AT LONG LAST...A FINISHED QUILT!

I FINALLY managed to finish a quilt! Yay!!!! It's almost the end of January!  What took me so long!  Anyway, here it is...

It was almost impossible to get a decent shot of this quilt.  The rare January sunshine was creating all sorts of shadows! I absolutely love these Ann Kelle prints. They are so much fun to work with and so colourful. I can't decide which one is my favourite.  I also have a ton of them in boy prints, too! I love the way this quilt turned out. It's heading to my poor neglected shop!

Linking this post up with Amanda Jean!

SOMETHING NEW, AN ALMOST FINISH, AND MORE GIANT BLOCKS!

How's that for a long title! First up, here's my new thing for the week...Blueberry Oat Quick Bread.

I've had this recipe in my favourites for probably over a year!  It came together quickly and tastes delicious (I had a tiny slice just to make sure)! This recipe is definitely a keeper!

And...because this is really a blog about quilting, here's an almost finish...

I managed to get the binding sewn on today and just need to hand stitch it to the back.  I love how this one turned out.  This is the second snowball quilt I've made. I must admit...I don't really enjoy the process. It's a tad bit tedious and the quilting is a little challenging with all those seams! I do love the end result, though. Can't wait to see this one all crinkly out of the dryer!

I also managed to get a few more of these completed...

It's no secret that I'm not really crazy about big blocks! These ones actually measure about 12 inches! I have to say...these have been fun to make and are so quick. I only need to make nine to make a decent-sized baby quilt!  I made a quilt like this previously (I blogged about it back in October) and sold it at a Christmas craft fair a few months ago and I've been wanting to make another one similar to it.  I finished another block this afternoon - four more to go! I have a coordinating green polka dot for the back and I'm going to do the "organic boxy meandering" I did on the last one.

WEEK 3 OF 52 NEW THINGS & A QUILT FINISH (FINALLY)!

For Week 3 of 52 New Things for 2013 I made Lemon Crinkle Cookies (recipe found here!)

The cookies turned out great. They were delicious!  The only alteration I made to the recipe was adding 1/4 teaspoon of lemon extract.  The cookies had a subtle lemon flavour - I think next time I will add 1/2 teaspoon of the lemon extract.  The dough was a bit sticky so I hope this won't throw things off too much.  Anyway, here's a picture...

There's even a few left to take to work tomorrow!

And...I actually managed to finish a quilt (I think my last finish was well before Christmas)!
This was a semi-custom order for a work colleague (I hope he likes it)!

When I was looking it over after it came out of the dryer I noticed the quilting on this block...

It made me think of a puppy's paw which is kind of funny since this fabric is Puppy Park!
Anyway, I'm pretty happy with the way this quilt turned out. I love the simple, clean lines! I wouldn't normally use black in a baby or child's quilt, but I think it works here and makes the other colours pop! I used two charm packs (42 squares total) and a little Kona Snow for the sashing. The back is a coordinating print and the binding came from my stash (yay!!!).

LET'S TALK RESOLUTIONS!

Okay...Like most people, I usually make resolutions at this time of the year, and for the most part, I'm pretty good at sticking to them. (A few in the past included reading the newspaper every day and becoming a vegetarian.) This year, along with the usual ones (lose weight, exercise more, stop procrastinating, blah, blah, blah), I resolve to try something new I've wanted to do once a week and have been putting off for various reasons.  It can be something I've wanted to cook/bake/sew/quilt/etc., but never got around to doing. For week one I made a batch of biscotti!  I used a basic recipe and it turned out great.  This week, it was a Dresden plate quilt block...

I think it turned out great! It's a little bigger than I thought it would be (about 12 inches) and I had to make more blades than I thought. I used my EZ Dresden ruler. I'm going to make another one with a 30 degree ruler. I think I might use this one for a cushion. It was actually quite easy and I really enjoyed making it! Why did I wait so long! Haven't decided yet on next week's project!

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN (Sing It)!

For some reason (not sure why) I seem to lose my momentum for making quilts around this time of the year.  Maybe it's because of the craft fairs I did in November and the busyness of Christmas!  Anyway, I got this stack put together a few weeks ago...

 

 

I've been collecting Ann Kelle prints for a while.  (I think there are some others in there as well.) I added in a few coordinating polka dots and ginghams and started cutting....

 

 

Here are the finished blocks and trimmings

 

 

I never know what to do with these.  I don't like to throw them away but they're pretty tiny! Anyway, here's a peak at the finished top...

 

 

Yup...Another snowball quilt! This one is kind of an I-Spy. I made one of these last year for my shop and I loved it! I don't really enjoy the process of making these quilts, but I think it's what I needed to get going again - something I didn't really have to think about - just a little mindless sewing. I have a coordinating pink polka dot for the back. Looking forward to getting this one done! (For anyone who is interested, I cut my squares at 5" and the corner squares were cut at 2".)

 

Hmmmmm!

I found these at my LQS yesterday...

 

 

I couldn't resist them! Aren't they cute?  I've been wanting to get my hands on this line for a while.  I think the yardage comes out early next year!  My only problem is....what to do with 84 of these little 2 1/2 inch squares!  I'm not sure why I only bought two...I guess I'll just have to stare at them until something comes to mind.  Feel free to pass on any ideas!

 

ANOTHER FINISH!

After starting to quilt a little over five years ago, I soon became frustrated with the limited availability and variety of fabric locally.  I just couldn't seem to get the fabric to create the quilts I wanted to make.  Fortunately, I discovered Etsy and all the fabulous fabric available online!  Mendocino was (I think) the first fabric I bought online!  I quickly made a quilt from it (which I sold at a craft fair), but couldn't decide what to do with the rest.  It sat in my stash for years until I pulled it out a few weeks ago. I had pretty much decided to destash it in my shop but then decided I couldn't part with it and just to go ahead and make another quilt.  Anyway, here's what I came up with...

 

 

Making this quilt made me realize how much I love this fabric and I'm so glad I hung onto it!  Here's  the back...

 

 

I thought it would look cute with just one little fussy-cut block with the mermaid and the little girl swimming together!  This little quilt is going with me to the craft fair on Sunday. I kind of hope it doesn't sell!

I'm linking up again today to Amanda Jean!