My Quilt Parade

I made this quilt from scraps that I’ve had around for years.  Individually, these squares are outdated and not very inspiring.  But put them together into a scrappy quilt, and they all somehow work beautifully together! The pattern for this quilt is “Autumn Stretched Star” from Pat Speth’s “Nickel Quilts” book, and I used an alternate X–O block arrangement.  The design is created with 5-inch squares from fall-theme fabric and 2-1/2” squares in a cream color. I t measures 57” square , and I quilted it with an overall stippling design.  This was an easy and fast pattern! June 2010

This is my second string quilt for the two string-quilt challenges I’m participating in.  I blogged about my first string quilt here . I thought the Memorial Day weekend was a good time to finish this one. I’ll be donating this quilt to the Quilts of Valor program. I started it in March and posted about it here .  It all began with a pile of strings in patriotic fabrics that I’ve had for years.  The quilt measures 52 x 65 inches. May 2010 UPDATED:  Sold on eBay in May 2011 for $45

Another Wrapped In Hope quilt … this is the third quilt I have donated to this wonderful program.  This quilt is for Christian from California, and he likes Spider-man and books. I already had the Spider-man material in my stash, which I’d purchased a couple years back.  I alternated the 6-inch squares with red, white & blue Hourglass blocks.  So simple, but what a great design!  Do you see the secondary design the blocks create … the white star? My friend Mary also made a Wrapped in Hope quilt.  Here we are in the parking lot of the community center right before our guild meeting.  Her quilt has butterflies and a pretty pink flannel backing.  Perfect for a sweet young lady! May 2010

  This is my second Touch of Comfort quilt for Quilts for Kids, which I named “Robot Fun”.  I blogged about my first QFK quilt here . Look at the really cute backing they sent for the quilt.  I think it’s adorable and should bring many smiles to one lucky recipient! This is the 2nd quilt I also sent.  The quilt top was made by my friend Mary … so half the work was already done and I was able to finish it up in no time at all. May 2010

I posted here about my first Wrapped In Hope quilt for Margaret's Hope Chest and their program to provide birthday quilts.  After finishing my first WIH quilt, I signed up to make quilts for 11-year-old twins – a boy and a girl. I made this quilt for the little boy Paul.  It measures 44” x 67”, and the main fabric has vintage hot rods, which I used for the 8” squares on the front.  I also used it for the backing and the binding. My friend Mary made the second quilt for the little girl.  She used a cute birthday fabric with bright cheerful colors for her quilt. May 2010

I started this quilt in February when I joined the Road to Spring quilt-along with Randi at her blog i have to say , and  FINALLY finished it in March. I just love these fabric collections from Maywood Studio and South Sea Imports designed by Robyn Pandolph.  The prints really do say SPRING! The quilt top was fast and easy , especially since I used my handy-dandy Shape Cut from June Tailor.  I machine-quilted it with an all-over swirly design and tacked down the binding by hand. The quilt measures 48 x 56 inches. I gave it to my friend Lori for her birthday in August. March 2010

I’m a fan of Pat Sloan's designs and just love her fabric!  And just because I needed another project to do (not!), I joined Camp Sloanie for the Winter StashBuster weekend event that started on Friday, February 5.  You had to sign up on her website to get the directions to complete the quilt. And, no, this fabric is not Pat Sloan’s. I didn’t finish it before the end of the weekend but finally finished it in March.  I machine-quilted it with an all-over swirly design and tacked down the binding by hand.  It measures 61 inches square. I had a few leftover blocks, and there’s no better way to use them than to include them in the backing.  And, a quilt is not really finished until it has its label. I am really bad about putting labels on my quilts.  My BQFFs are always getting on me for this!   So I made the label on my computer using instructions from The Crafty Gemini.  I then attached my label to the backing BEFORE I quilted the top.   It’s machine-sewn on all four sides

This is another Nickel Quilt using fabrics from my stash.  I’ve had some of these fabrics for YEARS, and I am still trying to use them all up.  They are so outdated, but I promised myself I’d use up these old fabrics before I bought new fabrics. I’ve made several quilts from Pat Speth’s Nickel Quilt books, but this one was quite challenging.  It was my problem child!  The technique was not difficult, but cutting & sewing all those 2-1/2” squares and half-square triangles was time-consuming… not to mention that I had to be careful when sewing the blocks together. Of course, I was in a hurry to finish … too bad I made a mistake when I laid out the design and didn’t notice until after I'd sewn several rows.  I had to “unsew” everything, lay it out right, and then sew it all up again.  I was fed up!  I put it away for a few weeks before finally finishing it up. I machine-quilted it myself with an all-over meander/loopy design.  And, I used a thrift-store twin sheet for th

Jumpin’ Frogs Quilts for Kids , a non-profit organization that provides comfort quilts for hospitalized children, recently partnered with P&G’s Downy brand; and Quilts for Kids receives 5 cents for every purchase of specially marked Downy. The program is called the Downy Touch of Comfort . The kit provides all the fabric for the top and is already precut into squares and strips.  It even includes the backing and a nice woven label.  All you need to provide is the batting.  And, once completed, you’ll need to provide postage to return the quilt.  The quilts will then be distributed to seriously ill children all over the country.   All you have to do to get a kit is to link to the Quilts For Kids website. This was such an easy and quick design that I made a second quilt to send along with the Jumpin’ Frogs quilt. February 2010

Margaret's Hope Chest  is a non-profit quilting organization that provides birthday quilts for children of prisoners across the country.  Gabriella is a 'Wrapped in Hope' child from California and her birthday is March 2! She likes pink, purple, and black and Disney Princesses so I made this quilt especially for her. The border fabric is pink and has an all-over design with " Princess" and crowns.  I used pink and purple fabrics with lime green and black fabrics for accent.  I also used a fabric with butterflies and pink/purple colors. I was fortunate to find this Disney Princess fabric at Walmart and purchased what was left on the bolt: 1.5 yards so I had to piece it.  It shows a little blue in the picture above but it is actually a lavender background. February 2010

Watercolor Heart Back in 2003, my BQFF Brenda and I decided to take a class to learn to make a watercolor quilt, so we each purchased this watercolor kit. Well, we NEVER made it to the class, and the kit … project … was put away until we got “around to it”.  Six years later, we are now both retired so we decided it was time to get “around to it”. In August 2009 I spent a weekend at her home in Big Bear and completed the center watercolor heart. (I blogged about it here .) I brought the unfinished project home, and eventually finished it with an inner and outer border. I quilted it with stippling throughout the center. It measures 25 inches square. I gave this to BFF Vivian for being such a wonderful and supportive friend.  I heart Vivian! February 2010 My BFF Brenda enjoyed making her watercolor heart so much that she made a few more for gifts.  I was the lucky recipient of one of her gifts: It’s hanging in my sewing room, right next to the door.  I’m leaving it up a

This 48 x 60 inch quilt was part of an online blogging project on Stephanie’s Loft Creations blog and her “No Strings Attached” challenge, as well as Stacie’s “It’s a String Thing” challenge. I sewed novelty strings (or strips) onto used dryer sheets and did an all-over loopy meander design to keep the quilting simple and not take away from the top. For the backing, I used a Raggedy Ann-Andy print with a medical theme that shows the characters dressed as doctors and nurses.  January 2010 UPDATE:  Sold on eBay in March 2011 for $40

This was an online quilt-along blogging project with Chrissie Grace of “In His Grace”. I started it in August 2009 and FINALLY finished quilting and binding it in January 2010. It has 80 blocks with an 8x10 layout.  Each has a 4" applique heart and finishes at 6 inches. I sewed the binding on by machine, which makes it sturdier to withstand many machine washings. I also quilted it with an all-over loopy design, which seems much easier than meandering.  The hearts are appliquéd with a raw edge so they should get fuzzier with each washing. The backing is a pre-owned curtain that was donated by my neighbor. This was a very simple and fun quilt to make.  It measures 56 x 66 inches. January 2010 UPDATE:  Sold on eBay in May 2011 for $48

Drum Roll Please …. 200th Quilt Project and a decade of quilting!  TA-DA!! “In the Line of Duty” The pattern for this quilt is from McCall's Quilting Quick Quilts and is named “In the Line of Duty” (c2001).  This patriotic quilt was designed to honor police officers who were injured or killed in the line of duty.  Eight of the red blocks are arranged horizontally to represent the slain officers, and blue vertical strips signify the “thin blue line” of law officers who protect us all. I finished this quilt on December 31, 2009 – my 200th quilt project – and made it for DS#2 who graduated from high school in June 2009 and hopes to make law enforcement his career. December 2009 Patches of Life And so ends 10 years of quilting (1999-2009) and 200 quilt projects, from table runners and wall hangings all the way up to lap/twin size quilt tops and quilts.  And only 9 quilts for 2009!  You’d think now that I’m retired I’d have more time to quilt.  The truth is th

“ California Crossroads” The pattern and fabric for this quilt were originally purchased in 2001 during the Southern California Quilters’ Run. DD saw the original sample quilt in the LQS in Burbank and immediately fell in love with it—the border fabric features tigers! But life has a funny way of throwing curve balls and the making of the quilt was delayed. During my visit with DD in December 2008, she said the only thing she wanted for her January birthday was this quilt. Well, I’m ashamed to admit that I did not get the quilt done for her January birthday. But a year later, in December 2009, I did finally finish it as her Christmas gift … more than 8 years after originally buying the pattern and fabric! The pattern is from the “California Cruisin’ Southern California Quilter’s Run” (2001) book by Terry Atkinson of Atkinson Designs. December 2009

I made this cute pinwheel baby quilt from a pattern I found on the Moda Bake Shop blog. The pinwheels are made with 1930s reproduction prints, and the background is white with pink polka dots. The inner border is outlined with prairie points. I quilted it with an all-over medium stipple design. This was such an easy and fun quilt to make! I made this one for my Cousin Gloria’s son and wife, Andrew and Elizabeth, who were expecting their second baby in February 2010 … a girl. December 2009

Unfinished Quilt Top 60 x 60 ~ Sold on Etsy for $60 I made this unfinished quilt top from 5-inch square cotton scraps from a pattern in the Nickel Quilts book by Pat Speth.  Many of the fabrics are from a 2000 Millennium swap, and the border fabric has an overall “2000” print. This is a lap-size quilt with 16 Millennium Star blocks and a 4 x 4 setting.  October 2009

Unfinished Quilt Top 34 x 68 ~ Sold on eBay for $40 I made this unfinished quilt top from 5-inch square cotton scraps from a pattern in the More Nickel Quilts book by Pat Speth.  It consists of 18 King’s Crown blocks, 9-inch each; and uses a diagonal block setting of 3 x 4.  Made in 2009 and sold on eBay in 2010. October 2009

Unfinished Quilt Top 66 x 66 ~ sold on eBay for $53.00 I made this unfinished quilt top from 5-inch square cotton scraps from a pattern in the Nickel Quilts book by Pat Speth.  The blocks are easy to assemble using Pat’s “Sew and Flip” technique to add the smaller corner triangles that create the star pattern.  This is a lap/twin size with 16 blocks and a 4 x 4 setting; and uses 6-1/2 yards of fabric.  Made in 2009 and sold on eBay in 2010. August 2009

This wall hanging is very special to me.  Not only did my BQFF Brenda make it, but she also gave it to me when I retired in December 2008.  My co-workers had a small luncheon reception for me on my last day, and this was her gift. December 2008 Patches of Life After 13 years working for the City of San Gabriel and a total of 25 years working in the public sector (first for the L.A. Community College District and then for the City of Monterey Park), I decided to finally retire at the young age of 55.  Not to say I won’t work again since I can still work for the private sector; but for now, considering the bad economy, I think I’ll just wait a year … or two!  I still have many more quilts that need to be finished!

  The Blues and a Friendly Hand I purchased this item on Etsy.com in April 2008 .  Here is what the seller had to say about her quilt: I didn't even notice the error until I photographed the quilt AFTER it was completely done. See if you can spot the error. It's very noticeable once you know it's there. So.....what does this mean to you? It means the item is selling 50% less than it would normally. The normal price should be $86.00 but because of my error it is now selling for $43.00. SIZE: 58.00" X 48.50" Large Lap. This is a great size for curling up on the sofa with a good book, using in wheelchairs, or for use as a car quilt or even a dog quilt. PATTERN: Friendly Hand FABRIC & COTTON: 100% Cotton. Blue & White. 3 shades of blue, the darkest blue being a Navy Blue with Gold Metallic running through it. BACKING: Warm and cozy FLANNEL in Blue with Stars BINDING: Blue Floral ~ Machine sewn to the front and hand sewn to the back

Eleven MORE quilts for Project Linus!  These quilts were made for the “Make A Blanket Day” event on February 16, 2008.  This makes a grand total of 46 quilts donated to Project Linus since 2001 – eight years – sometimes it’s hard to believe how fast time goes by. I made these quilts with the Warm Wishes pattern from Quiltmaker magazine.  Each measures 37 x 48 inches. This ends the 2008 Quilt Parade with 31 quilts, including 11 quilt tops sold and 13 charity quilts for Project Linus!  I also made the three string quilts for my grandchildren, which are shown on My Quilt Parade banner.  A very prolific quilting year!

These two quilts were donated to Project Linus for “Make A Blanket Day” event on February 16, 2008.