Walking along in the rain

Well, folks, today's finishes are brought to you by the buckets and buckets of rain we've had this week!  I was planning to work outside, but not very much else got planted or dealt with because it has not stopped raining all week.  And I don't mean gentle showers!  It's been really good for the plants, though.  I can tell because the grass is nearly knee high in some spots.  And I can't even cut it because it's too wet!

Instead of building an ark, I finished off the two small donation quilts that I used to try out some new walking foot quilting techniques.  Here's the cheerful pair, photographed this morning because there was not a single opportunity to take them outside yesterday:

I love these so much!  They are cheerful, extra cuddly, and completely quilted by me!  The measurements for making these little quilts can be found HERE at the end of the post.  They are simple to make and look really cute.

I started with the somewhat darker version and use some of the simpler patterns, just to get a feel for how this would go.  Turns out it went just fine!

These patterns were super easy, including the scallops in the blue triangles.  I'm not thrilled with how they flattened out when they were echoed, but all curves do that to some extent.  I wonder if a different type of guide bar for my walking foot (to keep the lines evenly spaced) would help.

The brighter quilt was so much fun because I used some more complex patterns on this one, including triangle spirals and the diamonds in the red triangles:

None of these were difficult, but they did take a little time and a bunch of twisting and turning.  If I had to pick a favorite motif it would be the curved cross-hatching in the outer green triangles:

This was one of the easiest motifs, but didn't it turn out great?  Now that they're done, these two little quilts will be donated for Sarah's Hands to Help Challenge.  I think some little people will like them, don't you?  By the way, the new batting I used turned out great, too.  I would definitely use it again.  It's a very good weight.

I have been using these two books to help build my walking foot skills:

Both of these are very good and helpful.  Walk by Jacquie Gering has a lot of information for beginners, but she also gives a lot of stitching designs, including how to mark them and the most efficient way to work through the designs in a quilt.  Explore Walking Foot Quilting by Leah Day is also a really good, helpful book.  Her stitching designs are different from those in Walk, and she also has some patterns for practice pieces along with ways to quilt them.  And just look at this project for mastering the walking foot:

Doesn't that look like fun to make?  She also gives a lot of direction and tips on how to quilt this piece.  The books are different from each other and have different stitching designs, and I really do recommend both of them.  (I am not an affiliate of any kind, so my opinion has only been influenced by my own experience!)  The only thing I wish was different on them is the binding.  I'm taking them to Staples to have a spiral binding put on them so that they will lay flat and be easier to use.

Well, it's still raining, but if you're reading this, that means that I managed to get some pictures between the raindrops.  I hope you all have a nice dry weekend!  One of my sisters will be coming for the next couple of days, so I hope we get a chance to do some sight-seeing.  Or really anything that's dry, at this point!

Sharing at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Finished or Not Friday, and crazymomquilts.