Marines Motto Quilt

In October of 2009, right before my son, Robert, came home from Iraq, I made him a quilt with some of his motto (motivation) t-shirts.

I included pockets from his fatigues.

Even the tag from the inside of one of the shirts.

I used a fabric I had found at Mary Jo's when we went to see him come home from Iraq the first time. It's the one with the skulls and cross bones. I used his fatigues which were in greens and tans.

My friend Ty quilted it on her longarm. She used a star quilting pattern.

The backing is a Marines fabric.

He really likes his quilt!

True Blue

True Blue, pattern by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.

I bought this as a kit at the Dallas quilt show in 2009 from the Olde Green Cupboard booth. I love the dark blues and tans.

I found the perfect piece for the background at Hobby Lobby. Now it's ready to go to Ty for quilting!

Sweet Tea

Oh, this is a cute quilt! Sweet Tea by The Quilt Company. This was a block of the month from 2009. I have the blocks pieced together and now I will put on two plain borders and a border of tea cups. Then a final plain border.

Five different tea pots, some piecing and some fusible applique with machine buttonhole stitching with varigated thread.

There are four of these blocks. The yellow solid and the green solid is a flange inserted before  the first border is put on the blocks. After quilting I'll embellish with some beads and yo-yos. Too cute!!!

Better get back to work!

The Holly Basket in the previous post is in this book.

Last summer I decided to work on fall projects until December and then make some Christmas things. I don't know why but I was not in the mood to work on red and green. So, I started this...

It is called Summer Flags Flying and you can find the pattern in this book. I still have the pieced border to do. Then I'll hand quilt it.

This is Sarah checking out her fabulous self! Actually, the mirror has been and invaluable tool for overcoming her delayed speech. Which, wasn't really delayed but when compared to Emily (who is advanced in her speech) we thought she was way behind.

And, this is Emily's favorite spot...an old oak highchair. She climbs up there all by herself and can climb back down. This makes Mommy very nervous!

I've made a basket a day...

Started working on a BOM from last year called Sweet Tea...

And, almost finished appliqueing Holly Basket!

First Finish of 2010!

Well, really, I just had the binding to do. This little quilt is from a Lori Smith pattern called Fit To Frame: Set 6. It's called Grandmother's Garden. It is hand appliqued and hand quilted. Here are a few close ups:

What's this? It's my new stash reducer...I love blue, and I have the fabrics to prove it! This is Trick Or Treat from When The Cold Wind Blows by Blackbird Designs. There are 291 baskets! I plan on using a different fabric for each of the backgrounds and baskets. I'll bet I have that many different blues. But, if I don't I'm not afraid to buy more!

I've made a basket a day so far. That's my plan...one basket a day!

Quilting Accomplishments and What Lies Ahead...

I've tallied up the quilting accomplishments for 2009...13 little quilts, 6 large quilts and 1 really big pillow. That's a lot! I did quite a few red work stitchery's too.

I'm not making any resolutions this year. I'm just going to have fun and do whatever I want! Lately, I've been starting some projects that I have always wanted to do and I'm so glad I finally did.

I used to fret over how many 'UFOs' I had but now that I realize they are all really 'WIPs' I don't care how many quilts I have started! This year I finally reached the 100 quilts finished goal. Of course, I have nearly that many that need to be worked on. Oh, well.

This year I decided to label all my quilts. I have labeled quite a few oldies but goodies and all my new quilts. That is one accomplishment that feels really good.

Every year I hope to finish at least 12 quilts...big or little, it doesn't matter. For several years I have been doing Blocks of the Month. I usually don't work on them monthly I just collect the little packages every month and save them up to do all at once. I have actually finished a few of them!

Just for fun, I like to keep track of how much fabric I purchase during the year. Last year I bought 145 yards, a kit and a fat quarter bundle. I know that sounds like a lot but I bet if you added up your purchases you'd be surprised at the total. Some of that yardage was in the form of charm packs and jelly rolls. Did you know that a jelly roll has 2 1/4 yards and a charm pack has 1 1/3 yards? Gifts and backing were a big part of the total too.

I hope the new year brings you all that you've hoped for. I hope your bobbin stays full and your needle is always threaded. Oh, and hopefully your seam ripper has cobwebs on it!

P.S.- The images in this post are some decorating ideas I have used in the past. Just thought you would enjoy them!