June Goal Quilt Finished

My first paintbox quilt is finished.  I could have finished it a couple of days earlier but I had already put June on the label, and I liked the idea of finishing it on what would have been my parents wedding anniversary.  Sixty-six years if they were still here.

The back was a little fancier than my normal ones.  I've gotten to where I have backed several of my last quilts with 100 percent cotton sheets.  This one is a Moda solid, and somehow it seems heavier to me.  Maybe it's partly due to the piecing on the back.  It seems to weigh a lot for its size.   It hasn't been washed yet, so maybe that will lighten it up a bit.

Another embroidery machine label.  No recipient's name on this one.  I haven't decided what to do with it yet.  There are a few possibilities.  For a while it will live at my house, probably at least until I finish the other one, which will probably be this month.  I've ordered some lavender solids for it, so it will be lavenders and purples instead of browns and tans.

PS   I gave this quilt Last night (June 10th) to my visiting teacher, Becky Thomas, who has been visiting me for over 4 years.

Paintbox Flimsy

Oh, Fransson finished her Paintbox Quiltalong back April 2010, and I've finally gotten one of my smaller lap sized quilttops to the flimsy stage, without the borders.   Hers had 80 blocks, and mine has 54.  Hers has no borders and mine will have a small and a large border.   Hers is gorgeous and mine I hope will not only be half sized, but at least half as pretty.   I will end up with 2 quilts, but I don't know yet whether the other will have this color sashing, or maybe white or some other color.  I delivered my Gator quilts to my brothers this week, and they seemed to be happy with them.  It was very good to see them.

Finish 7 and 8 for the Year - and it's only the 9th of May

I have 2/3 of May left and I have finished two quilts.  Very easy quilts, but they are finished.  The pattern is "Just Can't Cut It"  by All Washed Up quilt patterns.   They are for my brothers and now we'll need to get together to deliver them, which is a good thing.  It's surprising how little you get together when you live 3 or 4 hours apart. 

University of Florida Gator Quilts

Upside down seems to be my thing lately.  This is one of my two Gator tops, just upside down, the other one still needs borders and then I'll put them aside for a few days as I need to work on my house and we have relatives coming for dinner on Monday.   Tuesday we will probably be going to Tampa with our grandson and granddaughter-in-law.   With any luck at all, keeping my goal of a finish for May should be a piece of cake (knock on wood), in fact I should have at least two.  I have to keep things even for my brothers or they'll say that the other one is my favorite.  Finishing only one would be unacceptable, lol.

I Made it for April!

I made it, Saturday was basting day, Sunday quilting day, and this AM binding and now just washing and drying and delivering left.   I think that it doesn't look quite as busy now, and hopefully it will be liked.   Quilting day is always too much thinking day for me.   I can't hear the TV or the Ipod, so I'm on my own and then I start to think my arms are tired, my back is tired and I think that half the people who I make quilts for would just as soon have a blanket from Walmart or a $10.00 gift certificate.   If I weren't quilting I'd have a cleaner house, more nourishing food, and more money, such are my thoughts.   Then when the quilt is finished I feel better again.  Does anyone else have these heretical thoughts, lol.

The label.  I did well keeping all the directional fish fabrics swimming in the right direction, and then this guy is upside down on the back.  Oh well, nobody is perfect.

I need to find a new way of photographing my quilts.  Until then this is my number two pose.   For me keeping up my goal is new and different, and here it is a finish for April.

A Little (Maybe a lot) Busy

I hoped this quilt would be like this one, this one, or this one, only different.  After all, I did use my leader and ender 16 patches.  However, it turned out looking much more busy.  It was supposed to look a little beachy (although I couldn't find any beach fabric that would seem to work in my mind, so I chose fish since they are in the ocean and she has an aquarium) and her favorite colors were blue, purple, and white.  Check, check, check, only when put together with my 16 patches, chaos.  I am going to use a narrow green border and then a wide border from the fish fabric.  Hopefully, it will be toned down a bit.  It's for a young girl about 14 who is moving and decorating her room with a beach theme, so if she doesn't like it I guess I'll make her another one.  

PS  I'm supposed to get the rest of my Gator Fabric today, and then I'll try to get them finished and then back to my Paintbox quilts.  The Gator quilts are for my brothers and my Paintbox quilts don't have any destination yet (maybe, one for me) so they keep taking a back seat.   I'm hoping to finish Alex's quilt (the one in the picture) before the end of April to keep up my goal of at least one quilt finish a month. 

PPS  We went to visit our new great grandbaby but it was a short visit.  We had a flat on the way, and a 100 mile trip on the toll roads turned into a 5 and 1/2 hour journey with tow truck and trip to Walmart to get a new tire.  We took them to dinner and got to see the and hold the baby, Cecilia, and she is tiny and adorable.  

Last Six Done

Last of the 24, I now have 108, 54 for each lap quilt.  Now on to the 3,500,000 sashings, lol.

Yea, for leaders and enders, now I have lots of 2 patches. 

Six More to Go!

Back to the Paintbox

My goal for April is either to finish at least one oh Fransson Paintbox Quilt Along quilt, or at least one Gator Quilt.   The original Quilt along was for 80 blocks but I decided to do 2 lap quilts so even though I had 84 blocks, according to my calculations I need 24 more.  Here are the first 10 of the 24 blocks.   These are also excellent for doing leaders and enders as you go, so I'm off to cut more 2 1/2 by 2 1/2 squares.  I cut a bunch last night, but these 10 blocks have used them up.  I'm sure that it could be figured out how to do assembly line sewing, but I haven't done that so it's do one seam on the paintbox, and then do a leader and ender, and so on and so on.  Not too efficient, but I'll have lots more leaders and enders, lol. 

goal

Granddaughter's First Sewing Project

Last night was the first time that this young lady had touched a sewing machine, and she wasn't too comfy with the idea.  My DD and I reassured her that if you were careful it was safe, and took out the thread.  She started out sewing on notebook paper and the first page was not straight, but pretty darn good for the first attempt.  After about 6 or 7 rows she went on to another sheet and did every single row of the notebook paper, and each line was almost perfectly straight.  When we felt comfortable leaving her in the next room we went to visit with others and we could hear her going top speed.  We were very surprised with how well she did, she is a talented little girl, but she surpassed our expectations.  Today DH and I went over this afternoon and DD had helped her with some real sewing, they were up to the point of sewing on the casing and it looked really nice.  We helped her finish it up and she did 99 percent herself.  Isn't she amazing!

She is a dancer and is going to competition in Ohio.  This is the first and smallest of a 3 bag kit that she received for Christmas and they will come in very handy in her luggage when she travels.  It's a little soon to see if she will like sewing enough to really get into it, but if she does I can see some costumes made by herself in her future.  She will be eight soon.