Positively grateful

 Hi everyone! Well, here we are, post-Thanksgiving and heading fast for December. Does this surprise anyone else? We had a lovely, relaxed holiday with tons of good food, even though my granddaughter demanded ketchup for her turkey, and video chats with everyone after dinner. The day after Thanksgiving I ate some pie and then got a screaming migraine that lasted two days. So, you know, bad with the good.

I planned to finish up photographing today's quilts on Friday but was busy moaning in a dark room, so today is the day! These are the two quilts I made for the Positivity quilt along from our friends Preeti and Bernie. I am really happy with how they turned out, even though the quilt along ended on Labor Day and I'm really behind. Oh well! Take a look at these lovelies:

They are very different, but kind of the same, and I'm so pleased with both of them. Let's talk about them one at a time, shall we?

I was going for neutral on both of these quilts and I'm not sure I achieved it, but the hubs was quite appreciative of the green quilt. I had to put those plants in pots, you know? It added a little zing to a quilt that was essentially two colors. If you look closely, you'll see that I used the same fabric as the pots for the binding.

 

 

I quilted the green quilt in a 2-inch cross hatch using a green-brown thread. I thought it might be too dark, but it was perfect. About a quarter of the way through it occurred to me that 2 inches was a little small for the cross hatch and I could have gone bigger (and therefore faster) but I was committed so I finished it that way. It might be a little close, but I think it turned out well.

The fall leaf/ neutral quilt was super simple, just straight(ish) lines across the quilt. It was fast and satisfying. In the picture it looks like there are a few wrinkles, but I promise there are no tucks. One thing with straight lines -- when you get close to the ends of the quilt, things start to wrinkle up, no matter how well you've basted. I ended up hand basting the ends to keep it all flat. It was tedious but it worked. I bound it in a nice fall-like golden brown.

For the green quilt I used a green leaf batik backing, which looks great. The neutral quilt was more difficult, but I managed to find enough of a cream print for the back. I think it contrasts nicely with the front but still blends well.

And then finally, here they are, all in their just-washed crinkly goodness:

These two are now packed up and ready for a postal pickup to go on their way to the palliative care unit at Mercy Hospital. I'm glad to have contributed a tiny bit to someone's comfort, and I'm extra pleased that I managed to get them both completed before the end of the year. Yay me!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week. If you feel a headache coming on, I highly recommend lying down on a nice comfy piece of furniture with something nice to drink. It could get you through the week! See you in December!

Sharing at Finished or not Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Brag About Your Beauties, and the Patchwork and Quilts linkup at Quilting, Patchwork, Applique.

Last of the stars

 Hi all! How have you been? I have been very, very busy. I know, who could've guessed, what with the end of the year (or at least the semester) in sight? I did manage to finish off my niece's quilt, which turned out great, but I think she should see it first, don't you? Oh, and did you realize that Thanksgiving is next week? Yikes!

Before all the panic-cooking sets in, here are the final four stars for my RSC quilt this year. I'm a little behind, but my intentions are good, and the stars are pretty. Have a look:

 

As you can see, there are more leaves. I've decided to just let them be. It's a losing battle, and they'll break down. But let's talk about these stars! Aren't they cute?

I had cut the fabrics for the last two aqua stars, so I stitched those up and I'm pretty pleased with them. I *love* the aqua one in the picture above. I also added another yellow star because I like yellow and it adds a little more sparkle. The yellow is yet another Ohio Star variation, but it's different from all the others.

My one disappointment with the stars project is that I didn't make a true Lemoyne Star. The two above are kind of approximations of a Lemoyne Star. I don't really know what happened there. I tried one way back at the beginning but totally messed it up, and then I'm pretty sure I messed up the paper pieced version, too. Maybe I'll give it one more go and replace one of the stars I don't like. They're not all winners, after all.

For the sashing, I decided on this Riley Blake fabric called Blossom, which I still have just enough of. I've used it a couple of times and I really wish I had more of it. It makes such nice backgrounds and sashing, and I'm pretty sure it's going to make a great complement to all the colors in the stars.

That's pretty much all I accomplished after I finished my niece's gift. I also made some flannel blankets for her and a bunch of other stuff. I made sure to get some beauty shots, though, so once she gets her gift I will show it off to you all. It was an adventure!

So, happy weekend, everyone. I hope you get some rest and relaxation before the big holiday. I'll leave you with what might be the best nature picture I've ever taken. My son came to visit from Maine, and I took this while waiting for him in the cell phone lot (of all places!):

Finally-- Cathy, if you're reading this, we are all thinking of you! Best wishes!

 

Sharing at soscrappy for RSC23

Blue and yellow sunburst

 Hi everyone! So here we are in November, all of a sudden. Wasn't it just September? I can't keep track, except that it's definitely cooled off and we even had a freeze the other night. And it really is dark when I get home, so we must be slouching towards winter. As long as the snow holds off for a bit more, I think we'll be okay.

So, it isn't Friday, but I do have a finish. I know, it's like I'm breaking a rule! But I finally got pictures taken yesterday so why wait? Have a look:

Okay, that is a very bright quilt top! Maybe we shouldn't look at it head on. I don't know if you can see it on your monitor (or phone) but there are some of the diagonals in the corners are a pale yellow. It's really kind of pretty.

I started this as a wedding quilt for a friend, but we all know I wasn't going to make it in time for the wedding, right? And then we had family drama and trauma, so I ended up giving the happy couple a different quilt, which they totally loved. That left me with a half-finished quilt top, which I have now finished off.

Somebody is going to have to rake up all those leaves! This quilt top is about 60 by 72, a really nice size for a couch quilt. I did strip piece much of it, though it was complicated by the half square triangles. I managed, and I do think the triangles add a lot to it. I actually started with split 9 patches as a beginning design point before I ended up twisting and turning things around.

I'm pretty proud of the yellow gradations in this quilt. Have you ever tried a yellow gradation? It is not easy, but I managed it. It was actually fun to play around with, and now I have some more yellows on the shelves. And more yellow scraps, which is always nice! I'm happy to say, too, that those dark blues are all used up. Thank goodness!

This lovely is headed for the closet to age properly while I search for a backing and figure out how to get it quilted up. In the meantime, you can see what my outdoor job to burn off stress is going to be!

I'll end this up with a picture of the hill behind our house, which was in all kinds of fall glory. The sun shining through was just wonderful. Hope you all have a great weekend! I'm having lunch with some friends, then maybe tackling those leaves. And sleeping in for an extra hour Sunday-- fabulous! Just what I need!

Sharing at Finished or not Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Brag About Your Beauties, and the Patchwork and Quilts linkup at Quilting Patchwork Applique

Gold star

Hey there everyone, and happy weekend! It's been a very busy and very weird week. It was in the 80s this week, which was very weird, and very sweaty. Get those students in a room with no AC and it gets funky fast. They also have started a bunch of road projects, which I do not appreciate in October, and on top of everything, I got a flat and it couldn't be patched. I had to buy two new tires! Apparently, you can never buy just one. Don't we think that we should have solved this problem by now?

Anyway. . .I finished up one of the last of the star blocks for the RSC star quilt. One block! Here she is:

A gold and yellow star! No RSC star quilt would be complete without one of Angela's Twinkle Stars, would it? This gold and yellow star turned out nicely, though the contrast is a little strong. If I'd had enough of the lighter yellow I would have switched the colors, but I'm trying to use up scrap pieces. But who doesn't need a gold star?

So now I have 31 blocks. I must have skipped a couple along the way, because I should have 35. Maybe there weren't enough scraps for some colors?

 

 

Let's hear it for a design floor! I have two more (lighter) aqua blocks cut out but not stitched, and I could make another yellow, which would still leave me needing one more block. What color do you think that should be?

I may not have made much progress this week, but it feels good to make some progress. At least I know where I am. And speaking of making progress. . .

A while ago, when I couldn't sew but I wanted to touch fabric, I put all my books and notions into the closet and pulled all the fabric out where I could see it. When Preeti came over last week she couldn't take the fact that it was all jumbled up together, so she sorted it all out by color. Didn't she do great? It feels pretty wonderful and comforting, and why did I have the fabric where I couldn't see it anyway? Thanks Preeti!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. We are awaiting a big weather change and a big event for our family coming this week. It's a pretty lousy event, but it does mean that some things will be settled and we can all move on, at least for a while. So I hope you all get some serious relaxing done this weekend!

Sharing at soscrappy for RSC23.