A Few Small Finishes

Despite how badly I wanted to begin something new, I restrained myself and instead made progress on finishing some of the items on that pesky UFO/PHD list I made a few weeks back. The struggle was real, I tell you, however the reward was satisfying - I checked several UFOs off my list.

One of the most satisfying finishes was a table topper-sized quilt made with the panel gifted to me from Sharon. While she was here sewing last week, I pulled out some potential fabrics to pair with the panels. We explored lots of possibilities. While that floral one (above) looks great, the flowers in the panel blocks are lost, so with Sharon's helpful input, I opted for the pink Aboriginal Dots.

Doing a small project like this takes no time at all. In 30 minutes, I had these 16 blocks stitched up and pressed. The time-consuming part was deciding on which fabric to use and cutting the panels accurately. 

Sharon suggests I add a border, and since I have more of the pink, I probably will. I mean, gee whiz, use the fabric! I certainly have no need to conserve here!

Two more fast finishes involved clothes for granddaughter Cate. In order to finish the bloomers for this green and white striped outfit, I needed elastic. I did it, and yesterday, she actually tried them on - but I failed to follow the Grandma game rules - I did not take a picture! It fits, though, and she looked darling in it.

The other Cate finish was the little yellow sweater that needed ribbons replaced. Again, I have no pictures. (arrgghh!) The sweater was one that Erin wore when she was a baby, homemade by a family friend. I'd saved it for giving to a grandchild, and now it's Cate's. I will take some pics the next opportunity I have.

To make up for the lack of photo evidence of Cate's projects, let's just look at the little darling herself. What a happy child she is! She now sits up well enough to take baths in the big tub, and from all accounts she loves tubby time.

Have a great week!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Helen and Her Penguins

Last time the Frankfort Girls were here, Helen asked if anyone would be willing to quilt a small panel wall hanging for her. I said I'd do it.

Helen has a thing for penguins. I've seen quite an assortment of figurines at her house, and I know of at least one previous quilt made with penguins on it. 

Working on this gave me an opportunity to practice the meandering stitches I'm trying to perfect. And I wasn't investing tons of time on a large quilt. Worked out quite well for both of us, actually.

Helen says she will trim it up when she gets it back. It's a sweet little panel - 4 babies marching behind their mama. Fun and playful.

Here's a link to Helen's earlier penguin quilt; scroll down about half way.

Hope you are having an awesome day!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Quick Christmas Finish

Maybe a quick finish will be just the thing for me to get back in my groove. This sweet Christmas throw quilt top was the fastest finish I have had in a long, long time. Feels really good to share this already.

Honestly, I need to do more projects like this with large pieces, little (if any!) piecing, and satisfying results. I had only about 5 hours of total cutting/sewing time in this quilt, and it turned out great.

Back on November 9, when we had Frienzies' sewing with Sherrie, Frienzie Kay had two of these Christmas panels and gave me her extra. I didn't hesitate in accepting it! Seeing what she was doing with hers, I knew I would like a similar quilt for myself.

I didn't have a chance to do anything soon, though, because we heard the devastating news about Kevin's dad. But, while we were in Coshocton, I did take the opportunity to buy my fabrics while taking a walk one morning. I shared that stack of fabric in the last post.

I was too lazy to get correct names on all my fabrics, though, so let's dispense with that here. The panel and the red accent fabric are both from the Holiday Wish collection by Jan Shade Beach/Henry Glass. My silver dots is from Vintage Holiday by Bonnie and Camille/Moda. The green accent fabric is by Hoffman. The cardinal print (not shown in photo above) is from a line called Winter White by Lynnea Washburn/Robert Kaufman. (Clarification: the wreaths in this photo are on the edges of the panel piece; I have saved them for some future project.)

Last night, I decided to just get started. I mean, why wait? It promised to be a quick finish, so do it!

My original thought was to use just the 6 panels, but as I sewed the borders on them, I had a change of mind. I don't really have a wall for a wall hanging, and as a throw, the 6 panels wouldn't offer too much coverage. I knew I'd bought extra of the border print (the cardinal fabric), so I cut 3 additional panels of birds, bordered them, and planned a square quilt.

Once I had the panels bordered and the order of the designs set, I added the silver dot fabric for sashing strips.

The step above is where I stopped last night. The long horizontal sashing was my first task for today, and the inner and outer borders. See what I mean about being a really fast finish?!

The picture above is of the center of the quilt, the 2-inch strips of silver dots served as both sashing and inner border.

And my border print of cardinals completes this fun and fast Christmas quilt. Since I bought plenty of this, I made the outer border as wide as my ruler - 8.5 inches. I figured the more cardinals the better. Folks in our family have always been partial to cardinals, especially my late grandmother. This feature makes my Christmas quilt all the more special. The size comes to 63 inches square.

So, now I need to get busy with the quilting and have this ready for the holidays which are just around the corner. I hope I can be as fast on this next step as I was on the first.

Happy Quilting, Friends!