Let’s Make a Quilt: Week Five

It’s week five of Chrissie Grace’s Quilt Along party!  I finally have the rows sewn together and have even added the borders … yea!!  I love the 4 corner heart squares … they’re a great detail and tie the whole quilt together.

Of course, Mimi had to get in on the action.  Here she is wearing her “Quilt Inspector” hat!

The next step is putting the quilt “sandwich” together and quilting it.  I do not send my quilts out to be quilted for three reasons: (1) I don’t make very big quilts; (2) I feel that by completing the entire quilt myself, it is truly “my” quilt; and (3) it can be expensive. 

Having said that, I think that if I ever made a queen size (or larger) quilt top, I would consider sending it out to a machine quilter.  I recently found someone who has very reasonable prices.  Of course, it does help that I have a short-arm quilting machine on a frame!  My DH bought it for me a couple years ago for my birthday … I was SO HAPPY!!

Here it is with a crib size top that I’m in the process of quilting.  That’s Her Highness Checkers inspecting my work … a little too closely, I think!

Be sure to head on over to Chrissie Grace’s blog In His Grace to see how you can make your own "Heart Quilt”.  This quilt was so easy to make and it’s great for beginners! 

And, don’t forget to come back to see the finished quilt …

Edited:  This post was originally posted on September 15 on my other blog Goodwill Haunting.

Let’s Make a Quilt: Week Four

This is week four of Chrissie Grace’s Quilt Along party. I’ve been playing from the beginning, and the picture above is of all 80 of the hearts I cut out and the 6-inch muslin squares.

Last weekend, I finally got a chance to sew all the hearts onto the muslin squares:

Here is a picture of all 80 heart squares laid out in 10 rows of 8 squares: They’re not sewn together yet so I hope I can do that before next Wednesday!

This is such a quick and easy quilt … it’s perfect for a beginner or a quick gift. I plan to use this pattern to make hearts from my aunt’s clothing, who passed away a few years ago. I then plan to make small quilts or wall-hangings as Christmas gifts for my cousins.

I love to quilt! I have been quilting since 1999 and started by taking a class at the local quilt shop. I wanted to have a home full of quilting comfort. But alas the quilts I wanted were way out of my budget!

I love to sew and learned to sew Barbie clothes on my grandmother’s treadle machine (sound familiar to anyone?). Could I possibly make my own quilt? So I picked up a quilting magazine and drooled and yearned over all the featured quilts. I then timidly ventured into a local quilt shop … and heard a whole new language: fat quarters, charm squares, rotary cutter, cutting mat … what the heck is everyone talking about? The shop offered a free beginner’s class and I took the plunge by signing up for the class. The rest, as they say, is history!

Here is my first quilt that I made in class in 1999:

It took me a couple of years to quilt and finish it; but once I finished it, I gave it to my DD who had always admired it. Your first quilt is always special just like your firstborn!

Here is the second quilt I ever made with my granddaughter.  I made this quilt in 1999 from a quilting magazine and it was the first quilt I made all by myself ~ no class:

After I finished this quilt one late evening, I saw my DGD had fallen asleep on the couch and on impulse I covered her with my newly finished quilt. When my DGD saw her mom the next morning, she said, “Look, Mommy, what grandma made for me!” And that’s how this quilt became Emily’s first quilt from Grandma …

Edited:  This post was originally posted on September 4 on my other blog Goodwill Haunting.

So, until next time … remember to count your blessings!

Watercolor Heart Wreath Quilt Project

Went to visit my BFF Brenda in Big Bear this past weekend, and we had our own mini quilting retreat. Back in 2003, she and I decided to take a quilting class to learn how to make a watercolor quilt so we each purchased this watercolor kit. Well, we NEVER made it to the class, and the kit … project … was put away until we got “around to it”. So here we are 6 years later … both retired … and decided to get “around to it”. This is what I came home with. It’s still not finished: I need to sew a couple of borders on it before I quilt it and complete it as a wall hanging. It was so much fun that I now want to make a couple for Christmas gifts! I will post a picture of the finished project.

I just love the mountain community of Big Bear. I was up there this past February and experienced my first snowfall! Here’s a picture of the little quilt store in The Village that we visited.

Edited:  This post was originally posted on August 14 on my other blog Goodwill Haunting. 

TTFN … Until next time!

A-Quilting We Will Go

I am finally getting back to my quilting and it’s been keeping me busy! Here’s the quilt top I made using 5-inch squares from scraps. It’s shown on a queen-size bed so it’s a pretty good size. It sure is good to be quilting again … sort of put it on the back burner for a few months. I moved my quilting “studio” from a bedroom into a bigger bonus room, and I still haven’t quite gotten organized. I’m waiting to move my short-arm quilting machine over to the bonus room so I can actually quilt some of the quilt tops. Of course, I’ll post pictures when they’re done!

I’m also playing along with Chrissie Grace who’s having a Quilt Along party. We’re going to be making a heart quilt and it should be lots of fun! It’s easy enough for beginners so if you’ve thought about making a quilt, this is the time to join the fun!!

Edited:  This post was originally posted on August 8 on my other blog Goodwill Haunting.  I created this new blog to journal my quilting adventures.

As always … Live well, laugh often, love much!