Category Archives: Quilting

Quilting

Quilts, Quilts, and More Quilts-April, 2022

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I was so happy to get the call to pick up the 2 quilts I had dropped at my local quilt shop, Will n Bee’z Quilt Shop. Jeff, the machine quilter/owner, was able to quilt this one with a pattern of fishing items.

You can see the design better on the back, although it looks even better in person.

This was a quilt I started way over 20 or 25 years ago, for Rob. It was one of the first ones I started making after taking some classes. In my cleaning, sorting and organizing project I’m embarked on, I found every single one of the little pieces needed to finish it up. Now, I need to bind it and Rob will finally have a lap quilt with a flannel back to snuggle up in when we are in the camper or wherever he likes.

Here is the second one I picked up. Jeff’s wife and co-owner, Mary, was kind enough to take a picture of it being quilted for me.

This one was started from kits received at a shop hop before Covid. I put together the ones I could figure out and made some more on my own. He quilted this one in a simpler, wave pattern. I need to bind that one, too. I think this one will be in my living room when it’s done. It’s a good size for wrapping up in when watching tv or reading.

Here’s the chicken quilt I’ve been working on lately. I finished it up today and Rob dropped it off to be quilted. This quilt was started many years ago by one of my kids, who lost interest. I found fabric, squares that needed ripping out and re-sewing, some with holes, and some I had apparently sewed myself or at least had a lot of input in (i.e. stood over them while they sewed!) and they looked ok. I re-sewed blocks, made more, added black sashing and the brick-colored border. It’s actually a blender fabric, which means it is not solid. There are little bits of other colors in the fabric that help it go with most of the blocks. For the back, I took the large pieces that were leftover, along with the extra squares that had been cut and sewed them all together until they made a piece big enough to back it. I didn’t get a picture of that, but it looks nice to me. I’ll show that once it gets finished.

I was in a hurry to finish because once I saw how nice it was turning out, I decided to make it for Rob’s Mom’s 90th birthday. The quilt shop is very busy, so I wanted to give them plenty of time to finish machine quilting it. I will still need to bind it. I’m so happy to have found a way to use that fabric. She loves chickens and has 3 in her yard, and decorates with chickens in her house, so it will be perfect for her.

I have been spending hours and hours on quilting lately. I feel so happy to have gotten so many projects to this point. I know that once the garden gets going, this quilting frenzy will come to a screeching halt, as I cannot dedicate this much time in 2 places, inside and outside. However, it’s still way too wet and cold to get out there much.

My plan then, is to bind the 2 that are ready for that step and get them in use. I found parts and pieces and fabrics enough to keep me going for many, many more projects. There are several that are either almost done or well on their way and I will probably choose one of those to work on next. I also just completed a shop hop, the first one around here since before Covid, so I have 8 free kits for blocks from that.

My goal is not to build my stash or project pile up, instead to bring it down and get all this creativity from all these years into usable form. To that end, I have been buying little pieces when a certain color is needed, pieces for sashing, and of course backing fabric. This is all quite expensive, especially when it comes to backing fabric, since you need a lot. I was delighted to come upon a sale where the quilt shop was clearing out some fabric for $4/yard. I was able to find 2 pieces that went with 2 of my projects that are almost done. I actually went back home and got my unfinished projects and took them back to the store to make sure they would work. Since one is very large–queen or king sized–I got 8 yards for that one! It was a great deal, but if it ended up not matching, it would have just been another large piece of fabric that would remain unused!

Even I don’t know which thing I will choose to work on next–that’s part of the fun of it all! Tonight, I’m doing other things. Tomorrow, maybe I’ll decide.

Holidays, Quilting, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week-April 12, 2022

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We had just a few minutes Sunday evening before we had to be somewhere, and stopped at a park by the Willamette River to take a short walk. Before it started to rain heavily on our heads and we scurried back to the car, we saw this boat full of what we believe were tourists.

After some instruction from the person standing up in the back, the whole crew started to row as per her instructions and before we knew it, they navigated away from the dock and into the river. They are tougher than I felt yesterday. The rain was icy and the temperature in the 40’s with a wind whistling over the water. Rob and I marveled at their persistence, and happily got into our car, turned on the heater and went on our way. It’s been very cold here. Portland, Oregon, got SNOW! Rare at any time, but in mid April? Crazy! We didn’t. We are a bit to the south of there, but it’s not warm here, either.

We took several walks last week. On one of our walks, we found a lady setting out a twin-sized bed frame in excellent condition, so we happily grabbed it and carried it home. I’m sure people were marveling at OUR persistence. We now have a frame for the spare bed in my back room. We made that lady very happy, too, as she wanted it to go where someone would use it. Today, we set it up. Rob cut boards he had scavenged and put the slats in the frame and we added the mattresses that had previously been on the floor of the spare room. Now it will be higher and much, much better for laying my quilt squares out on so I can see how they look before I sew them together. Visiting kids will enjoy sleeping on it, as well, I hope, although they never seem to have minded the mattresses on the floor.

I continued my project of cleaning out small areas or working on unfinished projects. Rob has been cleaning, too, which helps. Yesterday, he tackled a larger area in hopes of getting bags of trash since we had room in the garbage can. I joined him after Jake and I were done with school. We were not disappointed. We filled 2 whole bags and used every bit of space in that can. We may have a garage sale eventually, but some things just aren’t worth saving to that end or donating.

Many years ago, one of my children decided to make a “chicken” quilt. We cut out simple squares together, and they sewed a few together with my help, and then lost interest. I ripped quite a few blocks apart and started re-sewing them and made a few more. I threw away the squared with holes?? in them???? No idea what happened there… Now I’m working on putting a sashing between the blocks. Rob’s mom turns 90 this year. She loves chickens. I’m hoping to finish this one up before her birthday in July.

Jake and I got a morning of free entertainment and a free field trip all in one when two men parked this truck right in front of my house and proceeded to clean out a water line in the street. They were more than patient and answered every single one of the many questions he asked and explained it all to him in minute detail. His only disappointment was that no water shot up high and no one got squirted:). When that was shared with one of them men, he laughed and said he almost did get squirted, but they are supposed to do it in such a way that water is not wasted, so they don’t use any more than they absolutely need and reclaim it, but once in a while some does get away. Just not that day!

And, Jeannie in Tennessee, this picture is for you. Jake wants you to see this water line cleaner truck–since you’ve sent him interesting pictures of storms before. (Jeannie has been Jake’s pen pal for a few years now, although he tends to be a bit fickle–nothing for months, then out of the blue–demands I post something for her–it’s fun!)

Grocery shopping happened at 2 stores because they each had things on sale that we wanted. Rob did one store and I did the other. We got almost everything we wanted for Easter dinner along with things we were out of. I’m hoping I either don’t have to shop at all, or just buy a few things this Friday.

I spent some time today going through cupboards and pulling out some nice dishes I want to use for Easter dinner. I also pulled out any spring decorations I found and some tablecloths. I’m actually going to start pre-cooking several things over the next 2 days. We have some extra activities to do at church this weekend, including a kids’ activity we signed up to help with on Saturday. I want to have most of Easter dinner prepared ahead of time so I can enjoy the day.

I’m off to a good start. I’m keeping the meal itself simple. I’m planning ham (already in the fridge–87c/lb–great deal!–Rob will cook on the BBQ), twice-baked potatoes (ingredients already in the fridge and pantry–can be made ahead and baked easily that day after early service at church), canned corn (all the work done last summer), cupcakes (thank you, Jake–we got that done already and they are frozen waiting for frosting), cheesecake with gluten-free snickerdoodle cookie crust (again, Jake and I made the cookies last week, and I practiced in my Instant Pot already so that will go quick and you HAVE to make it ahead of time–blueberries frozen for topping from last summer, ingredients in fridge), green salad (spinach ready to pick in raised bed, head lettuce easy to get if we run out, salad dressing purchased on sale last week), dill pickle rolls (pickles made last summer, lunchmeat and cream cheese in fridge, bought on sale a couple of weeks ago), drinks purchased (seltzer and soda, tea, coffee, water), and so forth. This gives me time to indulge myself if I get a bee in my bonnet and decide to make something else at the last minute…I usually get an urge for deviled eggs…..You get the idea. Preplanning is the key for me. Then I don’t feel stressed out at all. I will even put out all the dishes and things the day before so I can focus on the family on the day itself.

I’m looking forward to the day.

Quilting, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week–April 4, 2022

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Rob and I were able to take a couple of interesting walks this week. One was to Bush Pasture Park. This house is a museum, which I have never toured, but we really enjoyed the flowers today.

There were hundreds of tulips blooming in different areas.

In a different area of the park, there are large areas of Camas Bulbs. The Native American people who lived in our area used to dig them up and eat the bulbs.

There were other gorgeous wild flowers blooming, as well.

We walked a little over a mile there, and had a great time. The weather could not make up it’s mind. First, there would be sunshine and blue sky. It felt like 2 minutes later, there was strong wind and a heavy rain shower. Crazy!

It’s a good thing I took my heavy coat and my garage sale find–a $2 umbrella. The wind was so strong it blew my hair back severely and almost turned my “new” umbrella inside out. Invigorating, to be sure!

We were able to get a few flowerpots at the same garage sale. We also got baby books for 25c/each and a couple of flannel shirts for $1/each. We only stopped at the one sale, as we were on our way somewhere, but were pleased at our finds.

Rob was the chauffeur for my aunt and I, and drove us up and down the valley on a quilt shop hop. It’s the first one I’ve heard up since before Covid, so it was fun to go to 6 shops in one day and just look at all the goodies they had. At every shop, they gave us a free kit for a block to make up at home. We did the other 2 shops the next day, making a total of 8 visited in two days. We saved the ones near to home for last so they were easy for me to stop at on Saturday.

We had a lovely picnic lunch during our day out, and the weather was warm and sunny. We stopped in a little park with only one picnic table, but the solitary woman eating her first picnic of the season was cheerful and willing to share the table with us. It was really fun to get out.

Now I have 8 blocks to sew up. It feels a little like backward progress on my use-it-up project, but it was a very fun day and will be fun to have a new project.

I’ve been choosing areas and cleaning them out. I worked on the garage a little this week, but there’s lots of stuff left to go through out there. I’ve been sorting and organizing quilting fabric and unfinished projects during that project in a different room. Although I have so very many places left to clean and so very, very many projects to finish from over the years, I have been making progress.

I finished the baby/toddler quilt that used fabric purchased years ago, along with scraps from other projects. I went down to my local quilt shop to buy a backing piece and turned it in to be machine quilted. I’m kicking myself because I forgot to take a picture before I did that. I was so excited to have finished another project. I’ll post one once it comes back.

We spent quite a bit of time studying and preparing for our 5th grade Sunday school lesson. Each weeks gets easier as we adjust to the curriculum, which is set up very differently than any we have used in the past. One thing that is different is that it’s all on-line. This time there were slides that you could download onto a memory stick from one place onto our Chromebook and then fasten the Chromebook up to the tv in the classroom and show pictures/slides that went with the lesson during class. Um-huh. Right. Uhhhhh…..We figured out how to download it all from the web to our memory stick to the Chromebook, but had no idea which cord plugged in where…..

We are learning fast. You could say Rob got a free class from one of the patient pastors after he made an appointment and just went down there to figure out where each cord was supposed to attach. We didn’t want to figure it out Sunday morning. I guess the kids hadn’t had that option very many times because they were very excited to get to see something up on the tv, but not nearly as excited as we were when Rob got something to show up on the tv….. I got the easy part this week. I taught the Bible lesson, read off the review questions and kept score during the games. And ate chocolate. We actually team teach, so we decide ahead of time who does which part, and we each spend some time talking during class.

This was one of my favorite parts of class this week. Rob held the 2 Hula Hoops while the kids threw paper airplanes at him. If they got it through the hoops, they could choose the review question to answer. If they missed, Rob chose. It was Rob vs. the TEAM, and the TEAM won! Everyone had a blast, especially when one kid nailed him right between the eyes with the plane, in the stomach, and even in the sink. (He was not hurt in the slightest). Rob, being Rob, let everyone who made a spectacular hit of any kind choose the number of the question to answer. There were 42. We didn’t get quite all of them done, but had fun trying! They even got a lot of answers right, which we can take absolutely no credit for as we just started, but their previous teacher obviously taught the material well, or they are all geniuses, or maybe both:)

We also practiced the memory verse while passing a chocolate egg down the line with a plastic spoon, behind their backs, under their legs, with their left hands, etc. Then we ate chocolate. It’s turning out to be a lot of fun. They are a great bunch of kids and turning out to be delightful to work with. We have had about 9 or 10 each time, so far, so it’s a nice sized group.

I made a big batch of spaghetti sauce, using my home-canned tomatoes/tomato sauce, plus lots of onions. They have kept well. This is April, after all. But the red ones are wanting to grow, so it’s a race to use as many as I can and freeze a few now and then for later. I also made chicken soup, biscuits, and sweet and sour pork. I cooked brown rice in the Instant Pot and froze some for quick meals later one. We had pork roast meat, also, on salads and for meals. I thawed squash and corn, and cooked green beans.

Patsy came home for the weekend and I had her choose senior picture options from the 273 ones her Dad took. We will order some announcements and get some printed up from her choices very soon, along with some prints for the relatives. We picked her up Friday evening and took her back Sunday evening, so enjoyed a couple of pleasant country drives.

Garden, Quilting, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week–March 27, 2022–The First Week of Spring!

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Many flowers are blooming right now. We took many walks this week and enjoyed looking at the various yards. I worked in our yard a little bit. There is so much to do this time of year! I planted a row of little pansies in a flowerbed. These were grown, by Rob, from seeds he saved from last year. They are not blooming yet, but they will. I also planted some Sweet William plants he grew. They are biannual, so won’t bloom this year, but will fill the area nicely and bloom next summer.

I’m very happy with how these primroses came back from previous years and are blooming so well. Sometimes, in the past, I haven’t had such good luck with them re-blooming, but these are gorgeous.

It’s always nice to see all the cheery daffodils. Years ago, we got most of these bulbs from my sister’s yard. They needed to be divided at that time. They have been so pretty every spring since. The tulips were here when we moved in. I dug up some from another flowerbed and transplanted them here last fall. I missed quite a few, though, so want to get the rest moved over here this year. This flower bed does not get watered in the summer, so the bulbs can grow with the spring rains, then dry up in the summer.

We took the boys for a walk and to the park to play and enjoy the nice weather and flowers along the way. They also enjoy kitties, birds and any dogs we see. Mac looks so sleepy in this picture. It must have been relaxing. We took bubbles to blow, he threw sticks into a little creek, and played on the equipment.

This week, we did a lot of extra laundry and cleaning. Patsy decided to wash most of her blankets, along with lots of clothes in preparation for camp. I had her work on deep cleaning her room, although there’s quite a bit still to clean in there. She officially departed on Tuesday, late in the day. Although she does not work on weekends, there was a first aid class she needed to take and some other things she needed to do on Saturday, so she only came home briefly to grab some things she forgot.

Rob and I have been on vacation ever since. A few weeks ago, we were supposed to have a little vacation, and ended up with a severe flu. We decided to do all the fun things we had planned, and didn’t get to do, this week to make up for it. We ordered Chinese food “to go” and watched a movie we checked out from the library. We went out to Mexican food another night, using a gift card we had. We took several long walks, including one that was several miles in a park that runs along the Willamette River corridor.

We spent a day with the boys and my Mom came over for lunch one day. Mom and I folded laundry while we chatted. There was so much this week with all of Patsy’s extra! We even went to the movies–the matinee, of course! It’s still quite expensive, but less. We have not been to a theatre for several years. We didn’t buy popcorn or anything this time, more because we didn’t want any than for any economical reasons.

One morning , Rob went to visit his Mom and I sewed on the quilt I’m currently constructing.

Even though we were on “party” mode for a few days, we still were able to do a few things around here in-between our more exciting activities.

I decided to deep clean the laundry room. There was so much dirt and grime on the floor and clutter covering the dryer. I cleaned and scrubbed and organized to my heart’s content and it looks much better now. I have several more areas in the house that need attention, and I want to tackle them one by one.

I cleaned the bathroom, which is now my chore every week, instead of every-other-week. Patsy and I used to switch off. There are a few other chores she usually did before she left, so Rob and I are working together to make sure they still get done. We used to pay her to mow the lawn, I did it yesterday. I put the clippings on the corner of the garden where the soil could use amending.

We both worked on cleaning our outside covered porch area. I recycled many boxes and empty milk jugs that were previously used to water the greenhouse. Rob got the automatic waterer going in the greenhouse, so we don’t need so many jugs filled with water. That porch area is where I do my canning in the summer and it’s a step closer to being ready for that. The plants are growing like crazy, and it will be time to plant some of them soon.

Rob spent some time cutting up onions. The red ones from last year’s garden are wanting to grow, so he froze 10 cups of chopped onion pieces. There are still lots of onions to use fresh. The yellow ones we grow keep longer than the red ones, so he targeted any soft red ones this time and will do this again another day to get them all saved and used. It’s also very handy during canning season to grab out the frozen 1 or 2-cup baggies to throw into relishes and salsas. I also use them when I’m making soup in a hurry sometimes, although right now, I’m grabbing and using any onions that seem to be getting soft or wanting to grow.

I made vegetable soup, chicken soup and potato soup this week. The potato soup is for Sunday, when my niece, Alissa is coming to lunch after church. It’s her favorite. I fed the other soups to the boys, and ate them for breakfasts and lunches. We had salads a few times. We cooked a pork roast I got for $1.99/lb. I made enchiladas, we sliced and ate it, had it on salad, and froze the rest for another day. Safeway was selling pizza for 8c. Rob stopped in and got that along with a few other things we needed. It’s not gluten-free, so it will be for him, and any kids who come over. Cheese was $5 for a 2-lb loaf, so we got a couple. We shopped a couple of times this week, gathering things we needed in smaller-than-usual quantities. I’m adjusting to feeding one less person and would rather shop more than waste food, as I make this adjustment in our family. We still have so many people though the house that I don’t think it’s going to be that drastic of a change, but I’ll find out. I don’t know if I will be sticking to the every-other-week shopping as I go through this transition, but I’d like to eventually make that work again, as I like doing that.

We went to the eye doctor. Both of us didn’t need new prescriptions as our vision had not changed much, but I always have to go each year for my diabetic eye exam. I had recently had my lenses replaced under warranty, after I got hit with a flying coaster launched by a baby, and Rob’s were just replaced under warranty as well. We had benefits available to use, though. I ended up getting new frames with lenses that are just for distance, with no reflective coatings or sunglass feature for absolutely free, covered by my insurance. They are for walks and driving on days when I don’t want my world darkened with sunglasses. Later, I can replace the lenses with a new prescription if I need to, and will need to pay for all the bells and whistles, but have this nice new pair of frames or my current frames to use when I do so. Rob did the same thing.

There’s never a dull moment around here, and this coming week is no exception. I plan to enjoy the spring weather that is expected and hope to be outside frequently. I love this time of year.

Happy spring to all of you readers!

Covid-19 Stay-at-home projects, Quilting

Quilting: 2 November 2020 Projects

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Project #1: “Animal Grows Up!”

Around 20 years ago, my niece Alissa joined our family. I sewed her a baby blanket. She named it “Animal.” Somehow, all these years later, I still had scraps left over and, at her request, made her a new, grown-up “Animal.” (She spotted those scraps one day (over 2 years ago), when I was cleaning a bit during homeschooling her, and remembered I had them.)

The patterned fabric, blue with stars, deep rose blender, green with little flowers, and yellow were the scraps. I kept with the theme of squares, as there were squares in the print, and just tried to match the colors in the print with fabric I had in my stash. My goal was to make a blanket that was grown-up enough that she could use it without feeling like she was carrying her baby blanket around with her, and large enough to wrap around her shoulders and use when she’s cold. Since she’s working at a Christian camp these days, I know she can use a blanket for her bed, as well, and this one will hopefully bring her lots of love since it will remind her of her childhood and many wonderful memories. I’m going to give it to her for Christmas. She knows about it, as I checked with her while I was making it to make sure it was what she had in mind after she asked me to make it.

Project #2: Lovana’s Garden

About a year after sweet Alissa came to live with her parents, Lovana and Ja’Ana came to live with us. Before they moved in, I started a quilt for Lovana. Yes. This quilt. I finished it this weekend. You could say it took a while for this garden to grow.

I’ve actually been working on this one for the last several months, since I’ve been home more because of Covid. I decided it was the perfect time to finish up some projects that have been around for far too long. I finally finished yesterday. She’s seen pieces of it over the years and has been told it was for her. I know she’s going to be very surprised when she sees it’s finally finished! This one will be a surprise, for sure, as I’m positive she’s long given up that she was going to ever get her quilt!

Since we are staying home as much as possible because of our Covid restrictions, I didn’t want to shop to finish these quilts. Even though Lovana’s was larger than I’ve ever done before, I machine quilted both of them, using one large piece of batting (cut in half) that was in storage in the loft above the shop. This close to Christmas, I’m sure the machine quilters are already booked up, and besides, I’m not going places right now, including quilt shops. I will admit, it was hard for me to keep things flat and smooth while I sewed simple lines across the quilt and there was ripping involved. I did prevail, and then hand-sewed the bindings down while watching more t.v. in one weekend than ever before:)

There was just enough fabric left over from 3 of the prints used in the quilt, and I sewed them together to make a back for Lovana’s. There was plenty of the green dot for her binding.

I had a large piece of muslin we had picked up from a yard sale and used it for the back and binding of Alissa’s.

I used up the batting from the shop loft, and even finished up a spool of thread and most of another one. One of these days, I will need to replace some of my sewing items, but for now, I’m rejoicing that I’ve been able to use up some things that have been taking up space for a long, long time.

Both quilts are showing up a little darker in these pictures than they are in real life. They are both a little brighter. Both turned out lovely. I am super happy that I got them both done, quilted, and finished in time for Christmas!

outdoor cooking, Quilting, Saving Money

Thriving In My Thrifty Week–September 30, 2019

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Rob made some great dinners this week. One of the things he did was barbecue up a large package of chicken drumsticks. At the same time, he made foil packets with chicken breast, beans and carrots. He always loves to cook a lot at once to save energy–both his energy and fuel for the BBQ:)

I spent most of my week over at my sister’s house, caring for the children, and at the hospital with a sick family member. In between those place, I kept track of Patsy and her schoolwork, giving directions to both her and Rob so she could stay on track. They also got to do the laundry, dishes, and cooking.

I read some library books. I played games on my iPad.

The first day at the hospital, since the whole occasion was unplanned (right?) I was without a lunch. After being graciously offered a couple of bland, tasteless bites of the patient’s lunch, I took a little walk and was able to buy a small trip through the salad bar for only $2.50. The patient immediately swiped a tiny bit of my cheese and a few olives for her tasteless meal, and we were both much happier:). The second day, I packed a gluten-free sandwich and some carrots.

By Saturday, I was very tired and did absolutely nothing except attend a short birthday party, which was held at a restaurant. I had nothing to do but show up. Otherwise, I rested. My brother-in-law ordered Chinese food for family Sunday dinner, so there were no dishes and no one had to cook. On Sunday afternoon, I was more than happy to join Jake on the couch and watch “Arthur” reruns on tv. He also asked me to work on a puzzle with him, which I did. Every Sunday afternoon, Jake comes home with us after lunch to spend the afternoon. Every Sunday night, Rob accompanies him to his Sunday night program at church, then takes him home, gets Patsy to her youth group, and so on. I putzed around a little while they were gone, doing a few little things around the house, but mostly rested. I still have not caught the cold that is running from family member to family member, and I’m hoping all that rest will keep it away from me. Only time will tell. I do feel rested up this morning, and plan to get right in and tackle this house and some of the other undone things!

I harvested a few tomatoes, the last of the beets, and a few cucumbers from the fast-waning garden.

I sewed a little bit on the quilt I started last winter. I had to set it aside all summer so I could work in the garden, but am glad to get it out again. I’m far from done, but can see real progress has been made in the past couple of weeks.

Quilting

Baby Quilt–February 2019

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The baby quilt I was working on is done. I’m very happy. I have not made a project like this for many years, and I was rusty.

I started with some cute fabric I’ve had for years and made the baby picture fabric the center of the stars. I had to buy a few pieces of fabric that went with what I had, but a lot of the little squares were from cloth I had collected in the past. That made me happy, as one of my goals this year is to use some things I have, and also to finish some projects. I was also able to use my rulers, rotary cutter, mats, and some acrylic templates I’ve had for years and years.

I had some trouble matching all the corners, but with some major ripping out and re-sewing, I got it done to my satisfaction. Then, I wanted it bigger, so I made a row of squares on the bottom and one on the top, and added borders. The squares were from leftover pieces of fabric used elsewhere in the quilt.

I went to the quilt shop and got some backing and batting. It’s hard to see in this picture, but there are some greens and whites along with the pale blue to pull it together. We don’t know if this baby is a girl or a boy, or I probably would have chosen pink or some flowered fabric I saw. But, they were really girly, so…

I machine quilted to entire thing in rows. It was difficult, and there were a couple of places that I wasn’t happy with and fixed. For the most part, though, I’m very satisfied. I sewed the binding on the front with the machine, rolled it over, and hand sewed it down on the back.

I’m very excited that I got it done before the baby was born and am already moving ahead on my next project. I expect things won’t take quite as long, as I get back in practice, which is good. After all, creating is way more fun than ripping!