Baby Quilt #5

It has been more than 20 degrees warmer in Fairbanks, AK than here in middle TN!

I used left over strips that my granddaughter cut out for this quilt.....The pattern is Windspinner by Prairie Grass patterns.

This is a really fast quilt to piece. It is a bit bigger than the other baby quilts I have made so far. Same width, just longer.

So far right on schedule making these baby quilts. I have been thinking that these baby quilts go together quickly, usually just a couple of hours each. I began wondering if I could make one a day for a year. I certainly have plenty of time and plenty of fabric......hmmmmm

Linking with Michelle's baby quilts........

Stash Report #4

I am trying to get a few months ahead with my quilting goals as I won't be able to quilt for a month or so when we move. It will be easier for me to be ahead than try to catch up, as I know that won't happen.

We are having to wait for the temps to be at least 45 degrees at night before they can pour the basement floor. Once that is done they can begin framing and the contractor said it should only take two months to get it framed in, roof and all.

The water witch guy came out and found a place where two streams cross about 100 feet down and that is where we will put the well. We will also be putting in a solar pump in the pond so we can use that water for the garden.

Baby Quilt #4

10 Tula Pink's blocks made this week...

Bill likes a different layout of the blocks and to make it bigger I am going to need 20 additional blocks. When I find a block that  looks as though it is in the style of TP's blocks I am making it. Not sure which layout I will use.

QOV #3

While at the hospital with my mother, blood clot in her leg, I walked across the street to Walgreens and bought a copy of Quilt Trends (their only quilt magazine) and on page 54 was this quilt - Smooth Jazz.  Had to quickly snap a picture while the dogs were eating, no time to move the toys. It was a fun quilt to make. Went together easily, big blocks made for fast piecing. Love all the bright solid fabrics. The center of the blocks have tiny flags on the fabric.

The presentation case is made from the same fabric that I used for the backing of the quilt.

I pulled out this stack of UFO hour glass blocks - no idea what I had planned for

them. They were already made and trimmed, so I decided the easiest thing to do was to just sew them all together and made a quilt for RMH. Only took one hour to make the top. 

Bound in lime green with white dots. 45x52


Check out Judy's blog to see more stash reports....

Added this week - 0 yards

Added YTD - 10 yards

Used this week - 22.03 yards

Used YTD - 72.66 yards

Net Used - 62.66 yards 

fabric not counted until quilt is 100% finished

Quilts finished in 2014 - 10

UFO - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - June - July - Aug - Sept - Oct - Nov - Dec

QOV - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - June - July - Aug - Sept - Oct - Nov - Dec

RMH - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - June - July - Aug - Sept - Oct - Nov - Dec

Baby Quilts - 4 of 52 quilts 

Rainbow (Angela)/Block (Judy) Challenge - 0 out of 12 months 

Fat Quarter Shop - 0 out of 12 blocks 

Tula Pink - 38 of 100 blocks

Rainbow/Block Challenge - January

I am combining two blog challenges -
Judy's Scrappy Block  with Angela's RSC14
and finished with this quilt. 48x60

I made my blocks 12 inches as that fit better with some of the scraps I had to work with. I did use some lighter blues in my blocks to help with the contrast.  I didn't always make the right choices with colors/patterns in some of the blocks as you can't see the pattern as clearly. This quilt be going to RMH as I think it is a great quilt for a teen.

This next bit is a plug for RMH - - - - - - - - 

I can't say enough good things about Ronald McDonald Houses. It is my favorite charity to donate to, quilts, snacks, $, appliances, etc.... I do not know what it is like to have a child with a horrible disease. My heart breaks thinking of parents who leave RMH without being able to take their child home. RMH is a haven to these families.

If you go to RMH you can click on Chapter Search to find your closest RMH. Click on donate to see the many ways you can help. While you are there click on the other headings to learn more about them.

 Our family also donates items to the Family Room at the hospital. We drop off our items to RMH and they deliver them to the hospital  as needed. This is something I do this with each grandgirl once a year. I "mostly" let them pick out the items from the list and we fill up a cart.  When we deliver our items the staff usually takes us on a tour of the house.  

I have a granddaughter who loves to bake and she is planning on taking some homemade goodies with us when we go.

Our church has signed up to cook two dinners a year for the guests at RMH.  

Here is what is on our RMH wish list - 

Family Room Wish List

The Ronald McDonald Family Room is located on the 5th floor (Pediatric Critical Care Unit) of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.  The Family Room is a place where families can come to relax and have something to eat and drink when they feel they just need to walk away from the bedside but still need to be close to their child.

Food Pantry items:
Cheese/Crackers (individual serving)
Peanut Butter/Crackers (individual)
Cookies (snack packs)
Juice Boxes
Microwave popcorn
Regular coffee
Ramen Noodles
Individual microwaveable serving meals (ravioli, beef stew, etc…)
Pop tarts
Breakfast/Cereal bars
Boxed Cereal (individual serving)
Sugar packets
Non-dairy creamer packets
Fruit Snacks                    

Cupboard items:
8 oz Styrofoam cups/lids
16 oz Styrofoam cups/lids
Plastic forks/spoons
Small paper plates (for microwave use)
Coffee Stirrers         
Small paper bowls (for microwave use)

Family Room items:
Lysol Disinfectant Spray
Clorox Wipes       

Looking forward to the quilt that will be created using February's color and block.

Baby Quilt #4

I am enjoying making these baby quilts. They are just small enough that I do not have to piece the backings. I have been piecing the batting for them.  The monster fabric is flannel.

I usually wash my quilts before I gift them except when they are made with flannel. Sometimes after the first wash they can look used.

Linking up with Michelle....

Stash Report #3

You can read more about this week's baby quilt here...


Our woods are filled with Cardinals - so beautiful.

I went to the bank and drove around the corner to go to the quilt store and discovered that it has closed. I didn't visit the shop in 2013 and in 2012 I learned that the owner had cancer. She started her shop in a tiny space with less than 40 bolts of fabric, she moved twice, added more fabric, had classes and bought a long arm. The sign on the door  - "thanks for 10 great years".

Another UFO is finished.

I had pieced these stacked coin blocks years ago. Thought about what I could do with them and decided they would make a great quilt to keep in the car. I added some sashing and the border is from left over backing fabric.

I used some really cheap muslin for the foundation for the blocks. I didn't have to tear away any paper, plus it added another layer of warmth to the quilt.

I am so enjoying making these blocks from Tula Pink's book.

I will probably use this layout for my quilt -

Linking with Judy's Stash Busting Reports....

Added this week - 0 yards

Added YTD - 10 yards

Used this week - 15.83 yards

Used YTD - 50.63 yards

Net Used - 40.63 yards

fabric not counted until quilt is 100% finished

Quilts finished in 2014 - 7

UFO - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - June - July - Aug - Sept - Oct - Nov - Dec

QOV - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - June - July - Aug - Sept - Oct - Nov - Dec

RMH - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - June - July - Aug - Sept - Oct - Nov - Dec

Baby Quilts - 3 of 52 quilts 

Rainbow (Angela)/Block (Judy) Challenge - 0 out of 12 months 

Fat Quarter Shop - 0 out of 12 blocks 

Tula Pink - 28 of 100 blocks

Baby Quilt #3

Here is baby quilt #3 for 2014 ~ This baby quilt is about 38x38

It is hard to see the puppy in the corner squares.

I fussy cut the puppies from a piece of flannel that was extra from a backing. The beige fabric has rabbits on it. My granddaughter quilted this one for me, she is 13. She wanted to try a more complex freehand quilting pattern  and then we decided that she should just try some waves and practice keeping the spacing pretty even between the rows. She did a pretty good job. Guess I am going to have to load some muslin and let her practice whatever she wants!

The puppy blocks are 3 inches squares and the strips were cut at 2 inches. I had just enough red paw print fabric with about 1 inch left over that went into my string bin.

It is much cuter in person. This quilt is being saved until I find an local organization to donate it to.

Linking up with Michelle's Baby-Quilt-A-Week post....

Stash Report #2

Click here to read more about this week's baby quilt....

I bought a bunch of Tula Pink scraps ( pieces are less than a fat quarter) on etsy. Not sure how to count the scrappy bits so I am going to estimate that it all came to about 10 yards.

Most pieces are are smaller, odd shaped scraps less than a fat 8th...

These blocks from Tula Pink's City Blocks book are so fun to make - easy too. I am also using some of my fabrics in making these blocks. Fussy cutting  really makes the blocks pop.

Not sure which layout I will use. I do want this quilt to be at least 100 inches square and there is only one layout in the book for a quilt that size. If I decide on a different layout I will need to make more blocks.

Progress on our house....Tuesday afternoon....

Wednesday morning...

Done in less than 24 hours. We went with Superior Walls for the basement - their bid was only 16% higher than using other type of materials.  Pretty exciting. Next step is to order the floor  beams and since that is a custom order it can take up to three weeks. Bill decided to add a basement to the house rather than build a separate shop.

Did I ever tell you that I have only been to this property once, when we signed the papers to buy it. I take care of my mother and it is hard for me to get away  for extended periods. The new house is 2.5 hours away.

In the first few pictures you can see our 8 acre spring fed pond. It has bass, blue gill and catfish. We will be ordering some minnows this spring.

I used Kim Brackett's pattern Lake Cabin to make this QOV.... I made it one row longer and ran out of background fabric so I didn't add the borders.

It is hard to see that there are yellow stars as the cornerstones, maybe I should have used white instead of the yellow.  The beige has red and blue dots on it.

I also made two pillow cases for the QOVs -

Linking up with Judy's stash report......

Added this week - 10 yards

Added YTD - 10 yards

Used this week - 15.63 yards

Used YTD - 34.80 yards

Net Used - 24.80 yards

fabric not counted until quilt is 100% finished

Quilts finished in 2014 - 5

UFO - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - June - July - Aug - Sept - Oct - Nov - Dec

QOV - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - June - July - Aug - Sept - Oct - Nov - Dec

RMH - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - June - July - Aug - Sept - Oct - Nov - Dec

Baby Quilts - 2 of 52 quilts are made

Rainbow (Angela)/Block (Judy) Challenge - 0 out of 12 months are made

Fat Quarter Shop - 0 out of 12 blocks are made

Tula Pink - 12 of 100 blocks are made

Baby Quilt #2

This baby quilt didn't turn out like I thought it would.  It looked so much better in my mind. The charms are I Spy fabrics

I think it looks messy, disorganized and that is pretty bad coming from someone who loves scrappy quilts. I had left over 2.5 inch strips in blues, greens and yellows and in my mind I saw a really cute quilt. Maybe needed more colors, maybe more structure to the color layout.

I followed this pattern from MSQC called Falling Charms, really fun pattern, easy to make and to me it looks better with all the sashing being the same color. I will have to try again using one color for the sashing.

This one finished at 36x36. My granddaughter quilted this one for me, she is 10 and did a great job meandering.

I will be so happy when we move as I am not crazy about the cork flooring we currently have. Anything will be an improvement!

I am going to have to look for a place near our new home that has a need and will welcome these baby quilts.

Linking up with Michelle.

Stash Report #1

Hope your New Year is off to a great start.

Check out Judy's blog for other stash reports....

My first finish this year was this cute baby quilt - read more about it here.....

I am thinking that it was about three years ago that I took a bunch of charms and made them into 1/2 square triangles and couldn't figure out a way to use them so they got put into a drawer. Wanting to get started on January's UFO project I pulled them out and made this quilt for RMH. With this quilt I get to mark off one UfO as finished and one HUG quilt for RMH.

I added sashing and cornerstones.

I have promised two quilts for  a QOV presentation in February at Fort Campbell in KY - here is the first one. I started this one in December. 

This pattern is by Amy Smart - you can find the pattern info here....

I am waiting for some fun Tula Pink fabrics that were ordered so I can get started on her City Blocks quilt.  I know using her fabrics isn't require, just thought it would be fun to have some in the mix.

Added this week - 0

Added YTD - 0

Used this week - 19.17

Used YTD -19.17

Net Used - 19.17

fabric not counted until quilt is 100% finished

Quilts finished in 2014 - 3

UFO - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - June - July - Aug - Sept - Oct - Nov - Dec

QOV - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - June - July - Aug - Sept - Oct - Nov - Dec

RMH - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - June - July - Aug - Sept - Oct - Nov - Dec
Baby Quilts - 1 of 52 quilts are made
Rainbow (Angela)/Block (Judy) Challenge - 0 out of 12 months are made
Fat Quarter Shop - 0 out of 12 blocks are made
Tula Pink - 0 of 100 blocks are made

Baby Quilt #1

I think this is one cute and simple little baby quilt. Takes about 3-4 hours from start to finish!

Here is a quick tutorial on how I made it.....

1/2 yard of a stripe fabric
1/2 yard each of two different fabrics that go with the stripes
abt 1/3 yard for the binding

~ cut each fabric into 6 2.5 inch strips
~ then sub-cut strips into 36 - 6.5 inch pieces

~ sew into blocks - 18 of each color 

~ sew blocks into 6 rows and sew rows together

Makes a sweet baby quilt about 36 inches square.

Not sure where this quilt will end up, maybe at RMH.

I still have about 4 yards of the stripe fabric to use.

I am looking forward to making a baby quilt each week with Michelle.