A few finishes.....

I want to thank all of you for the kind comments on my last post.  I have been working on a few things - it's time to show you those......

The kids and I made a trip to Colorado in March,  for my nephew's wedding.  Kind of a windy day, but here is the quilt I gave them for a wedding gift.

Later in March, Julie and I took a class, we were pattern testers for Terry Atkinson.  Here is the top for the quilt pattern we tested.  It's called Wanderlust.  It's at the quilters now.

I also got this top pieced, it's a Pieced Tree Pattern called Jelly Jive.  

It uses one Jelly Roll, 

or 40 2 1/2 inch strips.  It's also at the quilter now.......

I planted some flowers.....

And finished the "Growing Up Odd" Quilt.  Great tutorial - just follow the link!

I mainly strip pieced it, and I used 1 1/2 inch strips, rather then 2 inch. 

 I'm keeping this one!

This is my little "cheater" quilt.  Tutorial found here.  It didn't say how much fabric to buy......If I make one again, I will buy more, so the side borders can be wider.  I bought what was left on the bolt, which if I remember correctly was a yard and a third.  

Here's the other side.....

Linking up to Finish It Up Friday.

Oh, and one more quilt at the quilter........ that makes 3 that should be done soon!

You never know......

I guess it's a good thing we never know what life will bring us... what the future has in store for us.  My life as I knew it, has changed forever.  It will never be the same.

My dear sweet husband was taken from me so suddenly...

He passed away on Valentine's day.

 

Here we were on a happy occasion, at our youngest son's wedding.

This is the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with. 

I thank God everyday for my family and wonderful friends that are helping me get through this. 

 

Then just 5 weeks later, another death in the family...

This time it was my brother-in-law, John's older brother.

 

Here's a picture of them together, at a niece's wedding a few years ago.

 

Some day I hope I feel like blogging again, about quilts and other things I have been working on.  But not right now....



Beautiful day

It's a beautiful, sunny day here in northern Iowa!  Temps are in the 30's, and there is very little wind.  Very nice weather for January!  I have been sewing in the evenings... some nights I have to drag myself away from the couch...  Seems like I would rather lie around and watch TV.... Oh well......  I did manage to finish this quilt top:

 

It's a tutorial I found online, the quilt is called "Growing Up Odd".  Cute name.  I kind of did grow up odd.  :)  Anyhow, you can find the tutorial here.  I used 1.5 inch strips, and made less blocks.  I think mine measures about 44"x55". 

 

I also got the "Film at Five Quilt" back from the quilter.  It too is from "Wedding Dress Blue" blog, and the link to this tutorial is here.  I know I've said this before, but she has lots of great tutorials for using up scraps. 

Mine should really be called "Film at Four", since I made it 4 blocks x 4 blocks, rather than 5 x 5.  I used navy and white gingham checks for the binding.  Something I've had in my stash for probably 20 years....... :)  I could tell it was 100% cotton though.... not like most gingham out there.  Why is it that most gingham is a cotton/poly blend?

 

Lots of bright sunlight and shadows today..........not the best for pictures, but better than taking them indoors! 

 

Linking up to Finish It Up Friday....... on Saturday!



Lots of pink

I think the winter blah's have set in.  In order to keep them at bay, I worked on this over the weekend......

Yes, that is my foot... :)

This will be a baby version of "Growing Up Odd" a free tutorial found over at Wedding Dress Blue.  She has great tutorials for using up scraps. 

I used my Accuquilt cutter and the 1.5" strip die that DH got me for Christmas.  It made the project go much quicker, but it still takes a lot of time!  One more row of blocks, and then it will be time for sashing!

 

Happy Monday everyone, it's going to be a cold one!



It's been awhile....

And I have been keeping busy.  Just nothing here to show for it.  I worked on Bonnie Hunter's Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt.  I made mine smaller - I made half the units, thinking I'd make 2 baby quilts.  When I was putting it together, I decided to make one quilt, but only use 9 of the blocks, not all 12 that I had made.  Here is what I came up with...

It is really a busy quilt - it requires you to step back a little in order to see the pattern. 
I made a few bags for Christmas and Birthday gifts back in December....

These were for my Dachshund-loving sister.

 

I also made some pillows from fabric placemats - these were for my son and daughter-in-law.  The placemats were from Target.  Lots of easy tutorials out there on how to make them.  Basically, you pick open a seam (about 3 inches), stuff them, and sew the seam back together.  About a 30 minute project.

 

 

I got some exciting Christmas mail, all the way from England!  My friend Jen, over at Glinda Quilts, sent me a Christmas gift. 

Quilty gifts from a quilty friend.  Thanks, Jen!

 

I guess that's all I have for now.  I am keeping busy......I just don't have much to show for it!  I just got a quilt back from the long armer......After it's bound and finished, I will show it.  Trying to stay warm here in Iowa........ blizzard yesterday...... gosh, I hate winter.......