2017 finishes & plans for 2018

New Year's Eve! Goodness how has 2017 disappeared so fast?

I have managed to finish another quilt ( a UFO from moons ago) so I am delighted with that.

It measures 30" x 40" so ideal as a baby's Play Quilt. Going into my stash for gifting in the future.
I ditch stitched the quilt using my new ditch-stitcher foot and it worked quite well, better than doing it with the normal foot anyway.  I hand quilted around 4 patches in the square in a square border blocks and they stand out nicely.

This brings my 2017 total of finished quilts to 8, very small total compared to last year's 20.
5 of those 8 have already been gifted. I haven't finished many quilts but I have also made 2 flimsies, one using a pile of UFO blocks, the other using a lot of my stash of Crumb blocks.

I made lots of little gifts this year: little drawstring bags, baby knitting, crochet baby blanket etc.

I have also made a lot of blocks using ideas gleaned from the RSC 2017 posts.  As a result I have enough 5" String blocks to make a quilt and several packets of other blocks which I intend to add to during the RSC2018 campaign.

Although I live in the UK I have been reading about the shocking fires in California. We have friends of friends in that area, fortunately, although the fires came close to their home, it was safe. Other connections were an Exhibition created by our NZ friends which was being held in the same area.  Again, thankfully it was OK.  So with this in mind when I spotted Carole from My Caroline Home blog requesting blocks to make quilts for victims of the fires I set to this afternoon and have made 4 to post after New Year.

 

This is the block suggested by the Ventura Quilt Guild.
So, plans for 2018:
* Finally finish a bright Spider Web quilt that is 95% finished- on my 2017 list too!
* Make quilts from my 2 flimsies
* Make the RSC String blocks into a quilt
*Continue with Roman Stripe blocks, 4 patches from 1.5" fabric squares,49 patch blocks, Twinkler
  blocks, bow tie blocks, Cake Stand blocks
* Make the small 4 patches into square in a square blocks (like the Mr Scarecrow borders)
* Continue making Happy blocks to use up my Cute cats fabric patches.
* Make a baby quilt for one of my daughter's friends

First job is to turn a baby flimsy into a quilt.  I am waiting for baby to be born so I can applique the name, baste and hand quilt it.

So, plenty to do.

Wishing everyone a very Happy and Healthy New Year.
See you next year!

Feeling good about finishing off UFOs

I had a productive couple of hours yesterday afternoon.
I had added borders to the 4 leftover Square Dance blocks on Friday so yesterday I cut backings and sandwiched them together using odd scraps of batting.  I machine quilted diagonally across the block, eyeballing a fairly regular distance between the rows.  Trimmed them and sewed around the edges ready to send to Alison of Little Island Quilting for her on-going Soy Amado project.

I won't post these until after Christmas and New Year but they are finished! 4 more UFO blocks sorted.

I also sandwiched Mr Scarecrow so he's all ready for quilting.

I used a piece of brown Laura Ashley fabric for the backing, which has been lurking in my stash for a very long time - originally gifted to me and was a much larger piece which I have snipped away at over the years.  Still got some left.

I bought a Ditch stitch foot for my Janome so will try this out, ditch-stitching the borders.
Lovely to see these UFOs on the way to being finished.

Two flimsies: UFO Mr Scarecrow and wedges

I started a medallion-style quilt based on a Scarecrow printed figure back on 1st August 2013.
I worked on it and then set it aside - for a LONG time!  It's recently appeared at the top of the pile and today I finished my flimsy.

The last pieced border was very recently added, consisting of RSC 2017 4 patches made into square in a square blocks. All made from scraps. I had to make extra 4 patches from green and yellow 1.5' squares as I didn't have enough brown ones. The outer border is a plain cream Egyptian cotton cut at 3.5".

Some close-ups:

I really like the 4 Patch border.

Yesterday I showed the wedge shaped scraps I had been given.  Today I combined an idea I had with a comment from Cathy (Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting blog) and came up with this Premature baby sized flimsy:

]

I paired solid and patterned wedges, made a template 2.5' x 5.5" and cut them all to the same size.

Played around for a while: a couple of ideas didn't look right but I finally came up with this placement.

I found this a challenge due to my difficulty with special awareness. I wanted the "mountain peaks look" which I finally achieved but it was hard!  I have several finished pieces which are the wrong way round. Now in the orphan blocks pile.

However I happy with both flimsies.

Oops, made a quilt top whilst I was tidying

Last Thursday when I linked up with Clare's Brit Sewing Thursday Linky I expressed the idea that I would tidy my sewing room and perhaps continue the Mr Scarecrow quilt.

Did it happen?  Well, yes ....... and no......................!


I started to tidy my sewing room and came across a pile of fabrics I had been adding to in readiness for a Scrap Republic Beeline Quilt.  It seemed silly to put that carefully sorted pile away into a plastic bag in a drawer.  Didn't it???????????

So, over the next two days I sewed the (carefully chosen) scraps into this lovely Quilt Top:

 

I love Emily Cier's book Scrap Republic.  Probably because I enjoy making quilts from scraps, something out of nothing sort of idea, and I LOVE colour and rainbows.

 

So, this quilt top is literally scraps, many that I have received in Scrap Swaps and others the remains of quilts made years ago but the left overs safely stashed away. I have increased the size of the quilt, more details when it is finished.

 

Thursday is also my Patchwork Group day and last week I was given a plastic bag of paired triangles(light and dark) which were off cuts from trimming blocks.  For my sins I have got the reputation (with good reason!) of being the person who loves to make Crumb blocks. However, as I made the Beeline Quilt top I used the paired triangles as leaders/enders and made Half Square triangles as I went along.  Didn't quite finish the pile so yesterday I finished sewing the triangle pairs and started to trim the squares to 1.75". Still not quite finished, but up to 100 already!  My intention is to make Pinwheel blocks and either make up a Quilt top myself or to hand them back to Wendy, the lady who donated them originally.  She is an absolute star, having made, or been the inspiration of making, literally hundreds of Linus Quilts. 

So, watch this space.

 

This has been another very happy and satisfying week on the Quilt Front.

 

Two baby quilts mailed last week and two baby quilts arrived safely and were loved this week!

Went to my Patchwork Group this morning - a lovely time as always! - and came home to a beautiful email from Germany, thanking me for the Cornerstones Quilt and attached was a delightful photo of baby Jasmine wrapped in a fluffy pink blanket, fast asleep in her cot. Underneath was my quilt, which fitted the cot perfectly! Wonderful!

 

Friendly frogs was equally well received.  Mum and Dad overwhelmed as they didn't expect a quilt and baby George's Granny was in  tears! This is why I make quilts.  I get so much pleasure making them and then that is trebled when I know people love them too.

 

As for Mr Scarecrow, nothing added to him, although I have carefully packed finished parts of borders into a plastic bag and neatly put them with the top as it stands to date.  Watch this space!