Great Granny Has Been Lingering On Way Too Long,,,

...as a UFO.  That's why I'm setting it as September's goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes. 

So far Great Granny consists of 42 blocks sewn together into 7 rows of 6.  Hopefully by the end of September she will be a completed quilt. 

Oh My Stars !

Birthday Stars

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I finished quilting and binding my Birthday Stars.  I participated in a Birthday Block Swap last year and for my block I asked for any 12 inch star block in jewel tones on black background.  With only 12 stars I wanted a little large quilt so I added 5 inch sashings and in some spots I added little 5 inch stars I made as the cornerstones. 

 Since most of the blocks seemed to have some purple in them I used purple as the backing - (shhhhhh....it's a 100 % cotton sheet from the thrift store).   I had some variegated purple thread so used that in the bobbin and on the front...

 ...I used black thread.   I was a little leary about quilting in black in the lighter colors but I guess it looks okay now that it's finished.  I quilted on my DSM - no fancy machines here - in loops and stars. It's better that it's finished than sitting around as a UFO for several more years.

And, about those five inch stars....I thought I had enough of that swirly multi -colored jewel tones fabric for stars all around but I didn't.   So, stars are randomly placed here and there.

Getting this quilted and bound was my August goal for Lovely Year of Finishes. 

I'm going to go Whoop, Whoop it up now at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and then see what everyone else is Whoop, Whooping about. 

And, finally...a question...What color of thread would you have used on top?  I'm still not sure I like the black.  I need advice because I have another jewel tones on black UFO I hope to finish up soon. 

Izzy's Wedding Quilt - Update

I've joined together several more arches for Izzy's Double Wedding Ring Quilt.  In case you don't follow me...Izzy is my 8 year old granddaughter who told me I was going to live long enough to attend her wedding. I thought in case I don't live that long I better make her a quilt and attend her wedding in spirit.

I'm about 2/3 way finished with this part of the process. I guess there's no hurry! I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced for the first time. WOW...there's lots of lovely WIPs going on out there in blogland!!

Firewheels - Warning...Put on the Sunglasses!

Firewheels #2, #3 and #4.   16 inch blocks. Pattern from Quilter's Cache.  Feeling wild and using up some bright Kaffe Fassetts, Philip Jacobs, etc. from my stash in colors pink, yellow, orange.  I can't put them all together on a design wall along with Firewheel #1 because my design wall is my cutting board propped up on the wall with some extra batting on it.  One Firewheel is about all that fits on it for picture taking.  But, if you want to see some actual design walls full of inspiration visit Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times.  

What's the Deal with Teal?

There's a Rainbow Scrap Challenge going on at the SoScrappy blog and this month's color is teal (aqua, turquoise, blue-green).  I made 35 more Sister's Choice blocks out of my 3 inch 9 patches and since all the star points on them are blue I used teal for the points on some of them.  (I consider teal as a form of blue when I'm quilt making.) I now have a total of 191 and need 288 for my quilt.  I also made a 49 patch out of some leftover 1.5 inch squares.  More teal projects can be found at the Scrap Happy Saturday linky party.

They've Been Around for About Three Years So...

...I decided it's about time I made them into a quilt.

1930 Reproduction Fabrics/Kona Snow

c. 1930 blocks swapped on a Yahoo Group in 2010

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Sewn together this weekend into a top and ready to be basted, quilted and bound

Now my June Goal for a Lovely Year of Finishes

Depression Blocks and Fond Memories

It's time to post my Lovely Year of Finishes completed goal for May.  I originally posted on May 3 that I wanted to quilt and bind my Depression Blocks UFO.  I have done so.

896 HSTs sewn into 56 -12 inch Depression blocks. Finished quilt 84x96. 

This quilt is for the bed in the guest room. It gets pretty darned cold in this old farm house in the winter so I will use it to keep the grandkids warm when they sleep over every other weekend. 

I've been working on this off and on for several years. I love Depression blocks and think of Grandma when I sew on it. She taught me to quilt and she told me many stories of how she survived during the Depression years on a farm in rural Iowa with Grandpa and 5 kids. I've used some of her tips myself during hard times.

So I should probably call this quilt Fond Memories - of Grandma, of learning to sew, of old fabrics used in other projects.

Backing is some plain brown flannel to make it extra warm. and I did some easy line quilting on my plain Jane DSM.  Binding sewn down by hand. I like how the polka dots look on both the front and back. 

Now I need to start thinking about what I hope to accomplish in June.  

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it Up Friday and Confessions of a Fabric Addict for a Whoop, Whoop. 

Singing the Blues

This month's color for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge  is sapphire blue (not aqua/teal/turquoise, not pastel/light). I had set aside a bunch of 2.5 inch strips left over from other projects to use in a QOV quilt. Lots of the strips are blue so I stitched up some 6 inch Twinkler blocks

Next I added some 3 inch spools to my collection. I just participated in a 1.5 inch strip swap and pulled the blues to work with from the lovely pile of fabrics. 

I also just participated in a 3 inch 9 patch swap so pulled the ones with blue in them to make into my 5 inch Sister's Choice blocks.   All of the blocks, no matter what color the 9 patch, have scrappy blue points. I now have 132- 5 inch blocks and figure I need 288 for a good sized quilt.  So, I guess I'm not even half way there ;-( 

Hop on over to SoScrappy's blog for ScrapHappySaturday to see who else is singing the blues and why! And, why not dig out some blues and participate too!  

What Do 896 HSTs Look Like?

I've finally finished my Depression Blocks Quilt Top. 56-  12 inch blocks consisting of a total of 896 HSTs arranged 7x8 to equal a quilt top 84x96.  It's too wet and cold to hang it on the clothesline to show off the monstrosity in totality. I'm glad to have this finally assembled. It's been a UFO far too long. 

So...for all those HSTs...Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? (Linky at Confessions of a Fabric Addict)

And I guess a finished flimsy qualifies for Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts. 

And, since I hope to get this quilted, bound and completely finished  by month end I'm setting this as my May goal for a Lovely Year of Finishes.  (See button on sidebar for more information on how to join in the fun). 

ABC x 2 +2= 4

I've finished two ABC I Spy happy block quilts.  One is for my grandson and another is for my niece's son.  They have been UFOs for quite some time.

Both quilts are reversible - one has a match game and the other has school themed happy blocks. The school themed blocks was also a UFO.

1. Quilted with a kind of concentric square pattern on my DSM. Binding is stripes. Happy blocks consist of swapped 6.5 inch squares bordered in 2.5 inch strips. Letters were ironed on...

 ...Back consists of school themed happy blocks. Some of the blocks were bordered by others in a happy block swap where you send centers to others to be bordered and you do the same for them.

 It's so cold and windy outside today so it was difficult to get good pictures. Here's a closeup of the ABCs. I had to show the E for Eyeballs since my grandson loves that fabric.

 And here's the reverse side. I haven't washed it yet to get the crinkly goodness. Out here in the country we only do our laundry on the weekends when the electricity is cheaper so I'll be washing them up tomorrow.

 2. Quilted with a kind of concentric circle pattern on my DSM. Binding is solid blue. Happy blocks consist of swapped 6.5 inch squares bordered in 2.5 inch strips. Letters were ironed on...

 ...reverse is a match game...what goes with an elephant? (Peanuts)...what matches with a pincushion? (Pins!)  These 6.5 inch blocks were also swapped.

Two quilts or four quilts 50 x 60? 

To check out other Friday finishes please visit the following links: 

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? 

Finish it Up Friday

Link a Finish Friday



To finish one alphabet quilt was my goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes. Now that I've completed it I'm linking up at the Lovely Year of Finishes Linky Party. 

UFO Is Now a FO

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Quilt made from swap of red, white and one other color blocks. 

Freemotion quilted with gray thread flowers in each block. Sashing has straight line quilting. 

Happy Bird backing and polka dot binding. 

 Black thread used in the bobbin. 

Another UFO is finished and I'm as happy as those birds! 

Since it's a finish and it's Friday I'm linking up at Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it Up Friday

And, Can I get a Whoop, Whoop? (Another linky party at Confessions of a Fabric Addict). 



Edited March 30: This was my goal for March (see goal post)  for A Lovely Year of Finishes so I'm linking up to the linky party of finishes.   See sidebar for link if you'd like to set a goal and join A Lovely Year of Finishes in April.

Happy, not Angry Birds, Are on the Back

This is my UFO I wanted to finish by the end of March. The blocks were exchanged in a "Black, White and One Other Color Swap" last year. I had to make more blocks to finish at the size I wanted. 

I finally got around to finishing up the quilting today.  I used gray thread on the top and black thread in the bobbin. Every once in a while I can see some black blobs on top like in this flower. I'm not sure why that happens - I only see it on a few flowers.

Happy Birds (not those Angry Birds) are on the back - black, white and all sorts of other colors. And now it's time to relax on the couch and work on hand stitching the binding because it's Slow Stitching Sunday! Visit Kathy's Quilts to see what others are doing on this slow stitching St. Patrick's Day.   I'm mostly Irish so I should be wearing something green, eating something green and drinking something instead of sewing. Maybe I'll have a glass of homemade wine while I stitch and listen to some Irish music instead.  Oh, and I just noticed I am wearing a green shirt.

I'm also checking in mid-month at A Lovely Year of Finishes since this was the March project to finish.

Black, White and One Other Color

My goal for March for A Lovely Year of Finishes  is to get the UFO hanging out in the snow finished. The top consists of 12 inch blocks swapped last year (or was it the year before?). Everyone had to swap a block of choice that used black, white and one other color of choice.  They didn't look like they went together at all when I received them back but after I added the sashing I actually love it.  In order to have enough for the size quilt I wanted I made 8 of the blocks - 12 were swapped.   I really like sampler quilts.

To learn more about A Lovely Year of Finishes click on button on my sidebar. Participation really does help accomplish goals.

UFO Is Now FO !

 I participated in a blue double 4 patch swap many, many years ago.  Finally, they are now a quilt - 72x80.
I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with it....maybe put it in the comfort quilt pile for giving someone in a time of need. Or, I could give it as a wedding gift since I just heard my niece will be getting married sometime this year. Or, I could put it in the Christmas gift pile.  I'm just glad it's finished.

 I used a variegated blue thread for quilting.  First I did straight lines on the diagonal through the 2 inch patches.  Then I freemotion quilted some eight petaled flowers through the 4 inch patches.

  I used a soft sheet on the back - blue, of course. I admit it came from the thrift store and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it although the quilt police may have a warrant out for my arrest. You can see the free motion flower quilting better on the back.

It's cold outside...which makes for good quilt weather inside!

Linking up to:
Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts
FMQ Friday at The Free Motion Quilting Project
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

For some great inspiration give them all a visit.