Piles of Projects!

I have been having such a blast in my studio creating quilts.  While my approach has been quite willy-nilly, I am finally starting to get myself a bit more organized.

I am really happy to have sent this group of quilts off to Colorado last week where my folks will help find good homes for them.  Hopefully they will brighten someone’s day.

I have been teaching myself how to do my own quilting and binding.  The binding part is much easier for me than the quilting.  The quilting part is definitely more challenging. My solution at this point is to focus on super simple quilting, straight lines with very subtle thread colors.  I am practicing on quilts for my dogs – below is Rainy in her quilt nest of practice quilts.

Here are more of my practice quilts – made completely from scraps from my scrap bag:

I have also been experimenting with new blocks.  This one I call the flattened donut block – I’m sure it has a much more official name but what the heck!  I still need to add some type of border on the top and bottom though – maybe a brick pattern using my plaid fabrics.

I have also just discovered basting spray and I think I really, really like it!  I spray basted this quilt and now need to do some simple quilting on it.  I really love these colors!

Today was an experiment with the quilt-as-you-go method plus some raw edge applique hippos. I sure do like my hippos!  I even got brave (or foolish – hee hee) enough to try some free motion quilting.  Let’s just say that my third hippo was better than the first.  I think I’m going to have to make a lot of hippos to get decent at it!  Red hippo is up next tomorrow.

I was also working this month on Mr Bear’s House in the Woods quilt.  I started making parts for this quilt in anticipation of a Freddy Moran class I was going to take.  But alas, not enough students signed up for the class so it was cancelled.  However, I was having so much fun making the houses and trees that I ended up finishing the quilt top in a few weeks.  I am definitely not going to attempt to quilt and bind this one myself though!  Off to the quilter it will go this week!  Gosh I really need to get a better picture of this quilt!  The colors are much more vibrant than this.

Coming up this month – quilting & binding the 15 quilt tops I have made over the past 5 months.  YIKES!  But certainly a lot of fun and thank goodness for basting spray.