Memory quilt by DIL

When I started quilting my DIL – then still girlfriend of my son – made it very clear that she never wanted a quilt – way too busy for her and I accepted her taste and left it there. As time went by she’d suggest fabrics and/or colors when I started a quilt and not much later, should I ask her to ‘hand me the tape…’, she’d remark with “yes, but then this is my quilt as I helped”.

Needles to say, she got a log cabin cat quilt for Christmas soon afterwards. Two weeks ago, she waltzed in here, saying that I have to help her make a ‘quick-quick’ memory quilt for her grandmother turning 80 at the beginning of February. Don’t you just love how non-quilters can imagine ‘quick-quick’ quilts?

Okay the cheater block was the fastest less stressful (on both of us) method I could think of and once she had the photos of all grandma’s grandchildren copied onto fabric, she took over my quilting space a couple of evenings. So much enthusiasm I haven’t seen in a while and I think the fact that grandma so badly wanted to teach her sewing when she wasn't interested, added to the satisfaction of finishing the quilt herself ‘to show grandma’.

Even though I realize babies might soon interrupt the process I now know the quilting bug has bitten her.

Fiesta BOM - Block One

Okay, so I made progress on a UFO and therefore could reward myself with a brand new project which was the BOM from Fatcatpatterns called Fiesta. I had so much fun doing this as I’ve selected a printed background like I saw so many of the ladies on the Glorious Appliqué Blog do. This was a first for me as I was taught to basically have my backgrounds in a plain or slightly toned print and worst of all CREAM. I have nothing against cream but gosh I am so over creamed-background quilts it is just not true.

As a rule I prefer Freezer paper appliqué for the simple reason that I often and frequently wash my quilts in the machine. I do make these to be used on our beds and definitely not to be inherited by some ungrateful great-great grandchild. However I have recently watched videos on You Tube by Patsy Thompson and this lady inspired me totally with her decorative thread play on appliqué motifs. So for this quilt I am using appliqué paper to fuse the motifs onto the background and then secure them by doing some decorative stitching. I can hardly wait for next month’s block to be released!!

Dear Jane progress

I started the New Year with a UFO list of 22 – my Dear Jane quilt taking up 10 of these positions knowing that I would never finish the DJ quilt in one take. I am proud to be able to say that my UFO list has officially shrank to 21 with the 24 green DJ blocks I started making when going to Karin’s Cabin between Christmas and New Year finished.

This is what my DJ quilt looks like at this stage. What a good feeling!!

New Quilt to start a New Year

I found this appliqué BOM on Fatcatpatterns and fell in love with it immediately. I just knew I HAD to make this and as promised by Sindy Rodenmayer, the designer, the first block appeared right on New Year ’s Day. I’ve already ordered my background fabric, printed my pattern and can’t wait for the shops to open on Monday so I can start.
Then towards the end of last year (sounds so long ago) I subscribed to the e-magazine “The Quilt Pattern Magazine” and the first issue came out today. What would be one of the first projects for me to notice? Yip, another appliqué BOM. Now for the big decision……….. to make or not to make???

Year End Blues

Returned from Karin’s Cabin earlier yesterday and yes, nice to be home, see the pets, be back in familiar surroundings but with it comes the responsibility – tidy, wipe, cook, plan, pay attention, talk to, check this, do that, sort, organize…… the list never ends and then to add to my misery I decided to make a list of my UFO’s and a list of the quilts I’ve already committed myself to make during 2011. If I am kind to myself and split the Dear Jane blocks in groups, according to color, I have exactly 22 UFO’s. If I count Dear Jane as 1 single UFO (I know myself well enough to realize there’s just no way I’d stick to one UFO of this size and finish it in one go, so why try to fool myself??) I have 12 of these little buggers.
My list of quilts already committed to in 2011 starts off with 6 on the list!!
Enough reason to have a couple of drinks and it will definitely not only be celebrating the New Year.