First Finish of the Month - Monster Polka

I am happy to report I finished my first quilt for the month.  I am hoping to complete at least 5 UFOs during June.  It's a lofty goal, but it's summer and I have 12 weeks looming in front of me before I have to "officially" go back to work.  I will do some work before then, however, I usually try to take the month of June off.

Anyway, back to my first June finish - Monster Polka.  This quilt is for some friends of ours that are having a baby boy in June.  I used the Monster Mash line from Michael Miller.

I love this quilt for two reasons:

1. Polka Dots!!!!!  I adore polka dots!

2. It was easy.  I adore easy!  

Thanks for letting me share.  Linking up with:

My Quilt Infatuation
Pretty Bobbins

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday

Richard and Tanya Quilts

Fort Worth Fabric Studio

Crazy Mom Quilts

SewCanShe

Stitch by Stitch

Goldie's Memory Quilt

I have finally completed Goldie's Memory Quilt.  I wanted to have it finished for her high school graduation which was this past Sunday, but I didn't quite make it.  I was close though!   I started cutting the 2 1/2" squares last summer and the great majority of it was pieced throughout the year as leaders and enders.  All 846 squares were cut from leftover fabric I used to make her clothing over the years.

I got the pattern from Wedding Dress Blue. I used Free Spirit Designer Solids in Nugray as the background. I thought the gray background would be a good neutralizer (Is that a word?) for the busyness of all the uncoordinating fabrics. The back is pieced somewhat randomly. Either I didn't plan for enough fabric for the backing or I cut it wrong. Since I didn't have enough, I pieced together smaller pieces using leftover squares.

I quilted it with straight diagonal lines. I like straight lines in quilts. It might just be because I am afraid of free quilting, but I really did feel straight lines worked best with this quilt.

Anyway, it's done and I love it! Hopefully, Goldie will love it too!

Linking up with:

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday

Richard and Tanya Quilts

Fort Worth Fabric Studio

Crazy Mom Quilts

SewCanShe

Stitch by Stitch
Sew Many Ways

Snug as a Bug Super-Sized Nine Patch - Finish #2

I did it!  I finished the second Super-Sized Nine Patch Snug as a Bug quilt.  I was motivated because we met the expectant grandparents for lunch on Saturday when they were passing through town.  I knew we wouldn't get a chance to see the expectant parents until next fall, so I wanted to get it done.

I actually finished it on Thanksgiving.  We had a quiet Thanksgiving, just the six of us.  It was nice.  That gave me time to quilt it, sew the binding on, and then The Princess, Goldie, and I watched a movie as I finished hand-sewing the binding.  We watched Life as We Know It with Josh Duhamel.  I have loved that boy ever since he played Leo on All My Children.  It was hard to concentrate on the binding, but it got done.

Here it is with Leah's Snug as a Bug quilt.  I haven't been able to visit her yet because I have a cold.  I'm hoping it will be gone sometime this week and I can go meet her.

Linking up to:

A Finished Quilt - Snug as Bug Super-Sized Nine Patch

I spent this past Saturday sewing.  I accomplished a lot.  I finished The Princess's costume for her upcoming performance in the school Christmas musical.  She is going to be the innkeeper.  It's not a fancy costume, but it's not supposed to be.  It was very easy to make using a Simplicity pattern.

I also spent time sewing together the 2 1/2-inch squares for Goldie's quilt.  I think I have become addicted to sewing these little squares together.

Finally, I finished the Snug as a Bug Super Sized Nine Patch for baby Leah who was born on November 9.  I was planning on having it done before she came, but she decided to come ten days before her mom's scheduled C-section on November 19. 

This is a super easy pattern from Quiltmaker.  You can find it here.  You only need three yards of fabric to make three different quilt tops.  If I were to sit down and make this quilt in one sitting it would have probably taken less than four hours (not counting hand sewing the binding). Mine measures 34 x 37.  I used the Snug as a Bug fabric collection from Riley Blake designs.  I love the way Leah's quilt turned out.  I have to admit I wasn't that crazy about it until after I quilted it.  I hope the other two turn out as nice when I finish them.

I am planning on visiting Leah tomorrow and can't wait to see if her mom likes the quilt.  I sure hope so ...

 

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Handprint Auction Quilt

Since beginning my quilting adventure this summer, I have actually completed two quilts.  The first quilt I finished was made for the church auction that supports the preschool where I teach.  Every year we create a project for this auction.  One year we made a picnic table with the students handprints, last year we made a chalkboard with their handprints.  Naturally this year I made a quilt with their handprints.

I designed the quilt myself (if you want to call it that) with 8" blocks, alternating handprints with prints from the Old McDonald collection by Deborah Edwards for Northcott Fabrics.  I chose the Old McDonald collection for two reasons.  1. It's adorable and I love the color scheme.  2.  I teach in a rural area, if my students don't live on a farm, their grandparents do.

We made the students' handprints with fabric paint and I crudely embroidered their names on their squares.  There was also a square with the class name and year.  Piecing was a breeze and so was creating the sandwich.

Now comes the best part.  I needed to quilt it.  I had studied tutorial after tutorial about free motion quilting and I was confident I could do it.  The only question was could my cheap, old, beat up machine handle it.  The answer was no.  It was the weekend before the auction and I needed to get the quilt done.  I didn't know what I was going to do.  I honestly felt like crying.

Right now you're wondering, how is this the best part?  Here it comes!  My husband tells me to go buy a new machine.  Not a cheap one from Wal-Mart, but a really nice machine.  Of course, living in rural Iowa quilt shops are few and far between, but I knew there was a good one that sold Bernina's about 30 minutes from home.

I researched Bernina's that Sunday and Monday afternoon when I was done with preschool, I went and bought a machine.  I started quilting that night.  I never wanted it to end.  Anyway, the quilt turned out great and even better it made $500 at the auction.  I would like to say it was my great quilting ability but I know the truth, those handprints are priceless.

Head First

I must admit that I have jumped head first into quilting.  I have always sewn.  I was lucky enough to have a mom that taught me how to sew.  However, I had never made a real quilt.  But, I have always wanted to become a quilter.

So how did I jump into the quilting?  It was a day in June and my 20-year-old daughter (The Musician) was home for the summer. The conversation went like this:

The Musician: Mom, I have all these t-shirts (holding up garbage bag) will you "help" me make a t-shirt quilt out of them.  ("Help" is code for will you make me a t-shirt quilt because she does not have a domestic bone in her body.)

Me: Sure.

So I started researching t-shirt quilts (on Pinterest of course) and decided it was time to become a quilter.  That's how I found Melissa Corry's Star Surround Quilt-A-Long, which again I dove into head first.  (I still have finished that quilt top, which is a story for another day).

The t-shirt quilt pieced together pretty easily.  The hardest part was planning the placement of the shirts.  She didn't want regular material for the backing, she wanted fleece.  I opted not to use batting for fear it wouldn't quilt well.  I basted the backing on to the quilt top and there it sat.  I was scared to do anything else.  Then I found the Star Surround Quilt-A-Long to distract me.

The plan was to finish the quilt before she went back to school in August, but my fear kept it from happening.  I finished it this week.  It's not the best or prettiest quilt ever, but it's finished and we all have to start somewhere.

I do have to say that this is actually my second finish.  I made another quilt for an auction.  I will tell you all about that in another post.

I chose a very simple design of stitching around each t-shirt.  I didn't want to mess it up too badly.  What do you think?