Sunday, October 04, 2009

September Finishes-October TO DO's!!

My Brown Bag (quilting) Retreat was so much fun, as always!! We sewed non-stop, Friday from 8am-midnight, Saturday 9 am-12:30 am, and Sunday 8 am till the end at 3 pm, and, yet, I only finished two quilt tops!! I always think I will finish so much more, forgetting how time consuming some projects can be, for example, my "Moose Junction" (pattern by McKenna Ryan). All the animals, birds, fish, trees and mountain are machine appliqued on top, using a blanket stitch all around the raw edges. I timed myself while stitching around one of the mountain goats and it took 20 minutes to finish one!!! So this project was definitely labor intensive, but worth it.It's a favorite of Nick's, and I'm thinking of adding another border, making it a small throw for our motorhome--since it looks so great draped over our couch!

I also finished the quilt top, "Gigi's Hawaiian Quilt" for our toddler bed. I got the initial idea from a free pattern and changed it to make my own. The blocks are made with two 3 1/2" squares of different Hawaiian fabrics and two 4 patch squares. I love the way it turned it. The criss cross pattern formed by the 4 patch squares are actually a pale yellow fabric that has beachy items on it. This accent really brightens up the quilt.[I had planned on posting pictures from the retreat, however I left my camera at my friend, Lynn's house and won't be getting it back until we meet up at the Pacific International Quilt Show, Oct 15-17th in San Jose!}

I also managed to finish some other projects during September, including another Firefighter Baby Blanket...
a matching "Big Brother" Pillow case (pictured on the left below, both gifts for one of the firefighter's in my husband's dept!);
another "Big Sister" Pillow Case, for another new baby girl born to a member of the fire prevention team;

and lastly, I made a "nightgown" for my granddaughter, to match the nightgown of the little girl in her favorite book, "The Goodnight Book" (which was also one of my daughter's favorite books as a child!). (Picture will be posted once I have it!!)

My October TO DO List will be shorter than my September list was, for two reasons. First, because I was over ambitious last month, and second because I actually have less time to sew and quilt, since we are going on a cruise, leaving the last week of October.

I'm hoping to complete the following:

1) Pajama bottoms to match the pj top/nightgown (which is supposed to be the pj top-but it is longer on Gigi than I planned). The pajamas are made out of the softest fabric--100% bamboo!
2) Another Hawaiian dress for Gigi (made from Hawaiian fabric bought when we were in Kona, Hawaii a year ago (my friend Lynn will be making matching dresses for her two granddaughters as well!
3) Pin, quilt and bind "Gigi's Hawaiian Quilt" (pictured above)

4) Time permitting, pin, quilt, and bind the "Moose Junction" quilt.

And if there's more time, any other projects I've previously mentioned and haven't finished as yet!!!! Wish me luck!

1 comment:

joan said...

Those are very intersting projects looking forward to seeing ehm all done. Enjoy the cruise!