May Flowers

I truly find it hard to believe that it's already MAY!  I guess the saying is true that time flies when you're having fun!  This month I want to share a series, or actually just a bunch, of simple but beautiful quilts that I finished recently.  Some are community service, some for baby showers, and one pair was for my kiddo.  Then, I have a special surprise at the end!  Here we go...

My son, who will be a whopping 15 years old next month, has two twin beds in his room.  For several years now, they've had some comforters I purchased for him that were really more appropriate when he was younger.  I saw a space-related panel from Kaufman at Linda's Electric Quilters, showed it to my son, and SOLD... he requested two of them for his beds.  He also picked out the backing, thread color, and quilting pattern.  The quilting pattern is called Orbit e2e, from Wildflower Quilting.  They turned out so perfect for him and his room.

Overall view of one of the quilts.

Here, you can see the backing fabric that he picked.

Shot of the twin quilts on his beds.

Next up, a series of baby quilts that I quilted for a couple of friends.  The first two are cute, baby colors, and fairly standard quilt patterns... one a rail fence with sashings, and the other is four-patches on point, with sashings.  I used Tidepool E2E from Wasatch Quilting on the rail fence, and abc dotted font pano 001  from Sweet Dreams Quilt Studio on the four-patches.  Both turned out super cute!  The third one pictured below consists of flying geese in multiple sizes.  This is my learning moment to share this month.  We had settled on using Anita Shackelford's Modern Curves pattern, but the quilter didn't want it to go straight up and down or side to side.  I thought, "No problem!  I'll just set it at an angle and quilt it that way.  Easy peasy."  HAHAHA!  It wasn't quite as easy as I had pictured in my mind.  Setting the pattern at an angle caused me all sorts of extra work, where the pattern lines didn't make it all the way across in the quilting space, so I had to do a lot of rolling and matching.  It did come out beautifully in the end, and she loved it!

Rail fence overall view.

Rail fence closeup.

Back of rail fence.

Overall view of four-patches.

Closeup of four-patches.

Back of four-patches.  Cute fabric!

Overall view of flying geese.

Closeup of flying geese.

Back of flying geese.  Puppy paws!

Now I just want to share some community service quilts that I quilted for a friend.  A rail fence and two with simple squares sewn together (one with a heart worked in).  On one of the squares, I made sure to use 80/20 batting, because the fabrics were homespuns, which tend to be very fluid when being quilted.  80/20 batting tends to be a little more "grabby" with the quilting fabric, which helped a lot to keep everything straight and square.  And I love the backing on that quilt... a really nice cheater print with lots of motion to it.  The quilting patterns I used, respectively, are gdaisyfaste2e from Stitch Happy, Orbit e2e again (same as above), and swirling hearts pano 002 from Sweet Dreams Quilt Studio.  A few lucky folks will be receiving some lovely quilts!

Rail fence overall view.

Rail fence closeup.

View of back of rail fence.

Overall view of homespun blocks.

Closeup of homespun blocks.

Back of homespun blocks.  Cute cheater print!

Overall view of heart blocks.

Closeup of heart blocks.

Shot of the back of the heart blocks.

Last set of photos for this month, and they're worth the wait!  A fabulous quilter sent us some photos of a miniaturized Halo Medallion Quilt that she made!  It's approximately half size from the original quilt, at 41-inches square.  The quilter's name is Betty Chouinard, from New Hampshire, and her quilter is Flo Verge from Vermont.  All I can say is, "WOW!"  The fabric selection is gorgeous, the work is beautiful, and the quilting is outstanding.  Betty named the quilt Hallelujah, and it won three ribbons at the Amoskeag Quilters' Guild show recently: Overall Viewer's Choice, Viewer's Choice Special Category, and Vendor's Choice.  She plans to enter it in more shows coming up.  Good luck, Betty!  It's a beautiful quilt!

Overall view of Hallelujah.

Closeup view of Hallelujah.

Second closeup view of Hallelujah.

I hope y'all enjoyed these quilts that I've shared this month.  See you soon.

Keep on quilting!

Jenny

Love is in the Air

February is the month of love! And there are so many things to love... family, friends, pets, the world... and QUILTS! I realized that I still have more catching up to do since I didn't post much of anything for awhile there. So, first up is my proudest accomplishment, Lone Star for Mom! Way back in June of 2018, I wrote about a border quilt that I had started making in early 2016 during a class Mom and I took together at a local quilt shop. Well, I finally finished that quilt last year, quilting and all! I am completely in love with it. I requested a set of quilting patterns from Sweet Dreams Quilt Studio, and they definitely provided. The only patterns I changed out are the curved crosshatching ones around the center lone star, which I got from House of Creations. I learned several things in the quilting of this quilt. First, I learned exactly how much easier it is to use point-to-point patterns instead of ones that are individually placed on the quilt. Second, I learned that it's okay to use thread that doesn't match every fabric that it touches, especially when the pattern covers multiple fabrics. LOL! Lastly, I definitely learned where my limit is when it comes to heavy quilting!!!

Close up of Lone Star for Mom, still on the machine.

Overall view of Lone Star for Mom

Back of Lone Star for Mom

Next, oh my goodness, I forgot to mention in my last post that I finished the update of the Yuletide Joy quilt pattern, and it's out on the website!  This is the winter/Christmas version of Mom's seasonal "Joy" quilt patterns.  It's a cutie!

Original Yuletide Joy quilt.

I also quilted a couple of custom jobs for my friend, Becky.  The first is a semi-custom, where I did custom work on the center applique block, and then a nice Baptist fan over the rest of the quilt.  Super cute and I love how it turned out!  The second quilt I did for her is totally custom.  She made a cheddar version of Afternoon Delight and asked me to quilt it as close to how Mom quilted the original as possible.  Success!  Best of all... this quilt won Best in Show at 2021 Piecemakers' Quilt Guild of Corsicana show!  Becky does a wonderful job making quilts, and I know Mom would have loved the cheddar.  I must be getting pretty good at this quilting thing.  LOL!

Overall photo of Becky's applique sampler quilt.

Closeup of center applique block.

Shot of the back of the applique sampler quilt.

Overall photo of Becky's cheddar Afternoon Delight.

Closeup of some of the blocks.

Overall photo of the back of the Afternoon Delight quilt.

Next up, a couple of smaller projects that I completed toward the end of last year.  Both are products of the Skill Builders club at Methodist Hill Quilt Studio.  As a member of the club, each month I receive a set of quilting patterns, instructions for using them for various products, instructions for piecing a simple top (if necessary that month), and video instructions that give helpful hints and tips.  Every time I complete a project I learn a ton of information about using my longarm!  The poinsettia is a Hoffman panel.  I made two red and two white, and gave three away as Christmas presents.  Oh!  And, I added crystals to all of them... my first venture into blinging a quilt!  Note that I used different patterns on the leaves behind the flower... both were included in the set.  My lesson learned from these?  With the red ones, I double batted, which gave me a lot of grief in trying to get them to lay flat.  I think I'm settled on sticking with single batting from here on out!

Red poinsettia panel quilt.

White poinsettia panel quilt.

The pillows are my own version of the very first Skill Builder, which was to make Let It Snow pillows.  At my office, which I have not really been to in almost two years now (!!!), some remodeling was recently done and a new collaboration area was added at the end of my floor.  A friend asked if I could make some pillows for the area, with our organization's logo on them.  Yes!  Of course I can!  I traced the logo in the quilting software and then applied the lessons I learned from that original Skill Builder.  They turned out perfectly!

OP, for the Office of Procurement, hot off the longarm.

Both pillows testing out their new home in the office.

Last quilt to share for this month isn't one I made or one I quilted.  I haven't shared a quilter's quilt in awhile, and this one just took my breath away!  Linda Jahraus created her version of The Angel Quilt, and thoroughly modernized it!  She used some beautiful, bright colors and fabrics, and changed parts of the pattern to really make it her own.  And the quilting, done by Beth Cardozo of Willow's Charm Quilting Studio, is absolutely perfect.  I love it, and I know Mom would have also!

Linda's version of The Angel Quilt.

I have just one more picture to leave you with.  I don't think I've said it before, but anytime we have a bee at my house and a quilt gets laid out on the floor, Mr. Wiggles, our little Pug fur baby, sits his butt right in the middle of said quilt.  He did exactly that when I laid out Lone Star for Mom to take photos.  The picture reminded me of the cover photo for the first season of Handmaid's Tale, and I just giggle every time I look at it.  Have a giggle from me!

Keep on quilting!

Jenny

Welcome to 2022!

It's hard to believe that it's 2022.  We're going on two years of the COVID pandemic, and all of the things that go along with that (quarantines, masks, canceled events, etc.).  It's just days away from the world missing Mom for five years.  And, EEK... I turn fifty this year!  Even with all of the craziness out there, I'm feeling very optimistic about this year.  I've planned some family vacations for later this year.  I'm feeling very productive in my life, in general.  And, I've made a list of quilts that I plan to finish up this year!!!

Now, what to write about?  I've got a dozen or so photos to finish catching up.  Be prepared... it may feel kind of eclectic, and some of these are a little older.  I just want to make sure I share everything that I planned on sharing before I move on to my recent stuff.

First in line is a wholecloth medallion quilt that I made for my sister.  I fell in love with the sparkly fabric at the Southern Belle longarm retreat that I go to every fall.  And, I fell in love with the quilting pattern set from Joyce Lundrigan at Methodist Hill Quilt Studio for her All in One club set, Mandala Dreams.  This was the outcome!  And, I have the fabric to make a second one for myself... I just need to remember where I put the fabric.  LOL!

My version of the Mandala Dreams All in One quilt.

Next, I have a couple of Skill Builder club quilts, also from Methodist Hill.  If you aren't aware, this is a monthly club that comes with instructions for a fairly quick-to-make quilt top or project, along with quilting patterns and videos with helpful hints and instructions.  I try to keep up with the monthly skill builders because I learn so much every time I do one, but I just don't have the time.  Maybe one day, when I'm retired!  The first photo is the June 2019 Star Spangled Banner project.  I made it pretty much exactly like the sample and I love it!  The second photo is the October 2019 Seasonal Minis project, where I learned how to do applique on my Statler, and how to make decorative stitches.  I did a Christmas ornament mini, which I put out every year during the holidays.  The only negative to this one, which isn't really that negative... the red fabric bled through my white ornament.  In my head, I just tell myself that it looks like I did it on purpose.  Ha!

My Star Spangled Banner

My mini ornament, with the "purposeful" red bleeding on the white.

A couple of years ago, my friend, Sheila, and I made this super adorable dachshund quilt for our friend, Mikella, for her birthday. It turned out so cute!  I used a quilting pattern with pawprints and bones that pulled together the pooch theme.  Mikella loves dachshunds, and I think she loved this quilt, especially the cuddle backing fabric!

Overall view of Mikella's dachshund quilt.

Closeup view of the dachshund quilt.

Closeup of the back of the dachshund quilt.

Sometime over the last two years, I took a virtual workshop class through my guild.  It was Accordion Sewn HSTs - The Carpenter's Apprentice, taught by Beth Helfter of EvaPaige Quilt Designs.  She taught us a very unique and innovative was of making half square triangles that come out perfectly and have almost no waste fabric.  Incredible!  The photos show both the accordion before I've cut the HSTs apart, and the finished (not yet quilted) Carpenter's Apprentice... another one on my list to complete this year.

From top to bottom, fabric laid out to be sewn, a completed accordion, a star made from HSTs that have been cut apart from their accordion.

The completed Carpenter's Apprentice top.

Lastly, I have a set of projects that I purchased at the 2019 Houston International Quilt Festival.  First, I fell in love with the cute patterns and embellishment kits at Happy Hollow Designs.  I admit that I purchased easy piecing grid fabric from TenSisters Handicraft, rather than from Happy Hollow.  Why, I have no idea.  In any case, the patterns are very scrappy because you just cut lots of little squares of the colors that you're using, iron them onto the grid fabric, and stitch away.  Everything comes out perfectly, with all corners meeting like a dream.  The pattern comes with the cute buttons and embellishments, that really make the project stand out.  I have another pattern waiting for me to complete... another on my list for this year.

My completed S'More Snowmen project.

I also fell in love with pretty much ALL of the mini quilt projects at Les Secrets de Marie, in her Just a Little Box packages.  The package was just so cute!  I wish I had taken a photo before I took them apart and made the mini quilts!  I did purchase two of the kits.  The only change I made was to use my own red fabric in the middles of the log cabin blocks.  She sells the frames that go along with the little quilts, too, if you want them.  I thought they were too cute to pass up.  And, my friend, Becky, made the little boxes that the kits came in, into pincushions for me.  Love!

My mini tumbler quilt in its cute frame.

My mini log cabin quilt in its cute frame.

The cutest little pincushions a girl could ever ask for!

That's all for now.  I hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday season, and rang in the new year with joy and with family.  I'm looking forward to a wonderful 2022!

Keep on quilting!

Jenny