Autumn Splendor

I've finished my Fig Tree Autumn Splendor BOM 2018

I substituted a few blocks, added a few blocks, went with my own fabric choices, and changed up the sashing here and there, but all in all I think it came together nicely.  I'm not really a big BOM fan but this program was a huge success for me.  Fig Tree did a great job of sending ample fabric, providing wonderful and easy to follow directions, and we also got bonus patterns along the way.  If you've sworn off of BOMs because of a bad experience as I had, don't hesitate to join a BOM from Fig Tree.

I selected this program because the finishes I had seen in the past were very popular and beautiful quilts, which is exactly what I needed for my library raffle quilt.  My first raffle quilt was a Fat Quarter Shop BOM, the second year was Summerville, and last year was a Christmas themed quilt.  I thought a fall theme was a nice change of pace. 

I worked on this BOM in 3 segments, months 1 through 6, then 7 through 10, then 11 through finish.

One block I added was the tree block in the lower righthand corner.  I used the tree pattern from my Fig Tree Christmas BOM book.  It fit in easily and I think balances with the large block in the lefthand upper corner.

The library likes a bed size quilt so I added an additional pieced border.  I borrowed the geese border from the Miss Rosie pattern Due South.  I thought some birds heading south was in keeping with the fall theme.

This is Lifetime Quilt Number 242 - my third finish for 2019

It finished at 88"x 100"

It has approximately 2,646 pieces

The majority of the fabric is by Fig Tree & Company

For those of you wondering, I have already passed along my pattern to a fellow quilter who missed out on the original signup.  I'm not sure if Fig Tree sells these BOM patterns, please check with them.  

I have gotten several comments from folks wondering how I could donate such a pretty quilt.  And while this year isn't as easy as years past, I knew going into the project that it was not mine, so that mindset helped.  Also, my hometown has a population of 6,000, last year the library collected $4000 for my raffle quilt, they work very hard at selling tickets, appreciate my contribution, and the money is a nice boost to their budget, that makes it a little easier too.

 I'm currently in the polar vortex, I have heat, plenty of food, and a dog for company, so I think it's the perfect time to start a new project, maybe a red and white something for February.   To all in the path of this cold streak, stay safe.

Read more

Last Finishes of 2018

Here are the last two quilts I pieced for 2018.  I was very excited when a friend told me she was going to be a grandma, "I'll make a quilt" was my first response.  I always like the opportunity to make a baby quilt.  A couple months later we all found out that one baby was going to be two.  "Twins, now I get to make two baby quilts", was my happy response.

Since the mother to be did not want to know if the babies were boys, or girls, or one of each, I couldn't start on the quilts until they were born.   Which worked out fine and meant I could make them more personal.

The nursery was to be decorated using colors of soft pink, light grey, and white and the new mother didn't want anything overly fussy or girly.

So I went with this soft pink polka dot.

and this nice grey floral, girly but not overly so.  The floral print did not have any detail on the selvage so I have no idea who the manufacturer or designer is.

 These are Lifetime Quilts Number 238 and 239

Each finished at 43" x 56"

Clara has 733 pieces and Adelynn has 755 pieces

I did't have a pattern, but how can you go wrong with a simple chevron design

The hsts finished at 2 1/2"

I went with white polkadot minkee for the backing.  The quilts have been quilted, bound and delivered.  

Linda Hrcka at The Quilted Pineapple quilted them for me and is posting pics of the finished quilts on her blog today, go check them out, they look even better quilted.  Thanks Linda for quilting these tops so beautifully and quickly.

Also, thanks for all the sweet comments on my recent blogging activity.  For some reason all I can accomplish on my blog is creating posts, I'm not able to respond to any comments, I'll keep working on the problem, but in the meantime know that I am happy to hear from you. 

Read more

Autumn Splendor BOM

This is what's on my design wall now, it's a mystery BOM by Fig Tree Quilts called Autumn Splendor.

This is my progress through the first 10 months.  I have the patterns and fabric for the last two months prepped and ready to go.

Up to this point I pieced this quilt in two blocks of time, months 1 through 6, then months 7 through 10.

I'm not really a mystery project type of person, I don't like surprises, but I signed up for this one because the quilts from prior years have been very pretty and I was needing a project for the library raffle quilt.  Quilts that were raffled in the past were Summerville, a Fat Quarter Shop BOM and a Christmas theme quilt, I thought a fall quilt would be something different and hopefully appealing.  The goal is to make money, who's going to buy a raffle ticket for an ugly quilt?!?

The plan is to wrap this up in the next week, this quilt needs to be pieced and sent off to a quilter as quickly as possible, the raffle starts in April.  Now that Christmas is packed up and I'm not traveling for a couple of months  I"ll have more time to spend in my sewing room.  The weather is a big help too, first snow and now frigid temps are keeping me inside.  

Read more

First Finishes for 2019

No one was more surprised than me when I looked at the last date that I blogged, October 25th!  I don't think I've ever skipped an entire month since I started blogging, let alone nearly 3! All is well at my house, just busy with the holidays, some traveling, and some company.  Happy times.

Thanks to all who checked on me, I should have posted a quick blog update that all was well and to check back in, I just kept thinking I would sit down and write up posts on my latest finishes.  I do have some catching up to do but to just get things rolling I decided to blog about my first finishes for the year, I"ll go back and update the last of my  2018 finishes another day.

This is Lifetime quilt # 240 and my first finish for 2019

The pattern is from the Christmas Figs Book and I used the Christmas Figs fabric too.

This quilt finished at 79" x 79" and has approximately 1,753 pieces.

Those blocks finish at 16" and were fun to piece, the pattern instructions were wonderful.

I started this project early December with hopes of finishing up before the end of the year, but when  January rolled round and I still had Christmas decorations to pack up plus this quilt to finish I was tempted to put it in a project box, I had had enough of Christmas.   Instead I stuck with it, finished it up and am now so happy that I did.  I'm not one to have UFO's hanging around and I didn't want to start the new year with two.  Two?  Yes, I thought this pattern would make a nice quilt for the Christmas festival that auctions one of my quilts each year.  I loved the pattern and thought it would make a great quilt for the event but knew it would be a hard one to giveaway, so I made two of most of the blocks as I progressed through the book, one for me, one to donate.

The pattern calls for 5 rows of 4 blocks, for a quilt that finishes at 79" x 97", that's a little big for my taste, so for my quilt I just went with 16 of my favorite blocks.

This is Lifetime Quilt Number 241, the quilt I plan to donate to my local hospital and that has 20 blocks, like the pattern. 

It finished at 79" x 97" and has approximately 1,980 pieces.

I swapped out a couple blocks and changed one but for the most part it's like the pattern.

I'm so happy to have it done so I can get it quilted before my deadline this fall.

Both quilts use the same background fabric, the difference in colors must be the filters I used on my phone.

I think this book is great, if you didn't buy any of the Christmas Figs fabric this pattern would work for any fabric, I don't think it has to be Christmas themed fabric.  The book also has about a dozen small project patterns that are just as cute as the quilt.  If you've not bought the book it's available here.

Next up is to finish my Fig Tree Autumn Splendor BOM, I just received the last month in the mail.  This top is the quilt I plan to donate to my hometown library for their annual raffle, which is in June, I need to hustle.  But then my sewing obligations for 2019 will be met and it will feel great.

More frequent blogging to come, I promise.

Read more