Alaska Flowers and Berries Quilt Top

Yikes, it's been awhile since I posted.  I have no excuses.  I have another UFO finish.  This project was #7 on my list of projects to finish here.  It still needs a border but I think that will be the easy part.  My real finish should have been the OMG for November, but I am on vacation and I realize I don't have a photo of it.  Bummer. 

The pattern for this quilt top comes from Wildfire Designs by Alaska quilt designer Dana Michelle.  The pattern uses Hoffman Batiks and specifies the color number for each piece.  I It's a modified rendition of the pattern because I just wanted to do the flowers and berries from the Southeast Panhandle region where I live.  I also used the colors of the plants in our region.  The Indian Paint Brush is yellow in the pattern but ours are orange red.  The columbine in pink in the pattern but ours our orange.  Alaska is a giant state with completely different climates from region to region and different kinds of plants thrive in different areas.  

 I keep pecking away at my weekend finds and feeling very satisfied with my finishes.  I have also made time to work on a few new projects too.  I am having fun with my 10 inch square patterns and will post them as I finish them.  

Linking To:  Midweek Makers, Let's Bee Social, NTT, 

Jewel Finish

     A few years ago, I put together a few quilt patterns, printed them and sold them at our local fabric shop.  The fabric shop closed so I decided to start a little home business and I sell fabric out of my home. I stock 10 inch squares, and people constantly ask what they can do with them.  My 2.5 inch strips sell like hotcakes but the 10 inch squares do not.  I started playing with pattern ideas for 10 inch squares because I like not being confined to 2.5 inch strips.  I put this quilt together using Kaffe Fassett's Collective Classics-Peacock 10 inch square collection.  I decided to make a pattern for it and publish it in PDF format.  So,  I'm finished with my first PDF published pattern.  The pattern is for the Jewel Quilt and you can find the pattern HERE.  

Linking to:  Show Off Saturday, TGIF, MCM, Monday Making,

You Have My Heart

A few weeks ago, I found some  UFO's in my project box that I wanted to finish.  I assigned each project a day of the week and for the first two weeks at least, I followed my schedule.  This was my weekend project.  Rosann at Home Sewn By Us suggested I turn the few Splendid Sampler blocks I'd made into a wall quilt.  I had 8 blocks sewn together so I needed 1 more.  I picked the pattern for the flower in the center bottom as my 9th block.  I have a new granddaughter coming on December 26th and this will be for her.  I really love the way this wall hanging turned out and I can't wait to meet the little girl it is for.

I'm not a fan of tiny pieces.  I like my points to match and the tiny pieces didn't come together easily for me so I sewed a few of these blocks by hand.  I am glad these little blocks have turned into something because I love them.

Linking to:  MCM, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, NTT, Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers, Finished or Not Friday

Stepping Stones Flimsy

Can I just say this top has been sewn together twice.  I did more ripping and resewing on this top than on all of my other quilt tops combined.  And all of this ripping after taking a class and following the directions.  The directions are very wordy and I like simple to follow directions with lots of pictures.  No excuses.  Would I make this quilt again?  Yes, now that I know the pattern I think the next will go together pretty quickly.  

I don't paper piece often so I forgot about making my stitches a little smaller, which turned out to be a good thing due to all of the ripping I did.  It did make removing the paper a bit of a chore, however.  It didn't take long to find the perfect layout for the blocks.  I put these sets of three down randomly and thought they looked just fine.  I did switch one, but if I had left it where it was, it would have been perfect too. 

I had several strips left after stitching the quilt together so I just sewed these together to make the border.  I don't think it's too busy do you?  I will bind with black.  I can't wait to finish this and figure out who to give it to.  

Linking to:   

Midweek Makers, Finished or Not, Can I Get A Whoop, Whoop, TGIFF

OMG November

This is my latest UFO, a Quilt of Valor for my son-in-law.  Joey served two tours in Afghanistan while in the Army.   I used the Jelly Girl pattern, designed by Joanna Figueroa for Fig Tree.  This pattern is made with 2.5" X 42" strips.  My goal is to finish this quilt by the end of November-at least the top.  

Linking to: OMG November, Oh Scrap, MCM #137

Kory's Forest Quilt

About 10 years ago, my son asked me to make him a quilt out of  jeans.  At the time, I was making bags out of denim and I had a pile of fabric for the job.  I used patterns from Terrie Kralik's quilt book titled, A Forest of Quilts. I grabbed some batiks and and some denim and started cutting.  The animals and birds are done with fusible, which I sewed to the quilt.  My son is an avid outdoorsman and I thought he'd love the animal and bird motifs.  He is a commercial fisherman and this quilt keeps him warm no matter the weather on our frigid Alaska waters.  

Kory's washing machine was broken and he brought some laundry to my house.  I was surprised to see this quilt in the pile of cloths.  It is well worn.  It is always satisfying to know that something you made with love is loved.

Linking to:  Can I Get A Whoop, Whoop, Finish It Up Friday,