Busy Fingers, Lovely Quilts

In the three months that I spent having my "writer's block." my sewing machine and I were kept quite busy creating quilts. I decided that I wouldn't start a project unless I had a specific recipient in mind and several opportunities have presented themselves to me.

This first one is going to a "mystery" recipient. I have planned it to be a surprise, something totally unexpected. A couple years ago I surprised my niece with a quilt and she and I both got so much pleasure from it. So I'm hoping we'll have the same reaction when this one arrives at its destination. I will say only that I so enjoyed the particular fabric that I chose, as I believe its new owner will also get quite a kick out of it. It should be in the mail in a day or two.

My family on Graham's side of the aisle was blessed this spring with a new arrival. This baby is the latest in a string of grandsons for Richard and Sue. I knew the crib design featured Winnie the Pooh, but had to wait for news of baby's gender to get started. Thinking I had plenty of time before the due date at the end of April, I took the top and materials to Kingsland in late January. Lo and behold, baby Wyman came a month early, just days after I had picked up the quilt. I made a cute little pillow to go with it and popped it in the mail the day after his birth.

I saw this quilt tutorial on the Missouri Quilt site and determined that I would make it for someone, just needed to figure out who, and what fabric to use. I had some precuts in this woodsy, green/blue/brown, little boy type material that would be just perfect for a "big boy" quilt for Andrew. One of the first quilts I made for Adrian is a big boy quilt, but Andrew's were all baby quilts. I had so much fun crafting this one and think it turned out just right for my growing grandson.

I'm throwing this one in "just because" I loved it so much that I kept it for myself! I almost used it several times this winter, but always threw it off the bed because it was so warm! We need to have a really cold winter for it to get the most use. Or.... if I ever get my quilt wall hanger put up, I'll be more than happy to display it on the wall.

This last quilt is one that I sent to my step-daughter at Christmas. This too was one of those surprise gifts that was totally unexpected but deeply appreciated.

I'm hard at work on a new quilt that I think I'll keep for myself. It is a pattern that is very similar to a quilt that belonged to Graham's grandmother. I chose some vintage fabric that gives it an old-fashioned feel. It is really time-consuming, as every block has multiple steps and I will need a whole lot of blocks for the quilt. I just put some risers on my work table legs that will hopefully make the cutting and pressing a little easier on my back. I'll let you know how that's working for me!