Gridster Migration Quilt

 I have mentioned before that I belong to an

on-line quilting bee called the Gridsters.

Each month one of us is the Queen bee and we

choose a block for the others to make for us.

This year I chose the Migration block,

which is a free pattern and tutorial at the link above.

I asked for bright and happy fabrics

and my bee mates came through.

 

My Migration quilt is finished and I LOVE it!!

 

 

 

 

 

There are so many different fabrics in this quilt.

I don't think there are any repeats except in

individual blocks.

 

 

 

 

 

Using the white or very light gray backgrounds help

the colors to pop.

 

 

 

 

I maybe should have added one more row to the width,

but I had cut the pieces for more blocks incorrectly

and was done.  :(

 

 

 

 

This backing and binding fabric was perfect for the colorful top.

 

 

Can you believe how pretty my clematis is right now?

It's never bloomed a second time like this.

I think it likes the cooler temperatures.

 

 

 

 

Happy Quilting! 

Chasing Dreams

 This quilt has been a long time in the making.

I bought the kit years ago in a quilt shop I visited on vacation.

I would pull it out to make,

look at the directions

and back into the cabinet it would go.

 

This went on for years!

Finally last year I told myself

"Go big or go home".

It's now or never.

 

I cut all of the pieces and took it to quilt camp with me

and finished the top shortly there after.

I was thrilled!!

 

Fast forward to this past week.

My longarm quilter, Jennifer, finished it

and I could not be happier with her quilting.

She did an unbelievable job on it.

 

It's bound and hanging in my foyer.

 

 

 

 This was well worth the wait of me getting my courage up to make it.

I need a challenge like this every once in a while and

am so happy when it turns out so well.

 

Happy Quilting! 

 

Acorns!

 A couple of weekends ago,

while visiting my littles and their parents,

we found a bunch of acorn caps while on a walk.

 

The littles go the biggest charge out of collecting them

and were super excited when anyone found a double!

 

I came home and started making the fabric pieces

and glued them to the caps.  

 

 

  

 

 

These go together so quickly and are so fun to make. 

 

 

These are two of the many doubles we found.

 

 

They have collected more caps for me and have even found

two triple caps! I've never seen a triple before now.

There will be more fabric acorn making in my future.

 

 

Happy Creating! 

 

Donation Quilts

 For the past year or so I've been making quilts

and donating them to a camp for children with cancer.

Recently, I heard about a group that donates quilts to

patients in the medical ICU at a local hospital...

people who will likely not make it out of the hospital.

 These three quilts I just finished will go to this group. 

 

 

 

 

 

These two quilts were made from the box of binding scraps that was over-flowing.

There are a lot of quilts represented here!

 

 

 

 

 

I have a larger quilt made from the scraps that I need to get quilted.

That one will be donated to the Veterans hospital.

 

This next quilt was made from 4 charm packs I had

picked up from somewhere.

 

 I just love all of the blues together.

This design is so striking and goes together easily.

 

 

Happy Quilting! 

Migration Across the Land

 I have mentioned before that I belong to an

online quilting bee with 12 quilters from around the country. 

Each month one of us is Queen Bee and we ask the other

Bee Mates to make blocks of our choosing.

 

My month was May this year.

I found this block using different size Flying Geese  

and knew this would be my block.

 

I asked for the geese to be made from bright, fun fabrics

with a black and white geese thrown in, too. 

I asked for the sky to be made with white on white or gray fabrics.

 

Boy, did my Bee Mates come through!

 

 

 

 

 

The variety of fabrics in this quilt is unbelievable.

There are a couple of repeats in individual blocks,

but, aside from the sky fabrics, I don't think

there are any other repeats.

 

 

 

 

 

I never would have made all of these geese with this

much variety.

 

 

 

 

And there are some super fun fussy cut geese, too!

 

 I had planned on making the quilt bigger and had cut the pieces

to make more blocks.

Then, as I was getting ready to assemble these blocks,

I realized I had cut the pieces to the finished size!

Needless to say, a few swear words may have been said.

I made one more block and called it finished.

It's a little narrower than I would like,

but it will make a good couch quilt.

 

 

The free pattern for this 16 1/2" block can be found here. 

 

The backing fabric has been ordered and then it will get quilted.

 

Being a part of this Bee is SEW much fun!!

 

Happy Quilting! 

Binding Scraps

 After binding a quilt, if there is any left-over binding 

I put it in a bin in one of my cabinets.

Well, this bin was overflowing.

I couldn't fit any more binding pieces in it and

pieces were on the shelf around the bin.

 

My plan was to use these scraps for scrappy binding,

but that rarely seemed to happen.

The other day I had an idea to use the binding scraps

to make a scrappy quilt.

 

Out came the bin and I started sewing strip sets.

Once they were all sewn and pressed,

I cut them into squares.

I have enough squares for one larger quilt

and two smaller quilts!

 

 

 

 

 

I cut my binding 2 1/4" wide, so these squares will be 8 3/4" square when finished.

This larger quilt will be donated to the group that delivers quilts to the

Veterans Hospital.

 

 

 

It shouldn't take long to sew these all together

and then quilt it.

 

Once this larger once is finished,

I'll make the two smaller ones

and donate those as well.

 

 

Happy Quilting! 

 

Provence and Orange Kiss

 Back in December,

my favorite aunt died.

She was my mom's sister and the 

last of her generation.

She was also a quilter.

 

In June, I went to Michigan for her

memorial service.

While I was there, her husband

asked me to go through her stash

and take whatever I wanted.

She didn't have a huge stash,

but had some beautiful fabrics.

 

One of the things she had was

blocks made from fabrics they had 

bought on a trip to France.

 I don't know what she had intended

with these blocks,

but I was able to sew them together into

this little quilt.

 

 

 

 

 

This little quilt is 33x40ish" and will go to my daughter.

She can use it as a table topper or a small wall hanging.

 

 This piece that I used for the backing also came from France. 

I was glad I was able to use most of it for the backing and binding.

 

 

In addition to finishing this little quilt,

I quilted and finished Orange Crush.

 

 

 

 

 

I posted earlier that these blocks were left-over from another quilt.

I had planned on one layout for the original quilt,

but changed my mind and ended up with 9 extra blocks.

 

 

 

 

While quilting this one, I practiced some ruler work.

Since the quilt was small, it wasn't too cumbersome

to move under the needle. 

 

 

This little quilt has already been donated.

 

Happy Quilting! 

Diamond Delights is Finishe!!

 After at least 10 years,

Diamond Delights is a finished quilt

and I could not be happier with it.

 

 After cutting all of the pieces for this quilt years ago,

I realized I had made a big mistake.

Into a box it went... banished for years.

 

Back in January I decided it needed to be finished

or thrown away.

I started piecing the blocks and loved how it was 

coming together.

 

 

 

 

 

Jennifer at Peaceful Hill Quilting

worked her magic with the long arm

and binding was sewn onto it last week.

 

 

 

 

These colors are so rich and vibrant and just seem to glow.

 

 

 

 

 

They are all Kaffe Fassett shot cottons and stripes,

making this quilt so soft.

I doubt many of these are still available today

since it lingered in the box for so long.

 

 

 

The backing is a Kaffe stripe, too.

 

The thing I learned from this process is unless one sees the pattern,

the mistake is not evident at all.

As several have said... I made it my own!

 

Happy Quilting! 

 

 

Plaidy Cake Quilt

 I needed to make a quilt for someone whose tastes

in fabrics are not like mine at all.

The pattern was decided upon,

the layer cakes were purchased and

background fabric was found.

 

The pattern in "Plaidy Cake" by Cluck Cluck Sew.

It's an easy pattern to make and I love the look.

The fabric line was "Old School" and the background fabric

is a gray/blue.

 

The cutting began.

The first couple of blocks were made and

I HATED them.

UGH!!

 

I decided to keep working and see what happened.

 

 

 

 

 

Thankfully, once all of the blocks were made and sewn together,

I don't hate the quilt.

It is not my taste at all, but I do think it looks kind of cool.

 

 

 

 

 

It has an industrial vibe to it, which is kind of fun. 

 

 

It took a while to get the layout where I wanted it

and it's now at my quilter's.

I forgot to take a photo of the backing I made.

There were a number of 10" squares leftover, 

so I pieced those into the backing along with some yardage.

 

Once it's back from the quilter's,

I'll get it bound and it will be ready for gifting.

 

Happy Quilting! 

Kadrian's Quilt

 One of my niece's had a baby back in May.

I had started his baby quilt,

but then lost my quilting mojo.

Thankfully, it returned and it's now a finished quilt.

We had a family reunion this past weekend

and I was able to deliver it to them then.

 

 

 

 

 

This pattern is "Shortie" by Barbara Persing

and was machine appliqued.

Unfortunately, right before I was leaving

I realized I hadn't taken a photo.

There wasn't time to press the wrinkles out of the top,

but I did get its photo.

 

 

 

 

 

These two giraffes are so cute and were fun

to put together. 

 

 

This little quilt should keep him warm for years to come.

 

 

Happy Quilting! 

Annual Patriotic Table Runner

 For years I have been making my siblings a

Patriotic table runner or topper and giving them

on July 4th.

 

This year I went back and forth about what design to use...

started one design and immediately knew it would take

waaayyy too long to make it, so went back to the

drawing board. 

 

Then, I saw this block on The Colorful Fabriholic's blog. 

Jan calls it Scrappy Serendipity. 

This block was fun to make and came together quickly.

I was able to get the four runners done and quilted in no time.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm very pleased with how these turned out.

 

 

 

 

This block may have to be used to make a Veteran's quilt

in the not too distant future.

 

 

 

 

There is something about red, white and blue quilts

that just touches my heart.

 

 

Happy Birthday, America!! 

 

Happy July!

 Boy, I have really fallen off the blogging wagon this year!

In addition, I have NOT been in a sewing mood for a couple of months,

but I think the mood has returned.

I'd like to think I'll get more regular about blogging,

but we shall see.

I do post more on IG these days and my handle is

@monasuequilts.

 

There have been a couple of finishes in my Hidey Hole.

This little quilt was made from left over

HST's that had been in a bag for years

just waiting to be used.

All of the fabrics came from my stash.

WOOHOO!!

 

 

 

 

 

This little quilt will be donated.

 

 

This next one isn't a favorite, but it will keep someone warm.

I love the Kaffe shell fabric,

but it was difficult to find fabrics to coordinate with it.

This is one of those 3 yard quilt patterns

and went together very quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

This, too, will be donated.

 

 

The last little quilt was made from left-over blocks

from a baby quilt I made a couple of months ago.

I had planned on using one lay out and decided to

put the blocks on point, so didn't use them all.

 

 

 

 

 

I just love this plaid fabric I found for the narrow border.

It will be used for the backing, too.

 

 

 This bright and happy quilt is waiting to be quilted and

will then be donated, too.

 

 

Happy Quilting! 

Finished Marlowe Quilt

 This baby quilt for Marlowe has been

finished and patiently waiting it's delivery.

I still need to wash it, which will be done today.

 

 

 

 

 

I ended up quilting this in a grid pattern.

Nothing else was coming to me and it needed

to be finished!

 

 

 

 

There are so many fun little fabrics in here.

It's like a mini I-spy quilt.

 

 Marlowe's mom is an artist,

so I thought this backing fabric was fun.

I had to add a bit to make it big enough

and like the green with it.

 

This will be delivered this weekend

and I'll get to meet little Marlowe!

 

 

Happy Quilting! 

Baby Quilt for Marlowe

 Last December my mom's last sibling died.

My aunt was a beautiful quilter and stitcher.

 A few months before she died,

she found out she was going to be a great-grandmother.

Unfortunately,  she had leukemia and knew it was unlikely

she would live to see this new one born.

 

Before she died, she asked if I would make the baby a quilt.

She was too sick to even begin one herself.

You know I said "Of course!".

 

This baby's mama is very artistic and loves color.

Out came my box of 2 1/2" squares,

which had gotten quite full,

and this quilt was made.

 

 

 

 

 

I was inspired by the quilt "Pixel Paths" and had fun

sewing the colorful squares together.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a bit of an I-spy quilt

with mushrooms, hearts, birds, Snoopy, strawberries, fish, etc.

spread throughout the quilt.

 

 

 

 

I am making the backing today and will get this quilted.

It will be delivered in June when we go to Michigan for

my aunt's memorial service.

 

I really miss her.

 

Happy Quilting!

 

You Are My Sunshine is Finished

 A friend from church is going to be a

grandmother for the first time any day now.

I am meeting her for lunch tomorrow

and wanted to get this quilt finished

to give to her when we meet.

 

"You Are My Sunshine"

 

 

 

 

 

I took the advice of those who commented on my last post

and set these "Twirl" blocks on point and did not add sashing.

 

 

 

 

 

I love the pinwheels formed by the HST's in the corners of the blocks.

 

 

 

 

 

All of the yellows and oranges sure make for a cheerful quilt.

 

My friend doesn't know if her grandbaby will be a boy or girl,

so I thought this would be a good quilt for either.

 

 

Happy Quilting!