The binding has been completed on a couple flimsies I sent to the long arm quilter, Tammy from Three Sisters Fabric.
The first one is the 4 X 4 quilt which I pieced in September from leftover fabrics from Sweet Surrender.
I organized the blocks differently than the pattern arrangement.
I asked Tammy to use the same quilting design, Paisley Flowers, as she did on a different quilt. I think it turned out very nice.
She measures 56" X 64".
For backing I used fabric I had purchased years ago for a different project which was never made.
The second quilt was one of the tractor quilts I pieced earlier this month. I had originally planned to donate both quilts but decided to keep this one for myself. You never know when you'll need a crib quilt and it's nice to have one on hand ready to go.
This crib quilt measures 45" x 49".
I had no idea what overall quilting design I wanted on this quilt. I told her to do what she thought looked good. She used a geometric design with kind of circles. I don't know the name.
For backing I used a JD tractor print with a piece of leftover border to make the backing wide enough.
The corn has been harvested so I couldn't take a picture of the quilt with the cornstalks. Instead I took a photo with the tractor hanging on this little tree.
After spending most of 2018 finishing unfinished projects, I'm actually going to start a brand new project!
Linking to Let's Bee Social, Esther's Wednesday WOW!, Needle & Thread Thursday, Finished Or Not Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, TGIFF!, Finish It Up Friday, Let's Make Baby Quilts!, Show Off Saturday, Oh Scrap!
The tractor quilts are finished. I think the borders make a nice frame to the center. They measure 45" by 49".
They definitely look like autumn with the fall leaf fabric.
Again I took pictures in the cornfield.
They both look exactly alike but there is different fabric used for the 'mud'.
One of the quilts will be sent to Pennsylvania to be quilted for the grands school auction.
The other quilt will be long armed quilted and donated to a fund raiser at our church.
Here is a picture taken further back so you can have a better perspective.
This corn was planted late in the growing season, the first of June. We were concerned we might have an early frost but that hasn't happened. Now the corn has matured so, let it frost!
The outside of this field was chopped and blown into the silo as silage to feed the cows this winter. The rest of the corn will be shelled and used in the cow feed ration.
Linking to Finished Or Not Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, TGIFF!, Let's Make Baby Quilts, Finish It Up Friday, Show Off Saturday, Monday Making
Yes, I'm still working on unfinished quilt projects.
In November 2016, I made a John Deere crib quilt for our youngest grandson. I wrote about the start of that quilt here and the finished quilt here. If you want to see the pattern, go to the first link.
Last winter I cut fabrics for two more green tractor crib quilts. For our grandson's quilt, I had added the JD 42/40 because that is the size of one of our tractors but that isn't included on the actual pattern. I certainly don't want to end up in a lawsuit with the John Deere Corporation over copyright issues since these two quilts may end up in auctions.
For a really great photo shoot, I decided to clothespin the quilts to leaves on the corn stalks since tractors are definitely farmerish.
I think they need borders before they are really finished. Right now they measure 35-1/2" by 39-1/2" which is kind of small. I'll use fall colored fabric to finish them since the soil and mud are brown fabrics.
The farmer also critiqued the quilts, he says the pattern has the smokestack pointing the wrong direction. I'll change that if I make anymore quilts from the pattern.
I took a picture of our JD 42/40. I'm sure you can see the resemblance even though the real tractor is sitting in the opposite direction. And yes, the smokestack has the thingy on the side towards the cab.
Also, just for your information, the old time JD tractors have yellow seats. The modern JD tractors are not. I used yellow for the tractor seats because that is what our tractors have. Just thought I'd share that in case someone out there is a purist.
This is not a hard quilt to make but it is extremely important to label each piece you cut. I numbered the rows on the pattern and added the row number to the label of each cut piece.
Just for fun I took a picture of the tractor with gravity wagons. They're waiting for the combine to come and run beans (soybeans for you non farmers).
Linking to Let's Bee Social, Needle & Thread Thursday
I wrote this post in late September but didn't get it posted. Since being written, 4 of the 12 projects have been completed. I may repost this post occasionally during the winter to share the progress I'm making.
In January I read in many blog posts about the projects planned for the year. My life is different and my quilty season starts in the Autumn. Not on September 1st or the 22nd but when the end of the summer activities end. The garden needs to be put to bed, all the canning/freezing needs to be completed, the fall house cleaning needs to be finished and, hopefully, the flowerbeds are cleaned up (that hasn't hapened this year). When these tasks are completed, I can dive into projects with no guilt.
I'm sharing a list of the 12 projects I'm planning on tackling this season. They are in somewhat order of importance.
Some of the projects are small and will easily be completed. I will not finish all the larger quilts but I hope to make some progress toward completion.
1. Pastor's Attic Quilt - still appliqueing blocks. 16 completed, 9 more to applique for the center. I try to applique every evening, block 11 is under the construction right now. I'm not appliqueing them in consecutive order. Updated November 15 - 17 completed!
I started the Pastor's Attic Quilt in November, 2015 so I've been working on her for a year. My goal . . . to have her sewn into the flimsy stage ready for quilting by November 2017. I plan to hand quilt her.
2. Sweet Surrender - Inside applique blocks completed. Need to piece the triangle blocks. Foundation papers are copied.
I started Sweet Surrender in January 2016. My goal . . . to have her sewn into the flimsy stage by sometime in 2017. Pastor's Attic quilt has higher priority.
3. Nearly Insane - She was my One Monthly Goal for October. I added a row.
I started piecing Insane in January 2016.
My goal for Nearly Insane . . . to have all the center blocks pieced by January 2018. This is a really slow project.
4. Postage Stamp Quilt - I decided I need to piece 10 blocks a month to get this quilt finished. (I dream kingsized!) When I got the blocks out, I realized why I had put it away; I had used all the yellows and oranges and there was only one purple 4-patch to be used! I went ahead and pieced 5 more blocks so now there are 10 completed blocks. The blocks without yellow and orange just jump out at me though!
I pulled fabrics and had a marathon cutting session. I cut different sized strips besides the 1-1/2" needed for the postage stamps. I also cut a stack of 5" squares for some other projects. I'll keep sewing the 1-1/2" strips until they're all sewn. Then I'll cut them apart and sew 4-patches. Hopefully I'll be able to piece more blocks starting in January. My goal for this quilt project? . . . I have no idea when she'll be completed.
5. Tractor crib quilt - This is my One Monthly Goal for November. We have another grandchild arriving in December. (Wow, two in one year!) We won't know the sex of the baby until he/she is born. I have a Sunbonnet Sue quilt I made several years ago so I'm prepared for a girl.
I have this cute tractor pattern I've been wanting to make, perfect for a grandson of farmers. I have the fabric, just need to get the pieces cut and get started sewing. The pattern is available through Counted Quilts. They have a lot of cute patterns.
My goal for this quilt . . . he needs to be finished by the first of December. The baby is due the 8th! Update - Finished November 11, 2016 & the baby came early!
6. Wilfred & Cloves - This is the center of Wilfred & Cloves from the Creating Heirlooms, One Stitch at a Time by Carolyn Konig. I've been want to make this quilt ever since I bought the book several years ago. I appliqued the center of this quilt in the fall of 2014 and nothing has happened since. I have the fabrics pulled for the pieced blocks, just need to get them cut out. My goal . . . again, I have no idea. I need to finish up other quilts first.
7. Churn-Dash Quilt - This antique quilt was pieced and quilted by the farmers great-grandmother, Fannie Baumgartner Kauffman. I've always wanted to make a reproduction of this quilt. The plan is to use the blue fabric left from my Dear Jane quilt. Now I need to get the blocks prepped so they can be pieced at the Jane Stickle Retreat in November. My goal for this quilt . . . I would like to get her completely pieced and in the hand quilting frame by January. Will it happen? We'll see.
8. Summer Quilt - Several years ago, the farmer told me we need a light quilt for summer. I've been turning that idea over in my mind ever since. This winter it is going to happen. I have 12 quilt blocks I embroidered years ago. I need to come up with an alternate block in between them and some borders to make it large enough for king size. I will have her long-arm quilted so she will be ready for the 2017 summer season.
9. Quilt - 3 Star Bright crib quilts - I don't know on which blog I saw this crib quilt, but I went to the link they provided and downloaded the free pattern. It's designed by Katie Blakesley and called Star Bright. How could I resist? Of course I couldn't sew up just one, I made three tops. Now just to get them quilted. Goal . . . to be finished by May 2017. Updated - finished 12-27-16.
10. Grandmother's Flower Garden EPP crib quilt - I would like to possibly start another EPP project the first part of the year but I need to complete this crib quilt first. Update - Finished October 30, 2016 and I've decided I am NOT starting a new EPP project in 2017. I'm going to keep working on the applique quilts.
11. Blocks for 2018 Guild Charity quilt - Every year our guild provides a quilt for the Michiana Mennonite Relief Sale. The members of the guild piece the blocks, the committee puts the blocks together into a flimsy. Then the guild hand quilts the quilt top. Finished October 23, 2016
12. Block for Marie Troyer, 2015 Guild President - Every year the members of the Maple Leaf Quilt Guild make a quilt block for the past president as a thank-you for their leadership. The past-president specifies which block they want. Marie designed the pattern. Finished October 24, 2016
Linking up to - Esther's Wednesday WOW!, Sew Fresh Quilts
The tractor crib quilt is finished! I've met my One Monthly Goal of completing this quilt and it isn't even the middle of November.
The baby wasn't due until December 8, but he came early! And yes, it was a boy so he is getting the tractor quilt.
The quilting was completed with my home sewing machine. A clam shell stencil was used for the sky. The tractor body is quilted with diamonds and a Baptiste fan stencil was used for marking the seat.
The straight line quilting in the tires isn't quite accurate but it got the job done. I wasn't sure how to quilt the soil and mud. I decided to use wide spaced echo stitching.
For the border I came up with a simple design.
The pattern doesn't have a border, but I thought it needed one, it ended too abruptly. Since this is an Autumn baby, the leaf fabric was appropriate. The flange was added to the binding for extra zing! The brown stripped binding was pulled from my mom's stash, fabric from the baby's great-grandmother needed to be in the quilt too.
I added the JD 4240 myself; that was not included in the pattern. We have a John Deere 42/40 so I wanted to replicate that in the quilt.
The backing fabric was purchased years ago on the markdown shelf at a local quilt store. I took all that was left on the bolt. I knew someday I wanted to make a tractor quilt and this fabric would be a perfect backing fabric.
The pattern is available from Counted Quilts. The directions were well written. The flimsy was pieced in one day and I did do other things that day besides sew. I will definitely make this pattern again.
What project is next? I want to make a bag for my DIL (the baby's mom) and the Jane Stickle Retreat is coming up next week. I need to get prepping.
Linking to - Love laugh Quilt, Em's Scrapbag, Quilt Story, Sew Fresh Quilts, My Quilt Infatuation, Finished or Not Friday, Crazy Mom Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Free Motion Mavericks, Show Off Saturday, One Monthly Goal
My One Monthly Goal for November is a crib quilt for the new grandchild arriving in December.
This tractor pattern is perfect if the baby is a boy.
The pattern is available from Counted Quilts. They have a large variety of quilt designs.
The fabrics are cut and ready to be sewn. The pieces are labeled so I can keep everything straight.
My goal is to not only have the quilt flimsy pieced but quilted also.
This will be quite a a challenge but I think I can do it.
The quilting has happened for the Grandmother's Flower Garden crib quilt. I'm pretty proud of my quilting, the best I've done so far. She bound and finished! She is not a designated quilt so she'll stay here until a need arises.
I think the flowers look like they are floating on the quilt.
And a look at the back. Of course I used some of mom's stash, what little girl doesn't love lavender?
I used a larger Baptiste Fan on the sides. Why? I don't know, I just did. I doubt any baby will care about it.
She has finished at 36" by 41". I normally like to make crib quilts larger than this but it was time for her to be finished.
Not very much applique has happened here lately. I cut the tip of my left thumb and it is very sore. I need to keep a band-aid on it and it causes problems appliqueing. I spent my evenings quilting the crib quilt.
Linking to - One Monthly Goal, Quilting is More Fun than Housework, Em's Scrapbag, Love Laugh Quilt, Esther's Wednesday WOW!, Sew Fresh Quilts, My Quilt Infatuation, Finished or Not Friday, Free Motion Mavericks, Crazy Mom Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Show Off Saturday
