My Quilt #224: Patriotic Log Cabin Quilt Top 2010

Hallelujah! My “quilt of errors” is FINALLY finished!  Well, at least the top is finished … I am so happy to finally get it done.  I’m also happy to report that I used up all my patriotic strips/scraps on this top.  Read about my progress here.

I really like the border with the delectable mountain blocks.  This was my first time making the block and had to improvise because I didn’t really have a pattern.  The blocks were not so easy to make and are definitely not perfect.

The top is much bigger than I anticipated, finishing at 85” square.  I’m sure this will nicely cover a queen-size bed.  There are nine blocks with 16 units each; and each block measures 26-1/2 inches.  Can you believe I was originally going to make it with 12 blocks?!  Anyway, making this quilt top was definitely a learning experience.

August 2010

UPDATE:  Sold on eBay in 2011

My Quilt #223: Patriotic Quilt of Valor Top

Rita’s Quilt of Valor

In March 2010, I visited with my friend Mary and her quilting group, The Atherton Quilters.  I had so much fun that day and everyone was so friendly that I joined the group! Here they are with the Quilts of Valor they made at their January retreat:

The Quilts of Valor were taken to Sew Vac in Long Beach where they’ll be quilted by a volunteer longarm quilter and finished into a beautiful quilt for a veteran or service member.

Even though I wasn’t part of the group for their January retreat, I wanted to make my own QOV.  Here is my version, which I’ll be sending off to Sew Vac:

Every Thursday afternoon, volunteers meet at the store to cut, sew and press QOVs.  During Disney’s 2010 “Give A Day, Get A Disney Day” program, volunteers received one free admission ticket to Disneyland.  How awesome was that!  Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and free Disney tickets are no longer available.  But Sew Vac continues its good work!

July 2010

My Quilts #222: Quilts For Kids 2010

I just completed my fourth quilt for the Downy Touch of Comfort Quilts For Kids project.  Three are from requested kits and the fourth is from my own fabric stash.  And, for now, this completes my contribution to this worthwhile program. 

I’ll continue to make quilts for kids through Project Linus, which keeps my donations locally; and, I can also deliver my finished quilts to one of my neighbors who helps coordinate the local chapter … no shipping costs!

The Touch of Comfort project was much fun, and the quilts were fast and easy.  It was always exciting to receive the kit in the mail to see what fun fabrics had been sent.  I do hope they reach their goal of 10,000 quilts before the end of the year.

July 2010

My Quilt #221: David’s Plaid Dorm Quilt 2010

I’d been wanting to make a quilt for my son David for quite some time.  I had a collection of plaids and homespun fabric that I thought he might like, but I couldn’t decide on a pattern that I thought would be to his liking. 

One day I was flipping through my old quilting magazines when I stumbled upon this plaid dorm quilt from a Fons & Porter magazine.

Plaid Dorm Quilt from Fons & Porter

I thought this dorm quilt would be perfect since he is now living in a dorm after recently transferring to Cal Berkeley.  I hope this quilt will bring him some warmth and comfort during the cool fall & winter seasons while he’s away from home.

The quilt has 168 five-inch finished squares and has a 12 x 14 setting.  It has a soft flannel backing and measures 58” x 66”.  I used Warm & Natural batting and quilted it myself with a simple line design.

I’m very happy with how it turned out and hope that David will treasure it forever!

July 2010

My Quilt #220: Bouillabaisse Quilt Top 2010

 

My bouillabaisse quilt top is FINALLY finished!  I started it in September 2009 and posted about it here in January.  I’ve been working on it off-and-on; and in July I made a commitment to finish it.  It has twenty blocks and each block is 20-1/2 inches.  It measures in at 97 square inches, with a 6-1/2 inch border.

This is the second bouillabaisse quilt I’ve made, but I had so many issues with it! It seems that no matter how many 1-3/4” strips I cut, it just wasn’t enough!  But the real dizzies were the points and bias edges … OMG, by the last few blocks, I couldn’t care less whether anything matched:  I just wanted to get ‘er done! 

It’s shown on a queen size bed, and it’s the second queen-size quilt top I’ve made. I’m not sure yet whether I will quilt it myself or send it out.  I’m definitely keeping this one so I’m really leaning towards sending it to a LA quilter.  But, for now, it’s in my “To Be Quilted” pile!

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This is a picture of the original bouillabaisse quilt I made in 2003.  I bought the fabric kit and with my BQF Brenda took a class at the LQS.  I blogged about it here.  This quilt was much easier to make than my second one … maybe that’s because I made it in class.  I don’t know … but I do know I won’t be making another one soon!

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This is a bouillabaisse quilt that my BQFF Brenda made and was the inspiration for my second bouillabaisse quilt.  You may not be able to notice in the pictures, but we used many of the same fabrics.  That’s because she often benefits when I go through a “stash cleaning” episode. I just love the colors on this quilt!  Okay, so I’m a big copy-cat; but Brenda and I have very similar tastes … I guess that’s why we get along so well!

July 2010

My Quilt #219: Charm & Jelly Roll Quilt Top 2010

I made this top from a kit I purchased at my LQS a couple years ago.  I saw the sample in the store and fell in love with the fabric and design.  Actually, the store had run out of the kits, but I was still able to buy some yardage and received the pattern for free.

It’s such an easy scrappy design that uses one charm pack plus one jelly roll.  The block is a four-patch of 2-1/2” squares, plus four 2-1/2” strips, which are sewn to the 4-patch in a log-cabin style.  I started this last week and just finished it yesterday.

July 2010

UPDATE:  Sold on eBay in February 2011