Finished "AROUND THE WORLD"

I embroidered the names of 87 nations we have traveled to and 

we still have more countries we want to visit!

"LEGOLAND"

Adam, my niece Sarah's middle child, loved his quilt (I made for his 2nd birthday) so much that it is now in tatters. "Aunt Janet, can you fix it?" It was beyond repair and it was time for a new quilt for a 9 year old. I asked him what theme he'd like and he chose Legos.

I wasn't inspired by rectangles of plain colors but when I googled Legos, I saw these heads and I was off and running.

 I hand quilted the peg circles on sea days on our last cruise. 

 You can see that he was delighted with the result. It's great to be loved and appreciated by my nieces and nephews. He can wear this one out too then I know it was used and loved! 

Quilting My Travels

 I am currently enjoying hand quilting my "AROUND THE WORLD" quilt, featuring the fabrics and representations from the 90 countries we have visited. 

Each fabric calls for a different quilting motif. Sometimes shadowing the images within, while others work best with traditional patterns. I'm using a combination of hand quilting thread and pearl cotton for more plain areas. 

 The quilting on this king size quilt has gone much faster than I thought and should be done within a month.

 In the meantime I continue to work on piecing several other quilts: 2 for retirees from my former school, my 6th wedding quilt for my grandnephew and a undesignated quilt from a B&W swap.

 Watch for those being posted.

 Happy Quilting!

DOLL BLANKET for BABY

I like to take hand sewing quilt projects on our many travels. On this trip to Antarctica, I pieced a doll blanket for my two & half year old granddaughter. 

With cutting the pieces ahead, I was able to finish the top, hand quilt it to a flannel back and bind it. Grace knew right away what it was for.

"SIMPLY CAKES"

Lauren, my grandniece, is ready for a grown up quilt. 

This modern design by Me and My Sister Designs was the perfect choice. The design looks best with bold prints. Although the pattern was designed to use cake layers sold in coordinating colors and patterns, I chose my own fabrics. 

 Burrito

The other night Lauren and her sister Lilly decided to spread out all the quilts I've made for them for movie night. It tickles me to know that they love them all.

DRUNKARD'S PATH from Scraps, WEDDING QUILT #5

Autumn, my grandniece, will be the recipient of this quilt. She is only 12, so it is stored in a cloth bag for now with a label telling her that it was made with love by her Aunt Janet.

This had been on my to do list for years. I found this different adaptation using multiple prints of light and dark instead of the traditional 2 color design. The original quilt size is 54" x 66" but I added extra blocks to make it king size. I started by collecting scraps from various sources, cutting no more than 12 of each shape from both light and dark prints. Part way into the cutting I realized that the pattern called for more light scraps than dark. I wasn't going to discard the extras so I made the outer squares the reverse of light and dark. You may notice the difference or not. 

I chose to hand piece the curves because of their size but also because I was laid up with foot surgery. The blocks were machine pieced.

In planning the layout, I used 12'x12' scrapbook paper to arrange the small squares. I rolled masking tape and fixed them in place on the paper until ready to sew each block. By laying out all the squares first I achieved a balanced design. 

The repeat of the border fit perfectly at the corners even with increasing the size. I finished by hand quilting circles that outlined the curves.

Here's the pattern if you'd like to try this. Just click on the pictures to print the actual size.

Hobbling but not tied down

The latest in foot fashion!

I had foot surgery last week. All is going well but it does restrict my independence. I'm using a walker and hopping on my good foot. All should be mended in 6 weeks and another 6 weeks of being careful. 

In the mean time I have finished embroidering the countries we have visited onto the border of the quilt, "AROUND THE WORLD". With my quilting friends here today, I managed to sew on the border. Now to decide on the backing. I have a panel of vintage cruise ships and luggage tags to incorporate. The designing should be fun.