Birthday Quilts!

Since Thursday was the trio's Thirteenth Birthday, they got their new quilts! They were so surprised! Belive me, it is not easy to hide working on THREE different quilts over this past year, when my sewing area is the corner extension (supposed to be where a dining table goes) of the living room! :o)

Here is David with his Boy Scout Quilt:
And here is Anna with her Flourish quilt:

And Elizabeth with her Orange quilt:

My friend Carol (Cornfield Quilter) did the quilting on these and she did such a beautiful job! Really made these quilts sparkle! Thank you again, Carol! David kept saying "How did she do that?!" when he saw the Fleur De Lis and "Boy Scouts" stitched into his quilt!

I am glad that even at "THIRTEEN", my kids appreciate a quilt! :o)))

Sent With Love quilt

I finished up this quilt yesterday -- I had made the top back in the Spring, but hadn't finished it until now. It is just tied. Fabrics are "Sent With Love" fabrics from Moda. (The same fabrics as my little bitty hexagons that I am working on.) I love the scrappy binding on this, I used jelly roll strips that were left-over from the blocks... :o)
A friend found out her cousin has inoperable cancer, so this quilt will be going to her... I hope she knows it was "Sent With Love"... :o)

Boy Scouts Quilt

Lucky me! Well, actually, Lucky David! :o) I received David's Boy Scout quilt back from Carol, all quilted BEAUTIFULLY! Remember, Carol and I have been *trading*, I pieced three quilt kits for her, and she quilted my trio's birthday quilts, that I will give them for their 13th birthday, this November. I definitely got the good end of this deal! :o) Here is David's quilt:
The binding is not on it yet, because they are on summer break, and I haven't had a chance to get it done. The binding is the red in that middle border. The trio went to a friend's house for just a little while this afternoon, and that is how I got time to get the pics taken without him seeing! (As long as Jimmy doesn't tell on me!)

In these blocks, Carol quilted the Fleur De Lis:

Here is the back of that block:

And then super-cool, in these full blocks, Carol quilted the words *Boy Scouts* -- see it there?! How cool is that?! :o)))

Here is the back of that block:

David is going to be THRILLED with this quilt! And I know the girls will love theirs too. In case you missed theirs, you can find Anna's HERE, and Elizabeth's HERE. Thank you again, Carol, from the bottom of my heart! I don't want my babies to be teenagers already, but I can't wait til November! :o)

Birthday Quilt

I got the binding put on Elizabeth's birthday quilt on Friday night. :o) This is another one that Carol machine quilted for me, that I will be saving for the trio's 13th birthday in November. Elizabeth is all about the orange, so this quilt is just her style... :o) The binding is scrappy, which I am really starting to love! Carol, you did a beautiful job quilting this! Thank you again!
Here is a close up of the quilting on the front... It has such a great texture to it!

And here is how it looks on the back. The back is MUCH more orange than this photo shows, but at least you can see the quilting!

And last but not least, little Jimmy taking his nap this afternoon... Makes up for the screaming and hollering fit he had before his nap... :o)))

Check back in a day or two, I will have that give-away ready... :o)))

this & that

This past week, the trio were off from school for Spring Break, so it feels like I didn't get much done, but looking at the photos, I guess I did get a few things done... :o)

First off, I made siggie blocks for the Dear Jane Signature Block Swap - 62 blocks, which I mailed off yesterday morning, and then the number changed to 64/65, so I have 5 more ready to mail off tomorrow... A few extra, just in case! HA!


This is a block from the *Granny's Star* quilt that I am making for my friend, Sharon. (No blog - she is the one I did the Beachfront Cottage quilt for, that was all hand-quilted.) She bought the kit for this one, but it will just be tied, not quilted, per her request... I am enjoying the 1930s fabrics... :o) These are large blocks - 16". I just have to put the blocks into rows, add borders and some applique on the borders... :o) I will post more pics as I make more progress... :o)

And last, but *CERTAINLY* not least... :o))) I got back Anna and Elizabeth's birthday quilts back from Carol. I am trading piecing a couple of kits for her, and she is quilting the trio's birthday quilts. I will tell you, I think I am the one that is getting the better end of this deal! I got the binding added to Anna's quilt, so here are the final pictures:

The quilting is just gorgeous - I know Anna will love it! Pink thread, too! What more could a girl ask for! :o) Be sure to click on the pictures, to get a better view! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Carol! I hope to have the binding put on Elizabeth's quilt later this week, or maybe this weekend... Watch this space for pictures... :o)

Hope you all are having a good week, so far!

Warning: Sunglasses Required! :o)

Oh my, Elizabeth is going to love this! Here is her finished quilt top (this will be her 13th birthday quilt) -- the name of the pattern is Gumballs. I purchased the fabric kit thru Stitchin' Heaven. It is alot of pieces, but it was really easy to put together. This finished quilt top is 60" x 72"... I am waiting for my backing fabric, and then it will be sent off to Carol to quilt... :o)Someone else wanted his picture taken too, while I had out the camera... :o)

Oranges and Easter Basket Swap

Oranges, anyone?! Ok, not real oranges, but the orange-iest fabrics I have ever worked with! Oh my! Remember, I am making birthday quilts for my trio's 13th birthdays later this year? These oranges are for Elizabeth's quilt. She is ALL about the color orange. (Carol, I think you may need sunglasses when you quilt this one! HA!) Definitely not my color choice, but I know Elizabeth will like it, so that's what matters... :o)

I also wanted to show what I sent in an Easter Basket Swap that I participated in. It was sent to Pat at Pat's Patter. I made a Spring-y Easter Basket pincushion, some crocheted dishclothes, a fabric transfer block, some birdhouse buttons, beads, and a sticker sheet... It was nice to *think Spring* with this swap!

I am going to work on Elizabeth's quilt blocks a bit more today, and then hope to get another DJ block or two done tonite! :o) Have a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

birthday quilts

This coming November, the trio will be turning 13 years old! How did that happen?! Anyways, this weekend, I worked on the quilt top that will be for Anna. You may recognize the pattern, as I made this quilt for a customer, just a few months ago. But it is perfect for Anna, as well. She is a girl-y girl, so it is all about the pink and purple and flowers... :o) I still have to get the backing fabric, which will be the tiny pink floral that is in the front of the quilt. Then it will go off to be machine quilted... I have a good friend that is doing custom machine quilting for me, for the quilts for the trio, and in exchange, I am piecing a couple of quilt kits for her. I could NOT be more excited about this, as her work is exquisite, and will make these quilts so perfect!

This is the quilt that will be for David. David has been in Scouts since first grade, and crossed over to Boy Scouts last year. (fifth grade.) He really enjoys it. Jim was his Den Leader, all thru Cub Scouts. I don't think I ever showed the quilt top here - I finished it in November. It is already at my friends house, to be quilted... I ordered Kona *avocado* for the backing, which is the same green as the front. Davids favorite color is green, so I thought that would be perfect! :o)

I still have to get the kit for Lizzie's quilt. She is a tom-boy and LOVES orange, and I think I found the perfect kit for her. Hopefully, I will be able to order the kit in the next couple of weeks.... :o)
I have not been hand-quilting, since Saturday. I have arthritis, and my hands have been quite sore lately. I think my old quilting needle is too dull, too, but I received some new needles from Shirley for Christmas, and I think I will switch to one of those and the stitching should go a little easier...
Here is a little sewing tip, that you might find helpful... I always do this small extra step to an outside border, at the corners seams, and if it has been pieced to make it the right length. Press the seams and then do a narrow 1/8th inch or so stitch over the seams, where your binding will hide it. This helps keep those seams from pulling apart, which you are quilting or adding the binding... Like I said, alot of you probably already know this, but I found it really helpful when I discovered this tip! :o)

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are having a good week, so far!