Portrait Quilt in progress

This is a portrait quilt that I started in a class a while back.  I know she looks a little funny with only one eyelash.  I have been thinking about this quilt lately because I found Virginia Greaves blog about her portrait quilts and boy are they lovely.  So, I had to dig mine out to see where I left off.

 I remember now, I loved most of the process of this quilt so far.  After my first day of class, I stayed up late because I couldn't wait to see how she was turning out.  It was really beginning to look like someone!  In Jr. high and high school I took art classes and I dreaded every time that we had to do portraits because I suck at them.

I even enjoyed the tracing once I learned how to do it.

I would love to do a quilt of each of my sister's three girls (this is the youngest of the three) so, I guess I'd better get busy!

Obsession?

This is what obsession looks like....

There are 1,904 half square triangles.  My sister and I are exchanging to do some of the patterns from Edyta Sitar's book and she is still 616 ahead of me but, we are waiting for our quilt shop to get some more of the papers in.  Insanity!

These are the fabrics that I still have to sew.

And these are the ones I am setting aside for some time later...

Two sizes and neither can fit in the bags I started them in.

Then if that isn't enough, we joined the Edyta Sitar Fan Club and are now cutting 1 inch strips for projects from the next book...

So, today she brings up the hoarders show and gets us both thinking.  (of course she never mentions 2,520 HST or strips!)

We went to JoAnn's today and I got an awesome deal on quilt battings.  When I got home I counted all the battings that I had and added the ones that I bought...is 25 too many?  Last year I finished 24 quilts so I figure one more for good measure right?

I better get to work.

Red & White BOM progress

Well, I have been working on my red and white block of the month.  I have the center all put together and am now working on the borders.  They are not going together quite as nicely as the blocks because...well, I decided to not follow the directions and do it my own way.  I'm really not sure what it is that possesses me to do this sort of thing.  So, I am at a stand still until I make it to the shop for more fabric (**grin** breaks my heart).

Here's my Christmas present from my crafty sister...

I love it. She let us all pick the one we liked best.  I had a hard time choosing which one I wanted but since I was on a red and white kick, I went with black and white to keep in the spirit.

Last Red & White BOM

   

This is the final block for my red and white block of the month.  I also bought the finishing kit which will be next to be cut.  Unfortunately, my sister beat me to the finish of the top.  She and I have had a little unspoken challenge the whole way.  It's been fun to try to get to the shop first and finish the block first.  Maybe I can get my quilt completed first.

Old News and a New Year

This quilt is about 20 years old.  One of my customers from work had started it for her son's graduation gift.  Once she found out that I was a quilter, she asked if I would take a look at it and see if I could finished it for her.  Her son asked about it for many years and finally gave up asking.  She thought it would be a really fun surprise to have it finished to give to him.

The binding was already on and the star was mostly done and quilted by hand. 

Now days, it would be quilted closer together but, the pattern that went with this showed it to be quilted at 1/4 from the seams (more comforter style to me).  The red fabric was a bit scary...it didn't let the needle go through smoothly.  It took me a while to figure out that quilting at the table was the best way to go.  I've never done a project quite like this before and I hope to never do another like it again.  It was quite a learning experience.  (my sister says I need to practice saying NO)

She was happy with it and plans to give it to him for his birthday.  I can't wait to hear what he says about it after all these years.

Hope everyone had a happy new year!

I have checked my list for the new year and checked it twice.

Last year was a success!

I finished 24 quilts and only started 17!

That means my UFO list is actually getting shorter!

(a little pat on my own back here)

I am beginning 2012 with 67 UFOs

9 of which the tops are already done

I'm hoping to get enough done so that next year I can print them on one page not 2. LOL

I figure that after working on the hand quilting, I should be able to tackle some of my own quilts that are a bit challenging.

Good Luck in your new year!

Spools

I love antique spools.  I think it started when I was little and had a jump rope with handles that were spools.  My "Aunt" from England brought them to me when she came to visit us in Michigan.  I'm sure that I still have it in my childhood memories tote.  When the weather gets warmer, I will have to look for it.

Anyway, the reason that I brought it up is because a customer of mine found 2 spools for me (I'm counting it as a Christmas gift).  They were quickly added to my little collection.

Thanks again John!

Rainbow quilt top finished

Shhh.  It's a Christmas present for my 10 yr old son.  He loves rainbows.

I had to go hide in my room to get a picture.  When I'm finished, I will get a better shot of it for you.

I need to piece the backing yet and get it quilted.

It is made with 2 1/2 inch strips and I randomly shifted the colors from side to side which was good because I screwed it up twice and I don't think it's noticeable because of it.

I slacked off and didn't pin any of it so...it's a bit crooked but he will love it anyway...I'm just worried about what it will do when I quilt it.

I made it extra long so that I can tuck it in and maybe not have to make his bed every night (his other quilts are too short but he loves them).

It's been a while since my last blog because my computer was in the shop...and it's still not sounding so swell.

We've had this one for around 10 years or more and I am still trying to baby it for a little bit longer.