Have You Ever Wondered...

what 15 lap quilts quilted and ready to bind looks like? Well, here's the answer!

Do you remember this picture of these when they were just tops? There were only 14, but I just got the top that my sister Barb made. These are only 36" x 48" and they are all quilted. The binding is cut, pieced together and ready to be attached. Now, I was told that this pile looks kind of small, but you have to remember that they are only folded one time, and they are small. Nonetheless, I'm pretty excited to be at this point, as I only started these toward the end of the May. Each quilt is a different pattern and I'll take and post pictures when they are all complete.

I won't have a chance to work on these until next week because the Cleveland Breast Cancer 3-Day starts tomorrow. Please think good thoughts and pray plead for good weather. The forecast shows rain Friday and Saturday, and temperatures in the high 80's and low 90's. Well, we've walked before in similar weather so it won't be terrible, but it sure is easier when the weather is good.

I'll update you about the walk and other info next week.

Stash Report - Week 30

These Honor Flight quilts have really helped my stash reports lately. I have a total of seven of them quilted and I'm ready to do another couple later today. Each one uses
1 1/2 yards of fabric, and this week's report accounts for that as well as my purchase of the backing fabric for four more of these quilts. That sure does help make the report look good. I have also quilted three other quilts this weekend, but they are going to have to wait a week or so before I can get to binding them. They also used a substantial amount of backing fabric.

Here's the report:
Fabric Added This Week: 6.0 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 134.25 yards
Fabric Used This Week: 24.5yards
Fabric Used to Date: 266.125 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 131.875 yards
UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 7
UFOs Still to Do: ???
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 12
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 26 (14 of which are Honor Flight quilts and 7 of those are quilted. The rest of them will be done within two weeks.)

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage. Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

I'm Doing It

I quilted today!

I used my friend's HQ16 and quilted one large quilt and one medium quilt. Nothing spectacular, just meander but it was so much easier than quilting them on my Bernina. I was going to quilt some of the Honor Flight quilts on the HQ today, but quite honestly, since they're only 36" x 48" and I'm slow at loading the machine (even with the red snappers); I'm doing these at home. I quilted four of them this evening. I still have to trim and bind everything, but at least they're quilted and one step away from the Done, Done and Done (pieced, quilted and bound) pile!

I'll try to remember to take some pictures and post them.

Off to sleep so I can go to an auction in the morning and quilt in the afternoon.

Avoidance

I should be quilting these quilts but I really didn't feel like it today. Do you think it had anything to do with the temperatures in the upper 90s? Probably not since we have air conditioning, but I thought it sounded like a good excuse. Really, I just wanted to piece something and not quilt.

So, instead of quilting, I made this.

This is another Honor Flight quilt and it's a variation of the Fast Forward quilt I made earlier this month. (I looked at the designer's website - Jaybird Quilts and found this quilt and the pattern is called Unwind.) I just know that when I was making my original quilt, I thought it would be cool to not include the vertical sashing, use gold for the background and only patriotic fabrics for the "ribbons." I envisioned gold stars appearing between the ribbons and look; there they are! I plan to bind this in gold, but who knows?

I like how this turned out and tomorrow I WILL do some quilting! I promise.

Are You Serious?!? It's Wednesday!

It's already Wednesday and I haven't touched that pile of Honor Flight quilts! Where did the time days go? I taught a class Monday night, and then another Tuesday afternoon. Lynn and Ty were here for dinner and a visit Tuesday night and I visited a hospice patient this morning. Well, actually I had originally only planned to be with the patient for a couple of hours this morning, but there were some issues and I was there until around 2PM. Well, there you go! That accounts for my last few days and the reason nothing has been done. No more excuses. I've got to get busy, or find some other REALLY good excuse to put it off even longer!

Design Wall Monday

It's Monday. YEAH!!! I love Design Wall Monday. I get so inspired when I see the wonderful works that people post. Sometimes, the quilt is such an intricate and detailed beauty that I wonder if I would ever be talented enough to do that. Other times, I'm simply in awe of the fabric choices that are made when making more traditional or "easy" blocks. I often think, "I would never have thought about putting those colors or fabrics together?" I often have "ah ha" moments when I see a quilt layout that includes blocks that I have made, but they are put together in a unique manner. Simply put, Design Wall Monday is wonderful. Thank you all for sharing your projects and talents!

Now, here's what's on my wall.

I made this block for a woman who is a member of an on-line group to which I belong. She was gracious enough to give me the pattern, as long as I made a block for her to use in a charity quilt she will be donating. I haven't made my blocks yet, but here's the one for her. She gave me a couple of fabric choices for her block, and one of them was patriotic, so here you go. I really like how this turned out and now have to decide what fabrics I'll use for mine.

Before I can make my star quilt though, I have to get this pile of 14 Honor Flight quilts quilted and bound. They're only 36" x 48" so it won't take long. I just need to sit down and do it. Maybe I'll start when I get home from class tonight. (We're NOT going to discuss the other 11 or so quilts that are ready also. Their time will come.)

What's on your design wall today? Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times to check out what other quilters have on their walls. Share your project also. I really do need one more project to inspire me and keep me from getting a good night's sleep!  :-)

Stash Report - Week 29 and Productivity

I was a little busy beaver this past week. I was able to finish the tops for 3 Honor Flight quilts and make another quilt top using a charm pack that I recently picked up. Of course I added some fabric, but more went out than came in. YEAH!!

Here are two of the Honor Flight quilts that I haven't posted yet. The Stars and Squares quilt was on my design wall Monday and by Wednesday I hadn't touched it. I decided right then and there that it was NOT going to be on the wall again this coming Monday, so I sat down and finished it that night. The Friendship Stars top was done as a leader/ender project so I kind of feel like it's a bonus quilt. I know it looks like it's not done, but it is. I had to add the small red border to the top and bottom (not the sides) because of the size requirements. I'll be binding the whole thing is the same red, so I don't think it will look bad.

So, while I was at a local shop Tuesday, I saw this charm pack and thought it was really cute.

I carried this pack around with me for a while and decided that if I was going to get it, I had to get some coordinating fabrics as well. I just knew that I really didn't have anything at home that would look good. Well, here's the result of that thinking.

After I finished the Stars and Squares quilt, I started on a project using these fabrics. This is what I was piecing at the same time as the Friendship Stars.

It's hard to believe that quilt was made using the same pattern as the second quilt in this post.

Ok, enough rambling. Here's the report.
Fabric Added This Week: 10.5 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 128.25 yards
Fabric Used This Week: 11.5yards
Fabric Used to Date: 241.625 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 113.375 yards
UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 7
UFOs Still to Do: ???
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 12
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 25 (14 of which are Honor Flight quilts that will be done within the next couple of weeks.)

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage. Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.