A Whale Of A Quilt

I have been working on this baby quilt for a cute little guy at our church.  Unfortunately, with church being canceled until at least next month and the stay at home order, I can't get it to him.  He is the youngest of 4 boys and really still a newborn.  I've seen pictures of him but I can't wait to meet him in person.

Diana

Over The Moon Quilt

I have been working on this quilt for a while and am so glad to get it done.  It is larger than I usually make lap or baby quilts so I had to have it quilted on a long arm at my local quilt shop.  The pattern is cute and I used mostly 30's and 40's fabrics.

Dark and Moody

Today I finished a lovely lap quilt.  I started this one a number of months ago but had to put it aside while my mother was ill.  She passed about 4 weeks ago from Alzheimer.  It was a very difficult time for our family.  I finally felt like picking it back up again a few days ago and it really helped me feel creative again.  

 The fabric is kind of dark and moody but also very pretty.  I machine quilted it in an undulating wave pattern on my home machine.  

The floral, solid and text patterned fabric feels a little modern to me as does the color pallet. I am really loving the overall grey tone.

It is on the large size for a baby blanket.  More like a lap quilt.  So I am not really sure who I will gift it to yet......

Diana

Use What You Got Quilt

Three and a half years ago I made a window pane quilt which used up less than half of the fabric I had bought to make it.  That sad pile of leftover fabric has been waiting all this time to become something.  Here is how I finally decided to use up that material.

 Nothing complicated, just a quick project. 

 I even pieced the back so nothing went to waste.  Now I won't feel guilty about buying too much fabric.

On a different note, I tried a new machine quilting pattern.  Tons and tons of circles!  Took FOREVER but I like it now that it's done.

Diana

Postage Stamp Quilt

 Just finished another quilt.  Each square is 2 inches by 2 inches.  It was easier than it looks because I did strip piecing using jelly rolls!

The colors are so cheerful.

 The last picture is a little out of focus but it does give an idea of how many squares are in this quilt!

Diana

Baby Boy Quilt

Just finished a quilt for a newborn baby boy out in California.  This was an easy quilt to piece as you can see.  Went together very quickly.  I think the colors are pretty cool and neutral enough for the little guy.

 This was my first attempt at edge to edge machine quilting on my embroidery machine.  Because my biggest hoop is 5x7 it took a lot of time and 64 hoops to complete the quilting.  Love the finished look but it was soooo time consuming.

Glad to be finally finished with it and now off this quilt goes across the country to it's new owner!

Diana

Cool Cats Quilt

I found the cutest cat fabric on sale about a month ago and knew my oldest granddaughter would love it.  It is from Michael Miller's Cool Cat line in aqua.  I also added a bright pink fabric at my granddaughter's request.  She is very girly and a future Cat Lady........She even helped pick out the layout.

 I like how this line mixes pretty cats and nerdy cats and pin dots!

I had some left over material so I am making her some skater shorts pajamas.  

So if you are a little nerdy AND crazy about cats AND girly......this quilt is definitely for you!

Diana

Vintage Picnic Quilt

I made myself a quilt!  I know, I've made a lot of quilts that I have shared with you on this blog.  They are usually a gift for a new baby or sick friend.  I also make them for family members.  I guess I have made a few dozen over the last few years.  But I rarely make one for myself.....

 When I started this quilt I wondered who I would give it to.  I loved the fabric and colors sooo much.  Then it occurred to me that if I like it so much there was no reason why I couldn't keep it!  More specifically, I could use it in my vintage trailer as a lap quilt.  Yippee!

 I used fabric from Moda's line Vintage Picnic and a red gingham I had in my stash.  The backing is a red and white chevron fabric.

 Machine quilted it on my domestic machine using Westalee ruler foot and shell template.

I seriously loooove how easy it was to use and how smooth the quilting looks.  Might have to do a post on the ruler foot and templates.........

 Don't you just love giant ric rac?

Here is a pic of the backing.  This quilt is so cheerful!  I can't wait to take the trailer out this summer and cuddle with this quilt while reading a good book and eating chocolate.......mmmmm.

Diana

Another Baby Quilt Heading For China

Another of my husband's secretaries is expecting a baby!  And since this is his last trip to China (he is retiring early!!!!!) I needed to rush and make a baby quilt as quickly as possible.

 Nothing is faster than a strip quilt and it goes even quicker when you use a jelly roll to make it.  Even though it took a little more effort, I decided to round the corners and piece a section of the back.

 The muted palette of greens and browns looks so pretty and should work for a boy or girl.

I machine quilted it in simple swirls.  

The most time consuming part was figuring out why my thread kept breaking (dull needle) and hand sewing the binding.  I was about to lose my mind trying to resolve the thread issue.  Of course it is always something you should have thought of right away but somehow never do.  Thanks to my local quilt shop for giving me some support and not laughing at my duh moment! 

Hope Belinda and baby enjoy the gift!

Diana

Yellow And Black (and a whole lot of white) Quilt

This is seriously one of my favorite quilts I have ever made.  Not sure why, it certainly isn't the most difficult or the prettiest.  Maybe it is the colors and how graphic the fabric and quilt pattern is........

 Whatever the reason I just love it.

 It is lap size and I made it for my sister who is waiting for a lung transplant.  

I am hoping it helps to brighten her days every time she cuddles under it.

Diana

Pretty Sea Foam Green Quilt

I love the color combo on this quilt!  Made from a charm pack and solid moda yardage, it was fun to put together.

 But more importantly, the recipient of this sweet quilt is battling cancer.  She is going through her final rounds of chemo and we are optimistic that they will get it all.

I hope the bright cheerful colors and love sewn in will brighten her time recovering.

Diana

Tumbling Block Quilt

What do you do with a lot of charms left over from other projects?  Make a tumbling block quilt of course!

 I had a quite a few charms from several different lines of fabric.  I wasn't sure that they went together but when I paired them with a ton of white it all seemed to work out.  I think it looks rather modern and fresh.

 I machine quilted the white areas and stitched in the ditch around the charms.

 The fabric on the back is an overall floral print.

I used the same fabric to bind it with.  This quilt was made for one of my husband's assistant in China.  She was a great guide while we were there last month and I wanted to make her something that would show our gratitude.  Can't wait to hear if she likes it!

Diana 

Disappearing Four Patch Quilt

I finally finished the disappearing four patch I had been working on forever.  I used Ooh La La fabric from Moda.  I love how soft and muted the colors are.

I really stretched myself with this one.

  It measures 49 by 49 inches.

 The backing is from the same fabric line.

 I machined quilted the quilt using an abstract swirl for the printed fabric areas.....

 and tiny little pebbles for the white areas.

As much as I love this quilt it is going in our Etsy Shop!  I have had so many quilts sell lately I needed to restock......unlucky for me but lucky for one of you!

Diana

Jungle Tumbler Quilt

Talk about cheerful colors!  I used fabrics that had a jungle theme and were very bright.  This quilt will be wrapped around a precious baby boy that my little friend is due to have any day now.

I have never tried tumbling blocks before but was pleasantly surprised to find they went together very easily.  I cut a template out of thin cardboard and used it, along with a plastic ruler to cut out the blocks.  They sew together in horizontal rows.  Those rows' seams are then press in alternating directions, first row to the right, next to the left and so on.  This allows them to "sandwich" together when the rows are sewn.  You get such nice points that way!

  They hardest part was laying out the blocks!

 I machined quilted both sides of each seam.  The binding is hand sewn on.

The back is strip pieced with fabric I had left over from the blocks!  I really liked doing it that way.

Hope the little guy loves it as much as I do.

Diana