Paintbox Gingerbread

Number 12 for the year, Paintbox Gingerbread, more fancied up than the original Paintbox.

Sunrise Sunset Finished

All finished just needs to be washed and put on the bed.

More true colors.

And the back of course.

No. 10 Mary Ann's Quilt

Finished about 58 by 80 inches.  Hopefully it will brighten things up a bit for her.

Thank goodness for my embroidery machine, it makes labels nicer and easier.

Kind of a wild pieced back.  Originally it was for a little smaller quilt (one of Kerri's little girls, but then I decided to use flannel for theirs) and I had to add the red strip to make it a bit larger.  
Kind of funny, now I've made 10 bags and 10 quilts for the year.  Not too bad for a slow start, even if most of the quilts are easy ones.

Bags Finally Done

The good news is they are extra sturdy and should last a long time.  The bad news is they may not be bags that you would want to last a long time.  They are done and I hope that they are liked, but they have some definite flaws.

I thought I was making Mackenzie's the same size that I had made Logann, Maisyn's and Kolbie's, but I thought that I had used the 12 1/2" square ruler and then added a bottom, I must not have added the bottom.  Mackenzie's is deeper than I thought because I added 3 inches for the bottom and it may take her a couple years to grow into it.  I was so proud of this fabric, it is velvety, but it was a nightmare to work with due to the stretching.  I hope a few things, one being that the straps aren't too long, but I thought that a diaper bag would need a little longer straps to deal with the baby paraphernalia.  I hope this is one of the cases where "done is better than perfect". 
Now, one more quilt to finish for my "July Quilts".  At the last minute I decided that my brother's x-mother-in-law needed a quilt.  She has had a rough few months to say the least.  In November she lost her only daughter, only child I think, then she also fell and injured her shoulder twice.  She rented a home from a church and the second fall was when the back stairs railing collapsed.  A month or two ago the church evicted her (I know there may be more to the story, but it seems to me like kicking her when she's down) and she had to move from the home she had been living in for almost 15 years.  The quilt is another strippy quilt and is basted and ready to be quilted.  I also have my own two quilts waiting, my Paintbox and Sunrise Sunset (Orca Bay).  

Crinkly Quilt Pile

Six quilts washed dried and crinkly, ready for delivery.  The top is Mackenzie's, then Breanna's, Kolbie's, Maisyn's, Logann's, and Kerri's.

On the Heels of No. 8.......

On the heels of number 8 is number 9 finished last night.  Kerri's "Strip Twist".   It finished at about 60 by 81 inches.

Another flannel back, should be nice for the Iowa weather.

And her label.  I think you can see that I like this rose embroidery, it was a freebie from BFC Creations.

No. 8 Breanna's Quilt Finished

It's not award winning, but it's finished and it is kind of cute.

It finished up at about 59 by 77 inches.

The back is cozy flannel.

And the label. 

Whew.... That Was a Challenge

Two and a half days spent mostly basting and I have these four to show for it, Breanna's, Kerri's, my purple paintbox and my Sunrise Sunset (Orca Bay).  Wow was that Sunrise Sunset a challenge.  The wool batting seems to have made it heavier and harder to baste than my Iowa Christmas or my brother's Fourth of July quilts, which were also large queen sized quilts.  I hope that it isn't too much of a challenge to quilt on my Juki.  The plan from here is to finish Breanna's and Kerri's quilts and then to work on the bags for Marcy and Mackenzie.   I'm hoping to finish them and then to hopefully have time to finish the other two before the July visitors come.  Kerri and her 4 little ones will be coming and Nathan, Marcy and their little one will be here.  Vince and I are hoping that it can work out for all of us to go to Camp Blanding while they are here, that'll be fun. 

Updated Collage

And yet another version of my 16 patch leader enders collage.  The original was Mackenzie's baby quilt, monkeys and all, the second was a quilt for my cousin Michelle, then Tina's thank you quilt.  The second row, Alex's moving out of Grandma's house quilt, Jill's quilt, and last Mackenzie's big girl quilt for when she gets a twin sized bed.  She'll be three in December and is moving to Germany for three years in late summer. 

Another July Quilt

Another step off the chosen path.  I had given my niece a quilt that I had made for my mother when she passed away but hadn't made one for her.  Hopefully, she'll like this one.

Lately, it seems that most of my quilts end up in the purple family.

Today, I'll finish the backs for Breanna and Kerri's quilts and then put them away to probably be basted on Wednesday.  I hope to have them finished by the end of the week, at least Breanna's, and Kerri's almost finished.  Then on to the bags for Marcy and Mackenzie.