The Last Christmas Quilt

I've been busy quilting the last Christmas Quilt on my list for this year.  I was afraid I wouldn't get them all finished in time, but it looks like I'll have time to spare for a change!

I really don't know why I was so nervous about quilting a king-size quilt on George, because it's going really well.  I still prefer making smaller quilts, but this is very do-able on this monster of a machine.  I'm really enjoying the quilting process and if all goes well, I should finish quilting it this weekend, so check back soon for pictures of the finished quilt.

Christmas Quilts Continued

Wow, I'm really behind on posting pictures of the Christmas Quilts I'm working on this year.

I have finished Quilt #2...  (click here for more information about this quilt)  I quilted this one on my APQS George, using an all-over spiral swirl freehand design...

...and I just finished the quilting on Christmas Quilt #3 today - on my George too, of course!  The red binding is made and ready to attach next.

I used a light aqua SoFine #50 thread and quilted it with closely spaced wavy lines going horizontally across the quilt.  I love the texture it creates.  And the snowflake fabric for the back is a great match for the quilt.

I also finished piecing the top of Christmas Quilt #4.  At 104" x 104", this quilt is a king size, so I am curious to see how it goes on my George machine.  I'm sure the machine is up to the challenge - not sure about the operator...

Wander Through The Woods

I have another Christmas Quilt on my work table this week.  I'm using this Wander Through The Woods pattern.  The pattern uses 2 1/2" strips, but I cut my strips at 4" wide to make the quilt king-sized, at my daughter's request.  She is aware of the quilt, and provided most of the fabrics in it, so it's not a huge secret, but I still don't want to reveal too much of the quilt just yet.  She needs a little surprise when Christmas gets here, assuming I get it done that is...

I have all my strips made...

...and have this huge pile of trimmed off triangles left over.

I bet there's enough there to make another small quilt!  Part of me says "throw them in the trash" because after all - what are the odds that I'll actually get around to doing something with them...  But then I look at all these pretty little triangles and the wheels start turning...

Retreat Projects

I just got back from a wonderful Quilt Retreat.  It's so nice to have a few uninterrupted days of sewing with friends.  The time flies by and we get so much accomplished, in between our laughter and conversation, of course...

I made two quilt tops while I was there.  First is an improvisational tree quilt (Christmas Quilt #3), using this tutorial I found from the Diary of a Quilter blog.  (colors look better in person - aqua, red, gray and white)

Second is a Batik Square-in-a-Square quilt that I threw in as a last minute project.  I've been in the mood to do a simple quilt with batiks for a few weeks now, and this seemed perfect.  And it uses every bit of a 40 strip jelly roll.  No waste!  Not sure if I will add a border...  Should I?

Once those were finished, I started sewing my half-hexagons together into strips for my One Block Wonder quilt and got 12 out of 20 made.  I'm really liking how this is going and can't wait to see it finished!

The weather was gorgeous while we were there and I enjoyed going out for walks every day.  I was so excited to stumble across this perfect bobcat print!!!  That's a first for me!

This week I plan to finish the binding on Christmas Quilt #2 that I finished quilting before retreat.  Hope to post pictures next week if I get it done, so stay tuned!

Christmas Quilts 2 & 3

I now have the second Christmas Quilt pieced and ready for quilting.

(Click here to see the first one.)

The pattern is Ballerina from Jaybird Quilts.

And I have the fabrics picked out for number three.  I started with a Mingle & Jingle fat-quarter bundle, then added several others from my stash until I had an even mix of the four colors.  Yes, I have a plan, but I'll save that for a future post.

And I'm getting more practice time in on George, as I quilt an all-over design on this quilt pieced by my DIL.

Now I'm preparing for a full-filled visit from one of my grand-daughters.  She is coming to spend a few days with us, and we have lots of fun things planned before I leave for Quilt Retreat next week.  I'm sure I'll have lots to share with you by then, so stay tuned...