H2H 2015 Commitment Completed

This year I committed to making 3 quilts for the H2H 2015 Challenge.  I am happy to say that last night at 10:45 I completed the third quilt.

Of the 3, this one is my favorite. So bright and cheery.

I wasn't sure I'd be finished with these in time since over the past 2 weeks I've flown back and forth to NJ twice. 2 weeks ago we went back for a memorial service for MJ's side of the family and while there signed off on the house we were selling. 

We got home for the holiday weekend and I quilted these last 2 quilts, only the bindings to go and a full week till the linky party.  Best laid plans.

Monday night I got a call that my dad's youngest sister had passed away. Wednesday I was back on a plane to NJ. It was a bitter sweet trip. With all of the sadness of her death and the beautiful funeral service ( she worked for NYPD for many years so there was an honor guard and bag pipes) came the up side of seeing cousins that sadly to say we are seeing more and more at funerals than family reunions.  I have 30 first cousins on this side of the family spread out over 7 states. 17 of us made it to the funeral.

Came back Friday and started on the bindings.  This picture is of the backing for quilt one.  Too much sun, the fabric is more pale yellows and pale bright pink than this photo shows.

This was the second of the quilts bound this weekend.

Here is a close up of the bird houses that comprise the centers. It is from the same line of fabrics as the first quilt I finished for the challenge.

I missed taking a photo of the back which was a Target sheet patterned with pale gray and white tiny chevrons

This is the first quilt I finished for this years challenge it is made up of various birds in the center.

I backed it with polka dots.

I hope to get them in the mail this week.

Thanks need to go out to  Sarah for coordinating and guiding us through yet another great Challenge year.  Thanks also to all of the other participants of this years challenge.

Sew Busy couple of weeks

I've had a pretty productive couple of weeks.  Several weeks ago I had the privileged of winning the latest pattern by Christina Cameli of A Few Scraps,   Magic Carpet. 

It is a stunning modern quilt which I had to make almost as soon as I received it. Chritinas quilt was done all in solids. My version has a great monster novelty fabric down the middle instead of another solid. I also modified her version by dropping the last column on either end and one row in the middle.

Her pattern finishes at 69 x 75 which was a wee bit to large for the child's version I was making.  Mine came in at  57 x 62.  The pattern was clear and easy to follow. It included  a grid where you could note or clip your fabric choices for a quick reference as well as a coloring page where you could try out your color choices.

Thank you so much Christina, I am sure I will make this pattern again.

Next up are these neat little bags on ribbons.  My guild makes them for woman to use after breast cancer surgery. They are to hold the drainage tubes and keep them out of the way. We make them and donate them to local oncology units at area hospitals.  They are quick and easy to make. I believe they averaged about 10 minutes each to put together.  They might go a bit quicker but I did french seams because I don't have a surger. Actually it took me longer to attach the ribbons then to make the little pouch.

I also managed a couple of place mats for the guild which I forgot to take photos of.  I believe the guild gives them to members who are in need of cheering up. I'm rather new to the guild so I'm a little fuzzy on the details.

Last but not Least is my 3rd quilt for the Hands 2 Hands Challenge 2015. See the button to the right. This pattern was showcased on Mother's Day over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

The tutorial was by Joanne  It is a really quick and easy quilt and her tutorial was spot on. I did it using 2 1/2 inch strips.  I used a Jelly Roll which contained 20 strips that I got on special at my local JoAnns plus a few additional from my stash.

This is the block the quilt is made up of.  A great chain piecing event. I finished the top in a weekend. 

So my current status on the H2H 2015 is one quilt totally finished and 2 tops totally finished.  I believe I'll be done with these 2 on time.

So off I go to sandwich.  

H2H 2015 Quilt number 2 - ALMOST

Three or four weeks ago I saw a sweet quilt posted on thecolorfulfabriholic  by Jan.  She is making it for this years H2H (see the button on the right).  I figured I had enough stash to make a similar one for the same cause.      

This is my version, entirely from my stash. It finished at 48 x 64.  

The ALMOST I ran into was that friends of ours came for dinner the other night and fell in love with it. Please, please can we have it.  It walked out my front door so fast I never got pictures of it.  These are the pictures of the quilt from it's new home.

Inside and out.

Front and back.  

I'm thinking that my problem is that I am ahead of schedule this year on my H2H quilts. Oh well, that's what retirement is all about, right.  

Meanwhile I'm more than sure that I have enough stash to get another one done in time.

Baby Quilt for MJ

I left Jersey in February knowing that I had to make a baby quilt for a friends first grand son. I knew I had plenty of time. Ha, ha, ha.  Last week a mutual friend called to tell me the baby had arrived. I hadn't started  the quilt yet.  so much for lots of time

A few years ago I saw this idea all over the blog world.  I am very sorry but I never noted the pattern designer or the actual name of the pattern.  This version is from my memory.  I have no idea if the letters of the original were appliqued or pieced, if the quilt was rectangular or square etc. etc. 

Last winter I joined in the Little Letters sew along at Temecula Quilt Company.  I used those letters for my quilt. I did it over the course of 5 evenings and a quilt morning. My version ended up as a 48 inch square. 

I backed it with a cotton sheet of white with blue pin dots.  It will be mailed this week and this child will get his quilt before he's a  month old.  He won't know it's a wee bit late.