Quilt for Cleo

Yay, I finally finished something! All that's left to do is a label and tying off thread ends. I was having a lot of trouble seeing black thread on black binding that was going on a black print border while I was sewing. I made this quilt for a person named Cleo who did a lot of carpentry work for us last summer. She did a good job and didn't charge a huge amount, so this is a thank you gift for her. There is no pattern for this, I made up the block layout myself.

When I quilted it, I stitched in the ditch beside the squares, then free motion quilted little feathers and swirls in the big edge triangles. This is what the quilting looks like from the back.

I'm beginning to think my I-Phone takes better pictures than the Canon Power shot, the colours come out truer.

"Film at Five" Quilt Top

I just finished this "Film at Five" quilt top. The pattern is from the "Wedding Dress Blue" blog. She has great tutorials on there. I started this quilt top last spring, but it was set aside while I worked on other projects. I thought I better dig out the pieces and make it into a top to hang out with the rest of them in the closet. (See the previous post about this matter) That'll still add up to nineteen of them because I took one out to quilt at our next guild retreat. I'm going to get that one finished, then donate it as a comfort quilt.

Nineteen Quilt Tops and Counting.

There was a bit of a disaster at my place several days ago. The hot water tank, which is located in the spare bedroom closet, started leaking from the bottom. I use that room for a sewing area, so there were boxes of fabric and quilt tops stored in that closet. I had to haul everything out and sort out what was wet and what wasn't. I'm not an organized person, so it takes a crisis to get me in motion! I rounded up all the quilt tops and put them on hangers- all nineteen of them. That isn't all the UFOs, there are many items that are half quilted, stacks of quilt blocks and WIPs (works in progress) Anyway, there is a great clean up happening in that room. Maybe a water leak is a blessing in disguise.

Christmas Tablecloth

I made this Christmas tablecloth in 1996 for some dear friends. Since then, they have both passed away and I ended up getting the tablecloth back. I don't think they ever used it because it still looked brand new. Now I put it on my table every year and wash it if it gets slopped on. If it wears out, I'll make another one, I've got so much Christmas fabric, it needs to get used up somehow. It has no batting and has flannel on the back. I used the pillowcase method for finishing the edges.

Nativity Scene by Linda H

Linda made this little paper pieced nativity scene. She has a lot more patience than I have, I'm allergic to paper piecing!

14 Completed Items for 2014

I have now completed 14 items for the year 2014. I made 5 of these gift bags, each one take quite a bit of work. Sure, they may not be large projects, but they are finished items. I've been so busy for the past several months, there hasn't been much time to sew. Hopefully, 2015 will be a more productive year! I'm not going to make a goal of finishing 15 items in 2015, I'll just try to finish as many things possible. :)

"Carol's Quilt" by Linda H.

Linda H. made this quilt for her friend, Carol. I really like the feature print in the blocks, Linda said she used every bit of it. Nice to use up a chunk of fabric from the stash- gives a good excuse to go shopping for more fabric!