Iowa State Quilt Complete!

It seems like it has been a while since I have finished a quilt since my longarm has been down. I ended up getting this one quilted by a friend of mine, just in time. It is a wedding gift for my niece. Hopefully they will like it!

Economy Block Quilt Top Complete!

How do you use up a bunch of ugly fabrics that don't go together? Put them in a quilt of course! I am nearing the end of my fabrics I got from the scrap dive at our quilt show last year. Needless to say, it is getting more challenging to figure out what to do with some of these fabrics. I ended up using the economy blocks after I cut up some fabrics for another economy block quilt. It worked out really well since I had a quite a few of the squares already cut up. This makes scrap dive quilt #29. Time to work on #30!

Scrappy Irish Chain Quilt Top Complete!

Today I managed to finish my scrappy Irish Chain quilt that I had been working on. I made one with white background fabric last year and have been wanting to make one with black background fabric ever since. I really like the look of these quilts and it is a great way to use up small scraps. Time to start another project!

Another Crumb Quilt Top Complete!

After a long day of quilting, I finally got something completed. I think this is the fourth crumb quilt that I have done, They are so addicting! I ended up using leftover quilt backing for the sashing. The red may be a little too bright but once I get it quilted and put the binding on, it should be fine. I am thinking of using black for the binding. We will see what happens! Bobo, my 17 year old cat, decided to photobomb the picture. I guess he likes the quilt!

Iowa State Quilt Top Complete!

It seems like I have been working on this quilt top for a while but that really isn't the case. Things have been really crazy lately and I haven't had as much time to quilt so it is taking me longer to finish tops than it normally does. I ran across this free pattern on the Film in the Fridge blog at http://filminthefridge.com/2010/10/20/rectangle-squared-a-quilt-block-tutorial/. I did modify the pattern slightly. I ended up making the squares 3.5 x 3.5 inches instead of 3.25 by 3.25 inches and the rectangles 3.5 x 7.5 inches instead of 3.25 x 7 inches. The reason why I did this is that if I had leftover squares or strips, I would have a better chance of using the 3.5 inch squares. This was also the first time I have done a border on a quilt. I think I did alright for the first time.

Quilt Retreat Weekend!

This weekend I headed to Jefferson, IA to a great quilt retreat. Even though there were only 16 of us, there were lots of wonderful quilts being made and a ton of laughs all around. This was the second year in a row that I have been to this particular retreat, so it was nice to know what to expect this time around. 

I managed to get five quilt tops made. I ended up making two Quilts of Valor and three scrappy quilts. I do quite a bit of time cutting and prepping ahead of time so that by the time the retreat gets here, I am sewing rows together. 

It is kind of sad to think that this is my last quilt retreat of 2017. I would like to get one more in before the end of the year but I will have to see what happens! 

Rainbow Bookcase Quilt Top Complete!

All I can say is that this thing is big. I had to move my sectional by putting the pieces on end in the corner of the living room so I had enough floor space to work on it. I can't wait until this quilt is completely finished. Time to get the backing and batting out and get it ready to be put on the longarm! I may do a tutorial on this quilt eventually.

In addition to working on this quilt, I have been busy getting several other quilt projects ready for a quilt retreat that I'm going to in a couple of weeks. I have plenty of projects all ready to go and it should be productive weekend. I have a couple of Quilts of Valor quilts that I am excited to work on. I also want to try and finish all of my quilts from the scrap dive last year. I have five to bring to the retreat. If I complete those, I will have a total of 30 scrap dive quilts. We will see what happens!