Baby Quilt (Tied)

It's been awhile since I've posted. Life has intervened! But in a good way. One son was home from Israel and the other finished school. So I've been busy with doctors' appointments, shopping trips, a visit to the DMV (yes, my youngest now has his learner's permit!), and then a 3-day trip to the Poconos and the Berkshires to drop them off at their respective camps. Now we are empty-nesters for 5 whole weeks! Woo-hoo!

Thank you all for your kind comments about my Strawberry Fields quilt. I had great fun working on it and like the way it turned out. For those of you considering hand-quilting, go for it! I think you will find that it goes a lot faster than you think it will.

Pictured is the baby quilt I made for a woman who works for my husband, at his request. Instead of hand- or machine-quilting, I tied it. I used a higher-loft batting than I usually use (Quilt-Lite which I found in my stash). It's so fluffy and snuggly. The baby shower is on Friday...I finished just in time!

Strawberry Fields, Finished

My Strawberry Fields Doll Quilt is quilted and bound. I stayed true to the original and used a red paisley fabric for the setting. This is the first time I have done a zig zag setting. It was not hard and it was fun to try something new.

For the quilting pattern, I went with my go-to, "when in doubt" the tried-and-true Baptist Fan. It's an allover pattern which I marked using a blue washout pen. I hand-quilted it using Mettler quilting thread, #514.

I mixed reproduction and antique fabrics. It's easy to use antique fabrics when the pieces are so small - you don't need much! The setting and backing fabrics are reproduction. All fabrics came from my stash. Thank you, Lori!

Mini Housewife

My Bernina is fixed and I am back in business - yippee! To celebrate, I made myself this mini "housewife" or needle case. The pattern comes from Kathleen Tracy's book, American Doll Quilts and the fabric is from Rural Jardin, the new French General line by Moda.

I love handmade sewing accessories!

End of May

The month of May is almost over and I am sad to see it go. School is winding down, the weather is beautiful and not hot yet, flowers are in bloom, and the summer months stretch out ahead. My second child was born in May and I have such happy memories of that time in my life. Now we are on the verge of Memorial Day Weekend - I will put out my flag tomorrow.

Baby Quilt in Progress; Bernina Uncooperative

Alas! Last week, as I was stitching away on this baby quilt, my Bernina made a wheezing sound and the handwheel froze. I tinkered with it a bit then called my local quilt shop, hoping to bring my machine in for repair that day. Instead I was told they couldn't take it until the week of May 31st! So it's all hand-sewing for me for the time being.

Patchwork Bag

I made a bag! The pattern comes from an out-of-print book that I borrowed from a friend, featuring designs by Kaffe Fassett and others. It may have been his first foray into quilting? It's an easy pattern, just front, back, two side gussets, a bottom gusset and the strap, plus the same for the lining. I quilted each section using Big Stitch. The fabric was a packet of fat quarters given to me by my daughter. One can never have too many bags, right?

Strawberry Fields Top

I finished my Strawberry Fields doll quilt top yesterday (see Humble Quilts.) The zizag, or streak of lightning setting was only a little bit challenging and I like the way it turned out. It's the first time I've used this setting - it's very old fashioned looking, I think. Now to find a backing and start quilting!