Summer Finishes Catch-up

I didn't do much blogging this summer, but that doesn't mean I wasn't sewing! Mostly, I sewed summer clothes to wear in hothothot Texas. 

Here are some of the quilts I finished this summer. First, a 90th birthday quilt for my Uncle Bob. He joined the Navy at age 17 to serve in WW II, and he still golfs and bowls every week.

Ohmigosh, searching for the post about this quilt, I realize I never blogged about it! This was the July Jelly Roll Party quilt. The pattern is Strip Twist by GE Designs, and the fabric is "Red, White, and Free" from Moda. This is the only photo I have of this quilt, so you'll just have to take my word for it that the pattern goes together very fast. And it's a great introduction to partial seams!

I also finished "college quilts" for friends starting (and continuing!) college. First up, "Prairie Windmills." I actually started this quilt in a class with Kathleen Moorhead Johnson at Quilt Wyoming 2013. When my friend told me her Princeton-bound daughter loves pink, I knew this quilt had to be quilted and bound for Stephie!

I love working with batiks, they press so beautifully. So crisp, it's almost like folding paper!

CJ quilted it with an allover floral design using a Neapolitan-ice cream colored King Tut thread.

I hope you can see the detail of the quilting in this closeup!

The second college quilt I made was for my own Elder Son. He decided to quit selling Jeeps and go back to college to earn his MBA at Pacific Lutheran University, one of my own alma maters. I'm so pleased and proud!

The great thing about PLU student housing is, they have a dorm just for Seniors and grad students.  But the rooms only have XL Twin size beds -- and J-Man has had a queen-size bed since high school.  So Mama had to right quick whip up an XL Twin quilt!

I used Bonnie Hunter's "Sticks and Stone's" pattern and almost all my pre-cut black and white squares. Yay for Scrap Therapy!

I stuck in a few fussy-cut blocks. Love this "skull" one, and

this one to remind Justin of his kitty, Moussa Koussa. They only allow fish for pets in the dorm, I told him he should rename the cat "Fish." 

Of course, I bound it using "Susie's Magic Binding" in my favorite black-and-white stripes and scrappy brights.

It's already Fall in Tacoma, so I mailed the quilt straight to college. It will be waiting when he checks into his dorm!

I have another finish to share, but I think I'll save it until next Friday. Let's get this post published!



From the desk of your

September 1 UFO Parade

How was your summer? I enjoyed the "time off!" Now it's time to get back to work and catch up on those UFOs.


First, though, the UFO number for September is:

#6

Mary J has FOUR finishes to share this month! This is productivity!

You can check out the story behind the quilts on her blog, Zippy Quilts, here:https://zippyquilts.wordpress.com/2015/08/30/6-august-projects/

Her #7 (August) finish is a donation quilt. I love the super-sized leaf!

Since #7 was finished early, Mary spent August working on her "Swim" quilt. I love the wavy piecing, it looks as though the fish are swimming through seaweed.

Mary has set herself a goal of one donation quilt per month, and she made three tops in August. 

Good on you, Mary! I think it's wonderful that you are sharing your quilts with others.

Sandi is ahead of the game this month -- not only does she have only three more UFOs to finish, she has her Christmas wall hanging all ready to go!

Love those colors, Sandi! This will be so cute for your holiday decorating.

Gill had a wonderful summer holiday, and is ready to get back into the sewing mode.  

My summer sewing has involved my boys - they wanted to make wall hangings of the favorite characters from Studio Ghibli (a Japanese Anime maker). Jacob's (9 years) favourite character is "No Face" from Spirited Away - surrounded by "Soot Sprites". He chose the colours and the design concept and drew the templates and did some of the cutting and piecing.

So fun that your boys are getting involved with sewing! Both my boys made quilts for 4-H projects, and that skill has served them well.

Sue is also getting back "into the swing of things." She enjoyed a weekend sewing retreat and look what she finished!

I managed to get a UFO done finally!  We're all moved in and mostly sorted out now. I also had a sewing weekend away last week and got my UFO No. 7 done.  It was to make a donation quilt for a hospice and I've finished one and have quite a few blocks put together for a couple more so I'm calling that a finish!

Here are Sue's other UFOs, first a thread catcher:

And a cushion cover made from leftovers from her Rainbow Lattice quilt:

Nancy has several finishes to add. First, this gorgeous embroidered quilt:

Then, her actual August UFO:

She also got addicted to the "Snapshot" blocks. I love this one!

More details on Nancy's blog, http://fabric-addiction.blogspot.com/

Oops, almost missed Donna's finish! She hand quilted around the propellers on the airplanes of this darling baby quilt! Click on the photo to see the details:

Mary J of Zippy Quilts is our UFO Parade winner this month. MJ, send me your postal address and I'll seen you some goodies!

Just a note, it's OK to send the photos of your #6 finishes for September as soon as you have them. I'm writing the blog on a new computer and it takes me a long time to figure out how to add photos, so the more time I have to work on them, the better!

It's been a busy summer. I'll be back to my normal blog publishing schedule this week -- I hope you all enjoy starting (and finishing!) your UFOs for September!

From the desk of your