Still busy in the quilting room

First it was hot, then today it's rainy.  Both conditions are perfect for quilting.  There's AC if I need it, and lots of scraps to keep me busy.  Here are the two table runners I finished a few days ago:

Last year I participated in a swap of Missouri Star squares.  I made a few extra in case I needed them to make a bigger quilt.  One swap block went really well with the fall colored squares and another (from my local guild swap) went with the green ones.  The green table runner has Christmas fabric on the back so it can be used for the holidays (if the person likes not-quite-lime for the season).  Since finishing those, I made a bunch of modern Christmas trees that became table runners, but I'm waiting for fabric to come from etsy for the binding.  Then I'll take photos of those.  I plan to try to sell a few on my etsy shop and a few at the local flower/gift shop.

Meanwhile, I've been mining the depths of my string basket for a little bit of a longer term project.  The pattern, Honeycomb, is by Karen Griska who will be speaking at the state quilt guild in May.  I love her scrappy and her selvage quilts, so I look forward to meeting her.

My honeycombs look more like wheels, and I'm planning to make my quilt with just eight of them (they measure about 15").  My selection of strings just isn't big or varied enough to make the full sized quilt.   Not sure I'll make the same border, either.  I was thinking of a piano-keys or a rail fence border made with light strings instead.   I want to get the top done before the fall state guild meeting so that I can get everyone excited about Karen's coming.

So far, I have parts of six wheels ready to put together, but I'm waiting until I have them all so that I can shuffle the pieces around.  I've never used paper plates to separate parts of a quilt before, but I'm finding them very handy with this quilt.

Busy in the quilting room

I am enjoying making smaller items.  They finish up so quickly.  I am working my way through 30 blocks I received in a swap and, although I probably won't use them all right away, I am making a dent in the pile.  Yesterday I finished a table runner and a baby quilt to sell, either on etsy or at the local florist/gift shop where I have two quilts on display.

The table runner is reversible, using one block I made and two pineapple swap blocks, as well as a quick double nine patch back like the baby quilt I made last week.  That scrappy star block, from Eleanor Burns' website, is a favorite of mine.  Maybe I'll make a bunch next year if there's a RSC20?  I found the green binding in my stash of scrap bindings and just added about a foot of scrap to it.
 

The baby quilt is just nine blocks.  I cut up a "ten minute block" from the swap and surrounded two parts with teal fabric to end up similar to the ones surrounded by peach and light purple.  I used the same teal for the binding, and the back is a cozy flannel.  I made 16 of those Dutchman's Puzzle blocks for the swap and kept one for myself.   Quilting was fairly easy and straight-forward, and it makes a nice quilt for a newborn.  

Today I'll take a picture of another couple of table runners once I finish one I pin basted yesterday.  It's going to be hot the next few days, so I'll be in my quilting room with the AC running.

A reversible baby quilt

One of my local guilds had a block swap this year, and I have been moving the 30 or so blocks around since I got them a few weeks ago.  Usually, I can figure out how to set very disparate blocks together somehow, but this batch has me stumped.  Besides, I want to make smaller quilts for a while, don't I?  I decided to start with one block because I had just the right fabric to go with it.  Pauline's daughter Jaemi is expecting a baby in October, and it's going to be a girl.

Kathi made the block, and I love the floral fabric I used with it.  The saw-toothed border is made of yellow and white scraps, and I will bind it with a green pin dot because I ended up making this back for the quilt.

 

This is what I had originally planned to make.  I used some of the black and white charms I received in another swap along with some lime fabric from stash.  It's a disappearing nine patch which is as easy as it gets, and the quilt will be newborn sized - 36" square.  I'm off to Joann's to get some batting for this and another 36" square quilt made from some of the swap blocks.  Guess I'm on a roll!

Cheering for the Orange

I don't usually watch sports on TV but some of the groups I follow on Facebook have been very excited about the Dutch women's soccer team participating in the World Cup in France this year.  I have always been one to favor the little guy (or gal), and the Netherlands is almost as small as a country can be.   But it is a feisty country.   I watched yesterday's match against Sweden - not the whole thing, but the beginning and the end - and was pleased when the Leeuwinnen (female lions) won 1-0.   Sunday morning they'll be playing the USA in what could be a tough match.   I'm ever loyal to my roots.  Hup Holland Hup!