Cate's Quilt

Over the Christmas holidays we ran into a young couple we know who live in another part of our state... and they had a surprise. A beautiful little girl named Cate!  We knew immediately that she had to have a quilt.  And so once the holidays were done, I whipped up a top and hubs finished up with the quilting and binding.

Another Disappearing 9 patch... seemed to be the quilt theme for January.  We found this precious birdie fabric and added in fabrics from our scrap boxes.

I love love love how it turned out!  I would never have thought these colors would look so well together!

Off this goes next week to Cate.  I feel certain she will like it!

Gone Fishing...

I posted in an earlier post that my one real quilting goal this year is to make more charity quilts... at least one for every quilt I make as a gift or too keep.  I have chosen, for now, to make quilts for the Quilts for Kids Organization. (You can find their link and other info in my earlier post. )

This weekend I finished up my 2nd Quilts for Kids quilt for 2013 with the help of my hubby who took care of the binding for me. :-)

Quilt for Kids often runs short on quilts for teen boys, so this one was made with a young man in mind.  When I was digging through my novelty fabrics for inspiration, I found some fish fabric scraps I got when I bought a box of scraps some time ago. I knew they would be perfect for a teen boy's quilt.  Also, fishing has a special place in my heart and life.  My father was an avid fisherman and I was in a boat from the time I was just a few months old.  So this one is in memory of my sweet daddy.

Gone Fishing....

I have prayed for the boy who will receive this quilt... that he knows the Lord, that he feels God's presence and comfort. My dad knew the Lord.. loved Him.. felt His presence throughout his life and especially while battling cancer... and while I miss him even after 16 years, I know that God answered our prayers by giving him the ultimate healing.

I took time this weekend to clean out my huge box of novelty fabric and straighten them up.  I have focus fabrics pulled for 4 more charity quilts. I have decided on a pattern for 2 of them and have pulled fabrics from the scrap boxes to work with them. We have boxes here where we cut up scraps into 2.5" - 6" squares as well as 2.5" strips.  Takes time to do, but so worth it when it comes time to pull for a project!

Be watching for more Quilts for Kids' quilts soon!

Wiggly-Giggly

I have made quilting goals for the year in the past and rarely do they all get met. So this year I am keeping things simple. I know of 3 baby quilts that will be made this year.. one is done and waiting to be bound.  I have one other quilt I plan to make this year... cannot tell what it is here since it is a surprise.  Other than that.. no set plans except.. I really want to do more charity quilts this year. I love making quilts and giving them away and I especially love sending them to organizations that use them to bring comfort and love to others.  My goal is for every quilt I make to give as a gift or keep, I will make a charity quilt. 

So far in 2013, we have made (finished) a wall-hanging and made a baby quilt. So that means 2 charity quilts are needed. No problem!

I whipped 2 tops up a couple of weeks ago and have one quilted, bound and ready to mail.  Both will go to Quilts for Kids  I love this organization ... love quilts going to kids in the hospital to comfort them.  You can request quilt kits from them and will receive fabric for the top and a pattern. You provide the backing and batting. I did that a few years ago for my first Quilts for Kids quilt.  Since then, I have just used their guidelines (found at the site) and made them from my stash.  

NOTE -- there are very specific size requirements. These are small quilts and go together quickly!  No excuse not to whip a few up.  Truly one could be made.. start to finish.. in a day by most any quilter.  There are also requirements concerning fabric (new, washed, 100% cotton) and quilting (tight so the quilt will hold up to use and washing).  

This first one is for a girl.. any age really.. I read that they needed quilts for teen boys, so I was pulling fabric for a boy quilt (which is next to my machine ready to be quilted) and while pulling 5" charms, I kept seeing these fun bright ones left over from some other kid quilts. So I pulled enough for a girl quilt too.  

I used the disappearing 9 patch pattern. It is soo fast and so cute... can be laid out in a number of ways. I have a lot of 5" charms, so I can get started quickly on one of these.  I will probably make some with other patterns as the year goes on. That is one of the fun things.. you can try out new patterns as you create something to bless a child.  

You can name your quilt and register it here: Downy Touch of Comfort  Then include the name and your first name with your quilt. Quilts for Kids sews a special label on every quilt, even if you add a label at home.  They can link up your quilt via the name so you can see who got it.  You can also read stories and see photos of the quilts and kids at the Downy site for inspiration.

This really is a great way to use the gift God has given to brighten someone's life!

So here is my first charity quilt of the year.. Wiggly Giggly...

The boy one will be posted soon and no doubt there will be more on the blog in the months to come. I already have ideas for 2 or 3 more!

Belle

Planning the next project....

I have made several kid/baby quilts using the Disappearing Nine Patch method and really like it. I recently saw this BIG Scrappy Version and fell in love...

http://audreypawdrey.blogspot.com/2011/02/scrappy-disappearing-nine-patch-quilt.html

And so I have decided to make a scrappy DNP for the sofa here.  I did go and look at some other ways to lay it out..

http://www.stitcherydickorydock.com/2011/08/scrappy-disappearing-9-patch-tutorial.html

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9Qx567V6WSW60BMyQOmb7LiTu6V91RnflsVru87PR_9A5DE0j_D0U9JbHgwugHDRaP4ZXK73ijptBPDY7zYaH57cRitVQkllcqsNBTPq_ulJbKw9JsqtEBzBL1N3qbbYJ0wln0K-f7g4/s1600/baby+dnp+finished+001.JPG

http://sarahlovesfabric.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/img_0671.jpg

But as of now I think I am going to go with the same layout as the nig ole scrappy one... but larger blocks!

And I am thinking of backing it with flannel and using no batting. This creates a very lightweight quilt that will be great to use in the summer here. Yes, we do use quilts at times in the summer despite the heat and humidity of the Deep South. :-)

There are many tutorials for making this easy pattern online.  Here are a few:

Disappearing Nine Patch

DNP - The Easy Way

Chickpea Studio's Way

Cluck Cluck Sew's Version

So today I start pulling out stacks of 5" charms (I have lots!).  Sewing Central was disassembled to become the Dining Room for Easter, so hopefully I can get it set back up in the next day or so and start sewing together some 9 patches!

"Belle"

Ready for some Boys!

Recently whipped up 2 baby quilts for 2 little fellas.... both due in August. I have posted pix of the tops, but wanted to show them completed.

The first is for Oliver.  I pieced the top and my husband quilted it. Be sure to look at the upclose shot of the border. He had fun creating there. And there is a photo of the back.. I am hoping the quilting shows.  I have to say that the photos do not do the fabrics in this quilt justice.. they are beautiful (and were all in my stash.. bought nothing for this one but batting!)

And the other is for Reed. Reed's dad is a basketball coach.. so I went with a sports theme. I pieced and quilted this one.  Very simple disappearing nine-patch with in the ditch quilting. But I decided to try something else. In the 4 corner blocks and the very center one, I quilted the outline of a basket ball. They are not perfect by any long shot, but I think they turned out cute and I feel certain Reed's dad will like them. I had most of this in my stash. Had to purchase some fabric for the border and the batting.

Working on a quilt for a little girl now ... have another boy top done and ready to quilt... and then have another boy and a girl coming in December!  More baby quilts on the way.  I love babies and I love making baby quilts!

"Belle"

Catching Up In Blogville -- Part 2

I have been working on more baby quilts over the last 2 months for 3 little boys due later this year. A young couple in our church is expecting their first child in August. Dad is a high school basketball coach so I immediately thought of a sports themed quilt. I knew I had some fabric left over from my great-nephew's eye spy quilt, so once again I went digging in the stash.  I decided to use the Disappearing 9 patch pattern. There are many tutorials online for this quick and easy quilt.  I use this one: Tutorial

If you have a charm pack or, as is my case, a boatload of 5" charms, this quilt will go even faster!

First I pulled the sports fabric:

After cutting a portion of it into 5" charms, I dug through my boxes of charms and pulled out ones that coordinated:

Take 9 charms and create a nine patch.. I placed the sports fabric in the same place in each nine patch, but was random with the other fabrics:

I made seven large 9 patches:

Then sliced them up!

To create these blocks:

Played with the layout:

Sewed into a top:

Added borders and voila!  Top done:

This quilt top was mostly made from stash fabrics. I didn't have anything on hand I liked for the borders, other than the white with black geometric print (and what you see in the quilt is ALL of it!), so a run to the store was made and 2 vibrant Kona Cottons were purchased.... papaya and royal.  Bright and fun!

"Belle"

Happy National Quilting Day!!!

Today is the first day of Spring and we are actually enjoying Spring weather. Temps in the 70s... lots of sunshine and breezes... low humidity (a real treat!)... it is wonderful! I do know others in the US are dealing with snow and cold temps! Sorry!

Today is also National Quilting Day and I felt honor bound to participate! So... the borders have been added to my repro quilt....

These blocks are from a block lottery a quilt group I belong to (online) held last year. I was so excited to win and I am even more excited that the top is done. Cannot wait until it is quilted and bound! It is lovely!

I also whipped to

gether my 2nd top for Quilts for Kids. This one came from my stash. I had some disappearing 9 patch blocks left over from another project. I whipped up a few more and put them together to make this top... along with 2 borders.

Then I remembered this cute fabric that I have had for a while in my stash. It is perfect for the backing

and there is just enough of it!

I will get batting soon (after payday!) and these will be sandwiched and quilted... along with the 1st Quilts for Kids quilt.

No more quilting for me today... I have to finish up some work on Beth Moore's

Breaking Free before Bible Study on Tuesday! So that is the afternoon task.

It has been a grand National Quilting Day! Hope you've been doing something quilty!

"Belle"

3 Special Quilts for 3 Special Girls

A co-worker of my husband was expecting baby #3 (born in late Dec 2009), so we decided it would be nice to give her a quilt for the baby. We like to give the quilt after the birth so we can include the name on the label. Hubby had a cute bright scrappy top he has put together for fun a while back that was a little bigger than a traditional baby quilt might be, but still very cute for a little girl. We decided to finish it for the baby knowing she would be able to use it for many years as she grew. I made a label and we got the back together... sandwiched it... and then he quilted it and added the binding. It turned out so cute!

This co-worker has 2 other girls... 3 and 10. We thought "We need to make quilts for those girls too!" So we pulled out a very pink and girlie disappearing nine-patch top I had made and another bright top he had made. The disappearing nine-patch went to the 3 year old who we later learned adores the color pink!

And the oldest of the 3 got the bright scrappy 4 patch with yellow border.

They all turned

out cute and will hopefully bless these 3 special girls for years to

come!

Whole Lot of Quilting Going On...

Last weekend DH (who also quilts) and I pulled out all the completed tops that were waiting patiently to be quilted. We made a nice list with each quilt top on it... the size...recipient or purpose... and then noted if we had batting, backing, label... it is so nice to be organized! There is now a list on the side of my blog of pre-2009 tops ready to be quilted (including 2 we made this past week!) This will be a year of tying up loose ends.. getting these tops quilted and to their rightful owners. It will also be a year full of quilting! There is a wonderful local charity that God has knit my heart to called Buried Treasures (the link is down below all the lists on this page). The plan is to make a slew of quilts (12 - 15) for them by next Christmas. 2 of our pre-2009 tops will go in the pile and one of the 2 tops made this past week is for them. I am excited about this project. Quilting is fun, but it is so much better for me when I am giving them to others and I love that God has shown me how to use this as a ministry.



So about those 2 quilt tops pieced at the tail end of 2008... DH has been off work since Dec 22 (vacation time) and I have been swamped! I do finances for a small church part-time, but the end of the year is my craziest and busiest time. Add to that our kids went off with the church youth group to the Mountains of TN this week and DH has had a lot of alone time. He has wasted none of it! He grabbed scraps and created a scrappy version of a Chinese Coin quilt.. he calls it Bear Coins because of the novelty fabric he used for the border.





This picture doesn't do it justice, but there will be another pix soon. We sandwiched this one yesterday and he has already started quilting it! I bet he has it totally finished by tomorrow.. binding and all!
























I also tossed together a top at year's end... a baby quilt. A friend's dd is expecting her first child.. a little girl, Allison, due in January. I have been wanting to try the Disappearing Nine Patch (http://quiltsatcs.blogspot.com/2007/04/disappearing-9-patch-tutorial.html) and this seemed the perfect project for it. I am pleased with the results. I need to get some backing fabric and once Baby Allison arrives I will make up a label and get it quilted and on its way.


We also sandwiched one of our pre-2009 tops yesterday. My Mile-a-Minute top (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBq7eJCcz4yt2-r8qdGr2kkyGhc7iYBgwn8zKJAL-GpamT53voC1zgYXVzAxlt1Z-6IrGi9cEXsNqWlUuoGlydLYiUXu6qx9ToNcUQkhPHxzd83cwmUYjZz-fjkNZGfKKYJVuyYqpfXYis/s1600-h/mile+a+minute+top.jpg) I loved making this and thought I would keep it for me. But I have decided someone else will love it more.. so it will be going in with the Buried Treasures quilts. I will start quilting on it today. I am NOT as quick as DH, so it will be a while before I am done.


We have a rule for 2009... at least until we are caught up with the unquilted tops... for each new top you make, you have to finish a quilt before you can start a new one! We will see how long that lasts! LOL!

Happy Quilty New Year! Consider using the talent and gift and love of quilting God has given you to touch another life.. other lives.. there are many quilt charities online.. and you can look around your own part of the world. There are charities like Buried Treasures.. and there are individuals.. a friend with cancer.. someone grieving.. someone lonely.. wrap them in a quilt of love!




"Belle"