Hurry, Hurry Post

I have less than an hour for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge October, pink.  These are slab blocks, 7 of 72 that I made for a queen sized quilt from my scraps.  I'm putting it aside for a little while now, but will be back to it in the next three or four months, I hope.

7 each of these colors to go toward the 72 blocks for the queen sized quilt.

And, likewise these.

7 of each color group, except for the aqua, only 2 of them.

My high tech method of quilt planning.

Yesterday I cut out several baby quilts, this was one that I started with 3 orphan blocks.  Everything from scraps or fabrics I already had, except for 1/2 yard of the Tinkerbell fabric. 

You can probably tell from this close-up why this was an orphan block.

I sewed together 2 of the baby quilts today, this was the other one.  It is a little odd, it was actually a panel to make bags out of, but I decided to do a baby quilt instead.  It would have been even odder if I had used the other little motif picture of bras and panties.  Hopefully, there is a mom who would like a girly-girl baby quilt.

This is a baby boy fishing quilt panel that I've had for years, Thimbleberry, I believe.  I cut it out yesterday, also.

And the only one that I had to buy the fabrics for, for my great-grandson.  My granddaughter decided to do the kids shared room with Minnie and Mickey.

Wallets for Christmas Gifts - Lots of Pockets

These were pretty fun to make, although I had to do a bit of ripping.  They hold 38 cards, and I'm planning to make several for Christmas gifts.  They are from infarrantlycreative.net, and called  Mega Credit Card Wallet.  The tutorial is at www.infarrantlycreative.net/business-card-wallet/

Quilt Top Number 4, Baby Quilt

Baby quilt is a flimsy now.  It is quilt number 4, but the first I will try to get finished, since it is a baby shower.  I am hoping to finish the other 3 though, to give to the bigger ones that day.
We are in Florida, so I'm making this short to work on hurricane preparations, just in case.
So scary for so many, prayers for everyone in any danger. 
I just want to add, I have commented on several blogs lately and gotten a message about some kind of problem.  I guess I need to investigate and check with Yahoo.  

Slab Blocks are 3 Flimsies Now, and Also, Baby Quilt in Planning

I have my three flimsies finished, this is the one for my great-grandson who is almost 8 years old.  He is an avid baseball player.  

This is the center of the quilt for my great-granddaughter who loves Minnie Mouse.  She, my great-granddaughter, not Minnie Mouse, is 3.

Here is her Minnie Mouse flimsy.

Here is the center of my almost 4 year old great-granddaughter's quilt.  Her daddy said she liked Shopkins and kittens.  Kittens were easier to find.  She also wanted her room pink purple, so I tried to have both.

And, the kitten flimsy.

Looks like still a lot of work to come.

The 8 year old and 4 year old have a brand new baby brother, less than a week old, so I have some fabric ordered from Marshall's Dry Goods for a baseball baby quilt.  Newborn appropriate baseball fabrics seemed hard to find.  I'm hoping to fussy cut the bears (hope they are big enough to make approximately 6-8 inch blocks) and sash them with cornerstones.  I seem to be stuck in that rut, but I find cornerstones more pleasant to make than borders.  I am still thinking though, it's possible that I might put it with another alternate block.

This would be for the sashing if I go with my present plan.

And this the cornerstones.  It is actually a mni print.

My mother liked houndstooth, and so do I, so this would be the first border.

This would be the second, larger border.  Or, as an alternate idea if there is enough of the Billy Bear at Bat baseball fabric, I might use it for the larger border.

And this will be the binding, unless I use the Billie Bears for the border, then I might use the swirly fabric above this as the binding.  

I looked for fleece for a backing for the baby quilt, but couldn't find any I liked.  I did like this flannel, so this will be the backing.  The baby shower is September 17th, and I'm hoping to have the 4 of these ready to give at that time.  

Slab Blocks Complete

Deep sigh of relief, the last 9 of my 45 slab blocks are finished.  Now as anyone knows there is lots more to do.  I haven't even cut out any borders or sashing, and  haven't even thought about binding.  I did 3 blocks last night, and 6 blocks this morning, so I think that that is all for another day.  There are 3 quilts to make from them, so it'll be a little while.  There is another great-grandbaby due on the 24th (my husband is hoping for the 22nd on his and a grandson's birthday), and there is a shower for her or him (they opted not to know) in September, so I'm hoping to be done by then so that the older 2 siblings can have gifts, too.

36 Down, 9 to Go - Slab Blocks and Kaleidoscope Quilt Finish

Here is my finished Kaleidoscope Quilt from my leftover Rainbow Quilt Challenge blocks.  It isn't washed yet, so no nice fresh crinkles.  I have recipients in mind.  
P.S.   My couch is leather and quilts slide right off it.  On someone's YouTube video they gave the hint to use the A Clamps from the hardware store to attach to the top and give weight.  A Great Tip!

I've been working on the slab blocks to make 3 quilts.  Two big girl quilts, and on the right side, a big boy quilt.  I've got 36 blocks finished now, only 9 more to go.  

I plan to sew the girls blocks together in a 3 x 5 arrangement, and then to get the quilt to the right size, add a plain border, a pieced border, another small plain border, and a large polka dot border (Minnie Mouse is popular with them right now, and polka dots are cheaper than the actual Disney fabric, I also have polka dot fleece for the backs, one red, and one pink).  For the big boy quilt, baseball is the plan.  I plan on baseball sashing and cornerstones, with a small baseball border, and then a much more colorful large baseball border.   But, being an indecisive sort, the conversation in my mind:  Self - Maybe I should do sashing and cornerstones on all 3.  Self - No, sewing the blocks all together looked nice on the googled pictures.  Self - But what if mine just looks like a mish-mash.  Self -  They are going to be rainbow style, so the colors should give them seperation.  It's hard being indecisive.  

Slab Quilts

My first Slab Blocks.  I'm hoping to do enough blocks (72) to do 3 lap quilt size quilts 48 x 72, plus possible borders.  Four down, only 68 more to go.  They seem fairly easy and a good way to use up scraps.  Light blue, pink and black are for girl quilts, and the dark blue for a boys quilt.  It's a start.  I was going to try the Butterfly strip quilt from Missouri Star quilt company and tried 3 blocks, but decided I didn't enjoy the process.  This block is more to my liking at this time.  Here is a link to the free pattern: http://www.cherylarkison.com/ and http://www.ctpub.com/cheryl-arkison/
And, there is an excellent tutorial on YouTube by SewVeryEasy, on her channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaEl11xk6Qg&t=4s
And, another excellent tutorial by Weekend Project, evidently it was a Canada 150th Anniversary Celebration block.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNJ2_ZNRPTA
A bargain method to do 3 great-grandbaby big girl and big boy quilts.
Here is one by Crazy Mom Quilts with sashing.  That would cut my blocks needed down to about 36.  http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2013/07/
Hmmm.
And, one without sashing by Naptime Quilter, (Cheryl Larkison, the blocks creator)
http://naptimequilter.blogspot.com/2013/06/slabs-for.html
I'm a ways away from having to make a decision.     Oops, I guess this is the pattern link:
https://www.canadianquilter.com/pdf/quilt-canada-2017/Quilting-Bee-How-to-make-a-block.pdf 

Kaleidoscope in Progress and Butterflies

I worked on a lot of blocks a couple of years ago for Angela's Rainbow Scrap Challenge and these are almost the last of them, I think I have a few 9 patches left, but that's all.   It's a flimsy now, still needs basting and quilting.  

I got excited when I saw a butterfly in one of my badly kept pots.

And then, there were two!

I got this picture off of Facebook, Tucker and his mom using his new quilt.

Tucker's Big Boy Quilt

Here is the light that I talked about below, I really like it.

Tucker is my grand nephew, and I've been meaning to make him a big boy quilt for awhile, I've actually had the flimsy done for probably a year or so.   I also made pillowcases for him and his sisters (except one, who is out on her own), his is super heroes to match, and the girls are butterflies in various colors.  It'll be a surprise, hope they like them.  I am hoping to spend more time in my sewing room.  Since I moved here 2 years ago, I haven't been very happy with my living room - sewing room, but I think I have it pretty much usable.  I must have gotten spoiled, I have sewn in my bedroom, living room, and dining room in the past, but that was before I got to be a quilter.  I seem to have gotten away from simple.  There are many quilters, more gifted than I, who do amazing things with less, in less room.  Lighting has been one of the issues, and I have recently discovered a great little lamp, which helps immensely.  I got it at Walmart, Ideaworks Super Bright Portable LED Lamp With USB, I don't know how the longevity of it will be, but it uses 4 AA batteries, or has a USB cable.  It is nice and bright, can be put just where you want it, and folds down into about  the size of an old fashioned foot peddle.

Bits and Pieces

I didn't blog these finishes, but since I've had so few, I'll go ahead and do it now.  These 2 Christmas quilts were finished the end of 2016.  This one for my bed, and the other for my daughters.  I did have 3 queen beds, but since the move I only have 1, the others are upstairs being used by my daughter and her kids, so I don't need as many quilts anymore.  This is my Santa Quilt

This is the Christmas Rail Fence, which I gave to my daughter.  It is finished, but of course, this is a picture of the flimsy.  

I've also made a slew of afghans of different sizes, but they all look similar to these.  I enjoy crocheting while I watch TV, and this is a relatively mindless pattern.  They are all the "I Love This Yarn",  from Hobby Lobby, it is luxuriously soft.

• Candace