Small Whole Cloth Quilt

I bought this pre-printed Batik whole cloth quilt top a few years ago (I think 2007 Nashville quilt show) from The Stencil Company.  I finally got around to hand quilting it.  The quilt pattern is Queen’s crown.  Finished, it measures 16 in square.  The quilting is difficult to see in my photos of the front.  Here is the full quilt.

Here is a photo of one corner which shows the quilting just a bit better.

The quilting is much easier to see from the back

I now need to add a sleeve for hanging and a label.

C's Baby Jacket

Christine is a work colleague.  She is having her first baby.  I some how missed that she was pregnant until the baby shower was announced (well, in fairness to me, we work in different parts of the building and rarely see each other), so I didn't have time to make a baby quilt for the shower which was earlier this week.  I decided to knit this cute jacket in brick red (or Razorback red).

The jacket was knitted using Laura Edwards’ Lillie Baby Cardigan pattern and Plymouth Yarn Encore Worsted Tweed.  I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

Baby Steps Finished

The baby steps quilt is now finished.  I love the way it turned out.  As mentioned previously, I used the step pattern from block lotto blog.  It is machine pieced and quilted.  It measures 42 in square. 

Here are a few shots to show the fun details.  Holly Lobby checking her mail old style (which I still love to do). 

And here are two friends sharing secrets and a robot (trying to listen in).

And here is another robot, a dog, a parrot, and Winnie the Pooh.

And here is a view of the back fabric (from the stash my Boston friend sent to me).

Progress Notes -- WIPs

Still working on the Steps baby quilt which I have decided to name "Baby Steps."  My current knitting project is a scarf/shawl using pattern Claire by Lynn Anne Banks.  The yarn is Lana Gatto Silk Mohair in a pale pink.

I've also started planning and piecing my next quilt.  I'm using fabrics that a friend from Boston sent me mixed with left-over fabrics from past projects.  The center is a pillow panel from my friend.  There were two of them, so there will be two similar quilts eventually.  When finished the quilts will be donated the the Alzheimer's Quilt Study Group.  As you can (sort of ) see, the center "pillow" medallion is in the center of a sunshine and shadows quilt layout.

Step Baby Quilt --- WIP

This quilt top will become a baby quilt for my yoga instructor.  I've been going to free classes at the local library on Saturday mornings since November.  She announced recently she and her family are adopting a baby due early June.  This will be my way of "paying" her for the free lessons.

For this quilt top I used the step pattern from block lotto blog.  The top is machine pieced.  It measures 42 in square. 

Each block features something of interest -- a robot, a dog, a cat, a girl, etc.

Now I have to do the quilting.

Sunburst Finished!

I finished my entry for the Quilt Alliance Twenty contest.and mailed it off.   Here it is.  It is hand pieced and machine quilted, measures 20 in square.

Here's a closer view to show the quilting in the center.

The back before I added the sleeve and label.  It is easier to see that I used orange thread to quilt some areas and white to quilt others.

Another view of the back

Baby Jacket

This baby jacket is for a friend's first grandbaby.  The baby shower is this Sunday.  It is made using this garment with traditional embroidery from India that her daughter (the aunt-to-be) gave to me to use in a quilt or something.    Here is the front and sides which would wrap towards the back laid out flat.

 

And this is the back or as you see the inside of the garment (the back is really open).

 

I folded the garment in half long-wise.  Then using the Simplicity pattern 2900 I laid out the one pattern piece.  The jacket is lined with white cotton flannel.  I used bias binding along the sleeves and around the jacket to add a “pop” back.  Believe me it looks much better with the red binding than without it.

 

Here is the back.  I love how it turned out.

I think the baby's mother and grandmother will like the jacket.

Sunburst --- WIP

This small quilt is for the Quilt Alliance Twenty contest.   It is their 7th annual quilt contest.  This year in honor of their 20th Anniversary they chose a broad theme that celebrates TWENTY: the numeral, the concept, the quantity, the word.

I started by looking through my quilt books and found this one called Golden Splendor in Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns. 

I drafted the above pattern out on freezer paper with 20 triangles in the circle area and minus the feathers on the outer star points.  I wasn’t happy with the outer 8 points and changed them to 20 points.  So my pattern now had 20 inner points/rays and 20 outer points/rays.  Over the next week I played with laying out fabrics trying to decide on the color palette.

I carefully numbered each piece prior to cutting them out.  This small quilt I hand pieced to try to make sure the points were as sharp as possible.

Here is the hand-pieced quilt top.  I plan to machine quilt it.

Small Americana Flannel Flag Quilt

A friend is getting married this spring.  No registry anywhere.  This friend and her fiancé live in South Carolina so I thought a small quilt featuring Americana might make a nice token gift.  The quilt is made using an 8.5 in X 10.5 in flannel flag.  Flannel flags were used as tobacco premiums. [see my earlier post]  The practice of inserting advertising in tobacco products and packaging began about 1870 and continued throughout the late 19th Century into the first decades of the 20th Century.

The above premium features an American flag in the center with 48 stars.  As Arizona became the 48th state on Feb 14, 1912, this one had to be made after that date.   The other flags (from top left, close wise) are Costa Rica, Peru, Cuba, Hayti, and San Domingo.

Here is a photo to show the hand quilting

Here is the back.  I used the “fast finish triangle” method to allow easy hanging.  See the wooden skewer used as a rod.  This allows using a simple picture hanger hook to hand the quilt.

Another close view to show some of the quilting.  The back fabric is closer to the tan color to the above photo than this one.  I signed and dated  the back before mailing it.

Some Reference:s:
Textile Tobacco Inserts and Premiums used in American Quilts, and Related Household Articles; By Laurette Carroll, Quilt Maker,
Quilt Collector and Quilt Historian
"Better Choose Me: Addictions to Tobacco, Collecting, and Quilting, 1880-1920"; Ethel Ewart Abrahams and Racheal K. Pannabecker from Uncoverings 2000
America's Quilting History; Tobacco Premium Quilt History: Silks, Ribbons & Flannels -- womenfolk.com
A Flag Quilt Launches a Search into the Past; Merikay Waldvogel; Quilting Today, Issue 68, pp 26-28
Museums & Quilts; Attic Treasures for Everybody at the Bowers
Museum of Cultural Art; Carter Houck; Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, Jan/Feb 1995, No 269, pp 40-41

Finished the Scrappy Log Cabin Quilt

Here is the finished scrappy log cabin quilt.  I have given it to a colleague to use for his grandchildren.  The quilt measures 41.5 in X 53.25 in.  It is machine pieced and quilted. 

Here is are a few photos to show some of the points of interest.  This one has a cat, a dog, flowers, a moon, and cat-related words.

This one had a cowgirl, a car, a planet, a ladybug, and more.

And this one a squash, an oil well, Winnie the Pooh, and more dogs.

The back is a blue print.

Thinking of You Scarf

I  love the way this scarf turned out.  Finished in time to share for Valentine's.  The pattern I used is Thinking of You Scarf by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer.  The  sale of the pattern raises money for WomenHeart, the organization devoted to improving the quality of life and healthcare for women living with heart disease.

The yarn is  Fyberspates Scrumptious DK in cherry red.  It measures 6 in X 60 in.

Here is a photo of the two ends lain out side by side.   The hearts go up one side to just about a third of the length.

And here is a close up of the hearts

Also, check out this recent post over at Quilt Alliance blog.  It features some of my quilts.

Scrappy Log Cabin Quilt -- WIP

I finished  two additional scrappy log cabin squares for a total of 12.  Here they are.  I love the little cowgirl on her tricycle, the red convertible, the ladybugs, the thread, the planet.

This one has a blue car, flowers, lemons, and lots of colors.

I decided to set the squares with a simple sashing and border.  The cream fabric sashing is 1.25 in wide (1.75 in with seam allowances).  I used some left-over 2 in green squares which I recut.  Then added a 3 in (2.75 in without seam allowance) blue border with orange square in the corners.  The quilt top (prior to doing the quilting) measures 42 in X 53.75 in.

So now I have to put the top together with the batting and backing and quilt it.