what I've been working on

I've been working on a myriad of projects lately...

1. I've been quilting the Northern Lights quilt for friends in Alaska. I ran into some thread trouble this weekend so I set it aside for a few days and made...
2. Pillow shams. This is the second time I've made some for our bed. For some reason I didn't feel like taking pictures this weekend.
3. Birthday Blocks for my LJ community.
4. A baby quilt with a robot theme, with fabric from the Cogsmo collection, including the panel. Unfortunately I didn't get to work on it much on Monday.
5. I made a spring theme wall hanging in April and I haven't taken a picture of it yet. And it's actually on the wall!
6. Two quilts for Quilts For Kids, one from the kit they sent me (the blue/purple/green one above, with dogs) and another of my own simple creation:

Speaking of the robot quilt, my 2-year-old is napping, so I need to take advantage of some sewing time.

northern lights project

I've started planning the quilt I said I'd make for a friend when she moved to Alaska. And now she's gotten married, too, so this quilt is not just for her anymore. I'm going for a Northern Lights type of feel.

Here is a tentative layout of the quilt:

Now that I'm looking at it, though, I don't think I have that much red to use. But there are two different oranges, as you can sort of see here:
(And I love the pink in this, which has traces of orange and even purple in it.)
and here:
The fabrics are all washed a pressed, ready to be cut into and sewn into something lovely! I want to get started on this quilt this week.

Julie's quilt

Finished in time for Christmas, here is the quilt I made for my MIL, Julie. She came to Quilt Fest one day while we were visiting in Houston. The back and front are both pieced, in different colors of the same fabric line, Olive Rose by Valori Wells...I love all of her fabrics.

The blue side, in the middle of quilting. Quilting was in the ditch and then simple diagonal lines.

The green side, ready to send out. This was a very simple quilt in design but I think it looks great!I based it on an Irish chain block (triple, quadruple??) but used 5 inch squares. Julie says she loves it, so that's all that matters!

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.