The last stitches made yesterday

So I've returned in record time as I put the final stitches in the binding late yesterday! It feels so good to have this quilt finished...it has been a long time in the making. 

When I start a quilt for no specific reason, I am usually trying some new technique and/or practicing and perfecting my quilting. That was the case with this quilt. I found this pattern/technique on Pinterest (here). I liked it and it seemed pretty simple...no two alike. I had this Bali Pops, Tiramisu, in my stash that a friend gifted me which I thought would look great!

Just cut your jelly roll into 4 10" pieces, mix them up and sew 5 pieces together lengthwise. Add a 21" background piece...sew it in a round and cut your lengths randomly. This gives the moment in the quilt.

The backing is a neutral background in my stash that again I was gifted.

 Love using fabric from my stash!

The quilting is FMQ vertically in each column using this technique by Lori Kennedy over at The Inbox Jaunt. I just did the double loop leaf using a multi-colored thread (different color on front than back). In the background, I just continued the straight line using FMQ then did a diagonal grid on the top and bottom.

Another finish and it feels so good!

 Hope you have a Blessed Thanksgiving where ever you are! 

What's happening

I'm still not finished with the quilt I have talked about in my last 2 posts...but it is almost done! Just a bit more hand stitching of the binding left. 
I keep getting distracted!
I did do a bit of charity knitting along with my knitting club. We knitted washcloths which were packed in shoeboxes for Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child. 

While I was finishing up the quilting on 'the quilt'...

I had an inspirational idea!
We had been invited to a birthday party and I had previously purchased a felt picnic basket with food from IKEA but I needed something a bit more. 
The idea of a small play picnic blanket popped into my head! 
Does that happen to you?

I stopped what I was doing and took out my graph paper and drew up an idea. 

Then I rummaged through my fabric stash and found the perfect fabric...watermelons!

 This is how it turned out! 

I fused the plates, cup and silverware on to the placemats, then fused the placemats onto the picnic blanket. I used a zigzag stitch around the placemats and straight line around the plates, cup and silverware. 

I added a backing but no batting as I didn't want it too bulky so it would be to easy to fold away. I sewed around the edges right sides together and then turned it. 

I top stitched around the edges and to keep the backing and front together, I straight stitched around the placemats.  

The birthday girl!

You can see a glimpse of the watermelon print backing.

I love giving presents that encourage the use of imagination! 

It can also be educational as she learns to set the table...just use the place settings to show where to place the plates, cup and silverware. 

A little TLC needed!

Well, I'm back but not with the quilt that I put on hold for my daughter's quilt. It is still in the works as I needed to order more thread. 

What I have today is the very first quilt that I made. It was a wedding gift for this cute couple back in July of 1996. 

Over the years and as their family grew, it has been loved...

cuddled under, slept under, played on...exactly how I anticipated they use the quilt. 

It is humbling to know that the quilt I made has been so loved!

Jump forward to 2015, and the quilt showed signs of wear that only a truly loved quilt can...faded and threadbare...especially around the binding.

The quilt is a traditional log cabin made on a foundation. I didn't know much about binding a quilt back then so I self bound the quilt with the backing fabric wrapped around to the front. I now know that a single fold binding is so much weaker than a double fold French binding hence the threadbare edges. 

I took the quilt home to give it some TLC and a renewed life. I removed the old binding and trimmed the edges. Believe it or not, I had a piece of the fabric still in my stash so I made a new double fold French binding and attached it. 

The new binding is on and ready to be hand stitched. 

You can see how the fabric has faded over the years.

The quilt is quite large for my first! It measures 62" x 80" and is machine quilted around the logs. For the most part, the quilting has held up nicely. 

I hand quilted a heart in the center of each log cabin and as you can see, most are still in tack. Not too bad for my very first quilt made 19 years ago! 

All ready to go home for some more love!