spools progress

It's been a few weeks since Lorrie and I have been able to work on our spool quilts. Life and the holidays just seem to take over sometimes, right?

But we did manage to get in one last sewing session before Christmas where we were able to finish all the spool blocks and get the centers of our quilts together...

41 spools arranged in 9 rows. I just realized that this photo is upside down - the sideways green spool at the top left is actually the bottom right part of the quilt center - whoops! A green applique floral vine will be spooling off of this block and flowering clockwise around the quilt border when all is finished.

We've elected to machine applique all of the flowers and vines (time savings!) as we'd like to finish these tops before spring. Lots of tracing applique shapes is what's up next for us, and that's our "homework" to finish before our next session in early February.

So many projects - so little time!!

Sewing time to complete 82 spool blocks and 2 quilt centers: 8 hours
Grand total from 4 sessions: 33 hours



**You can read more about this project by entering "spools" into the search function on the right sidebar.

going once, going twice...

Another auction item for donation! This one is for my SIL, Lisa, who is the principal of a Lutheran K-8 school. Every spring the school (which includes all grades from K-12) hosts a big dinner and auction to help support school functions and student programs.

If you are a long time reader, you may recognize this quilt top from this post over two years ago! It's been safely tucked away, waiting to be quilted and finished so that a new baby or young child can enjoy it.

The pinwheel center is quilted with a meandering large stipple pattern, while the inner border has some lazy intersecting curves.

On the outer borders I tried something different and quilted the cursive lower case alphabet - it seemed appropriate since the border was already filled with letters!

I wanted the quilt to feel somewhat personalized even though I don't know where it's new home will be, so I used one of my favorite quotes on the label. I don't know who said it, but it always makes me smile when I read it.

The backing is more letters - lots and lots of letters on this quilt! And a machine-sewn binding for durability.

I didn't make a resolution for this to be a year of sewing finishes, but it feels pretty good to have two things done right out of the gate :)

SOLD to the highest bidder!

Last week I whipped up a couple of cute quilted pillows for an auction next month benefiting the music department at Thing 2's high school. She's playing her cello in the pit orchestra for the spring musical "Into the Woods", and over the two performance weekends several items are up for silent bid auctions.  I think these pillows would be perfect for a pre-teen or teen girl bedroom, so I hope they generate a lot of interest and bids!

I can't decide which way I like them better - diamonds vertically...

or horizontally...

I was able to use all scrap fabrics from previous projects (mainly this skirt) for the center diamonds composed of 60-degree triangles. The only fabric I had to purchase was the Michael Miller "Dumb Dots" for the borders and backings. Yeah for using scraps!

The simple straight line quilting on the pillow fronts echoes the diamond shapes in a pale orange thread.

I varied the placement of fabrics in each pillow and the border colors so each 20" pillow would be unique.

The zipper on each pillow back is concealed with a flap. First time I've done that, and I'll be doing it for every pillow from now on! Such a clean and neat look, and not much more difficult than a standard zipper insertion.

Part of me wants to hang on to these because I'm so pleased with how they turned out. But they don't coordinate with anything else in the house, so off they go! Hope they make a local young girl happy :)

Exciting Announcement!

A branch of the Modern Quilt Guild is starting in my area! A couple of friends and I started kicking the idea around last fall, and we've finally made it happen...

If you are able to join us, we'd love to see you at our first meeting, February 10 from 1-4 p.m. at the Home State Bank Commercial Banking Center at 611 S. Main Street, Crystal Lake, IL 60014.

Please check our website for all the important details. "Like" us on Facebook to receive the latest updates directly in your news feed.

All quilters and sewists with a love for modern fabrics and/or quilting designs are welcome. New to quilting or sewing? No worries - we are interested in bringing together people of all skill levels. Check it out - we're going to have great FUN!

Happy 2013!

I'm a little late to the party wishing you all a Happy New Year, but better late than never, right?!

I managed to squeak out a few finishes at the very end of 2012 - and I do mean the very end. As in December 31!

This Sunburst Baby quilt had been quilted with an all-over stipple pattern...

And the binding was machine-attached in mid-December...

But the label wasn't attached until New Year's Eve. It's now been delivered to the family, and hopefully they are enjoying it :)

This sweet pink and yellow jelly-roll baby quilt is headed to a local hospital NICU unit with lots of other baby quilts made by my sewing group at church.

Love that sweet polka dot binding...

And last but not least, true to my usual habit of finishing a holiday project within days of the holiday, my little button tree was framed just long enough to sit on the hearth for a photo. It's now packed away, and I'll likely forget about it until late November this year when we haul all the decorations up again. I'll open the box, unwrap it, and say something like, "oh how lovely! I'm so glad I finished it!"

I'd like to say that I resolve to finish more of what I start this year, but that's just not me. I do resolve to finish items with a deadline first, but then I'm just going to work on whatever makes me happy at the moment, and if it gets finished, great! But the whole point should be to have fun, shouldn't it?

Here's to a healthy, happy, and FUN 2013!!