String Quilt Report, Etc.

My string quilt is all put together and quilted.  I'm stitching the binding to the back this morning.  This will be a donation quilt.  I have made a few quilts like this and from now on I am going to do something different.  I'm tired of this design.  The last row in the first picture is one of each color because I needed another row and didn't have enough of one color to finish it.

The other half hanging on the the shady side of the clothesline.  We have been having beautiful weather lately!

My quilting was mostly swirls and echo stitching around swirls randomly done all over.

Another finish is a patriotic round robin donation quilt.  This will be donated to a veteran in a hospital.  It's a project in my quilt guild for the season and last month we got the quilt we started back and I quilted it.  I'm always amazed at how good the round robins turn out.  I started it with the center panel - that part was easy!  I did a lot of straight line stitching around some of the borders, cross-hatched the flag block and quilted curvy lines and stars in the white outer border.

I pieced the backing as you can see.

My quirky little quilt is finished with the striped binding.  I stitched in the ditch for each pieced block and quilted the rest with navy blue thread, so it is hard to see.

The backing is a blue print.  It feels good to be getting some projects!

I'll end this post with some beautiful flower pictures.  The lilacs are blooming here and this is a bush that we walk past on our morning walk.  We had to stop for a sniff - just love lilacs!

The dogwood tree is right next door and is beautiful now.  Too bad it doesn't keep the flowers longer.

My clematis has it's first bloom - with lots of buds to follow!

I still need to get more done in the yard.  Yesterday I planted 4 rows of onions (short rows).  My neighbor had extra and gave them to me.  I have never grown onions before.  I still need to get a tomato plant.  Do you plant a garden?

2 SMALL FINISHES!

 This is a baby quilt that I am going to keep "on hand" for future possible needs.  Most of the fabrics for it were either from the scrap chest at my LQS  (polka dots) or from garage sale purchases (backings).

I love the panel that I put on the back.

This one is my Round Robin from my quilt guild last year (Sept, 2016 - May 2017).  I made the center block and then didn't see it until May when we all received our RRs back.  Again, I was amazed at how nice it came out!

The red backing was from a garage sale - perfect size!

Here is a short video of the robins nest with Mrs. Robin and her babies in it.  It took me a few seconds to get them in the right place, but towards the end it is pretty good.

I think the babies are getting ready to fledge any day now.  Hope I get to see them leaving the nest.

BASTING, QUILTING AND AN AWARD!

I hadn't given it any thought whatsoever, but a pregnant friend from my quilt guild asked if I would take her quilt to the Yamhill County Fair for her as her baby was due at the same time and she thought she might be busy!  Well, I decided to enter my Baskets of Blue since I was going there anyway.  It won First Place in the category of appliqué by one person and the Best of Show ribbon!  What a nice surprise!  

This week I got busy and basted a couple wall hangings.  The "Oak Leaves and Turkey Feathers" is one that I started a few years ago and I wanted to get it finished for fall so I could have it as "Fall" decor.  Yesterday I started quilting it.  It is quite big - it just about covered the whole top of my king size bed, but I didn't measure it.

I also basted my round robin from last year and want to get it finished so I can take it to my guild meeting in September.  We have been off for the summer and I plan to hang both of these quilts in the "Treasusres in the Attic" show at the Yamhill County Heritage Museum in September.

This is my first round robin and I have decided that I will do it again this year (after having decided not to do it again).  I think I'm a glutton for punishment!  They can be fun, but they can also be very frustrating - trying to come up with a border for a different RR every month!  Why do I do this?

ROUND ROBIN REVEAL

First, the T-shirt quilt is almost finished!  I sewed the binding on this morning and now I'm hand sewing it to the back.  I'll get it in the mail this week!  

Yesterday at my quilt guild meeting, we received our Round Robin quilts back.  Before I show you my RR, here are a few that I added borders to.

These are NOT finished yet because other people added borders after me.  I added the 4-patch border on this one.

Close up of 4-patch border.

On this one, I added the hourglass green and yellow border.

And this one, I added the last border; the one inch squares and green border.

Here is MY Round Robin finished!  I am really happy with it!

Center block is 12"; total size 50" square

Actually, I agonized over some of the borders that I had to make, and had pretty much decided I didn't want to do it again next year, but after seeing how they turned out, I think I might just participate again!  I'll be thinking about it.  Have you ever participated in a Round Robin?  How did it turn out?

Inquiring minds want to know.

CATCHING UP

Now that my log cabin quilt is finished, I need to catch up with a few things.  First, I decided to make a couple test blocks from the pattern, Pineapple Nine Patch.  I have admired this quilt for some time and am thinking about making it.  I cut some fabrics and sewed 2 blocks together to see what I think. I chose greens, browns and some blues for the dark and creams to yellows for the light.  I'll keep these 2 blocks on my design wall for a while to decide what I want to do.  Some of the fabrics are batiks and some are not.  

My guild here in Oregon always does a Round Robin quilt and I have never done one before.  I really hadn't planned to participate, but then I thought, "Why not?", so here is my center block - a butterfly.  I just have to embroider the antennae and I'm ready to turn it in next month.  I hope I'll be able to keep up with it each month.

Here's my design wall for today.  It is a hodge podge of things.  First, you will see a hummingbird.  I don't know what I'm going to do with him,

Second is a red/white/blue block that I will be using to make a Quilt of Valor.  I hope it will turn out OK.  I'm using it as a leader/ender project.

Under the Pineapple Nine Patch is a table runner of HSTs that I haven't sewn together yet.  I have sold 2 of these from my Etsy shop, so I decided to make another one.  I use charm packs for the colored half of the half square triangles.

Under that on the left is a table topper I'm making for my Etsy shop as well.  It is basted now along with a couple other table runners.  The other stars & multi-colored HSTs are up there to try to figure out what to do with them.

This blue and white table runner/dresser scarf was started back in Texas before we moved.  I'm not sure when I did the embroidery on it.  I finally got it basted for quilting.

 
Here's a close up of the embroidery.

Last, but not least, I have been doing some knitting while I watch TV at night and I've made 3 sets of this doll skirt and hat.  Of course, she has to have a blouse to go with them.  I got the yarn at the Good Will store in a large bag full of real nice yarn.  So far I've made 3 sets of skirts/hats and I don't know how many dish cloths with the yarn.

Here's the other color.  It looks pretty red here, but is really more rusty.  These will go to my DGD for her doll and the extra ones can be given to some of her friends.

Have a great weekend!  It's supposed to rain for the next 3 days here in Oregon.