Henry's Fish and Starfish

Henry is going to be one.  His bedroom is painted like an aquarium.  I made him fish quilts and now I have finished the fish.  The fish are not perfect, but they are fun.  There was a lot of fabric and stuffing to put inside the fish.  I used Fig Tree Threads pattern called "Stanley and Stella".  Each one I made was an improvement, but then again, no one will ever call them identical triplets, either.  I also made two starfish from kids' socks.  I found the basic pattern in socks appeal by Brenna Maloney.

Wheelcar Quilt

Someone donated some shirting samples ~~~ definitely not all cotton.  Sharon and I decided to attempt to make a few wheelchair quilts for nursing home residents where her FIL lives, thought these shirting fabrics would make them feel comfortable, if we could work with the material.  This top is 36 x 45 and considered to be just the right size.  There are several features that will make this a fun quilt for guys - lots of textures, and manly colors.  My husband questioned a couple of the salmon-pink ones but we decided to put them in.  Sewing the slippery fabrics was a bit of a challenge, but when I finished, I added a stay-stitching around the outside to help maintain all the seams and general shape.  Would not like to quilt this on a domestic machine, but I think free-motion meandering on my HQ will be just fine.

Charity Work Day

Had some members of the guild over to cut HeartStrings and pillow cases.  We will be sewing the pillow cases during our guild's quilt show in Feb, but it takes time to cut and coordinate everything.  Last year we made about 300 during the workshop and with several small groups of friends.  We will aim for at least that many again this year.  We have made a good start cutting, but we will need a few more gatherings to put everything together.  The strips that were too small for pillow case parts were added to the HeartStrings piles.  We will put those kits together over the next few weeks as well.  Felt great to accomplish so much in such a short period of time.

HeartString Quilts

The ladies of the guild brought back the 6 quilts they had taken for binding.  It is so exciting to see the numbers grow.  Thank you to all who helped.  With the help of the guild and my FIL we have now finished 11 quilts and have several more out there being worked on.  Tomorrow, I am having a string cutting, sorting, and kitting gathering so that we can have more ready to be sewn. 

Some of the Quilts and Table Runners Bound on My Trip

I would love to show you all the pieces that I bound while on my latest trip, but one is a birthday surprise, so...  I do not think that I do the pieces justice when I photograph then because they actually are rectangles with 90 degree angles and straight sides, but... The larger bright quilt is Henry's, just like the smaller one.  I used Yellow Brick Road to make the big one, but over did the blocks so he also gets a smaller one.  One is for cuddling on the couch and the other is a twin size for his room.  The large one was quilted using a pantograph called "Drips"  and looks great on the back, however, it was the FIRST time I used it and did not realize that all the forward/backward motion was pulling the fabric.  The front has too many places where there are puckers, but somehow I missed them while I was actually quilting.  By the time I spotted the problem I was almost done.  Once it is washed a few times I don't think I will be as aware of the issues.  Decided that the way the grandkids play with their quilts this would be okay.  Henry will undoubtedly receive many more that will be smoother in the future.

As I have written before, my FIL loves to do embroidery on his machine.  These table runners used up a small number of the blocks and will add a nice touch to someone's Christmas table.  The Noel is a wall hanging with tabs at the top where a wooden rod will be inserted.  I have 8 more table runners that are just waiting for me to hand sew their bindings.

Traveling and Stitching

My husband is still in the Navy, so from time to time, I have the opportunity to travel with him as he works.  This time we are in Great Lakes IL for his Change of Command.  While he works I check out the base library, do some walking, and always manage lots of stitching.   I packed up lots of binding to do and am impressed with all I have completed.  I will post photos when I return, but I managed to bind 6 Christmas table runners, Henry's twin-size and kid-size fish quilts, and two other lap quilts.  May manage to squeeze in a few more runners before we finish the trip because I enjoy doing binding while we drive.  The rest of this week will involve HeartStrings cutting projects, swimming, and working on a special quilt for my husband.  More on that later.

Table Runners

I shared the start of several Christmas table runners late last week.  I have plans to build about 10 more with other blocks created by my FIL and his trusty embroidery machine.  The runners are just the right size for finishing the binding when we travel.  During a four hour trip I finished one while visiting with my husband and listening to some good music.  We have quite a bit of traveling this month, so thought the "quick" bindings would satisfy my need to play with fabric. lol 
The ones I am playing with now will have the same design but will be using more country type themes.  The backs will be fun winter fabrics so they could be reversed.  Photos will follow in a couple of days.