Another Doll Quilt

I'm having a lot of fun with the Doll Quilt Swap on the Quilting Bee Forum!  Our theme this month, set by capable host Debbie, was applique, so I made a winter mitten quilt with a snowflake background.  It flew to New York, and its recipient seems to like it a lot.  I wonder what Debbie will suggest for next month's theme.

My quilt this month was from host Debbie in Idaho.  She used the darling paper doll prints, including a large doll on the front of the quilt.  I'm afraid to show it to my granddaughters, because they'll want to take it home.

Doll Quilts

As a member of the Quilting Bee Forum on Delphi Forums, I have the opportunity to participate in some really interesting swaps and group projects.  One of our swap hostesses, Debbie, has sponsored five swaps of doll quilts, which range in size from 16 to 20 inches.  I have participated in the last two, and these are my contributions to the wholecloth and winter blues swaps.  They went to quilters in Idaho and New York.  I received darling quilts from North Carolina and California.

We just started the sixth swap, an applique swap.  I have already gotten a good start on my quilt, which will feature bright colors.

Fingers Are Cold but Still Busy

I know many people hate winter, but since I started quilting (26 years ago), I have had a special appreciation for these months.  Being stuck inside provides extra time for quilting.  I particularly love doing my hand applique or hand quilting by the fire in our family room.  That would explain these two quilts that I'll deliver to the children's hospital this week.

The first one is adapted from a pattern in a Debbie Mumm book.  I had everything in my stash except the border print.

This bull frog design is from my favorite designer, Sindy Rodenmayer.  You can click on the cat on the right side of the screen to see her amazing site, Fat Cat Patterns.

Goodbye for now!  My fingers are warmed up, so I think I'll stitch a little more on my newest applique project while I listen to the Chiefs/Ravens game. 

Back in Action

It felt good to be back at my volunteer job at the hospital today and to deliver a quilt for Project Linus.  The Child Life employee said she had a teenage girl in mind for it already.  She just had surgery and will probably be hospitalized through Christmas.   It's probably already on her bed.  Things just work out!

This quilt top was made totally of scraps.  All I had to buy was the backing.  The levels in my bright fabric bins have really gone down!  Now here's my dilemma--should I work them all the way down making scrap quilts or go shopping to replenish them?

What Happened to November?

I just realized that I need to post right away or I will miss the whole month of November.  Ah, yes, November, the month I parted company with my gallbladder.  It turns out that all of those stomach aches and back pains were trying to tell me something! 

This post is your anatomy lesson for today.  Know your digestive system and pay attention if you have pains under your right ribcage.  I gave up my gallbladder a week ago and feel much better!

Newest Finishes

It's always good to finish things.  I love to start projects, especially with applique blocks.  I'll whip up the blocks and stick them in a drawer--or I'll make a top and then hang it in my UFO closet.  (There are way too many in there.)  However, in the past week or so, I've finished three things!  

 First is this little quilt (about 21 x 29) that I am donating at the hospital where I volunteer.  They're having a raffle to raise money for benevolence projects.  I hope it stimulates some ticket sales.

Next is this child's quilt that went to Project Linus.  The animal shapes are from a book called Polka-Dot Quilts.

This last quilt also went to Project Linus.  It's special because I got the border and backing fabrics on trips to Dallas to visit friends from my internet quilting forum. 

Yet Another Chance to Vote!

I've entered the Weekly Themed Quilt Contest on Quilting Gallery.  Here's the link if you'd like to view the teddy bear quilts:  http://quiltinggallery.com/tag/weekly-themed-quilt-contest/
As always, if you feel I deserve your vote, I'd appreciate it.  Anything I win is funneled back into my charity quilting.

The bear pattern was designed by Sindy Rodenmayer at www.fatcatpatterns.com

Finished Quilts=Eye Candy

Lots of pictures today!  I have finished several Project Linus quilts lately.  This is the way I always seem to work--start several quilts within the span of a few weeks, work on them all at the same time, and then finish them within a few weeks.  The first two quilts will go to the hospital with me tomorrow.

The last two quilts went last week.  I got to give the sea life quilt to the mother of a three-week-old baby who had been very sick in Pediatric Intensive Care but had survived and was going home that day. 

My Most-Traveled Quilt

While browsing through the file of quilts I've made, I paused on this one and thought about how far it had traveled to find its recipient.  My quilts have gone all over the USA, but this one, amazingly, went to an orphanage in Bangladesh! (There was an opportunity to donate through a member of my quilting forum.)

That little cutie on the right in the front row is now the owner of a jungle animal quilt I made.  His smile has kept me going for a long time.

Quilts for Beautiful Granddaughters

On Monday I will spend the night with my darling granddaughters, ages 4 1/2 and 2, and I will be giving them their new quilts.  I've had them ready for several months but was saving them for cooler weather.  However, the older DGD called and asked for hers, knowing that I had been working on it!  That made me feel so great that I'll be delivering their nice, warm quilts in 95-degree weather!

First is the two-year-old's quilt, full of hearts and little rag dolls.  Each doll has a different embroidered facial expression, from extremely happy to mad as @#$%.  This little doll loves to play with dolls and has a very nurturing way about her.  I hope she likes her dolly "banky".

This next quilt is for Miss Four-Going-on-Sixteen.  She chose a big fat quarter pack for me last Christmas.  After a little editing and adding some more fabrics (had to shop--darn), I made this daisy quilt for her.  I was lucky to find one of the prints for the backing, too, as well as finding my favorite Fossil Fern for the flower petals.

Monday night I might have to turn down the AC and tuck my DGDs in with their new quilts!

Dino-Rawr

Once again I must pay homage to the creative talents of Sindy Rodenmayer at Fat Cat Patterns.  This is her darling design, and I enjoyed making the little dinos with some unusual batiks for whch I thought I'd never find a use!  It has gone to the hospital to do its good work with a Project Linus tag attached.

My Entry for Pets on Quilts Show

The quilt shown here is my entry into SewCalGal's Pets on Quilts Show.  The cat on this quilt was inspired by Spencer, Max, Ashley, and Quincy--the four cats whom we have loved over the years.  Only Quincy is still with us, but we have such happy memories of our curious furbabies and their funny, charming ways.

This quilt went to Project Linus, and I am fortunate to know what happened to it.  It was given to a young girl who had scoliosis surgery.  Her ambition is to be a veterinarian.