guest quilt: finally finished!

I started this quilt in 2004, just after I got married, I believe. It has been 5 years in the making, mostly because I began the quilting by hand. I guess I never really had the time for it, though I was almost done with all the hand quilting I planned to do. I finished quilting by machine and I practiced some new freehand designs in the blocks. I do not have time for hand quilting anymore since Henry was born (he is 18 months old now, BTW). You can see some if you click the flickr link at the end of this post. I finished this last Thursday, October 22, just in time for it to be used by my friend E, who was visiting for a night. She said she loved the quilt and it must have been warm enough, too!


Personally, I got tired of that green fabric a long time ago, but it looks okay. I remember that I bought it really cheap at Joann's and was quite proud of the purchase. I have since seen several other fabrics that would make the quilt look beautiful. Alas, I have many other quilts to make and do not want to do this pattern again. It was very easy to sew up with chain piecing. Enjoy it the next time you come to visit!

More photos on flickr.

Afternoon Storm

Finished! I finished quilting this the other day. I love how wrinkly this looks after being washed and dried. And I love how the quilting turned out. (Click for a larger view.)


A closer view of the quilting. I used a variegated purple thread that I bought for another quilt. :D

I'll be sending this off to Sameer on Monday (well, DH will take it to the post office). Sameer, who won this quilt after several people became interested after this quilt no longer had a home to go to. I hope this brightens up his place. :) I think I am calling this quilt "Afternoon Storm."

orange and purple goodness

I started quilting this orange and purple batik over the weekend:

This is the Broken Bricks pattern from one of M'Liss Rae Hawley's Fat Quarter Quilts books. This will be a gift to Sameer, since this quilt did not have a home.

Here is a sample of the quilting, though I think that patch of sunlight really interfered with getting a good shot of the quilting:


Hopefully I will finish up the quilting one of these nights, because I have other projects demanding my attention. (I can hear them downstairs right now... "Why aren't you working on me, Mary???")

Delectable Mountains

This is the first queen size quilt that I've finished. I have several more "in process," one of which is being hand quilted, and because I don't have time for it, it's still not done, though nearly there. Anyway, I present to you the wedding quilt I made for H and R. That is DH holding the quilt and I think it also shows off the border pretty well. H said that she thinks it beautiful and that it looks even more gorgeous in person. That's more than enough to make a quilter happy. The pattern is Delectable Mountains and I used the design in an issue of American Patchwork and Quilting (add issue later). And for good measure, another photo of it that I love:

I quilted on my machine, a Bernina 440QE (without the E). I love the BSR (stitch regulator) and am pleased with how (most) of the quilting turned out.

This is where I will blog about my quilting and sewing projects. Check back for updates (or lack of updates)!