Two Quilts Finished for Project Linus

Hey, long time, no see! Yes, I know that is my fault, and I apologize if you have come here in the past couple of weeks and found nothing new to read. I had my first nasty cold of the season and am counting on that time served to earn me some immunity later in the season.

Also, I have been working very hard to quilt and bind some tops that I had made for Project Linus. Here are my two recently finished quilts, Dog Scrapbook and Double Dip. In making these quilts, I have lived up to my Scrapquilter name. I actually used up a few fabrics in the making of these quilts, and that hardly ever happens.

I can't remember where I saw a quilt similar to the dog quilt, but I determined what sizes of dog fabric scraps to cut, bordered them and joined them into 12 x 12 finished units before joining the 9 units into rows. The border strips were cut 1 1/2 inches wide. The squares were cut 10 1/2 x 10 1/2 and 4 1/2 x 4 1/2. The rectangles were 4 1/2 x 10 1/2. Let me know if you try this quilt. I could see using this format for an I Spy quilt. The big squares enable you to use some of the really big prints that you hate to dice up too small.

I drew the ice cream patterns and have made several quilts with them. I think I will just eat ice cream for awhile--kinda tired of sewing it! The backing fabric is so cute on this one that I had to show a corner. It's covered with big, juicy-looking cherries.

There are a few shapes in nature that I especially love and have used repeatedly in quilts. The cherry is one of them. I just think they are so cute! I also love the shapes of oak leaves, acorns, some shells, and starfish.

Scrap Quilting is Hard Work!

Looking at this plastic bin, it is hard to believe that I have over ten hours of hard work invested in it! On the right are 2 1/2" x 6" strips ready to use in the Pioneer Braid, the beginning of which is shown on the left. I'm not going to use these braids for a border but instead will have them run vertically down the quilt top with strips to separate them.

Under the braid is a plastic bag with about 100 apple core shapes which I hand marked and cut. That is only enough to make a quilt about 30" square, so I will be collecting cores for awhile, it seems!

As I look at each piece of this old fabric, I can't remember buying very much of it. Did it sneak into my house? What was I thinking? It would be so much easier to buy new fabric, wouldn't it? LOL That doesn't sound like "Scrapquilter", does it?

Stash Busting Week

No pictures today--I've been working very hard for a week on a challenge quilt that I can't show until after the deadline and voting. It's sponsored by Kimberly on Quilting Passion Forum. I like the way it's turning out, but I'm ready for it to be finished. I should be ready to bind it tonight.

For the past couple of days I have been going through my older fabrics (I became a fabriholic in the early 80s) and cutting the smaller pieces into 2 1/2" strips. I'm also cutting a strip from all of the bigger pieces. I started with the browns and today moved on to the greens. Quite of few of them have leaf prints, including some fall leaves, and some have pine trees or pine cones. I've decided to include ivories and light tans and make a "controlled palette" scrap quilt--kind of a woodsy theme. I think I will sew braids six inches wide and separate them by 3-4" strips. While I've been cutting, I've also been marking and cutting an apple core shape from each fabric for a hand-pieced charm quilt. I haven't done any hand piecing for so long that I marked the first 30 or 40 on the right side of the fabric, like I would do an applique shape! Duh!

I would like to say that my fabric bins have gone down a lot, but there is still a lot in them!

Joyful Day

This joyful clown is illustrating how I feel today. I always try to start each day with a positive attitude, but today is special. My granddaughter is coming over! Makes my day!!

I also wanted to post this clown's picture because he is leaving home today. He is the medallion that starts a Round Robin Charity Drive quilt for Quilting Passion Forum. Linda in Minnesota is adding two borders, and Dorothy in Kansas will quilt, bind, and label the top. Then the quilt will be sent to a Project Linus chapter somewhere in the USA that has asked to be on our waiting list. I started this quilt as a "speed challenge", so it will be fun to see how quickly we can get this little guy in the arms of a deserving child, spreading his joy in life. To me he looks like a guy who really enjoys his work.

This pattern, along with many other delightful patterns, was designed by Sindy Rodenmayer at Fat Cat Patterns.

Hot Day at the Air Show

Happy Labor Day! It was about 100 degrees here today, but DH persuaded me to put down the thimble and go to the St. Louis County Fair and Air Show to see the Blue Angels. We have seen a couple of TV programs about them lately on the Discovery Channel. DH is an aviation junkie, too. He would probably have been a career Air Force pilot if his eyesight hadn't been so bad. I digress...Anyway, I would rather have watched the show standing in a snow drift than in the heat we had today, but I couldn't turn him down!

There were several aviation performances before the Blue Angels. We saw the Red Baron Pizza biplane team, and their narrator included some commercials about their products. (Did you know they have a new garlic crust pizza? The things you learn at air shows!) We also saw the A-10 "Wart Hog" and the Harrier. Everything was very good, but the Blue Angels were GREAT! The power and precision were awesome! As I watched, the thought that kept coming to me was, "Thank you, God, for giving these Americans the brains and bodies that are capable of flying and maintaining these incredible machines. And thank you for the brilliance of the designers and builders." It makes you feel very patriotic to see these people work.