Finishing things up....

Two projects were finished this weekend... one just in time!

First - a baby quilt for a shower this afternoon!  The nursery for this baby boy has a jungle theme. I had no jungle fabric here so I found a charm pack on eBay and ordered them... then found some fabric at Hancock's and bought it. Didn't know which I would use.... and then ended up using both!  I think it turned out very cute.

Here is a close up of the quilting. Hubby did that part and chose a bright blue thread. (He also did the binding.  Such a treasure!)

That blue looks so good on the back. This photo really doesn't show it well as the back is a dark milky chocolate brown.

I am sure the Mommy and Daddy to be will like it. I so love making baby quilts!

I have to add that today at church I went to love on one of the sweet babies we have had born recently and their wadded up in his carrier was the quilt we made for him. I have seen it with him many times this winter and just love it!  Not because I think it is a marvelous quilt or because I want folks to see it, but because it is being used!  That, for me, is the best way to say Thanks!  Use the quilt!

The other completed project was a UFO. I found a cute BOM in 2005.. YEP 2005.. early in my quilting days. It was redwork and I just fell in love with it.  I immediately had an idea of how I wanted to do it. Each month I would use a specific themed fabric to coordinate with the pattern.  I would pick a color from the fabric to use for the embroidery.  I jumped in like gangbusters for 6 or so months and then it happened... Quilter's ADD... I got caught up in other projects. I would work a bit on the blocks every now and then. I made it through November and then set it aside... for several years!  So in January, I pulled it out and finished up the December embroidery and then set out to create a quilt. I love how it turned out.

This is one I did start to finish on my own.  (If you could see the binding up close you would know that hubby did not do it!  He is much better than I am at that.)

Here are some close ups of the blocks:

The pattern is from Bobby Socks Quilt Company  and is called Child's Play. There are some super cute whimsical patterns there, as well as a free BOM available.

Off to a baby shower... then home to work on the GFG some more.

"Belle"

More Journals... another one bites the dust via the Mad Quilter... and a UFO challenge for me!

I whipped up some more journal covers a while back... you might notice that one is button-less. I forgot to include the stretch band for the closure!  Oh well... a sweet young lady loved the fabrics and took it just the way it is! The wild pink and purple one is mine and the other I made for my daughter. I like hers too!

The Mad Quilter (a.k.a my hubby) continues to work through finished tops that have stacked up over the past few years.  The latest one is a joint effort. I made the blocks... pieced them into rows... and then pushed them aside as I went on to bigger and better things. Hubby found them and put the rows into a top.. added a flange and borders... and then set it aside with a zillion other finished tops. Last week he pulled it out, we got it sandwiched and away he went with the quilting.

He does straight-line quilting and he has been having a blast trying new patterns.  He is an architect and it is showing in his quilting! I love the cranberry thread color.. looks so good.

Some online Quilt buddies and I have set a UFO challenge for ourselves for the first 3 months of 2011. I have "entered" 3 of my UFOs knowing full well that it will be a miracle if I get 1 done!  I have several new projects that have to be done, as well as my mom's GFG I am doing by hand that is running behind!

Even if they aren't all done by March 31, I hope to finish all of these by the end of 2011.

This is a Mile-a-Minute quilt I did a number of years ago. I attempted to quilt it. I failed. So heavy and so many seams... I only have a regular sewing machine... so I decided to tie it. Got bored after getting about 1/3 of it tied.  I need to start tying again!

I have this wonderful Fall Quilt top that is essentially done except I am adding some hand embroidered touches (leaf veins and such). About 1/2 done on that.

And lastly a redwork quilt I started years ago from an online free BOM called Child's Play. I have 11 of the 12 blocks embroidered and about 1/2 of the 12th one done. I even have fabric for the block borders and sashing and such.

The goal in the challenge is for them to be completely done.. quilted.. bound.. the works! I am shooting for the moon... hope I at least break the ozone layer!

"Belle"