I finally brought it back outside after winter.
It has a succulent planted in the tray.

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With border fabric, black on black octagons, couldn't resist

Jack's Basket baby quilts

     Every year, Sarah Craig, of Confessions of a Fabric Addict, has an event called Hands2Help. Different groups are listed every year for quilt donations. In the past, I have been fortunate to make quilts to give to one of the groups. Last year, I made a quilt, but couldn't quilt it due to my heart attack, and Sarah graciously quilted it and donated it for me.
     This year, new, is Jack's Basket. It is a group that celebrates Down's syndrome babies and gives a basket of goodies to the family. One of the items is a 36" x 36" quilt. I decided this year to make 4 of them using parts of blocks and a panel to design and create for them. 
     Going through donated block parts and figuring out a great quilt is not easy or quick. I want each quilt to be artistic and beautiful, not just sewn together. I despaired at the beginning as nothing was working. I used graph paper and battled my math skills. As I got the first one done, an Eric Carle panel, the ideas started flowing. In 2 1/2 days, I sewed all 4. Now, I have to sweat and see if I can get them all quilted by the end of May.

Started with a 20" panel

Made piano keys to match the small printed border and cornerstones.
Added the green like the grass.

Frog blocks and turquiose ones were donated, but taken apart, reassembled,
and added a dragonfly border.

Leftover heart blocks were sashed with fun polka dots and bordered with the same.

A bunch of HSTs were sewn into flying geese, some funky dividers and a bright orange border.

Crazy multicolor circles in blue enclosed the bright orange.

Sidney's Star done and delivered

     On Saturday, I was able to take the finished quilt to my daughter and Sidney has not arrived yet. I was able to get it quilted and bound and washed, but I forgot the label. The ADK theme and colors go with the room they created. I used fabric from Hawthorne Threads, mostly their Redwood collection. It was digitally printed and the only problem I had is the fabric wide, but the printing was narrower, so squaring up was tricky. I am so relieved it is done.

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Home waiting for Sidney with Mom

Awaiting the quilting

     If you followed the baby star quilt I am making for my grandson, you can see the center process. I was not happy with a square quilt, so I added four patches across the top and bottom which of course meant that I had to add to the top and bottom of the backing. I think the back will be ok as I did not have enough fabric to make the same top and bottom borders. It is on the longarm waiting to be quilted. The colors are flat in the photo.

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Alphabet Baby Quilt

    Last summer I bought a fabric panel, which I hardly ever do, that was a very nice graphic alphabet, not sicky sweet.
    I needed to make a baby quilt and took it out. There was no way to keep it intact as the panel was very narrow in length. When I went to cut apart the blocks, none of them were square on the fabric, so I had to be content that each block, although I would cut them all 5 1/2", would not be true to the black line border. I did not want them to be overwhelmed by sashing, so I cut 1 1/4" strips from 2 1/2" in my newly organized 2 1/2" strip bin. I thought the greens would complement and separate the blocks without calling attention to themselves. I was fortunate I had just the right strip colors and just enough of them.
    I chain pieced all the sashings, pressed, and sewed the blocks together. I auditioned many backgrounds, but they either overtook the blocks or fought with them. Finally, I decided on the yellow orange polka dot. I wish I owned every polka dot fabric. Now, I need to find a backing and get it quilted!

Chain piecing on the trusty, marvelous, speedy 301

First strips

Arranged on the wall

39 x 58 right now

Baby quilt panel, bag, and blooms

    My daughter's friend had a baby girl just before Christmas, but I could not get to a quilt until now. I had bought a panel so it would go quicker. Ria picked out the colors and panel. I am not a panel person, but I can see their usefulness in time crunches. Hate the licensed character ones, but hey, that is just me. I added the borders and used Isacord rainbow thread for the FMQ that I had bought through Elizabeth. It is just wonderful to work with and added that punch to the panel and rather subdued colors. It is all bound and ready to go in the mail as soon as I figure out how to pack it.

I used a gray in the bobbin for the back

The front

      I finished the bag for the Comfort Quilt 4 patch Black and white quilt posted earlier. It is ready for the card, book and waiting for a recipient.

Identical pocket on the inside

    Last week, we had a blizzard in Buffalo. Today 30s and fog. So, I am especially delighted to have Christmas cactus blooming now. The peach ones have just opened, the reddish ones are some reblooming.