Quiltpiecer

This is my second Y2K 2000 Charm Quilt Top which  I started in 2006.   I hope to have it completed before the end of the year.  Well, that’s the plan, anyway! I completed my first Y2K quilt in 2004 which I gave as a gift.  And, although this top is not technically a "finished" quilt, it has taken so long to complete that I have to count it as a weekly finish. It seems only yesterday that we were at once excited and anxious about the new millennium.  To celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime event, many quilters wanted to create a Y2K quilt with 2000 different squares (“charms”) of fabric.  There were many swapping groups, and I participated in several. I was able to collect enough charms to make THREE quilts, each with 2000 squares!  So, here we are many years later, and I’ve barely finished piecing the second top.  Hopefully, I can get it quilted before the end of the next decade! And, yes, I still have 80 more ...

I’ve been creating kids' quilts for Project Linus since 2001 and have donated close to 50 quilts.  But over the last couple of years, I really haven’t made any quilts to donate.  I do have 11 quilt tops that I’ve had sitting around for at least a year.  For whatever reason, I’ve never gotten around to quilting them.  So I decided to bring them out and get busy quilting them so I could donate them to Project Linus.  They’re about crib size so not very big which makes them quick and easy to quilt.  Maybe I can get a couple finished this week … that's a big maybe!

A few days ago, I posted about this quilt top here . It took me a while, but I managed to sew all the rows and finally finished the center of the top.  I still need to sew on the borders.  Maybe I’ll finish it before the end of the month. Happy quilting! Update 2012 :   I never finished this project and sold it on Etsy, with  2 yards of fabric for the outside border and 13 leftover charms. 

Last week I posted here about the  Striped Quilt Challenge that Beth at Love Laugh Quilt has been hosting.  And, I believe today was the last day of the challenge, although I don’t think a finish was “required”.  It’s all about having fun and quilting!  I managed to get this small quilt top finished, and I’m pretty happy with it, especially since I had a limited stash to work with.  I do like how the stripes make the pinwheels look like they’re moving.  Not so much in the picture, but in person they almost make you dizzy if you stare at them too long.  I hope to have it finished by the end of this week. I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day holiday!

How many of you have the same problem I do with taking pictures of quilts?  I always struggle with this.  Should I place it on a bed?  What about the floor?  Or maybe a chair or a couch?  I know!  Wouldn’t it be better if I could get someone to hold it up for me?  Oh, sure it would, but around my house, that’s like pulling teeth!  If I’m lucky enough to snag DH or DS for the job, I’d better be super quick and not take too long!  Or else this happens: And, I’d better not take more than one picture of the same quilt, or I will get “the look” … you know, the look that says “You gotta be kidding!  Again?!  Better hurry or I’m outta here!” No weekly finish today, but lots of WIPs!  I’m so glad September is here and that school has started.  I’m looking forward to the fall season and cooler weather.  Have a great weekend!

Beth at Love Laugh Quilt   has been hosting a Striped Quilt Challenge, and this is the last week of the challenge which, of course, ends this weekend. Here is Beth’s quilt … isn’t it beautiful!  When I saw this, I was inspired to make my own striped quilt. And, when I joined a month ago, I really believed that I would not have a problem … at least starting a project and even believed that I would surely finish one before the challenge ended.  But here I am, just a few days left,  and all I’ve done is cut a few strips.  I hope this counts as a “start”! At the time, I knew I had some striped fabric, but I happily envisioned myself going to the fabric store to add to my stash!  Well, that didn’t happen.  And, my limited stash gave me no vision and no plan, so I went online for inspiration. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do.  I’m thinking maybe pinwheels or hourglass blocks, but I do so love the zig-zag design!

Hallelujah! My “quilt of errors” is FINALLY finished!  Well, at least the top is finished … I am so happy to finally get it done.  I’m also happy to report that I used up all my patriotic strips/scraps on this top. I really like the border with the delectable mountain blocks.  This was my first time making the block and had to improvise because I didn’t have a pattern.  The blocks were not so easy to make and were definitely not perfect. The top is much bigger than I anticipated, finishing at 85” square.  I’m sure this will nicely cover a queen-size bed. Can you believe I was originally going to make it with 12 blocks?!  This is so big that I had to move the furniture out of the way just to take a picture. Anyway, making this quilt top was definitely a learning experience.  And, even though there was plenty of frustration, I’m happy with the outcome and am planning to make another one ~ some day ~ but with different fabrics.  Not sure when...

Several months ago, I posted here about my friend Mary and the Quilts of Valor her quilting group makes. Unfortunately, I was unable to continue with the group but I did manage to make one QOV.  This is my contribution which Mary added to the group of quilts she took to the   Sew Vac in Long Beach. Although I can't continue with the group, I told Mary I would continue to make QOVs to contribute to her group.  She was more than happy to accept my offer! Remember, the best things in life are quilted.

In addition to “collecting” fabric, I also collect quilting magazines.  When I first started quilting, I think I bought every magazine that was published … and saved each & every one of them!  Over the years, I accumulated tons of magazines.  When I started to run out of storage space, I knew I had to purge my “collection”.  I have finally narrowed my collection down to those magazines I enjoy the most:  BHG American Patchwork & Quilting; Fons & Porter Love of Quilting; McCall’s Quick Quilts; and Quiltmaker.  And I only keep five years’ worth, so, for now, my magazines go back to 2005. I love going through my old magazines.  Every once in a while, I’ll pull out a few magazines just to flip through them.  It’s like going through a new magazine!  That’s how I stumbled upon this plaid dorm quilt from a Fons & Porter magazine.     Plaid Dorm Quilt from Fons & Porter I’ve been wanting to make a quilt f...

I just completed my fourth quilt for the Downy Touch of Comfort Quilts For Kids project.  Three are from requested kits and the fourth is from my own fabric stash.  And, for now, this completes my contribution to this worthwhile program.  I’ll continue to make quilts for kids through Project Linus, which keeps my donations locally; and, I can also deliver my finished quilts to a neighbor who helps coordinate the local chapter … no shipping costs! The Touch of Comfort project was much fun, and it was exciting to receive the kit in the mail to see what fun fabrics had been sent.  The quilts are fast and easy to make, so I do hope new folks will jump on the bandwagon to help them reach their goal of 10,000 quilts before the end of the year.  Click here for more info. UPDATE:   Quilts for Kids has chapters nationwide.  These local chapters keep donations within the communities they serve.  Click here to find a chapter in your area.

I had a great time yesterday at the International Quilt Festival in Long Beach (CA)!  I can’t post any pictures of the exhibits, but here’s a fun picture of my BFF Brenda and me with our favorite quilting diva, Eleanor Burns!   We had a delicious lunch at Islands Restaurant and the weather couldn’t have been better.   But, by the end of the day, we were dragging our feet from so much walking.  That place is HUGE and there were hundreds of vendors and exhibits.  I’m glad to say that I stayed within my budget and still had a great time!

Second Millennium or Y2K Charm Quilt Top ~ 2010 Back in 1999 when I started quilting, there really weren't any quilt blogs, but quilters were hanging out on quilt message boards on sites like quilting.about.com. Lots of quilters were swapping 2-1/2" or 3" fabric squares (or charms) in order to make a Y2K quilt with 2,000 different fabric squares. There were even magazine articles about how to join these swaps. Some swaps were set up individually via email (there would be lists of people willing to swap on various websites), but others were “centralized” swaps with one person coordinating the swap. Once you joined a swap, you made up sets of 80 squares of different fabrics, plus a signature square and a very short biography.  These sets were called “squishies” because the envelope or baggie containing the set was soft and squishy.  There were usually 25 members in a swap.  If all worked as planned, you would end up with 2,000 different squares, or charms. ...

My bouillabaisse quilt top is FINALLY finished!  I started it last year in September and posted about it here in January.  I’ve been working on it off and on, and this week I made a commitment to finish it.  It has twenty blocks and each block is 20-1/2 inches.  It measures 97 square inches, with a 6-1/2 inch border. This is the second bouillabaisse quilt I’ve made, but I had so many issues with it! It seems that no matter how many 1-3/4” strips I cut, it just wasn’t enough!  But the real dizzies were the points and bias edges … OMG, by the last few blocks, I couldn’t care less whether anything matched:  I just wanted to get ‘er done!  It’s shown on a queen-size bed, and it’s the second queen-size quilt top I’ve made. I’m not sure yet whether I will quilt it myself or send it out so, for now, it’s in my “To Be Quilted” pile!   Technically, I know it's not a "finished" quilt but it was quite a project to finish so I'm counting it as a wee...

I finished the top for this quilt last month and posted about it here . And, I finally got it quilted with an all-over design and added the binding by machine. Fall is one of my favorite seasons and this quilt will be perfect for the cooler months.  I'm definitely keeping this one! Remember, the best things in life are quilted!