Wrapping A Quilt

I spent a long time trying to fold my sister's quilt to fit well into the pillowcase.  I don't like to use  paper to wrap gifts, if I can help it.  It seems so wasteful. I finally came up with this:

 

She may guess that she is getting a quilt.  But if I draw someone's name in the family Christmas drawing, it is a good chance he or she will be getting a quilt from me, and everyone knows this already!

The People Blanket

I made my first quilt in 1991.  I had sewn garments for years and had made a couple of applique pillows (long worn out by now) and several pieced pot holders (also, long gone by now), but this was my first quilt.  I was taking a class an Irish Chain quilt at an LQS (long gone by now as well).  We used Eleanor Burns Irish Chain book for this class.

 I only went to the class because my friend twisted my arm.  She was pregnant as well, so we both decided to make Irish Chain baby quilts.  I bought my first and still favorite olfa rotary cutter for this class.

My kids always called this quilt The People Blankie.  You can see here why!

As I recall, she used tradition soft baby colors.  I used red, white and black because I knew babies liked contrast.  I did not use quilt shop quality fabrics.  I think I bought the red, black and white at Cloth World (also long gone around here).  The backing I know was from Walmart, $1 a yard fabric.

Don't believe anyone who says you MUST  use quilt shop quality fabrics in your quilts.  This quilt had many years of hard use and washings.  DS2 used it for at least 6 years and then passed it on to DS3 who used it.  It spent a lot of time in the car and on the floor.  After 21 years, it is a little faded, but no holes, no fraying or worn places.  I did the quilting inexpertly, but that has held as well.

To see more baby quilts:
http://amyscreativeside.com/2013/10/25/bloggers-quilt-festival-baby-quilts-2/
http://mychellem.blogspot.com/2013/10/lets-make-baby-quilts-week-43.html

Scrapitude, Part 2

I finished part 2 of the Scrapitude Mystery quilt found over on Sandy's blog. http://quiltingfortherestofus.com/blog/  It's too early to know what the block will look like, but I suspect the blocks are 3 by 3 grids of 4 inch units, making the blocks 12 inch finished.  It is a square quilt, so I might add another row to the end and make it twin bed sized for a niece or nephew going off to college.  My own kids have more quilts than they need!

 

 

I currently have 4 nieces and 8 nephews, but my brother is in the process of adopting a year old baby, so that will soon make it 9 nephews.  I have started making a simple quilt for the new baby.  It is going to be made of shirts that came from his dads.  It will be a simple pattern since we just found out last Friday that tomorrow is the day they get the baby.

 

To see more design walls: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/10/21/design-wall-monday-october-21-2013/

Shop Hop, Continued

I went to another LQS this week and bought 3 yards of fabric on sale.  Two of a gold print for Bonnie Hunter's Carolina Christmas and one of a red Dr. Seuss print just because I liked it. 

Used this week: 1 yards
Used Year to Date:  80 yards
Added this week: 3 yards
Added year to date:  83.375 yards
Net Added:  3.375 yards

The only thing I finished this week is a Dr. Seuss pillow case.  I will use it to wrap my sister's Christmas gift, a Dr. Seuss quilt.  My sister is a kindergarten teacher and a Dr. Seuss collector.  I think she will really like the quilt!

 

 

Here's the quilt.  The patter is an online freebie from Robert Kaufman.  http://www.robertkaufman.com/quilting/quilts_patterns/lets_party/

 

To see more stash reports:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/10/20/stash-report-week-42-2013/

 

The Last of the Flowers

In a normal fall, we'd be having chilly weather at night and maybe a frost already.  Most of the flowers would be gone.  I still have quite a lot of things blooming in my yard.

 

Joe Pye Weed

 

 

Marigolds that volunteered.

 

The last crepe myrtle bloom.

 

                                                           Lantana

 

Impatiens, Mexican heather and a purple plant I can't recall (all from Walmart!).  They have looked great the whole summer.

 

 

One crazy coleus and more lantana.

                                                              The first camellia blooms.
                                                               

 

Periwinkle.

 

The trees just starting to turn.

 

Shop Hop

I took a quick scroll through my blog, and it looks like I haven't bought fabric since August 4, when I added 3.5 yards.  Today starts the Tour de Quilt of Central VA (  http://tourdequilt.com/  ), and I always try to go to a few of the shops. I won a $50 gift card last summer from one of the shops on the tour, so I went to Quilting Adventures today and spent the whole thing plus a whole lot more. 

I bought 7 yards of a bright floral for a quilt for one of my sisters.  It is going to be another one block wonder, so I also bought a bundle of coordinating fat quarters to use for the cubes in the quilt.  Later today, I met a friend at The Blue Crab Quilt Company and found fabric to make a pillowcase for another sister.   All told, I bought 12 yards of fabric.  QA threw in an extra 1/2 yard for free. 

If this were a normal weekend, I'd at least finish a pillowcase.  But this is not a normal weekend because were out of town, so I didn't get any sewing done.

Used this week: 0 yards
Used Year to Date:  79 yards
Added this week: 12.5 yards
Added year to date:  80.375 yards
Net Added:  1.375 yards

Even having made 2 big scrap quilts and one recycled fabric quilt the past year, I'm still bouncing around the net added/net used line.  I really feel like I'm close having the perfect amount of fabric in my stash, and as long as I keep using up my scraps, I feel mostly ok about buying  more fabric. 

http://sewingoutofmycomfortzone.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-critical-mass-of-quilting-stash.html

To see more stash reports:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/10/13/stash-report-week-41-2013/

Cross Stitch Update

I have been working a little on Sleepy Hollow.  I've finished the graveyard and started working on the church. I got an hour and a half of stitching in while I was in the car waiting for my son to finish soccer practice.  The field is about 25 minutes from my house, and it doesn't make much sense to drop him off and then turn right around a half hour later and go pick him up.  They switched practice to 5:30 to 7:00, so last week I had enough light to stitch almost the whole time.

 

I also did an ornament for a Halloween exchange, but I didn't want to show it until I got it mailed out. 

 ***Spoiler alert for Nancy:  Stop reading now, if you want to be surprised.  ***

 

 Cheryl stitched a spider web for me.  If you look closely, you can see the spider charm in the web.  No matter what light I tried, the ribbon she used looks blue in the picture.  It is really purple.

 

 

This is the center part of the Ink Circles Design that is in this year's JCS Halloween issue. 

 

For my partner, Nancy, I stitched Little Owl Sampler by Knotted Tree NeedleArt. The chart is in JCS 2012  Halloween issue.

 

 

I like to personalize the ornaments I stitch for friends with our initials or names, but there was no good place to do that on this ornament, so I did it on the back. 

 

This is my September ornament for the Ornament  SAL. To see more ornaments:

 

http://stitchinglotus.ca/2013/09/ornament-sal-septmeber-check-in/