At Last, A Finish

I surely must be one of the slowest quilters ever. I can take a seemingly easy-peasy pattern, and turn it into a month-long journey. I do believe that I find the thrill of the start to be the most fun and exciting part of the quilting process. It's staying with it to the finish that finds me slowing down.

This particular quilt was begun on February 2 of this year. Over a month on this easy quilt?? Honestly. Click here to read that first blog post about this project.

Regardless, I am pleased to be able to share a finish with you today. The kit from Bits N' Pieces made with Le Petite Ecole fabric by French General is now complete. At least, the part that the kit provided. I need to decide whether or not I will add borders, and if so, what I will use for said borders.

If you recall, I began this quilt only to discover an error in the directions. Since I'd had the kit for at least a couple of years, I was skeptical that I'd get anywhere with rectifying the situation. I was pleasantly surprised, then, when the folks at  Bits N' Pieces were absolutely helpful and gracious in solving my dilemma.

There she is! Fresh off the sewing machine and newly pressed. I tried not to be overly OCD about block placement; it is random in the fabrics used in each block and so I wanted to be random in the placement of blocks.

It nicely covers the top of our queen-sized bed. Borders would be nice, but not necessary. I have put it on a hanger in the closet while I think about it.

So, what's next? I could cut out the Kaffe quilt that Erin wants me to make. I also have that red, black and white Thimbleberries quilt to finish. That is yet another quilt that was going strong before the room switch and before the Christmas chaos. I need to get that back out and finish it.

Yes, I think that is what I will work on next.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

A Finish for Sharon!

An 8-year UFO, or thereabouts, has been completed! Work on the Tumbling Blocks king size quilt top has finally ended. Sharon even put the borders on! This is one incredible quilt. The size as well as the pattern make it truly unique.

 

It is HUGE! Even for a king size quilt, it is huge. This big guy measures out at 104" x 144". I think that is long enough for 2 beds! It weighs a ton, too. It has left us both wondering if the store clerk calculated something wrong, you know?

In this picture, it is folded in 4ths, length-wise, and we have to take it down the hallway in order to have enough space to lay it out flat. (It's wrong side out, by the way.)

Why would a quilt need to be so big? This is definitely puzzling me.

Well, whatever, the entire quilt top is pieced and the borders are attached. I don't know what plans are being made for having it quilted.

The quilt was originally Amanda's project - Sharon's daughter. But she is so busy with her job and raising her family, that Sharon took on the task of getting it finished. 

While Sharon was over on Monday, we also took a look at the backing fabrics she bought at the recent sale at Ben Franklin. These are totally scrumptious!

These 7 fabrics will be wonderful backs. I believe Sharon has tops made for all of these, with the exception of the deep green floral in the first picture. This fabric was just too appealing to pass on, so Sharon grabbed it up. She did quite well with her shopping, as this was a Super Bowl Sunday sale, and fabrics were 30% off. Nice, huh??!!

I continue to work on my Le Petite Ecole kit from Bits 'N Pieces. It is fun to work on, but I just seem to be so busy, my time for sewing is limited. I hope to correct that over the next few days, if I can.

I have 22 blocks completed, and have about that many more in the queue.

 The work is ready for me, whenever I find the time!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Sewing Times Two!

I had the pleasure of sewing twice this week with friends. On Tuesday, Terry came over for some stitching and visiting. She worked on some blocks for her Farmer's Wife quilt. She has quite a few of these blocks finished - over 80, as I recall. This makes me want to get back to working on mine. I don't even have it on the to-do list for 2013. Sad.

Then on Wednesday, Sharon came for our weekly sewing. She was very excited to get the final two quarter-sections finished and attached, making a half.

This is the bottom part of the half that Sharon completed. Below is the other part. It is a l-o-n-g quilt! It is king-size, obviously. It will weigh a ton!

 

I have been working on the kit from Bits 'N Pieces using the Le Petite Ecole fabric from French General. It goes together very fast, and I am eager to keep working on it.

And, finally, I can show you Flynn's baby quilt. I have the binding attached and have been turning it today. I should be able to have it done sometime tomorrow. I would have finished it today, but I got so drowsy while I was working on it that I had to change activities to shake those drowsies.

DH and I went to the funeral home this evening for Alexis. What a crowd! I knew that she and her parents had touched many lives, but I was really surprised by the length of the line of well-wishers for the calling hours. Tomorrow is the funeral; it too, will be a full house. For being just 22 years old, this young woman impacted the lives of so many people. I am so blessed to have known her. And I really wish that someone would cure cancer. It has taken the life of too many people, both young and old.


Happy Quilting, Friends!