Two Finishes for Project Linus - an FMQ Journey

Awhile back, I promised to share real pictures of my May Finish.  But more exciting to me is that I got 26 blocks out of my WIP pile. 

Most of the blocks were from several rounds of the 3x6 bee. I love the way they all look together.

They say the only way you will improve at anything is to practice, so I did a different motif from Angela Walters' Free Motion Quilting in each block.  I love that book.  Her instructions are super easy to follow, if maybe not so easy for me to execute.  Something about hand-eye coordination, and the disconnect between my brain and my muscles.

I decided on this block that I don't like pebble quilting any more than I did the first time.  But I do like the texture when it is finished.

I kind of wish that Angela would come out with a practice book like we used to practice penmanship when I was in school (I understand they don't teach cursive in school any more, let alone penmanship!  What's up with that?)  Then you could really do as she suggests and practice the designs with a pencil over and over and over...

I did the yellow quilt before I did Krista's quilt as a practice quilt so I would get at least a little better at FMQ.  It really doesn't come naturally to me at all.

This block is far from perfect, but it ended up being one of my favorites.  I tried 3 different motifs in this block.  I really love how it turned out.

I think I just got tired and did stipple quilting in this block.  Never a bad choice, right?

These were bee blocks, which have a tendency to vary in size, so I sashed all the way around each block to even them up.  I ended up trimming to 15", so each block finished at 14-1/2" square.

I tried paisleys on this block.  I really love paisley anything, and this motif was very fun to do.  I obviously need to work on the size consistency of my paisleys though.

 I used another stripe fabric from my Stripes That Bind bundle for the binding from my favorite fabric shop.  I think it looks like it was made for this quilt.

 In her book, Angela talks about not getting stuck in a corner, and that wasn't really my problem.  It was more that I would finish the block and find that I had left a whole big area unquilted, so I need to work on how to get around the quilt more logically.

I really love that these blocks are all so different, but coordinate with each other so well.  This one is more seafoam than aqua, but it still works perfectly.  And the yellow in this block blends so well with the sashing.

I pieced the back together from the two extra blocks and some leftover yardage.  I really like that blue swirl.  Despite its faults, I am fairly pleased with how it turned out.

The second aqua/red quilt is my ALOYF finish for June.  I sashed this one in aqua.  I like how it gives it such a different feel.

For this quilt, I decided I wanted to improve my swirls, as they are such a basic part of FMQ, so I did swirls in all 12 blocks.

 I hope my swirls improved over the course of quilting 12 blocks.

 Still pretty rough, I think.

 I used a different motif in all of the sashings in this quilt.  I like the wood grain.  Not polished, but really fun.

 Wavy lines in between some of the blocks.

 I tried pulleys up this one side (and then covered half of them up with the binding).  I think here they look a little like safety pins.

 These swirls are far from perfection, but I will keep practicing.

 The figure 8's were really fun too.

 These swirls might be {a little} better?

 The triangles were fun, but it took me awhile to get the hang of it.  The first dozen or more were backwards. 

 The wavy lines were harder than they look.  I never did get the hang of keeping them even, so I decided to just let 'er rip and have fun with them.  I really like the texture.

And stripey binding again.  This one was from my stash.

 This fabric was some that Krista gave me that her mom's friend's family had given her.  She brought it home to Arizona from Seattle in a Coleman Cooler, so we call it Cooler fabric.  LOL  This was a pretty large piece, although not quite wide enough so I added a couple of coordinating pieces to make it work.

The print reminds me a bit of Tarzan, or John Steinbeck's The Pearl.  In any case, I think it will make it boy-appropriate.  The ECMQG is participating in a large quilt request from Project Linus.  They specifically asked for gender neutral or even numbers of boy and girl quilts.  They are specifically to go to Camp Corral, a local camp for military children who have a parent who is deployed, wounded or fallen. 

I really had fun quilting these quilts, and perhaps I made a little progress in the FMQ department.  In any event, though, I hope they will keep a child warm, and perhaps let them know that someone cares.  These men and women have given great service to our country, and as always, it is often the children who suffer most.

With a husband who served 23 years in the military, a good bit of it in combat, I often think, "There but for the grace of God go I."

Fun Mail Update

As we all know, I'm a swapping fool, and as much as I like to make things and send them off, I love to receive the fun mail that comes in response.  I don't really know why, but I tend to procrastinate getting out the camera and taking pictures.  I have a ton of excuses, "I'm too busy."  "The light's not right."  {and my personal favorite} "I'll do it later."  But I am determined to be better about taking pictures going forward.  {Pinky promise.}  So, I have three amazing swap packages to share with you today.

First is the amazing swap package I received from Kristy (Catiedyd Designs) in the Sew Sew Modern Swap.  I have been meaning to make my weekender for awhile - and in fact I have the backing cut out and I know just what I'm going to do, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.  Now, I'm not sure I will need to, although a girl can never have too many bags, right?

The bag is awesome.  She used two coordinating dark fabrics so they won't show the dirt as much.  Great idea!  And I love the lime green piping!
 

And the piece de resistance is the zippered outside pocket.  Such a great innovation! I may need to put one in the next bag I make.  VERY cool.  And sticking out of the pocket in this shot is the awesome banner she made me.  It will be fab in my new "studio".  (Note To Self:  Go buy paint!)

She used a different coordinating fabric for the lining.  I like that it's a lighter color.  As my eyes age, I appreciate all the help I can get.  Finding things in the bottom of a bag with dark lining is just - difficult.

Aside from the banner, she included zippers, rick rack...

and - coolest of all - some of those clever Clover quilting binder clips I have been meaning to buy for awhile now.  I used them to bind Krista's quilt and they are as awesome as advertised.  Waaaaay better than pins. I think the best thing about them is that they don't distort the shape of your item like pins do.  They are really nifty.  If I make another Weekender, I will certainly use them on that too. 

(You remember what my pins looked like after my Weekender adventure, right?  So sad.)

Thank you, Kristy, for a lovely swap package.

(I am super tardy taking photos of this fabulous package.  Where does the time go???  I know that I tend to put off taking pictures, but this is ridiculous!)  I am honestly over the moon with this awesome package from Joanne in the UK (Jo Jo 33).  She really nailed this one!  Do you see all these amazing creations???  Joanne said I really pulled her out of her comfort zone {sorry}, but I think she did a fantastic job on these items!  Oh my!  I am deliriously happy!

First there is this amazing bag.  I can't tell you how much I love this bag.  All the fabrics she used make me smile.  One side is pink...

And the other side is blue and green.  I am deliriously happy with this bag.  {Did I say that already?} I think it will become my new purse (when I can bear the thought of getting it dirty.)  EDIT:  Joanne shared the pattern with me here.  And as if this bag could get any better, it is reversible!  Is that awesome, or what???  (Thanks Rebeckah for reminding me!)

She also sent me this wonderful clock.  I wanted a clock that would hang on the wall in my new "studio", and when I get my room painted (see Note To Self above), this will be perfect!  I love how carefully stitched this amazing applique is.  And it is mounted on wood, so it is very sturdy.  I know I am going to love the way it jazzes up my new room.

She included a bunch of other wonderful things as well...  A little fabric basket to {try to} get me organized, a really cute camera strap, and a package of gorgeous pins - and after all the pins I've thrown in the trash can lately, these are most welcome.  (And I love that they are sooo pretty!)

Joanne, thank you for such a wonderful, thoughtful package.

Finally, I received this package from Lori (Lori H. Designs) in the Fabric Basket Swap.  I was hoping for a large basket to toss my fabric scraps in, and she really nailed it.  This basket is the perfect size - not huge, but really big.  It's big enough that I can throw scraps from a project or two in it, but not so big that I will be overwhelmed by the idea of sorting my scraps, if you know what I mean.

I don't think she used the same fabric twice on this bucket, and I love her choices.  I always like scrappy, and this is perfect.

She included a cute little fabric pouch, some FQs, a couple of bolts of ribbon and {yay!} pins.

Thanks, Lori!

I feel so blessed to have had such amazing swap partners who created such fabulous things for me.  I can tell that each of them took the time to find out what I might like and then create awesome items just for me.

And now we know why I am addicted to swaps.  I suppose that won't change any time soon.

A Gift of Love

Now that Krista has received her gift, I can share it here.  A few months ago, Krista contacted some of her friends about making blocks for her chemo quilt.  She chose the Reverse Rainbow pattern from Kat (Diary of a Flutter.Kat), slightly ironic to me because I was in the original bee that Kat created this pattern for.

Anyway, of course I told Krista that I would be delighted to make her a couple of blocks and that I would be glad to make the quilt for her also.

I'm not really sure who made which block, to be honest.  I made the red one.

Here's dark pink...

And light pink....  I quilted each block individually, sampler style, using patterns from Angela Walters book.  Do you think if I practice enough I'll eventually get proficient at this FMQ thing?

I quilted feathers and leaves in the orange...

I love the way the colors in the blocks blend from one to the next in this quilt.

Wonky diamonds in the lime green

Flowers in the regular green.

I did the aqua block too.  I tried to use the most fun fabrics I had since I'm sure chemo isn't any fun at all.

I like the dark blue.  This is the first block I quilted.  These swirls are kind of scary, I think.  They surely need work.  {Melissa did this block.}

I tried a clamshell pattern in the lavender block.

I tried the herringbone pattern in the dark purple.  That circle print reminds me of bananas. LOL  And the one next to it reminds me of trees in the forest at dawn.

Dolores made this rainbow block.  She used lots of fun prints in it and made the star twice as big as the others.  It was perfect for a little interest on the back.

I actually remembered to put a label on this quilt.  Amazing.  (Sorry the pic is so blurry - note to self:  look at the photos before you pack up the quilt and send it off.)

And here's the overall pic of the back of the quilt.

I hope Krista will feel the love her friends poured into this quilt as she snuggles up in it as she goes through this experience.  Even more, I hope the chemo is successful.

As I was quilting these beautiful blocks, I couldn't help but think of the covenant the Lord made with Noah (Genesis, chapter 9):

"And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.  And God said to Noah, This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth." 

And I thought how comforting it is that the Lord is on our side.  He will be with Krista throughout this experience.

Please keep Krista and her family in your prayers at this difficult time.

A Tisket, A Tasket - A{nother} Little Fabric Basket!

A week  or so ago I mentioned what great gifts these little fabric baskets make.  I am really having fun making them.  This one is for Leona's Fabric Basket Swap.  I made the basket a few weeks ago with selvages from Anna Maria Horner's LouLouThi that were passed from one daughter to the other, and then to me.  I've been having a blast with them.

I filled the basket with an assortment of goodies, including some fabric, zippers, thread, a decorated dish towel and crocheted dish cloth, an apron pattern, and a cute little Mary Engelbrite journal.  It was fun - and a little challenging - to think of things to fill it with.  Normally, I might have added candy, but this is Florida, and it is June, and it just didn't seem like a good idea.  (Sorry, partner!)

Still, I hope my partner enjoys the basket despite its candy-less state.

Showing Off - A Little Pillow Talk

This spring I had another chance to play along in the Pillow Talk Swap.  Pillow Talk was the first swap I participated in and it's always one of my favorites.  This time, I had a pretty good idea of the pillow I wanted to make for my partner from the start - this super fun Show Off pillow from Amanda's tutorial.  

And I knew I wanted to use this lovely bundle of fabric - Les Amis by Patty Sloniger for Michael Miller.  It's not often that I know exactly what I want to make as soon as I receive my partner assignment.  I usually agonize over it for weeks before the plan comes together.  This time though, the hardest part was fitting it in amongst all the other projects, and naturally I wait until I am up against a deadline.

This was especially tricky this time as my youngest daughter and her husband came home for the weekend for the first time since she got married almost 2 years ago.  What a treat to have them come!

I managed to get the pillow top made on Thursday, after I finished another project I can't talk about just yet.  I did the machine quilting Saturday afternoon while they were at the beach.  Luckily, one of the things she wanted to do while she was home (besides go to the beach) was a Star Wars marathon - the original movies, 1970's style - so I had plenty of time for the hand quilting.

I used my (new-to-me) Accu Quilt for the first time on this project.  It was fabulous to have perfectly cut hexies to work with.  And I love the way Amanda's pattern shows off the fun animal prints from the Les Amis line.  It's a great way to showcase your favorite fabrics.

I'm thinking I might have to make this pattern again.

A Lovely Year of Finishes - June Goal

Good golly - is it June already?  Must be...  How did that happen?   It's time to set a goal for my June WIP finish, and I know just what it will be.

These are the rest of the 3x6 bee blocks from oh - two years ago I think.  I managed to get the first quilt finished (pictures soon, I promise) and this one sandwiched but not quilted or bound in May, so getting this one finished will be my goal for June.  I really hope I can get it done before the ECMQG meeting on Saturday.  That way I could leave it with the Project Linus chairman and not drag it home again - especially since I will miss the July meeting.

With any luck, I will finish this one also, as it is for Project Linus as well.

So, wish me luck that I get a LOT done this week. 

I hope you are successful in your quilty projects too.