Geese at Julia and Fred's Wedding

This quilt is going home to North Carolina soon so it's time for a blog post. If you follow me on Instagram (if you don't, you really should!) you saw it coming together last year. 

Made for my daughter and her husband, Julia selected Judy Niemeyer's pattern Geese at My Wedding. Julia insisted on a double wedding ring and she loves flying geese, so this was a perfect fit. Oh, but the pattern was written for a table runner, so some recalculating had to be done to make it queen size. Only a crazy mother of the bride would turn this pattern into a queen size quilt!

Let's start at the beginning: fabric selection. (November 2016)

The first ring! (February 2017)

I really had to be organized with this one!

I managed to get two rows assembled for the bridal shower. (March 2017)

Aren't they the cutest? (April 2017)

The top was done at the end of July and machine quilting started in early August. This quilt has it all: walking foot in the ditch, free motion, and ruler work. 

Since this quilt was for my daughter, I went all out and learned how to add a double piping to the binding. I highly recommend tools and classes by Susan Cleveland. (September 2017)

I don't block every quilt, but I always block the important ones. The big ones almost completely cover the area rug in the living room.

Julia came home for the Ninigret Quilters' show to see her finished quilt! (October 2017)

Picked up a couple more ribbons at the Narragansett Bay show. (April 2017)

And now for the detailed beauty shots!

A secret parachute was stitched into one corner for my airborne son-in-law!

Their names and the date are quilted in.

Their puppy had to check it out before it goes home with them!

Geese at Julia and Fred's Wedding

88" X 88"

Started November 2016

Completed September 2017

Total working time: 235 hours

Pieced and Quilted by Tina Craig

Spring Recap

 Now that summer is officially here, I thought I should show you what happened around here in May and June.  Here's a recap of the highlights.

Julia graduated from college, so I made her this little gift. The title of the hymn and smiling earth are perfect for my sweet girl who majored in Environmental Studies and minored in Religious Studies. (Pattern by Mollie Johanson of Wild Olive).

The best pictures of any event are the ones with my mom! Julia is happily interning at Disney's Animal Kingdom as a Wilderness Explorer troop leader (environmental educator). If you're headed to Disney before the end of January 2017, look for her and say hi!

 My cousin celebrated his 25th anniversary of priesthood, so I made him a new stole. I decided to use scrappy greens, knowing he'd get a lot of use from the color for "ordinary" time. I didn't know green is also his favorite color.

My husband turned 50 in June, so we went on an epic musical road trip from Nashville, to Memphis, through the Mississippi delta, and finishing up in New Orleans. I only stopped at a few quilt shops along the way: Craft South, Sew Memphis and Ella Rose. We were on a tight schedule, so grabbing fat quarters was a great option. He bought a guitar in Clarksdale, so I came in way under budget!

We picked out the bendy bag pattern at Sew Memphis for Bill's electronics and new reading glasses. He travels a lot for work, and this is a vast improvement on his ziplock baggie. I forgot to include the pull tab, but he doesn't mind.

 

And now for the WIPs. This spinning hexie EPP has become my traveling project. I kitted up some blocks to take on our vacation. Now I'm working on them during work breaks and in front of the TV at night. I've got 2 or 3 more block kits, but I might keep going to use up more scraps. Each hexie finishes at 3" on a side. I have no idea what this will be. I'll just keep going until I get tired of it or a shiny new idea comes along.

In other EPP news, my Lucy Boston-inspired Patchwork of the Crosses top is finished! It measures about 35" square, so I'm trying to decide if I'll add borders or not. It would be a sweet wall hanging as is. I have no clue how I'll quilt it.

I designed and started piecing this ombre mini back in early April. I had intended to participate in the ombre mini swap, but I didn't finish in time. I finally competed the piecing this week. I think the quilting will wait until after a class with Angela Walters in a few weeks. That will be fun!

Since the ombres were out, I wanted to play some more. I pulled an old Simply Color (V and Company) jelly roll off the shelf and went to town.  I found this pattern online that got me started. The jelly roll only had 21 strips, so I cut 3 more from my stash. Each strip set makes 7 equilateral triangles plus 2 ends (1/2 triangles). I cut the first triangle in the center of the strip set, which in this case was the lightest area. The top is about 36 X 45", which is a nice baby quilt size. It would be a striking wall hanging, too. I love how it looks on my front porch!

 Last but not least, Julia and Fred are engaged! Yes, there is a wedding quilt in the works. She really likes the wedding ring quilts I've been making for my nieces and nephews, but mama needs a change! She picked the Geese at My Wedding pattern from Quiltworx. We haven't decided on colors yet, but she likes modern solids. That works for me!

It's time for me to head back to the basement for more sorting and purging and cleaning.

Miscellaneous Crafty Catch Up

In keeping with the end of year catching up, here are some crafty projects I was working on. I'm tired just looking at it all! I honestly don't know how I did it all in two months.

I was really pleased with my craft show set up. Don't look too closely at the prices. I already know they are too low. 

The princess totes went to Abby & Olivia in Denver. The 2 mug mats were commissioned. I like that they are similar, but different. The two pillowcases were for Mollie's new pillow.

 My niece asked for collars and leashes for her girls' doll pets. Lily's dog is wearing the new collar, but Anna wanted to put hers on her new unicorn. It's a good thing I made them adjustable!

I liked the NYB postcards so much, I put them in tow blog posts! I spent one night in front of the TV making origami stars for a small Christmas tree. I need to get my paper folding fix from time to time! The brownie trees were my go-to party contribution. The candy cane bow tie is for my super cool son.

 

Twelve key fobs made from my father's ties were gifted to all of his kids and grandchildren.  Some people cried. Mission accomplished.

In addition to all the crafting and quilting, I did take a few breaks to cheer on my kids. Pete participated in the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps birthday ceremony. He's on the 45 yard line on the left, 6th from the front. (Julia and I watched the ceremony live streaming on line.)

That's Julia, number 11, playing in a rugby tournament that her team won. We also went to her Christmas concert to hear her sweet solo. She has the most beautiful singing voice, but can throw a mean tackle!

 

 There was some beautiful color in the house: birthday roses, pretty poinsettia and anniversary roses. Someone knows my favorite color!

Friday Catch Up

Has it really been two weeks since I've posted? It's easy to fall off the blogging grid when Instagram is so quick and easy. My apologies to those of you who follow along here, but not there.

I've been quite busy, stitching up a storm! I'll give you a sneaky peak of the two quilts that will be gifted tomorrow. Many more pics coming soon!

The wedding ring star for my nephew and his wife is done and it is massive!

The same couple is having a baby in July, and their baby quilt is done, too! Stay tuned for more, including a tutorial for free motion embroidery on a Featherweight.

I always like to do something extra for baby showers. This time, I made burp cloths using this tutorial on Made. I've been wanting to try them for a while, but couldn't find terry cloth that I liked. One day strolling through JoAnn's, the baby terry caught my eye. The gray chevron flannel matches the sheets on the baby registry. I strongly recommend pre-washing both fabrics as the flannel shrinks like crazy. They are super soft and cuddly. It's a good day when I remember to add my labels!

This week, I've been working on the center medallion for a guild raffle quilt. Since it was my bright idea to put a mariner's compass in the center, it was only fair that I should piece it. 

Julia was home last weekend to attend the ROTC military ball with boyfriend, Fred. She lucked out and found the dress for $19 at Marshall's. It took longer to find the shoes ($59). Not my best hemming job (somehow the lining was 1" too short) but it works. Her best friends did her hair, makeup and nails while I was at a quilt class. (FTW) They are a great couple and so happy together!

Yes, I did take that job. I will be training as a dental assistant, working two days a week. I spent way too much money at the uniform shop, but I love my fancy new scrubs. I'm going to try sneakers for a while. I'm not ready for Dansko clogs just yet. Yes, I'll probably start making my own scrub tops soon!

OK! That's all for now. It's time to get ready for a fun family weekend packed with a concert, baby shower, and first communion. Can we squeeze in a quick birding hike?

Great Escape #30

 I'm unpacking from a terrific retreat weekend. I brought waaaay too much stuff! What was I thinking? For Julia and myself, I brought about 9 different projects (only touched 3) and 3 machines (never took out the Bernina).

Here's Julia with our quilting idol, Barbara W. Barber. At last year's retreat, Barbara was telling a story about the "illness" she suffers when she finishes a quilt and doesn't know what to do next. Julia diagnosed her with "Between Quilts Syndrome" and a quilt was born! If you click on the photo you can read the first panel of the comic strip.

 

Since there's not a really good picture of us together, I thought I'd go with this one that made me laugh.

 

Julia and I have wanted to make a NY Beauty quilt together for a long time. Last year, my LQS was kitting up block of the month blocks and I couldn't resist. I almost never work from a kit, but I knew we would never make this quilt without one. Julia pieced all the points after a little refresher and some new tips from mom. She sewed the curves on two blocks, and I sewed the other two. Please pretend that the blocks are perfectly square. They have been starched into submission! After we make the rest, we'll trim them up.

 

Our Saturday workshop was the Sunset pattern by Julie Popa. We did some prep work in advance, so many quilters were able to finish the top during the day. This is mine on the left and Suzy's on the right.

 

 I used my stash of orange, pink and red. Surprisingly, I did not use a white background. It is a cream with green dots that softens the whole piece.

One of the instructor's friends had pieced all her cut off scraps for the border, which I loved, so I did it too. I was able to get it finished just in time for workshop show & tell before lunch on Sunday.

 

It's time to start planning for 2016!