Summer Weight Covers

 Since 2013 I have made 3 of these light weight blankets. In my previous posts, I always called them blank-o-lets, after my grandson's name for his special blanket when he was young.

This was my first light weight blanket. The fabric is a lawn that I got from Connecting Threads. This blanket was made in 2013. I used it for almost 2 years. The backing is white flannel and it is the perfect weight for summer, although I used it year round to wrap around my shoulders when I needed a little something, especially at night when I would get hot, and then cooled down again. Perfect weight.

See the blog post here for more detail.

Then, in December of 2014, just before my first surgery, I made a new one. The intended use was the same, I just wanted something different.

 And the reason I wanted something different was because this awesome print was available in flannel! I was so in love with this. So, again, I made the top out of light weight voile from Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks voile. This blank-o-let comforted me for 8 years! I have slept with it every night and taken it everywhere with me for those eight years. But now she is getting thin. All the washing and snuggling is wearing her out. I did some repairs on her and was quite surprised to see how thin the flannel has become.

See this blog post for more detail.

So now, I found a really pretty fabric and it is not lawn or voile, but I loved it anyway. I used a yard and a half of the main print and a yard of the two coordinating prints to make this:

 This is one of those projects that I make up in my head and when it works out, it is so much better than I though it would be.

This is the main print. The line is Nocturnal by Gingiber for Moda fabrics. It is the coolest print and when I saw it, I couldn't resist. I knew that with the pink and mustard accent fabrics it would be perfect for a new light weight blank-o-let.

This is the selvedge of the fabrics. I got four of these little wordy pieces and saved them all. I put one on the bottom of the front side. I just love it.

And the backing is a well washed and used sheet that my daughter gave me, with the intended use of quilt backing. The fitted sheet was trashed, but the top sheet was in pretty good shape. This was a twin size. Now, this light weight blanket is a wee bit heavier because the fabric on top is heavier than lawn or voile. But, I am hoping it will last as long as the last one, which my husband has claimed as his own. It is a bit heavier than a sheet, and perfect for AC nights or even open window nights when it seems chilly by the early morning hours. As I said, I use it year round. I can't wait until it gets a few washings to soften it further. Oh, and I highly recommend that you prewash your fabrics to pre-shrink them. With no batting in between it matters. Ask me how I know. :)

Talk to you soon.

Wednesday, No W.I.P.

I know most blogger post and share WIPs on Wednesday. We love that alliteration. I don't really have any to share, but I do have a finish and I can't wait until Friday because I am working Friday. So, here we go.

 I am calling this quilt the Octopus' Garden. I bought this fabric a long while ago with the intention of making a baby quilt with it. When the baby came, I had several other quilts for her and my daughter asked me to make something bigger, because you can only use so many baby quilts. Right?

 So I noodled around and finally found a way to showcase all the prints from these two lines that I had bought to go together. I did not end up using them all, there is a scale print that I have and I already have an idea for that.

 Everything outside is wet today due to an overnight storm, so all the pictures were take indoors.

 I quilted the main portion with a rather uneven wavy line to mimic the water.

 Then I went around the outer borders with the same wavy lines, just easing around the corners.

 The binding I decided to use the bright orange print for one final pop of color and I love it!

 So this is the whole thing, laid out on my queen size bed. I think when Miss N gets her first big girl bed it will fit real nice. Of course she's only 6 months old, so it will be awhile.

 This is the back. I was originally going to piece a back, but then I found this! Extra wide backing fabric from Amanda Jean's Good Neighbors line...on SALE!...at Connecting Threads. I love this!

 I can't say enough good things about how cute this is and I am so sold on extra wide backing fabric. I love the thriftiness of piecing a back, but this. This was awesome!

 Here is my label. All attached and ready to go. Quilt has been washed and dried to a soft, crinkly finish. All the Pieced side is organic cotton, by the way.

 Folded up and ready to go to it's new home. I know it will be well loved. I mean, mermaids!!

But it will have to sit on a shelf like this for a year or so first. I'm okay with that. Talk to you soon.

Hello...Kitty

Hello Kitty is done! This was a QAL I participated in with Amy from Suki Don't You Know. This was the most fun I have had in a QAL. I saw pictures of the one Amy made, but nothing beats putting your own together. Each block added to my design wall was like watching a Poloroid picture develop.

 I took Kitty up to the park to clip her onto the fence. I really wanted to get a shot of the whole quilt.

 It was me and seven clothespins against the wind. Isn't she cute? She is all 2 1/2 inch squares, finishing at 2 inches each. Before you get scared, this is totally manageable. It is broken down into 6 rows of six blocks. Each block is six rows of six squares.

 We did four blocks each week and it was pretty easy to keep up. It also easily lends itself to chain piecing. I took my time and only had to rip out two rows.

 After I got the main quilt top together, I decided to extend it with 4 inch strips along each side, rather than doing more small squares. I like the way it frames the quilt.

 I tried not to put like squares next to each other, but sometimes it happened from one block to the next. I decided not to stress over it. Gives it character.

 I didn't fussy cut the squares at all, but there were many happy coincidences like this sweet little girl on a swing.

 And there is this puppy chasing a ball. I did make sure the text prints were right side up so you could read them. It helped me to keep the blocks oriented correctly too. A bonus.

 Some newer fabrics and some very old fabrics are in here. Up close, it is a feast for the eyes.

 From a distance, it is awesome. This is my first pixilated quilt ever and I love the technique.

 This sweet quilt is a belated birthday gift for my youngest daughter. I'm pretty sure she squealed when I sent her an in-progress picture of it(she's 28).

                                                    Breezy Kitty

 I quilted in the ditch, every other row along both the horizontal and the vertical. I want it to hold up well to washing and every day use.

 For the borders, I was inspired to write Hello Kitty in cursive all around the edges of the quilt. It is subtle, but you can see it.

 Oh, Kitty, I wish I could be there when she sees you for the first time. I know you will be loved.

 I am trying to use fabrics from my stash this year as much as possible. Here is the pieced back. I did not buy a single fabric for this quilt.

 I am so very pleased with this and I am going to make another one. I know a certain little girl who would love one, as soon as she is old enough to know who Hello Kitty is.

 The binding is a Quilter's Candy stripe from Connecting Threads. I love the way it makes the edges look. It also matches the pinks in the quilt. See the hearts there? All my love going out with this.

This was a very happy project. See you soon.
Going to link up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it Friday.

Ooooh Baby Baby

A twin finish this week folks! I am glad to have the last of the baby quilts done!  Ready for the story? You knew there'd be one, right?

 So I have this friend who lives in Texas. We met when we moved to Texas more than 20 years ago. She is a great friend and she is as Texas as a person can be.

 Her daughter, who is friends with my daughters, is expecting twins. Now, this is exciting in and of itself.

 But what makes it even more exciting as that twins do not run in their family. Not at all. Not on either side.

 So, what do you make for a set of identical twins from Texas? Yup. Twin Texas Flag quilts. Now, they are not identical.

 I made them from lots of scraps in my stash and I did buy a couple of half yard pieces to make it all work.

 The back of the quilts is some adorable baby flannel fat quarters I bought a couple of years ago from Connecting Threads.

 One quilt is bound in blue, one bound in red. Just another little subtle difference.

And I can't wait to send all this cuddly stuff off to Texas. It should be a nice surprise. Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday.

Swirly Friday Finish

Well, the winds have been swirling here today and so it is the perfect day to share my swirly quilted finish with you. This is one of the quilts that I pieced maybe 5 or 6 years ago and then never quilted it. So in my goal for this year to finish these poor orphan quilts I am working my way through them, in between other projects.

 When I first started this quilt, I selected these fabrics because I thought they looked like the Mediterranean. The Blues remind me of water and the yellows are the sunshine. The greens are the plants and olives. I. love. this. quilt.

 I quilted little swirls all over the quilt to mimic the swirls in the dark aqua border fabric. This was my husband's suggestion and he was sooooo right! It is perfect for this quilt. The pattern is a Shuffle the Deck pattern by Karla Alexander.

 I decided to not quilt at all over the olive green one inch border.  I wanted that "fence" to corral the blocks on the inside.  And I am happy with the way it turned out.

 I can't tell you what the fabrics are, since I bought them so long ago at my LQS.  But the swirly one that is the outer border is still available in lots of colors.

The back of the quilt is an Amy Butler stripe that I bought 4 yards of on a big sale, just to use as a back for a quilt and the colors are similar, so I think it is perfect.

 The binding is a stripe from Connecting Threads Quilter's Candy line. I bought about 4 or 5  different stripes to keep to use as binding.  Again, the colors are very similar.

 The sun was out briefly, so I hurried to take these photos. Now it is in the wash for its first bath and then the dryer to get all crinkly.

I am so happy to have this one done so I can enjoy it. The colors really make my heart sing.  Have a great weekend. Linking up with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts.