Mike's "Goldleaf" Quilt

I should have titled this post "Throwback Thursday"  because it's about a quilt I made last year and didn't blog about.  I'd found a box of HSTs I wanted to do something with, so I put them up on the design wall and had a play day.  You know I like those!

The first thing I did was rearrange them into a more random looking design.  Next I pulled out a length of fabric I had bought for something and then decided I didn't like it. 

 

Any fabric you don't like almost always looks better when you cut it up into smaller pieces.  (That's your tip for today!)  I cut out some squares and rectangles and worked them into my design then used the rest of it for borders.  

What a difference!

This was gifted to another family member, my brother-in-law Mike this time.  I'm making a list and checking things off.  Have you noticed?

Linking up with So Scrappy

Rennes' Quilt

Rennes is the most recent great-nephew to get a quilt from Aunt Sandy.  (These little ones just keep coming!)   

I bought a few blues and grays when I was in Shipshewana this past summer so I would have enough to make a scrappy version of "Child's Play", a free download from sewcanshe.com.  

More HSTs, but I'm getting used to them, so I've stopped complaining!  

Auditioning fabrics for the binding was hard.  I though they all looked good.

  

Family baby quilts always get hand quilted.

I'll probably use this pattern again.  I really love it.

So does Rennes!

Linking up with So Scrappy and Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

Progress Reports - "All Stacked Up" and Aidan's Quilt

Don't you hate it when you have a really vague idea in your head of the fabric you want when you go into your LQS (local quilt shop), and they don't have it?  Then, don't you love it when they have the perfect thing, and it isn't what you had in mind at all?  Funny, but that happens to me all the time.  I found this perfect gorgeous batik to use for the background in my "All Stacked Up" blocks.

Even though there are some HSTs in this pattern, it's a nice change from the projects I've been working on lately, because of all the straight-line stitching.  I added a few more batiks to the mix while we were in Middleton, Wisconsin recently at Blue Bar Quilts .....

..... so they made their way into some of the blocks.

This top will be ready to go to my quilter's soon.

Meeting my September goal (getting Aidan's quilt top finished) is looking good, too.  I found this great Bernartex print, Tonal Squares by Ann Lauer .....

..... and now 120 String Block HSTs are ready to go up on the design wall.  

More later.  I'm headed to my sewing room.

A June Progress Report

I've gotten sidetracked by a few things, but my June goal is slowly getting there.  I was nearly finished appliqueing some blue star blocks when I decided to make it my June goal to turn them into a donation quilt.  I started making nine-patches for the alternate blocks, but got tired of that, so I ended up making a second kind, too.   Then somewhere along the way I realized I was using two different shades of gray.  It's a scrappy quilt, though, right? 

The blocks look good together .....

..... and I was able to pull the perfect backing fabric from my stash.  It's the same fabric I used for the background in Natalie's quilt - "Essentials" by Wilmington Prints.

 That project is set aside for now.  My daughter-in-law asked me to make a quilt for her friend's twin grand-daughters.  I was pretty excited to be asked to make such a special quilt, and maybe a little excited to buy something new and fun to work with.  I found this collection called "Seashore Drive" by Sherri & Chelsi for Moda Fabrics.  It was hard to pick out only ten of them.  I fell in love with all the prints in the line.

It's even prettier when you add some Kona White.

I can't get away from those Half Square Triangles, can I?

But, just wait until you see what I'm doing with them!

A Quilting Life Block of the Month (Jan's Quilt)

If you need more projects to work on or you're looking for a quilty podcast to listen to, check out Sherri's blog, A Quilting Life.  Just after the Covid isolation began my quilty friend Denise used that blog to entice me into doing a Mystery Block of the Month as a sew-along with her.  It turns out this Mystery BOM is an annual thing.  Now she's talked me and three other neighbors into making the 2022 mystery quilt.  More about that later.  

The 2020 quilt was designed using all half-square-triangles.  I decided to use bright batiks ..... 

..... with Kona white for the background .....

..... and a nice black and white stripe to give it some interest and make it my own.  I took the blogger's advice and made up all the HSTs I would need for the year.  

I decided to use the option to make eight inch blocks so I could set them on point and have a throw sized quilt instead of a full.

Putting one striped HST in each block was a good decision.  It's such a fun look.

After I finished putting the top together I felt like it needed a border.  I think the border really made the quilt, and to top it all off the quilting by my friend Shirley Jackson was gorgeous.  As always.

A green binding to match the cornerstones really made for a nice finish.

I sent this one to my sister-in-law Jan.  I hadn't made a quilt for her since her wedding.  Don't ask me how long ago that was!

This quilt is one of my favorites.  It's funny.  All the quilts I make are my favorites!

Linking up with So Scrappy.

Kacie's Quilt

Every girl needs a new quilt when she leaves home to go off to college.  Especially when her Aunt Sandy thinks she does! And even more so when her sisters have recently received new quilts.  (You can read about Karlie's here and Kourtnie's here.)  It was Kacie's turn.

Jennie Doan's "Summer Camp" pattern looked like fun, and I was in the mood to work with teals and grays.  I dug into my stash and found something to work with, but I ended up adding a few fat-quarters to round out the mix.  We have to do our part to support our Local Quilt Shops.  I mean, that's a given, right?

The blocks were pretty basic so it went together quickly.  That's a good thing since I had waited to even start on it until she was just about ready to leave for school!  Isn't it nice when a block starts out as a half-square-triangle and keeps changing as you add simple strips?

I reversed the way the lights and darks in the HSTs are positioned in order to get a different look.  You know me.  Gotta change it up a little if I'm using a pattern!  It didn't make much difference really, but ... well ... you know .....

Another beautiful quilting job by my friend, Shirley Jackson, and a hand-stitched label and binding, and Aunt Sandy was ready to ship it off to one of her (many!) darling nieces.  

Getting some nice shots of the finished quilt is one of my fave things to do.

Seeing that big smile when someone gets their quilt is my absolute fave, though!

It makes my heart happy!

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict 

Linking up with So Scrappy