Two Finishes & Vintage Candy Cane Snowman

I have a lot to show you today but first . . .

Some of you are you are confused about the back basting applique technique I talked about last week.  Gay, from Sentimental Stitches, has a step by step tutorial. Gay is left handed so right handed people will be sewing the opposite direction. I noticed she marked on top of her fabric too.

Now onto the show & tell stuff!

Last Sunday afternoon I started quilting this snowman and I couldn't stop! I did all the quilting in an afternoon. Now I admit, there isn't a lot of quilting on this little quilt. I stitched in the ditch along the edge of the border fabric, then just outline quilted the embroidery. 

Since this project was hand quilted, I hand sewed the binding on the back side.

On the backside you can see the straight line quilting in the border fabric.

Several commented on how perfect this stripped fabric was for the border. This was fabric left from the Zippy-Strippy quilt I made DIL 2 in June.

He finishes at 12" square and I'm displaying him in a picture frame. I had to take the picture from the side, there was a glare otherwise. 

I'm not a seasonal decorator. If I think something looks nice, I display it, no matter what the season. 

The pattern is Vintage Candy Cane Snowman by Crabapple Hill Designs. The pattern was purchased from the Pumpkinvine Quilt shop in Middlebury, Ind.

Since the embroidered snowman project is completed, I'm appliqueing again every evening. Block 22, Crossed Laurel Spray, of the Pastor's Attic Quilt has been started. Freezer paper in the back of the leaves is the technique I'm using for this block. Pictures next week.

I also got the king size pillow cases sewed. Yes, I am finished sewing pillowcases! At least I think I am, you never know for sure.

Last spring I finished two flimsies which were to be long arm quilted. They were both quilted by Tammy from the Three Sisters Fabric. Last week they came home. I've finished the binding and they are officially finished!

First is the Summer Lake Log Cabin quilt designed by Judy Martin. The pattern is found in her Log Cabin Quilt book. I purchased a kit from Lolly's Fabrics in Shipshewana years ago. I love how she has turned out.

This log cabin quilt finishes at 95" square which I think is a rather awkward size for a quilt, but it is what it is.

The colors that read as blue in the picture are actually purples.

A close-up of the center star. 

The snail blocks in the center and the border are actually pieced the same as the log cabin blocks. It is just the placement of lights and darks that make a different design.

I used a purple whole cloth for the quilt back. The simple meandering stitch shows up nicely. 

I also stitched both sides of the binding on my machine. The straight stitching on the back beside the binding doesn't bother me at all. I think it looks just fine.

The next quilt is Cherry Blossoms by Karen H. Her blog is Faeries and Fibres. (Click the heading Patterns by Karen H. She asks that people link to her blog, not directly to the patterns.) 

This quilt is different colors than I normally use but I think she looks so peaceful and elegant. The 9-patches finished at 3" and the little HST are 1" finished. 

Karen had a plain fabric border on her quilt but I added a pieced border. I thought the border was needed to add a definite stop to the center, it looked too plain. The binding is a flange binding.

Again this binding is machine sewn on both sides.

The backing fabric for both quilts came from Calico Point. They have the most reasonable priced quilts back of anywhere, including the online fabric stores.  I like whole cloth backing, no piecing!

Here is a close up of some of the blocks.

This quilt was made entirely from my stash, even the background fabric!

She is quilted with meandering and measures 90" x 102". Karen's pattern finishes at 69" x 82" but I wanted it to be bed sized.

Both of these quilts will go on the pile to be given to the grandchildren as they become adults. 

Linking to - Log Cabin Loonies, Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Quilting is More Fun than Housework, Em's Scrapbag, Love Laugh Quilt, Super Mom - No Cape, Quilt Story, Esther's Wednesday WOW!, Sew Fresh Quilts, Silly Mama Quilts, My Quilt Infatuation, Crazy Mom Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, A Quilting Reader's Garden, Show Off Saturday