This Mother's Heart 25 Blocks Strong

Went for a little trip this past weekend.  I made a few blocks (I think six) in the Pilot on the way there and back.  It was very crowded and not very comfy (for me at least). 

Here is a view of my lap on the way there...

Non-quilters can stop reading now.  You will have no interest in the following information.  In the above picture I was hand appliqueing the colored piece onto the cream background.  That is how I have made all the blocks except for two today. 

The two made today were machine zigzagged instead of hand stitched.  You know what?  They look OK.  I now have an "even" 25 blocks (even as in they make a square on my design wall).  So I'm not going to work on those for a while.  See my secret blog for projects I'm going to be working on.  If you don't have the address for that, send me an email, and I will send it to you (unless you're in my family).

I gave my FIL the Zigzag Stars quilt Saturday.  He seemed to like it.  I also gave my SIL the Cotton Seeds wall hanging.  She sent me a phone pic today of it already hanging in her foyer.  She says she likes it a lot. 

~Joan



Quilted Cotton Seeds

Above is the progress on my spool quilt. I am very discouraged because I am not hearing back from the woman that is sending my last set of 25 blocks. It's been nearly a month since I wrote her. I am at the point where I need to just fill in the last corner. I really want to wait to get the last set so I can mix them together. Assistant: very cute 10-year-old son. I am not sure if I should just go ahead and piece 25 more blocks of my own or what.

I am so glad I blog. I was able to look back and see where all the little HSTs came from for this next top. I remember that I had enough to make this quilt and one top to sell from wherever it was. Here is the quilt and picture of this one unquilted.

I've been working on it the past week or so and am nearly finished hand quilting the center. I'm quilting it with lines about 1" apart that go in the ditch of the pieced rows. My border is looking wavy since the quilting is pulling the center in a little. The yellow threads are my basting.

Here is the whole thing. The HSTs finish at 1" square. I am finished up to the last large block in the top left corner. Now I'm wishing I had continued the quilting right into the border. I guess the reason I didn't was that I am using a dark tan thread, and I did not want it showing up that much in the border.

I am hand quilting one other "piece", but I'll photograph that in the morning light. These were taken in my sewing room after sundown, so the lighting isn't so great.

Good night!

~Joan

Mosaic Baby and Parker Baby

Every once in a great while I am patient, and sometimes it pays off. The top picture is made from the tiny HSTs left over from my Another Mosaic quilt top. They finish at 1" square. I have a pattern I have wanted to make for some time, but was put off because I'd have to make 60 little tiny 1" finished HSTs with the same background print. I double sewed the corners of the Another Mosaic quilt top, so I just had to square up 60 of them. Ha--like how simple I make that sound?...just square up 60 of them.

So over the last two evenings I pieced the above top. I am calling it Mosaic Baby. The original name of the pattern is Cotton Seeds. It's about 24" square. I am going to hand quilt it and put it somewhere in my home, probably in my sewing/school room.

The bottom picture (below the Mosaic Baby, so named because it is an offspring of the Another Mosaic top) is my first Parker baby. He was worth the wait, too. I'll let you interpret that as you will. It's all good. Isn't he handsome? This is my seldom-seen oldest child. I took this picture for his Facebook profile tonight. I am not a picture-taking mama. But here he is. I am very proud of him. He's a great guy. So many good qualities.

Hope you all have a good evening and enjoy YOUR babies, quilts or otherwise!

~Joan