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 “squishes” stored away, each with...

12 Days of Christmas by Kate Spain Top #226 In August, I joined Karrie Lyne at  Freckled Whimsy  for her Charm Pack Quilt Along.  I love a quilt-along, and I also love the  12 Days of Christmas  by Kate Spain for Moda. 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 1/14/12 :   I never finished this project and sold it on Etsy, with 2 yards of fabric for the outside border and 13 leftover charms. 

Scrappy Striped Pinwheel Top #225  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 finish this small quilt top, and I’m 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! Update 6/19/11 :  Sold on eBay

Patriotic Log Cabin Top #224 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 I had to improvise because I didn’t have a pattern.  The blocks were not so easy to make and are 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 instead of nine?! 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 plan to make another one someday, but with different fabrics.  Not sure when this top will be quilted.  For now, it’s in my “To Be Q...

Patriotic Quilt of Valor #223 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.

Plaid Dorm Quilt #222 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 ...

Touch of Comfort Quilt #221 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 a lot of 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...

Bouillabaisse Quilt Top #220 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 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 fini...

Autumn Stretched Star Quilt #219 Size:  57" square 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!

Charm & Jelly Roll Top #218 I decided to take a break from nickel quilts!  I made this top from a kit I purchased at my LQS a couple of years ago.  I saw the sample in the store and fell in love with the fabric and design.  Actually, the store had run out of the kits, but I was still able to buy some yardage and received the pattern for free.  It’s such an easy scrappy design that uses one charm pack plus one jelly roll.  The block is a four-patch of 2-1/2” squares, plus four 2-1/2” strips, which are sewn to the 4-patch in a log-cabin style.  I started this last week and just finished it yesterday.  I’m not sure when I’ll be quilting it, so for now, it’s back to the UFO pile … hopefully not for long! Update 2/1/11 :  Sold on eBay One more finish since last Friday … I previously posted about this top, and finally finished quilting and binding it this week.  Click here to read my previous post: Autumn Nickel Quilt I had three fini...

Northern Lights Christmas Quilt #217 Size: 47" x 60" Remember this quilt top that I blogged about here ? Well, I finally finished it, and I think I’m lovin’ it!  The pattern is Northern Lights, and it’s another nickel quilt from Pat Speth. I made this quilt from a stash of Christmas fabrics I’ve had for a few years.  I cut the fabrics into 5-inch squares, found a pattern I liked, and put it all together into a baggie as a kit. Last year, I pulled out the kit and put the blocks together, but I wasn’t thrilled with the color combo … the background just didn’t seem right, so I put it aside to work on other projects. Well, 2010 being the year to finish those UFOs, I tackled this project and finally finished it!  But, even when I completed the top, I still wasn’t thrilled with it … it just didn’t sing to me.  I struggled with the borders and finally decided, the heck with it, I’ll just make it borderless.  But now that it’s finished?  It sings loud and pro...