November 2017, Crib size in blue

 This pattern is called a "string" quilt.  You cut a pattern from paper or cloth to the size block you want.  Then sew strips of fabric to the pattern, cutting it near to the size of the pattern.  If  you use fabric, it can stay and makes a heavier quilt.  I used thin paper, the pages from a telephone book, so after it was sewn, I tore the paper away.  It's really a relaxing process, just sit and sew the strips, no planning or measuring,  Tearing the paper away was messy, I did it mostly sitting out on the deck and let the wind blow the paper scraps away. 

2017, two more baby sized quilts

 So I cleared out my catchall box of 2 1/2 inch squares and made two more quilts,  done with this for now.  The top one is green/yellow.  Notice the block in the middle, amazingly, that fabric is from a skirt I had in high school.  It's ancient!  How did I hang on to it all this time?

This second one is mostly pink, and I love the fabric.  Notice, the block in the middle left, is made from fabric I used to make Tina a dress when she was in high school.  Not so ancient.  This material has found it's way into lots of my quilts,.

October, 2017 Four baby sized quilts

 I've done this before, I cut 2 1/2 inch squares from scraps left from quilts as I make them.  I put the squares in a; box til it overflows, then spend a few days sewing them together into the 9-patch blocks, then divide them into pinkish, or the bluish blocks and make baby quilts for newborns at church.  I have two more to do, a green/yellow one and another pink.  These quilts are so fun to do, fairly quick and easy and the quilting itself is fun.  this first pink one doesn't show up as well, the very light blocks have a very nice, subtle pink/green/white stripe in the fabric.   

September 2017, Tumbling Triangles.

This quilt is about twin sized,  I got the pattern from a magazine.  It looks complicated but isn't that much.  It's kinda like a log cabin idea, with the triangle squares put in the 4 patch then rectangles sewn from there.  the material is very pretty, lots of colors you wouldn't think to put together.  But I really love the colors.  I quilted it myself because I didn't feel like waiting for the longarmer to get around to it.  I'm not crazy about how the quilting turned out, but the quilt is still pretty.

September 2017 Twin size for KIC

This is a twin size quilt for Kids in Crisis.  I made it to use up a lot of small remnants of fabric I have.  It's a split 9-patch.  Usually split 9-patch are made using a variety of fabric in each block, but with this one, I put matching colored squares in the corners and center, with the 4 white in other spots.  Then when it was cut and rotated, the block came out looking like this.  It's a little different.

August, Museum quilt challenge 20178

I posted the Statue of Liberty quilt before.  This was for the challenge for the Moab Museum which is put up each year in May and June.  This year the theme was "Portals".  The first one was "Statue of Liberty, Portal to America".  I love that statue and the place it is.

The second portal is a  picture I found on an ancient looking door, probably in Europe somewhere.  I spent a day  painting and working on it with markers and watercolor paints.  It was a lot of fun.

July, 2017, Baby Girl Quilt for RS

 I just finished this baby girl quilt for RS.  For Relief Society week night activity, we had a "Service Auction".  It did not involve  money of course.  Women could offer a service.  At the meeting we filled out a form, getting points for service, or for other good things - like reading scriptures, taking dinner to someone, having Family Home Evening, saying Thank You, or I love you.  The points you accumulated were then for  you to use to bid on the offered items.  I had three small quilts for the auction.  This one went for 70 points.  I bid on and won a fresh loaf of bread, and an hour's worth of yard work.

Denim Quilt, throw size, June 2017

I made this quilt for Bruce, for when he has to work away from home.  He sometimes stays in a motel, or sometimes rents an apartment or house if he's going to be working away for a long time.  I cut squares from Jeans I've been saving for  years and I have a good size stack of squares left to work with.  The denim is surrounded by bright squares of flannel, and the backing is this heavy, warm flannel.  The quilt has no batting in the middle, but it will be warm.  

 Several of the blocks show where I pulled off the pocket which left the unbleached out denim beneath.

May 2017, Full Sized, muted colors

I found this stack of fabrics and couldn't resist putting them all together into this full size quilt.  I used to always make quilts this big, but now usually make smaller ones.  The colors are muted, olive green, light blue, chocolate brown and yellows.  It looks kinda like honey, from a distance.    The backing is unbleached muslin and I sewed in the four orphan blocks rather than throw them away

I had Vere pick  me up a "walking foot" while he was in GJ .  It's a presser foot that pushes/pulls the fabric through the machine so smooth and easily.  So rather than taking weeks to quilt it by hand or pay the long armer to quilt it for me, I was able to do this simple quilting in 2 days.  

April 2017, two baby sized quilts

 This top quilt I made from squares left over from the baby quilt I made for Darleen's grandbaby.  Instead of a plain white backing, I pieced together some gray fabrics I had.  Sometimes it's fun to piece the back, a little.

My friend from New Jersey, had a daughter the same age as Bruce.  This girl is now going to be a grandmother.  Whew!!  Time goes by.  I made this quilt for them, they are using lime green and gray for the nursery.  I love to make baby quilts, comparatively easy and quick.

2017, Baby Size, for Church Newborns

I found some of these blocks in the sewing room of the Senior Center.  Someone had started the quilt and gave up on them or they were just orphan blocks.  I brought them home, added some to it and made his cute little quilt, for a newborn at church

2017 Wall Hanging "Statue of Liberty" Portal to America

The theme for this year's challenge quilt for the Museum of Moab was "Portals"  I was thinking of doing an interesting door, but started thinking of the Statue of Liberty definitely a portal to America.  Of course, Ellis Island was the definitive portal to America in the later 1800's, but the Statue is prettier.I was going to try and drape the material of the robe, but couldn't figure out how to do it, so I just appliques it flat, and painted the details on.  New York skyline in the back.

2017 One lap size for KIC, and 1 Baby size for church

I had made this top last year, but finally finished it to give to charity.  Jeremy Miller, a friend from NJ  posted of FB the need for quilts at a foster care home near his house in SLC I decided to finish it off and send it to him.  The pattern is just "+".  Plus.

This small baby quilt I will give for a newborn at church. I had cut out the strips for a class at quilt guild to show how to put together a quilt using the "strip piecing" method.  

March 2017, Two crib size quilts, both white, black and gray.

Vere's sister, Darlene has a daughter-in-law with a new baby boy.  She wanted her quilt all in black, white and grays.  I think she picked out the material herself.  Someone said it was brave to have so much white in a baby quilts, but I think she is planning to use it to drape around the nursery rather than wrap the baby in.

This second quilt is for Darlene's granddaughter's baby.  It's also mostly white, gray and black but one of the fabrics has a touch of blue in it.  I think she is also going to use it in the nursery as  part of the decor.  This pattern is mainly single Irish chain, but since the connecting square was so big and white, I added a small square in the middle.  It makes the Irish chain design not so obvious.

2017, March, Throw sized Red and White embroidery.

5 or 6  years ago, Sonya gave me a book of embroidery patterns, "Nature's Beauty in Redwork.  I've slowly been doing the embroidery, 30 squares of hand embroidery.  I wanted to have it finished to show in the quilt show our guild is having this weekend.  I just finished the hand sewing on the binding and the hanging sleeve on the back.  It isn't true to the traditional idea of a red and white quilt as I had this vision of putting the black/white patterned material on the back.  That's okay, makes it unique.

                   

2016 - 2017, Full Size and Twin size "Twirling Triangles"

 I've wanted to make this quilt for over 5  years and finally finished this month.  It's called "Twirling Triangles" from a magazine by Fons and Porter.  It's made from 1930's retro fabric, which I really love.  I had it professionally quilted.  A long arm machine would cost about as much as paying for 100 quilts done by a quilter.  And then I would have to practice, practice, practice until I could do it this well.

The back was made from some large pieces of the retro fabric and some plain blues.

 When I had finished cutting and sewing the "Twirling Triangles" quilt, I had a stack of long triangles left over.  I was not about to throw all that wonderful material away.  I sewed white to colored triangles, squared them up, which took a long tedious time, and was able to make this cute, smaller quilt.  I quilted it myself, just straight lines with invisible nylon thread.  The back was some I had on hand which goes perfectly with the front.