Hayley's Tote Bag

I have the 5 fleece blankets cut out and embroidered, and all the pillowcases cut out, too. This was supposed to be the last thing to make, only if I had time, but what was I doing last night instead of sewing bindings, etc.
This tote bag is flannel with batting in the body and the handles, and then quilted. Only the inside is cotton, and it is very soft and cushy.
Hayley is only going to be ten, so this may be a bit big for her, but hopefully, since she goes from her Mom to her Dad's, and spends a lot of time at my brother's (her grandpa) too, she can use it in her travels. She could almost use it as a pillow in a pinch, lol.

Next Up

Next project is to make this stack go away. The two rolls of fleece have been in my closet for a couple of years, another portion since July 11 of this year, and the light blue and patterned fleece on the bottom since about an hour ago. We just got back from Joann's and I got those, a spool of Coats and Clark's machine quilting thread to try, and some dye catchers (boy was it hard to find those, and at the end there they were the first place I looked and where I thought they would be, I just missed them). The blue in the middle is for my great niece on my Jacksonville brother's side, the last 4 quilts I sent off were for my Brunswick brother's grandchildren, my great niece's and nephews. I plan to make her a fleece blanket, flannel pillowcase and flannel tote, the print on the bottom is for her mama, my niece, their birthdays are 1 day apart. Horses are what my niece loves, and the only fleece I found with horses is more western with horses, cattle, spurs, etc. I hope she likes it. My brother bought the fabrics and I'm supplying the labor.
We have become friends with the owner of the Chinese restaurant where we eat lunch sometimes, and I am making her 2 daughters 7 and 5, and her niece 5, fleece blankets and cotton pillowcases. I have some cute fabric with Oriental girls (see on the left of the picture) and will machine embroidery their names and some cute Oriental girls on the fleece. all of the fleece blankets will be bound just like quilts with the double fold binding. Now I just need to get cracking and make them, lol.

A Stack of Quilts

I like pictures of stacks of quilts, and so I stacked the last 7 finishes up and carried them to the back porch hoping for better light. Unfortunately, it was overcast, but it is still nice not to have the yellow tinge to everything.
My house really is yellow.

Three Finishes

The pictures are pretty poor, but I finished these yesterday.
















Above is my Carolina (Crossroads) Straightaway from Bonnie Hunter's first mystery. I started it with everyone else, only made one of the two blocks and finished the top on October 11, 2008. It's been a long time, lol.


















My Burger Queen mystery from Stashbuster forum took even longer to get to, the top was finished August 15, 2008















This little Strip Twist, also from Bonnie Hunter, not quite so bad, July 6, 2009. My fuse box is going to be looking good, lol.

A Little Progress

Three basted and ready to be quilted.
The top little quilt is backed with my Ikea fabric. I used it on all five big boy quilts, I must have bought a ton of it, lol. The stripe has also been used several times. I got clearance oxford cloth sheets on sale at Lands End, wish they'd have more on clearance. The dark blue is flannel and should be cozy and warm. I'm anxious to get them quilted and done, a little less closet clutter.

Getting Ready for the Next Three

The next three finished tops didn't have backs or bindings ready yet, so today I got that done.
I have my version of Bonnie Hunter's Carolina Crossroads, I call it Carolina Straightaway since I only made one of the two blocks. Then there is a very small Strip Twist, also Bonnie Hunter's pattern, for over the fuse box in my family room, and last the Burger Queen mystery from Stashbuster forum, I apologize, I don't recall whose it was. I couldn't decide if I liked the top picture with flash better, or the bottom picture with no flash. Someone else posed that question on their blog, and I couldn't decide on theirs either. I can't remember who, I seem to have a lot of the can't remembers today.
Now it's back to basting and hopefully in a week or so I'll have three more finishes.













The only other top that I have made is my huge Iowa (Carolina) Christmas, and it is finished except for the border blocks sewn together and sewn on. I was going to send it out, but since money is a bit scarce am thinking I need to do it myself. Since it is already ginormous, I'm thinking of skipping the border and using those blocks to make another quilt. I have a Juki that is a bit bigger than a normal DSM, but it seems like leaving off the extra border might make it a little more doable. Anyone done a huge quilt on such a machine and have any opinions.
Hope you're having a nice weekend.

Just Us Quilters - New Blog List

Niki from Just Us Quilters and Butternut Street has started a new blog list. You can sign up and be one of the first, looks like fun.

Four Finishes (Makes 11 for 2010)

They say done is better than perfect, and I'm not real proud, but I am happy. I always knew that I didn't have artistic talent, but after doing several meandered quilts, I'm starting to think that I'm not even a good scribbler, lol. It's ok though, the recipients of these quilts won't care. The top quilt is the "last" of the big boy quilts, and is for Caleb, who loves music, thus the music border. He plays in a rock band, both guitar and drums.





























The pink and blue nine patch quilts are from Crazy Mom Quilts quiltalong, now 2 out of 3 are done, better late than never, at least that's what I tell myself.















This is my "Unstrip Road" front and back, and it is for DH and I, probably. I hope to finish my Iowa "Carolina" Christmas before the holidays also, but if I don't I'll at least have one Christmas quilt.



























PS. They aren't washed yet, so they will improve after they are, and the soft crinkles will hide a multitude of sins. That's what my MIL used to say about curls, and I think it's true for my quilts, too.

Still Basting and Socializing with Family

Haven't gotten much done lately, but I did get these two basted. The bottom is the last of the big boy quilts, this one is for my 17 year old grandson Caleb, and it is just like the one for my great nephew Dakota. The top one is the back of my Christmas lap quilt which was supposed to be a "Strip Road" from Cyberquilters 4-C-Bees, generously shared by Benita Skinner. Unfortunately, due to lazyness and poor color choices mine has turned out to be "Unstrip Road", I still think I will like it ok when it is finished. Sometimes you just have to think positive, lol. Unless it just seems like someone else should have it, this one if for DH and I.Below are my two nine patches from Crazy Mom Quilts quiltalong. They are little kid sized and there is a boy one and a girl one, not for sure yet who they are for. (I have enough nine patches left to make another adult sized lap quilt, and will either do it with light brown sashing or white.) They are next in line for basting and all ready for me to get to them. Bindings are done for all four quilts, so hopefully they'll go quickly. Still thinking positive.
After that I'll go ahead and make bindings and backs for the other tops I have done and hopefully finish them and then it's on to making or finishing tops. That and getting my sewing room more organized and cleaned are the goals I'm working toward.
As for socializing, one of my great nieces was visiting from Iowa and DH and I had a pleasant evening having her and 2 of my grandsons over for dinner and as the kids would say, hanging out. My DD's fiance's daughter has been here also, and yesterday we took her and two grandson's (1 different and 1 the same as above) to a movie. We saw Grownups, which I thought would be silly, but it was surprisingly enjoyable. Before the movie we all met DD, 2 more DGS's (one of which brought a friend), and 1 DGD at a Chinese restaurant for lunch. It was a lot of fun and so nice to be together with family. There is going to be a wedding the first of next year, but we already consider DD's fiance's 2 daughters to be our grandchildren, too.

A Day at the Beach

The young family spent a day at the beach with the other side of the family and I stole a couple of the pictures of the 7 month old little lady.