Quilted Gifts

This quilt is #82 Falling Leaves and Flying Geese, and it is dedicated and gifted to the Christiansen family of Northfield Mount Hermon, who so generously shared their love and time with Lexi during her sophomore and junior years. They are moving to Cincinnati, where Brynner and Arryn will grow up closer to their grandparents. I hope the fall colors remind them of the beautiful New England autumns that they are leaving behind.

This quilt is #69, Tulane Picture Frames, and it is gifted to Heather Leeds, special ed teacher, who has patiently helped Lexi with her schoolwork. Education is a challenging field, and I have great respect for those who make it their passion. Lexi has been so thankful for her time with Heather.

Proud Mom

I admit this is not a good photo, but it's all I have, and it took a lot of coaxing to get Sophia to send me a "selfie" after her lacrosse game. I know she would be extremely displeased with me if I were to post it on FB, but I just have to brag about her, and since almost nobody looks here, :) and certainly she doesn't, (shhhhh!) I'll put it here. This girl of mine hates for the final score to be a tie. She'd actually rather lose than tie, go figure. So when her lacrosse game entered its final minute with a 10-10 score, I was dreading the mood she'd be in after the game, especially since her team had been winning by a handy margin in the first half. She told her coach, "put me in, Coach, I'm feeling it!" 

With 37 seconds left in the game, she manages to come up with the ball, and she leaps in the air to fling it into the goal over the opposing goalie's head. Her first goal of the season, (there's only one game left,) and she manages this feat! Needless, to say, her teammates went wild, the stands went wild, and her parents went wild. Later, the coaches told me they shed some tears of pride as well.

Yea Sophie!!!

Quilt Labels

Labeling quilts is one of my least favorite parts of quilting, so most of my quilts are unlabeled. I did a marathon labeling session this weekend and finished up 5 quilts, some of which I'd called finished before, and am happy to be sending these on to deserving recipients this week. There are two Quilts of Valor, which still need pillowcases, and three gift quilts for others.

This is my Barcelona Jewel Quilt. I spent almost the whole day on this, but am happy with my progress. First, I put this teal border on, and it makes a huge difference in the way the quilt catches my eye. Before this border, I thought it was done, but it was lackluster and I didn't feel strong affinity for it. Now, I think I love it! I also put it on the longarm frame, chose a poly batting, and pieced up a backing for it. 

I received my copy of Quilting Wide Open Spaces by Judi Madsen, and a preliminary reading has inspired me to do custom quilting on it rather than an all-over design. She advises stitching in the ditch to make the quilting "pop," and my initial work on this quilt actually seems to be having this effect on the actual piecing. I'm excited to be doing something new.

Stash Used:  5.5 yards

Stash Used, total: 269.35 yards

Stash Acquired: 24.5 (Hawthorne Threads: Houndstooth, Glimmer, Swedish Xmas, Voile)

Stash Acquired, total: 469.875

Happy Easter

I used some of my pink stash to make double-sided napkins for our Easter dinner. I'd rather be sewing than cooking, that's for sure! 

Stash Used:  6 yards

Stash Used, total: 263.85 yards

Stash Acquired: 0

Stash Acquired, total: 445.375

Charity Silent Auction

The bags are finished, and this one is going to be raffled at the Mom Prom on April 26.

Fabric Friday

It's Fabric Friday! Well, that's not really a thing, but why not? My kids post old photos on their social media sites on "Throwback Thursday," so why can't I have Fabric Friday, when I pull the trigger on some of the fabric I've been "dating" in cyber shopping carts? Today, among other things, I ordered two yards of this:

Designer: Lily Gonzales-Creed

Collection: Farm to Fork

Print Name: Houndstooth in Yellow

Think: funky pencil skirt. I ordered from Hawthorne Threads, where they've got the bacon print on order. I'll put that in my cart when it is available.

Stash Used:  0 yards

Stash Used, total: 257.85 yards

Stash Acquired: 11

Stash Acquired, total: 445.375

Beach Bags

My mother taught me to buy shoes that I like in many colors. It suggests that you may not be able to get too much of a good thing. In the spirit of "one good thing deserves...MORE," I made more beach bags. Here's one I made with Annie's Soft and Stable, which is perhaps a mistake since the top doesn't pinch in as smoothly as I'd like.

It's always time to sew for charity, and I've dipped into the stash of fabrics I bought specifically for that purpose. These beach bags are sure to be appealing to the charity silent auction set, so I've started two for that purpose. I am waiting for the webbing to arrive, as I'd not stashed any in an appropriate pink. Anyone who knows me well knows that I've seen more pink in a lifetime than anyone needs to, and I really am not a fan of making a whole month, (October,) into Breast Cancer Awareness monotony. Nevertheless, the charities tend to draw a passionate crowd, and the cause is not without its deserving beneficiaries. I deeply wish that so much hype would be spent on ensuring clean drinking water for the entire globe, but I am not the one who gets to decide. Here are my works in progress:

And here is the scaled-down version I've made into my latest purse. It's from the fabric line "Hearty Goid Wishes," which I've found the need to hoard.

Stash Used:  9 yards

Stash Used, total: 257.85 yards

Stash Acquired: 0

Stash Acquired, total: 434.375