Monster Log Cabin is Finished!

And it feels so good to have this checked off of my list!

There was a time when I was so tempted to just trash this quilt.

I was so frustrated with how the blocks weren't laying right

and knew it would be a bear to quilt.

Finally, I put my big girl pants on and got the top together,

decided I wasn't crazy enough to try to quilt it myself

and sent it off to the quilter.

Now it is finished.

And I am thrilled with the finish.

This quilt is so large (112" square!!), I can't get a good photo of it. 

I don't have a king size bed, so I can't take one with it on a bed.

It took quite a while to stitch the binding in place,

but this is one of my favorite parts of quilting,

so I didn't mind.

 

I don't know how many different fabrics there are in this quilt,

but there are a lot!

Now it can be delivered to my sister.

I love you, Deeda!

Borders on the Sealife Quilt

Things have been busy around here,

so not much has happened in my Hidey Hole.

We traveled to California to visit with my 

younger daughter and her husband for a few days last week

and had a wonderful time.

They took us to Lake Tahoe for the day

and it was gorgeous!

The water was way too cold for this Virginian,

but it sparkled and shimmered and was beautiful to look at.

I have done a little sewing and managed to get the borders sewn

onto the latest sealife quilt.

The same fabric in the big blocks was used for the outer border.

It looks like the fish are swimming under the sashing and narrow border. 

 

I need to give this another good press and it will be ready to baste.

Quilting ideas have not come to me yet.

 

There is a lot of this sealife fabric left.

I'm trying to decide if I'll use it for the backing

or if I'll make another quilt with it.

 

Once finished,

this will be given to a dear friend.

Happy Quilting!

Challah Cover

A good friend of my daughters' is getting married next month.

My usual gift of a Christmas tree skirt would not be appropriate

as this friend is Jewish.

I found a pattern for a Challah cover and decided this would make a nice gift.

My daughter asked that I make it in the wedding colors and I set to work.

The pattern had more flowers around the letters,

but I liked this simpler look.

 

I started to hand applique the design,

but realized it would take a while.

I machine appliqued it instead and am

very happy with the results.

 

The back looks so cool!

I'm going to take this to my daughter this weekend

and she will deliver it to the bride.

Happy Quilting!

Monster Log Cabin Quilt

A year ago this month I started making the blocks

for a log cabin quilt for my sister.

I had decided to destash my reproduction fabrics

because they just aren't my thing and I had a lot of them!

I began cutting them into 1 1/2" strips to make this quilt.

The blocks were made and the top was pieced

and then it sat....

and sat and sat.

Finally, in May I sent it off to be quilted.

I had considered quilting it myself on my sewing machine

and then reality set in, thank goodness!

If I had tried to quilt this monster quilt myself,

I would have ended up bald, with two bad shoulders,

having to repent for language used

and with a smashed up sewing machine.

Instead, I have this....

This quilt is HUGE!!!

It's a ginormous king.

I'm not actually sure of the size at this point,

but it will definitely be large enough

for my sister's king bed.

 

She loves these colors and fabrics

and is excited to get it.

I told her I might have it done by October!

 

It has been trimmed and the binding is being stitched

to the back now.

This is going to take a while!

The quilter did a beautiful job. 

I just wanted something simple and she nailed it.

It will be wonderful to finish this quilt and remove

it from my list.

It will be at your house soon, Rhonda!

Happy Quilting!

More Quilt Camp

Five of us went to "Quilt Camp"

in Angola on the Lake, NY

last week and went through lots of thread,

lots of fabric, lots of unsewing

and lots of chatting.

It's always fun to see what everyone is working on

and the projects are usually very different.

In my last post I showed the first project I completed,

along with my sister in laws big project. 

One of the ladies loves scrappy quilts.

This year she was working on this paper pieced web

and it is gorgeous.

Her scraps are wonderful and I love the background fabric she's using.

 

She wanted to do something different along the edges without adding

a border, so she drafted pieces to complete the webs along

the edges.  They look great and really give the quilt a finished look.

 One of the other ladies worked on a kit she had and made this

quilt for her uncle.  We all wanted to bring this one home with us.

My sister in law brought some blocks she had made and needed to add

the sashing and corner stones to make the top.  I like this one a lot, too!

 After I finished the tie stockings,

I worked on a quilt for a friend of mine.

I've had this fabric for a while that has a large design to it.

If I cut it up into small pieces, the design would be lost.

A month or so ago I found this pattern that is for a mystery block quilt

from Moda Bake Shop

and knew it would be perfect for this fabric I had.

Here are three of the four rows of blocks I needed to make for the quilt design.

I cut the sea fabric and the sashing strips

and put them all together into the quilt top.

The outer sashing strips and border strips need to be added.

This design really shows off the fabric with the sea life.

(There's a theme in my Hidey Hole this summer!

This is the third quilt I've made with sea life fabric.)

The fifth quilter was doing a lot of hand work and I didn't get any photos

of what she was working on while there.

It was a very productive week!

I'm linking to Design Wall Monday and Monday Making today.

Happy Quilting!

Quilt Camp!

For the past three years in July

I have taken a trip to upstate New York to go to 

Quilt Camp 

with my sister in law and three other women.

I didn't know the other women before the first year,

but have gotten to know them and really enjoy being with them

for several days in the summer.

We rent a tiny house a block from Lake Erie in

Angola on the Lake, NY

and sew, chat, sew, chat and eat.

The house is set up for quilt retreats.

It can only hold six quilters,

each having a small amount of space around

a ping pong table,

a twin bed in one of three bedrooms,

and all the food you care to bring or order.

The ping pong table is in what would be the living room,

which also has an ironing station and a cutting table.

My sewing machine is at the end on my SewEzi table.

By the end of our time there, 

the floor is covered in thread,

the waste baskets are filled with scraps

and many blocks have been created.

The first project I worked on this year

was the Christmas stockings made from my friends neck ties.

When I finished a stocking,

it was hung on the window behind my chair.

We were upset that Santa never came once they were all finished!

:D

This stocking I had made a few months ago.

 

These three were all made at quilt camp.

I like that I was able to fussy cut the tie with the

children so that their faces were on the strips.
They are ready for delivery next month when we
see our dear friend.

My sister in law took my wedding gift idea

and made a Christmas tree skirt for a friend's wedding in August.

The fabrics she chose look so good in this design.

This was her first attempt at Y seams and she did a great job!

I will be borrowing this pattern from her at some point.

It's a beauty!

When this tree skirt was hanging on the design wall

and my stockings were on the windows,

it looked quite festive in the room!

And Santa Still didn't come!

I will share more creations from quilt camp soon.

Happy Quilting!

Happy Birthday America!

May we all remember the sacrifices that have been 

made to give us our freedom and liberty

in this great country.

I am especially appreciative of this after my trip

to China in May.

Happy 4th of July!!

(Image found here.)

 

I Want To Swim...

...in the deep blue Sea.

Well, actually I don't because of the recent

shark attacks on the east coast,

but seeing this fabric and finished quilt top

makes me want to see all of the beautiful sea life

that lives in the oceans.

This fabric is "Calypso" and is a digital print.

The photos really capture the true colors of these fabrics.

I'd love to have wallpaper like this

and would just sit and gaze at it all day.

Just look at the whale, the fish, the seahorse, the turtle and the grasses and coral.

This top was created thanks to a counting 

(or comprehending!) error I made making this quilt.

I am so glad I made that error!

This quilt may have to live with me for a while.

Happy Quilting!