Quilts and Books

Hello Friends! So apparently it's been nearly a year since I posted anything here. To the 2 or 3 of you who check in here once in a while, I'm sorry. I decided to quit participating in the TBR Challenge, at least as a contributor. I do still like to see what everyone else is reading and I've found some excellent reads as a result. But lately my energies have been focused on my quilts. 2018 has been a productive quilting year, and here are some things I have finished to date. 1. This is a mini quilt made up of a couple hundred tiny 60-degree triangles. I don't know what possessed me to choose this pattern. It drove me nuts. But I do like it. I made it for an Instagram swap. You can see more of these quilts on IG if you search #bwqs2018. 2. I wanted a new throw pillow for my bed. Something for me! 3. I was commissioned to make a baby quilt for a friend's sister-in-law. I quilted it with glow-in-the dark thread. It is so cool, if I do say so myself....

I can't believe it's been over 4 months since I last posted here. I've totally dropped the ball on the TBR challenge, and I've decided not to join for 2018. There's been a lot to occupy me this last year, and with luck I'll be starting a new job in February. Time will tell about that. Meanwhile, the quilting has continued. In fact I had several I needed to make on short deadlines. So here's what I finished from August-December this year. First up is this baby quilt I made for some friends' baby girl. The dad is a huge Star Wars fan, so I was able to include a special fabric just for him. There are several patterns or tutorials for this out there. I used the Arithmetic Quilt pattern. Some people also call it a "Plus Quilt." This was made totally from my stash. Next was another mini for an Instagram swap. I wasn't going to sign up for any more in 2017, but I couldn't help myself. This particular swap was based on a specific group o...

My spring was busy with more two more Instagram mini quilt swaps. I've decided to lay off the swaps for a while. I have several larger projects to finish. If I make progress on those, maybe I'll join one again in the new year. Hopefully you recognize the Millennium Falcon. This was for a Star Wars fandom swap, with a due date of late April, so it would be done in time for May the Force Be With You Day (May 4th). Check out #maythe4thmqs2 if you want to see some really amazing Death Stars, character quilts and more!  This was due in early June for an animal quilt swap. My partner expressed a love of red pandas, so I made this for her. I love this little quilt, but it was a bear to put together. It had 20 different sections, while the Millennium Falcon only had 6 sections. You can see some of the remarkable animal quilts at #animalquiltswap2017 . There's quite a variety.

Lots of sewing continues to happen in my world. I've finished a couple of small projects recently, and one big one. If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen this first one back in early March. I made it for an Instagram swap. The swap involved using one of several stylized alphabets by Kristy of QuietPlay . My partner for the swap requested the word feminist and I was delighted to make this for her. I love it so much, I may make another for myself, although another idea is also brewing. We'll see. I used the slant of the cursive letters to determine the angle of my matchstick quilting lines. Next up is a little wall hanging I pieced back in 2015 and finally got around to quilting in March. It was a detailed little pattern. It looks nice and cheerful hanging near our back door. I just did simple, minimal quilting on this one. This last one was made for some friends who just had a baby. While traveling last summer, I found the elephant fabric and bought it with...

In 2016 I did a lot of sewing, but didn't finish that many things. My goal this year is to catch up on all of those UFOs (Un-Finished Objects) that surround me. I'm going to have to start a few things from scratch, too. I've signed up for 2 more mini-quilt swaps on Instagram and our extended family is expecting two new babies later in the year. I'll be busy making quilts for them. Meanwhile I can celebrate this little 18" quilt that I finished earlier this week. It's from the Black & White mini-quilt swap that I signed up for in November. This one will be going to Sweden next week. I can't wait to see what I'll get in return! The original pattern is called "Christmas Lanterns" from the book 101 Fabulous Small Quilts . I reduced the size by 50% and left off the borders. There are 288 rectangles that measure .75" x 1.5" finished. The quilting is cross-hatched, following the seam lines with white Aurifil 50 wt. thread. ...

In my last quilting post I talked about some Instagram swaps I joined this fall. The second swap was a Christmas Tree mini quilt using the Geometric Christmas Tree pattern by Kristy Lea . My partner in this tree swap wanted a modern minimalist look and a glance at her Instagram feed gave me the idea to use a black constellation fabric I found last summer. I made a test quilt, didn't quite like the very light green that looked white, and made a second one for my partner. I finished them both, and kept the first for my own Christmas decorating. So here's the first one: I think the gray thread that I used for the quilting overshadows the constellation print just a little. Still, I really do like how this turned out. But my second attempt was MUCH better: I used black thread for the background and a wider cross-hatch for just the tree. The constellations are easier to see. I also got rid of the pale green fabric as I mentioned above. Here's the lovely tree I...

I haven't shown off any of my finished projects since last spring when I finished the purple and green quilt I'd first begun for my sister . As I look around, it doesn't seem as if I've finished all that much stuff, yet I've been spending a lot more time sewing over the last 6 months than I used to. As is typical for me, I am working on half a dozen thing simultaneously. It's kind of like how I read--a library book here, a book on my phone everywhere, another book on my Kindle over there, and an audio book in the car. Sometimes I feel like a poster child for middle-aged ADD. But I'm managing to be productive. One thing I'm also doing? Hanging out on Instagram. It's where a lot of the other quilters are. I've discovered swaps! Too. Much. Fun. There's more about that below. Anyway, there's proof I've made stuff!! First up is this little backpack. I found the pattern on Craftsy . It's not very big, about 8" x 11...