Jeep Girl

It was my sister Carol's turn for a new quilt.  I asked her if there was a theme or type of quilt she wanted, and without missing a beat she said, "A Jeep quilt".  I wasn't surprised.  She is most definitely a Jeep girl!

I couldn't find any Jeep fabric locally so I had to shop online.  Darn!  I hate when that happens.  Just kidding.  I can almost always find exactly what I need on quiltshops.com.  























We decided on the pattern Pastoral Countryside from All People Quilt, and I added one more fabric to the mix.  

It was Shirley Jackson to the rescue again, and the quilting was perfect. 

And you know what the best part was, right?  Giving it to my sister in person!

I love, love, love that kind of reaction!

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict.
    Linking up with Tish's Adventures in Wonderland

GO, Cardinals!

When my sister told me she was involved in organizing a fundraiser to help with her BFF's medical bills I (naturally!) offered to make a quilt to be raffled.  I wanted to make something that would appeal to a large audience so I decided to make a gender neutral baby quilt. Then, I got to thinking about the fact that this fundraiser is being held in Cardinals country.  St. Louis Baseball Cardinals to be exact.   A lot more money could be raised from a Cardinals quilt, right? 

Really simple blocks came together fast .....

..... AFTER washing that red batik seven (yes, seven!) times to remove excess dye.  

Gotta love those color catchers, but it wasn't until the last wash cycle when I added Synthropal that I saw the results I wanted.  Next time I work with red fabric I think I'll use it the first time.  :-(

Once it was basted I wasn't sure what thread to use.   My quilting is decent, but I don't really want it to show up that much!

It's hard to tell when you look at it on the spool, but this variegated thread is blue, red, and yellow so I thought it would work well.  The quilting shows more than I wanted it to.  I just had to work slowly and do the best I could.  Well.  I always do the best I can, but, you know....

Not too shabby!

It ended up about 60" x 70", the perfect size for a snuggle quilt.

Of course, I had to add a little fun to the back .....

..... and get a few semi-creative shots!

So, off it goes in the mail this week to my sister.  Fingers crossed!

November's Goal Met! -- "Otherness"

 I have to say this was a fun goal to work on, and I'm glad I finished it.  It was outside my comfort zone, but something I want to do more of.  The little art quilt I started for my sister last April has been pinned and basted for a long time.  I had tried to do a little free motion quilting on it and hated it so much I ripped it all out and threw it into a pile of "stuff!"

Starting over, I decided to take it one section at a time and see what happens.

Straight-line quilting gets a little boring, but it sure looks good!

Once I had the binding on it still needed a little something so I dug out the BeJeweler I bought and never used.  (I have tons of tools, notions, and rulers that have yet to be removed from their original packaging.  I bet other quilters never do that!)

That was fun!  It's a good thing I'm not a sweatshirt gal or I might have been up all night BeJewelling away.

I did "just enough" to give it a little pizzazz.  

I call it "Otherness" which is a word I came across in a novel and loved.  It perfectly fits my sister.  I can't wait to see this hanging in her home. 

I am linking up with the ALYoF November Finishes Party at Fiber of All Sorts.   My original goal was #66 and my finish is #41.