Memory Lane Quilt–WIP

A couple of weeks ago my friend and medical school classmate @organicgreendoc asked me to make a quilt for a silent auction.  He has early Alzheimer’s. 

The request included the following specifications:  purple color and forget-me-knots  as the official color and flower of the Alzheimer’s Association, lap-size.  The auction is the first week of September so it’s needed by mid-August to have time to advertise it.

I fortunately had just finished a baby quilt (will show it next week) and was just beginning to work on a new one for a niece who is due in the fall.  I put it aside, pulled out my quilt books looking for a pattern that would be interesting but piece quickly.  I settled on a pattern called country lanes from my book Mountain Mist Quilt Favorites, page 121.

The next day I made a trip to a local fabric shop, purchased the fabric, washed/dried/ironed the fabric and then began cutting out the pieces. Over the last few weeks I have managed to piece it, marked, and quilted (as my right neck/trapezius would attest) quite a bit.  I found two patterns for appliqued forget-me-knots.  I will be adding them when all the quilting is done.

As with the block pattern, I tried to pick one that would be interesting but go quickly.  The solid blocks have hearts and tulips.  The pieced blocks are cross-hatched.  In the language of flowers, both forget-me-knots and tulips convey love.

Pale Pink Claire Stole

This stole took me months to knit.  To be fair, it was often put aside to do other projects (this baby sweater, sew binding on quilts, etc).  I used the pattern Claire by Lynn Anne Banks.  It took 3 skeins of Lana Gatto Silk Mohair in a pale pink called Seta.  The finished stole/shawl measures approx 18 in X 78 in.

It is very soft.

Finished -- Crazy Baby Quilt

Actually finished this quilt a couple of weeks ago.  In  fact, @purplesque has already received it.  It is machine pieced and quilted.  She has promised to write a story or stories using the details in the quilt.  I am looking forward to them.

The finished quilt measures approx 38 in X 42 in. 

The back is a combination of two yellow fabrics.  It shows the “Baptist fans” quilting.

Here are some photos to show some of the details.  Silly story:  The tabby cat drove the race car to the shore to see the fish and seahorse.  Along the way she stopped to admire the butterfly flittering around the flower.

Silly story #2: Holly Hobby sit among the trees thinking of monkeys and hippos she had seen at the zoo.  She looked forward to going to the football game later.

Silly story #3:  Two best friends lay in the sunshine taking of ballerina bears, pet rabbits, and riding in their aunt’s little red sports car along highway 66.

Silly story #4:  A dog, giraffe, and roster took a drive in the BelAir to hear the pink bunnies band.  What a grand time was had by all.

Silly story #5:  The skier slide down the hill on his bottom while the dogs looked on.  Pooh Bear tried to interest Holly in catching fireflies with him in the moonlight.

Dress and Surgeon’s Caps

This child’s dress made using patriotic fabric given to me by a friend was made for a niece who recently turned 3 yrs old. See photo here on instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Zy0bduOlpl/?taken-by=rlbates

These surgeon’s caps were recently made on a very rainy Saturday.  Not sure who will receive them. See photo here on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/aB9CcWOlk6/?taken-by=rlbates

Baby Crazy Quilt--WIP

My blogging/twitter friend @purplesque is pregnant with her first child.  I have had a lot of fun piecing this crazy quilt top for her baby.  It is machine pieced.  Now to mark it and do the machine quilting.

As our mutual friend @scanman suggested, a chocolate frog (well, a batik fabric with chocolate background and tan frog) was included.  Also, note the owls, the moon, a giraffe, Tigger & Piglet, cats, and dogs.

Butterfly Quilt Finished

I finished and have shipped the quilt (see earlier post for back story) to someone I know will cherish it.  The finished quilt measures 56 in X 74 in.  A nice size to curl up under on the sofa and read books/blogs or watch movies.

Here is a photo showing the originally planned background fabric and the substitution used for two blocks.

I'm not sure which butterfly I like the best, but I love the fabrics in this one.

Checkerboard Quilt

The checkerboard center of this quilt was pieced several years ago.  I ran out of the red fabric which was originally a summer garment.  I recently laid it against several blue fabrics in my stash and though this stripped one worked as a border with more white as a second border.  The quilt is machine pieced and quilted.  It measures 35 in square.

Here is a close up to show the fabrics better.

The back is white.  The quilting is difficult to see, but the center is a simple cross-hatch.  The blue strip has simple rope.  The outer white area has leaves, tulips, and lilies.

Butterfly Quilt--WIP

This quilt has been a WIP off and on for years.  I purchased the butterfly blocks more than 15 yrs ago as a quilt top.  I wish I have taken a photo of the quilt top for documentation purposes, but alas I did not.   The blocks were set together with blocks of yellow fabric like this photo shows which I did not find flattering.  I undid the quilt and set the blocks aside -- 16 of them, though I have only used 12 in this quilt.  I like these fabrics, just not with the butterflies.

Soon after I sketched out a new setting which is close to what I have actually used.  I found the fabrics I wanted to use -- a dark blue with red roses for the sashing which I have since used in other projects and a beige floral with red, blue, and green which I used for other projects saving some for this one.  Unfortunately, I did not save enough and had to "make do" with another fabric for two of the blocks.  I have finished piecing the quilt top, made the quilt sandwich of top/batting/backing, and have begun the marking and quilting.   

I will mark more area than I can quilt with one bobbin of thread, do that quilting, then mark more.  I do this when I have to use chalk marking (for the dark areas) as I find it fades too much if I mark too far ahead.

Kite Tails Quilt

This small quilt was made using 2.5 in squares (including seam allowance) of fabric left-over from other projects.  The pattern is kite tails.  It is machine pieced and quilted.  The back is the same white fabric as the front.

The quilt has three shades of blue (a medium, a dark, and a light), three shades of pink/mauves (a medium, a dark, and a light), and two shades of purple (a medium and a dark).

I haven't decided what I'll do with this quilt yet.  I may put it back as a reserve baby quilt.

iPad Cover

A month or two ago I happened to see  Clover’s Trace ‘n Create templates for E-tablet Keepers and the companion Keeper Shapers on one of my trips to Hobby Lobby to buy thread or batting or whatever else I might have needed.  I don't own an iPad myself, but one of my sisters does.  It was an impulse buy.  

Here’s my result

Here’s the inside (sans iPad)

Update 3/2017 -- photos no longer available.

Sunshine and Shadow Medallion Quilt

I mentioned this as a WIP (work in progress) a few weeks ago.  It is simply a pillow print used as a medallion in the center of a sunshine and shadows layout.  It is machine pieced and quilted.  It measures 42 in square.  I donated the finished quilt to the Alzheimer's Quilt Study Group.

Here is a closer view of the center piece

And here you can see the fabrics used in the sunshine and shadows area better

Here is the fabric used for the back

Charity Dog Bed

This dog bed is made using an old towel, an old pillow, and some canvas fabric.  I'll be giving it to the local humane society where they can use it for either a dog or a cat.  I measured the pillow (20 in X 24 in), added a seam allowance and an extra quarter inch on each side so I could top-stitch from the each edge to help strengthen the seams.  Here is the towel side.

And here is the back