"Bunker" Beds

That's what the boys call them, not bunk beds but "bunker" beds.  Just in case you were wondering.

So yeah, we set up the bunk bed we have had in the garage for several years, figured it was about time, since EM has just about outgrown the toddler bed.  I keep pushing down on his head but he refuses to stop growing.  Beside HT has been begging us to set them up for months.

And in honor of EM getting a "grown up" bed I made him a quilt for Christmas.

I had been given the "Cars" panel and this is what I came up with to make it fit on a twin size bed, it measures 68 x 84 and I backed it with a very cozy flannel.  I thought it turned out quite nice and he likes it too.

See what you can do with no pattern and a little imagination.

One of these days I may dust off my mad decorating skillz and make them matching blankets.

Ta ta for now!

A Mother's Memories

I wouldn't have thought that my friend Beth was the sentimental type, so when she approached me and told me that she had saved each little outfit that she had brought her boys home from the hospital in and their first blankets and several other things including the nightgown and robe she wore to the hospital and wanted me to make them into a blanket, I was surprised.

But of course I told her yes.

I'm pleased with how it turned out and I know she is too.

You can't really see it in this picture, but I had the machine quilter add her boys names and birth dates on the big yellow square near the bottom left hand corner.

When I asked her what she wanted on the label she said she wanted it to say something about where the pieces came from, but she didn't know how to say it so I wrote a little poem.

As parents watch their little boys grow,
delighting in laughter that flows,
and antics that follow a twinkling eye,
that speaks of mischief and sometimes strife,
this quilt is meant to remind them of each little lad,
just brought home and snuggled warm
under softest cotton blankets.
Of chubby cheeks, and dimpled hands
and ten tiny toes that wiggled and squirmed in outfits worn,
keeping them warm on that cold winters morn.
-Sydney Larson

I'm linking up today with Amy for her semi-annual Bloggers Quilt Festival, hope you enjoy the show.

Oh, and one more thing, I posted about my friend Krista and the quilt I made for her during last years festival, her cancer has returned (metastatic Stage 4) so please would you say a prayer for her and her family.  She is on her last chemo treatment and will start taking Herceptin indefinately.  I hope her quilt is a reminder that she beat this thing once and she can do it again.

Cheers.

Progress

I am linking up with Amy today for her One Thing, One Week Challenge.  I have several projects percolating and it seems as though I just can't get any one of them completed, so my goal this past week was to get at least one of the quilt tops I have been working on finished.

I am happy to report that not only did I finish two, I also prepared the backs and they are now ready to be quilted and I finished a small wall hanging.

This quilt was made using a Mary Engelbreit layer cake that I've had in my stash for several years and the Twister ruler and pattern by CS Designs.  I am pleased with how it turned out.

This quilt is last years block of the month club at one of our local quilt shops.  The setting and layout are my own choice.

To be fair I only had to add the final border to both quilts.  The wall hanging was a little more work, I hand quilted it very simply added a hanging sleeve and binding and now its ready for next christmas.

What have you been working on lately?

Scrap Happy

A lot has been going on here of late but not all of it is pleasant or even news worthy so instead of blogging about that I am joining Amy today for the semi-annual Bloggers' Quilt Festival.

The last few quilts I have made have a scrappy look and I am loving them, this latest one is a particular favorite, because the only fabric I had to purchase was the outside border and the backing.

I have mentioned here before that I participate in one of our local quilt shops free block clubs, this is one of those quilts.

A Fun Fair Day

Tomorrow is the official last day of summer.

Bummer.

It has been a really nice, really pleasant summer any way you look at it.  I don't think we got over 100 degrees but once or twice this time around and we have been known to have several days, weeks even, in a row of fried eggs cooking on the sidewalk kind of weather around here.

But not this year and we have been loving it.

To me the State Fair always says fall but there was still plenty of sunshine and things to do, things to see and things to eat in a manner of speaking.  Not that we did any of that mind you.

So when it came, HT and I made a play date with friends and away we went.

We bought a wristband for the rides for the boys and it was totally worth it.  Us moms got to sit on a bench in the shade most of the time and talk about stuff and such while the boys rode every ride they could.

There was a vendor there selling crabs with painted shells, the boys each wanted one for a pet and were busy trying to decide which one to bring home.  We did not however bring one home, that's just the kind of mom I am.

There were even seals putting on a show and for twenty or more dollars you could get your picture taken with them.

Yeah, didn't do that either.

Nor did we bring home a piglet.

Or a fish.

And just in case you were wondering how my entry for the state fair quilt challenge did, I got a second place ribbon.  They said that the challenge fabric got a little lost, because the background fabric was a bit too busy.  I got nailed for what I thought I could get away with and they overlooked what I thought I couldn't.  Go figure.

And no, I did not sign up for next year.

It came, we went and now there is nothing left but empty exhibit halls, vendor booths and food stands, trampled grass and the lingering aroma of cattle gone home.

The boys can't wait to do it again next year!

Wallflowers

I'm a very tactile person.  I love pattern and texture and color.  I love the feel of things, the soft silky smoothness of a rose petal in contrast to the prickly thorns.  You can't really appreciate one if you haven't touched the other.  As a youngster whenever we went any where, the supermarket, the fabric store, a furniture store, my parents were constantly telling me to keep my hands off the merchandise and in my pockets.

Maybe that's why I like to quilt.

Maybe that's why I signed up again for the state fair quilt challenge.

I've had since September to figure out what to do and when Amy posted last week that she was going to do the One Thing, One Week Challenge I decided it was time to "git 'er done"!

So here's the top all pieced.

The State Fair Quilt Challenge is using not less than 50% of a fat quarter (a piece of fabric 18" x 22") of the current challenge fabric in a quilt, wall hanging size.  The challenge fabric here is the farm animal print in the center blocks.  I think I shall call it "Wallflowers at the Barn Dance".  What do you think?

This is the third year I have participated.  My first effort won a first place blue ribbon, my second effort won a second place red ribbon.  Hopefully I can buck the trend.

It's your turn now.

Krista's Quilt

It's time once again for the Blogger's Quilt Festival, a bi-annual event that takes place over at Amy's every spring and fall.

I made this quilt for my dear friend Krista.  We have only known each other about 4 years but in that short time I consider her a kindred spirit.  In that four years she has seen her share of struggles.  One of which has been a bout with breast cancer.  She has now been in remission for a year and is on the road to a full recovery.

With the exception of the sashing and the border the top was pieced using the scarves and bandana's that she wore during her treatment.  Not long into her treatment she discovered that a fat quarter was a perfect fit.

This for her is a reminder of where she has come from and how much more she has to look forward to and is thankful for and she is glad to use the scarves to cuddle under instead of a covering for her bare head.

I enjoyed designing the top but had a few challenges.  First, because all the material had been washed and washed often, I needed to find something from my stash that had been washed and was more than a couple of years old.  Then I washed all the fabrics again, and set out drafting the design.

Second, the biggest challenge in designing this quilt was figuring the yardage requirements for the sashing.  I had intended this to be a lap quilt, but as I sewed it grew, therefore I did not have enough of the white material to put a border sash around all of the pieced blocks before adding the final border.

Finally, finding a border fabric that would tie all the different fabrics together.  I picked the batik, because of the color and the paisley design.  I am happy with finished product and I know that Krista is too.

The machine quilting was done by Stephanie McGee over at Quilt Etc. and she did a fabulous job.

Now hop on over to Amy's and check out everyone's quilts.

Eye Spy Quilt

I had been collecting juvenile prints to make an Eye Spy quilt for HT ever since he got his big boy bed, but couldn't find a pattern that I really liked so I made up my own and this is what I came up with.  What do you think?

I had hoped to finish it before Christmas but didn't get it sent off to be quilted until the last week in December.  I got it back earlier this month and once I finished the binding it was on his bed by Valentines.

I used a polka dot flannel for the back for extra warmth and cuddliness.

My new favorite thing is using a striped fabric for the binding.  I just love the look and the way if gives the edge of the quilt movement and personality.

I'm thinking I should do a smaller version for his brother for his crib, hopefully I can get it done before he out grows it!

And how could I not include this picture of my two helpers?  EM was so glad to get outside today and play despite it being cold and breezy.

I'm linked up today for Sew and Tell Friday over at Amy's.  If you are feeling crafty click here for more fun and games.

Out of my Box

So today is the last day of the BQF hosted by Amy at Amy's Creative Side and I almost didn't make it.  I have wasted enjoyed many hours browsing through everyone's entries.   Even though the quilt I am showing off today is not the one I originally intended too, it is still one of my favorites.

One of my favorite local quilt shops does a first Saturday block class (basically a block of the month thing) and the year we did this quilt the theme was "Get Out of Your Box" and all the block patterns given to us were of differing sizes, either 6" 9" or 12" with just enough material to make a different combination of each, one month you might do a 12" block and the next you might do one or two 9" blocks and the next three or four 6" blocks, you get the idea.

I enjoyed making my block(s) each month but as the year drew to a close I started to get nervous about how I would set it together to make a complete quilt top and I must confess that my finished blocks sat in their box for more than a year before I settled on a plan.  I really love the way it turned out, but am not anxious to make another one.

After putting a white sashing with cornerstones around each block I filled in the rest using 3" squares and used up a lot of my scrap stash.  If I felt like there were too many 3" squares in one spot I did a 6" block with an appliqued flower in the middle.  I am really pleased with how it all turned out.  It was my intention to give it to one of my nieces or nephews as a wedding present but since they are approaching their thirties and not one of them has any prospects, well, except for one who is now engaged, but he has chosen a different quilt, I decided to use this one and it has graced my bed all summer.  Beside I'll be making more quilts, of that I am sure.

If you would like to see some more fabulous quilts go visit Amy's Creative Side.

A Fair to Remember

Nothing says fall to me like the state fair and since last thursday was opening day for our state fair we made a play date, packed a picnic lunch and went.  It turned out to be a lovely day despite the forecasted rainy weather.  Thought for sure we were going to get wet so I carried an umbrella around the entire time, but the longer we stayed the nicer the day turned out to be.

They have an exhibit called "Little Hands on the Farm" where the kids get to pretend to be a farmer, they plant seed (wood disks) and harvest their crops (plastic vegetables), they "pick"  plastic apples, "milk" a plastic cow, collect wool from a stuffed sheep, gather plastic eggs from stuffed chickens, ride a tractor and after they are all done they get a voucher to collect a treat.

They really enjoyed the rides and we spent a good bit of time letting them have the run of the place.  We decided to buy a wristband and it was well worth it.  The carnival area was blissfully uncrowded and there was no waiting on any ride they chose.

HT loved the slide and went down it twice.  

We saw goats, cows, ponies, sheep and pigeons and two seals, not really what you would expect to see at the fair, but they were there.

And last but not least the quilted wall hanging I made won a second place ribbon, not to shabby if I do say so myself.  Although I must confess that I was a teeny tiny bit disappointed since last years quilt won a first place ribbon.

A fun day for all.

I'm linked up today, for more fall fun visit This Blessed Nest.