Finishing up a Few Things

Do you all have a bunch of projects in various stages of completion? I frequently become excited by a new project, only to let others fall by the wayside, so I dedicated a couple of days to finish a few things. First my sister's picnic quilt, this was made from 2 packs of charm squares and some yardage.

I thought I was done with this and went to put it on the fame for quilting and realized it was too small. Sue wanted a quilt she could stretch out on, so I pieced together a border with the leftover yardage, I hope it is long enough.

Next this table topper that I started probably a year or so ago. I abandoned it when it came time to piece the border, too many small pieces. This was also made from 2 packs of charm squares. I finished piecing it and then quilted it in an all over flower stipple.

Then there is this cute bag, Tag Along Tote, pattern by Terry Atkinson. I think it is pretty cute. Just the right size for phone, wallet, glasses and keys.

I was over at Wanda's blog this morning, Exuberant Color, and she has a great idea, you assign each unfinished project a day, and that day each week is dedicated to that project until it is complete. I may have to try that, because finishing these three projects is not even scratching the surface. Anyway, go check out her blog, she has some really beautiful work.

Oh, one more thing, the brown fabric I ordered on Ebay came in a jiffy, so I was able to completed binding the coin quilt.

How I Ended up at the Library

Earlier this week I some how came across Michele's blog With Heart and Hands .... where she posted some wonderful pictures of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and shared a little history about the Gees Bend Quilters, it was both moving and inspirational. Her next post featured many of the quilts at the show made by Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston. The next thing I knew was Googling the Gees Bend Quilters and Gwen Martson, well I finally headed off to the library hoping to be able to get a peak at Gwen's book "Liberated Quiltmaking". I loved it, sat there and read it for hours.

Gwen and Freddy have a new book, "Freddy and Gwen Collaborate Again: Freewheeling Twists on Traditional Quilt Designs", and Michele is giving away a copy on her blog, so go to Michele's blog, see some beautiful and inspiration quilts and leave a comment to enter to win the book. I hope I win it!

Scraps

Using scraps from this quilt I made a stacked coin quilt. I am happy with the way it turned out, but I wish I had quilted it a bit denser.

I LOVE the lime green backing, or is it chartreuse? I was planning to use the same pink fabric for the binding as I did on the back of the first quilt, but that was before I choose the green backing. Luckily, I was able to find the same brown fabric used in the quilt on Ebay, it should be here is a couple of days.

I need to get working on my mini for the summer swap, some folks have already finished theirs. I am thinking about making houses?

Still Deciding What to Do Next

I can't decide what I want to do next. I do have a couple of completed tops that need quilting, so one of them may be my next project. I also have some fabulous Amy Butler fabrics I purchased a while back that I would love to see in a quilt. In the mean time I added the border to my most recent mini.

And, since I have accumulated a few mini quilts, I may as well display them, so I hung a thin curtain rod up in my quilting room. I love being able to see them, so bright and cheerful. Sorry the picture isn't better, the room is too small to get far enough away to get a good photo.

Speaking of mini quilts I joined another swap.

Swanky by Chez Moi for Moda Complete

I just LOVE the way this quilt turned out! I found a thin striped flannel in yellow for the back and then a coordinating stripe for the binding. I quilted an all over meander, fairly dense. After it was washed and dried it wrinkled up nicely.

I am ready to start something new, what will it be?

Christmas in July

I may have my Holidays a little mixed up. Seriously, when I discovered that I really did not have enough flannel for the back of the ZigZag quilt I decided to quilt a top I made quite a while ago. I may have even made this top before I started blogging. WELL, now that I see it I cannot believe I waited this long to finish it, it is beautiful! Made from Christmas batiks, I think it is one of my all time favorites, my picture does not really do it justice; the colors are really much more vibrant than portrayed in the photograph. As you can see from the clips, I am still working on the binding.

Have a fun and safe Independence Day!