Flying Geese for Baby

 I was asked to make a new baby quilt for a Great Grandchild (We are getting to that age!) for the baby of the church's choir director. She expressly asked for the "same quilt" I made for Dawn including the border fabric... a road map in neutral colors. This is the quilt Virginia fell in love with:  

http://anita-rancherita.blogspot.com/2023/02/happy-geese-2.html

The request was similar colors, not "baby colors" for a boy arriving in December. Okay! 

I used a basic 2“ geese; Cut body 2.5 x 4.5 and wings are 2.5" squares, snowballed on. 

Nice, huh?

I went to Anaheim after searching and not finding any more of the maps in my stash.... no luck finding THAT fabric, but found something similar. And $125 of other necessities. Uh huh. 

I did use some greens and blues juvenile fabrics.... cars and animals (and even a little paw patrol!) mixed with floral and geometries. No strong pinks..... still traditional like that. 

A large variety of neutrals for the geese wings. Very similar sideways setting, the map border.... simple loops quilting and a swoop border. Great bright stripe binding, blue and white back..... DONE!

Quilting loops and swoops

Bright and Grey Monkey Wrench

 After vacations and busy life excuses, I hadn't finished a quilt for a couple months. Seems like the longer it was, the more I procrastinated. I needed to QUILT something! I made this little beauty with a charm pack for the Grey's and tans, some bright 1 1/2" scraps from my BRIGHTS box, and around a yard of white on white Quilters Showcase (JoAnn Fabric own line) which I buy up when it's on sale for $2.99 a yard. 

As I suspected, I had an early quilting flub, causing me to screw up a bobbin and break 2 needles. After disassembling the bobbin area and vacuming it, things went real smooth and I finished this quilt. 

Nice size, 52 X 60

I like to free motion the borders on my JUKI. Don't have to deal with frequent moving on the frame, or leaders to get close to the edges. 

Free Motioned a fleur de lis in each block

I did 4 HSTs with a different colored background, which I then mixed into 2 different blocks. Just can't quite do things all CORRECT, you know?

Pattern for monkey wrench block by Missouri State Tutorial

https://youtu.be/Y5fen8VLnik?si=Z5RUTn7uNtW2bkRn

For sale on Etsy

The back has a spot for a written dedication if wanted. 

Little loopy small border and a swoop in the big border. 

In the frame.

Blue for Dawn

 Dawn has been our new associate priest at St Andrews for the past year. A very thoughtful and kind person, she has been offered her own parish in the Midwest and so is leaving us. 

It's a split HST pattern from Missouri Star that I have made before. 

https://youtu.be/GGL2wZwb1H8?si=FiVo0BHft2QqjCfK

I quilted a simple but effective loop de loop in each patch as well as in the 3 inch borders. 

I used a great stripe in these thin borders.

The colors are mostly blue coupled with neutrals, with a red and that same red but used on the other side of the fabric. 

A square for signing. 

I decided I didn't leave enough space for the congregation to participate in the signing of the quilt so I listed this one for sale. 

SOLD! Within a week. 

Peru Souvenir

 I purchased a couple of pieces of woven wool on my trip to Peru with ideas about a hat band and some coasters for my travel companions. 

Patty's Nest 2024 Intention

 When Patty asked me what was my 2024 Intention... The word that was going to be my inspiration or challenge this year I confessed I had not even thought about it! 

She told me the word NEST was whispering to her... She thought it meant to focus on her home and family this year. 

This is a small quilt....maybe a table topper. It has a nest made from brown twigs and little green grasses. Inside the nest are three beautiful and unique blue eggs. 

Surrounding the nest are green leaves and glimpses of blue sky. 

The border are beautiful Japanese fabric flowers. 

It was densely quilted on the Juki, free motion easily due to the small size.

I then asked COPILOT, The Google AI, to compose a poem about a nest being a home. It rendered about 16 stanzas. I selected a few of the verses and tweaked them a bit and wrote them on the back. 

For within these walls made of leaf straw and feather,

Lies the heart of a family bound tightly together.

It holds a sweet promise of safety and rest,

A symbol profound. Home above the rest.

For home is not just where we lay down our head,

It's where we are loved, and our spirits are fed. 

45 Day Sobriety Chip

 A brave friend of mine started her personal quest for sobriety and opened up to her friends at her 30 day mark, when she earned her 30 day coin.

On day 45 she mused that she wished she had a 45 day chip ....

I love the little Ohio Star Block in the tutorial: https://youtu.be/Dh6K4zUnfw8?si=YCmkOezCCFSwEMxF

Congratulations my dear Cat. I am so proud of you!

Half and Half Twist

 This bright little quilt was inspired by Missouri Star Quilts tutorial:

https://youtu.be/GGL2wZwb1H8?si=QOL-G6HInQ7KQbtu

I gathered up a bag of my tone on tone fabrics purchased some time ago in Anaheim and combined them each with the same simple white on white

 Each block starts with a 10" color and a 10" white square and is made into 4 HST blocks. Each block is then cut into quarters and reassembled. ( Thus the TWIST title.) I quickly decided all 4 quarters the SAME was a little dull and mixed them up with a partner. 

I decided to place like colors close, and go with a lap size. The back has a label, a tan on white floral and the binding is a rainbow. 

I quilted a clamshell using the 3" blocks as a rough guide. 

This one used a thin fleece blanket instead of batting, keeping my overall cost to make it quite low. 

For sale on Etsy