Leo's Quilt

 

Narinder's friend is ill and is having treatments. Mother and I decided to make him a quilt to rest under while he recovers from his therapy sessions. We wanted it to look masculine and be easy enough to finish quickly. The magazine with the pattern came about the same time we were discussing what to make. And it was just the ticket--manly, simple, and easy to make. Mother said she had the right fabric for the quilt in her stash and she did! The fabrics for the quilt, binding, and backing all came from Mother's stash. Mother did all of the cutting, piecing, and binding; I did the quilting.

The quilt was delivered by Narinder and Spencer and was well received. Leo sent a bouquet of lilies to us. 

Size: 68" x 80" Throw size
Quilting: Quilted in a meandering loose stipple. Used gray polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Dark Gray"). Free form quilting. 7 bobbins. The thread matched so well, the quilt was very difficult to quilt. I couldn't see where I'd quilted and where I still needed to go. Quilting by Patty.
Backing: Blue print from Mother's stash.

Batting: 100% bamboo.

Binding:  Blue print from Mother's stash. 
Pattern: "Chain Reaction" by Liz Porter from the Winter 2014 magazine Easy Quilts.  

Piecing by Mother.

Pinned into frame January 23, 2015. Quilting on long arm quilter January 23-28, 2015. (Patty). 

Binding by Mother. 

QC by Spencer.

 

 

Location:County Line Quilts

2015 Quiltathon--#3 Star Bright

This is the third of the neonatal quilts I made for the quiltathon. This one uses some leftover pre-cut Jellyroll strips that I had in my stash. Also the gray fabric used for the band , the orange used for the star and binding, and the backing came from my stash. Therefore, this quilt counts towards my 2015 goal of using my "inventory" before buying more fabric.  

The quilt design was inspired by one I saw in the Quilty magazine, though I added the Prairie Star block in the middle of the band.  The quilt was basted on the long arm and a rabbit was quilted in the middle of the star. The rest of the quilting was done by stitching lines on my "domestic" using a walking foot. 

Size: 37 1/2" x 42 1/2" Neo-natal Size (guideline is between 30" and 45")
Quilting: On January 12, 2015 basted using the long arm and also quilted a rabbit in the star. On January 20, 2015 quilted the strips in the ditch and quilted lines in the band and around the star on my sewing machine. Used gray 100% cotton thread for machine quilting. 
Backing: A blue cotton print from my stash. The backing was left from the backing of the Thinking About the Box quilt that I made last year.

Batting: 100% bamboo.

Binding: Orange cotton from my stash, also used for the star. 

Pattern: Inspired by Jelly Roll Redux by Joy McKeon in the September/October 2014 Quilty magazine.

Piecing by Patty.

Pinned into frame and basted January 12, 2015. Quilting on my domestic machine January 20, 2015. (Patty). 

Binding by Patty. 

QC by Spencer.

  

Location:County Line Quilts

2015 Quiltathon--#2 Garden Stroll

This is the second of the neonatal quilts I made for the quiltathon. This one uses a Layer Cake pre-cut that I bought a couple of years ago from the Missouri Star Quilting site. Therefore, this quilt counts towards my 2015 goal of using my "inventory" before buying more fabric.  The name of the Layer Cake is "City Weekend". 

Size: 41" x 41" Neo-natal Size (guideline is between 30" and 45")
Quilting: Quilted in a hooky, spirally, meandering design. Used off-white polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Cream"). Free form quilting. 3 bobbins. 
Backing: Built a back using 2 pieces from my stash. One piece was the background used for the appliqué blocks for the Side-by-Side Dog and Cat quilt I made in 2013.

Batting: 100% bamboo.

Binding:  Blue print from my stash. 
Pattern: "Penny Lane" from the book Quilts from Sweet Jane by Sue Pfau.  I also used this book for the Socky quilt I made last year.  See the information for that quilt for a picture of the book.

Piecing by Patty.

Pinned into frame January 19, 2015. Quilting on long arm quilter January 19, 2015. (Patty). 

Binding by Patty. 

QC by Spencer.

 

Location:County Line Quilts

2015 Quiltathon--#1 Sock Monkey Fun

The Quilt Guild decided to hold a quilt-a-thon to raise some money and make neonatal quilts for the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. I contributed quilts and attended the event, though I didn't raise much money. The quilt-a-thon was a lot of fun.  I enjoyed sewing and chatting with the women who were there at the same time I was. I recognized most of my quilting aunts in the crowd--the women who worked hard and brought humor to the event.  Their stories were golden. I hope they hold a similar event next year. 

I made 3 neonatal quilts for the event and started 2 more while I was there. The first was a simple block quilt to use up the leftover squares from the Socky Quilt I made last year. This quilt counts towards my 2015 goal of using my "inventory" before buying more fabric.

Size: 32" x 41" Neo-natal Size (guideline is between 30" and 45")
Quilting: Quilted in a loose meandering stipple design. Used brown polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Milk Chocolate"). Free form quilting. 2 bobbins. 
Backing: Brown print used for Socky in 2014. The print looks like the knitted brown socks used to make Sock Monkeys.
Batting: 100% bamboo.
Binding:  The same brown print used for the backing.
Pattern: Traditional square blocks sewed together in rows. The blocks came from a Missouri Star Charm pack that I used for the Socky quilt last year. A few blocks were cut from the brown print fabric.

Piecing by Patty.

Pinned into frame January 16, 2015. Quilting on long arm quilter January 16, 2015. (Patty). 

Binding by Patty. 

QC by Spencer.

Location:County Line Quilts

Follow the Puck

Enjoying his Quilt

This quilt was made to replace a much worn couch quilt that Narinder bought 7 or 8 years ago at a Bloomingdale's sale. Hopefully this quilt will last as long. The blocks were designed to look like the blue maple leaf logo on the jersey (also called "sweater") of Narinder's hometown hockey team. The pattern was from Quilt in a Day.  It may be a "day" quilt if you make just 4 blocks as the pattern shows, but if you make 48 blocks it takes some time. I started sewing in September 2014 and finished the quilt at the first part of March 2015. Following Eleanor Burn's instructions the blocks went together smoothly and the points turned out okay. This was the first time I used the square method to make 4 "geese" blocks.  It was a good way to mass produce the "geese" blocks. The instructions to cut the big center point were a bit concerning--made by cutting up a large square--but they worked well. I used the 46 best leaf blocks; one block was made by appliquing the Toronto Maple Leaf logo from Narinder's old jersey and another block was the appliqued shoulder patches from the jersey. The blocks were arranged to look good stretched across the couch; hence, the width is longer than the length. To me a row of the quilt looks like the players on the bench waiting to go onto the ice.

It took a long time to quilt this one because the first thread, blue varigated, shredded in the long arm. It took a while to rip out the first attempt. For the second try I went back to my tried and true Omni. Lessons learned!

The blocks were made from fabrics from my stash, so this quilt qualifies towards 2015 goals. The sashing and back were bought at my LQS, The Laurel Leaf, in downtown San Carlos.

Size: 106 1/2" x 82" Couch Size
Quilting: Quilted in a loopy meandering design. Used white polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Bright White"). Free form quilting. 17 bobbins. 
Backing: Blue and white print from The Laurel Leaf.
Batting: 100% cotton, Warm and Natural
Binding:  Navy blue cotton used for sashing.
Pattern: Autumn Leaves from Quilt in a Day. 

Piecing by Patty.

Pinned into frame December 8, 2014. Quilting on long arm quilter December 31, 2014-January 9, 2015. (Patty). 

Binding by Patty. The second sewing of the binding was done by hand. Only for my boys would I do that much hand sewing.

QC by Spencer.

Narinder's Initials

Location:County Line Quilts

GOALS FOR 2015 AND 2014 YEAR END REPORT

2015 Goals

- Complete 16 long-armed quilts, including 2 baby quilts

- Complete 2 UFOs, including binding and labeling "Many Steps 2" and completing the Blue Maple  Leaf quilt for Narinder

- Further improve long arm quilting techniques, including feathers

- Make a quilt to learn a new technique, such as curved seams or scalloped borders

- Make a T-shirt quilt

- Make 6 neonatal quilts for guild

- Make one "kit" quilt

- Do not buy more fabric until 5 new quilts are completed from my current stash (excludes buying battings, backs, and bindings, if required)

2015 Outlook

2015 will be another year with many doctor visits, errands, and house guests.  Therefore, the goal for completed quilts for 2015 is equal to the number we completed in 2014.

2014 Year-End Report

- Completed 16 long-armed quilts, including 6 baby quilts, 3 quilts for Aunt Linda, and 7 quilts lap-sized or larger. The goal of 10 long-armed quilts, was exceeded!

- Two UFO's were finished and one almost finished. The hand quilted "Many Steps 1" was completed as was the "Thinking About the Box" quilt. "Many Steps 2" was long-armed but Sally has not selected the binding, so that one is not entirely done. The goal of completing 2 UFOs was met and almost exceeded.

- Long arm quilting techniques were improved and feathers were practiced.  More improvement can be made in 2015, so this goal, although met, will be retained for another year.

- The long arm machine was moved to the basement, thanks to Keith.  The machine likes the garage and being amongst its fellow power tools. The goal was met.

- Made 2 blind baby quilts for guild. Goal was met.

- We did not buy more fabric and 10 new quilts were completed from current stash. Five quilts were completed from my stash and 5 from Mother's. I did have to buy fabric for a special order quilt "Patches" for Narinder's friends.  However, since this was a commission (and for which I received a very nice gift certificate to a good restaurant), it's an exception to the goal.  Since I made 5 quilts from my stash, I will retain the goal for myself to make 5 more quilts before I buy new fabric. Goal was met.

Overall, we met or exceeded our goals.  Our progress was most satisfactory. We are on course for a very good 2015.  

Location:County Line Quilts

Megha's Quilt

I see a lot of bones on this quilt. Where's mine?

There was a long hiatus from the longarm whilst Mother and I worked on piecing tops. I was working on the Blue Maple Leafs for Narinder and Spencer to use on the couch. Mother was working on a couple of disappearing 9-patches. In the meantime Narinder got a message from his sister Ravinder about their Dec visit saying that Simran wants drawing supplies and Megha wouldn't say what she wanted. It's traditional to give guests presents in their family.  Megha would like to have a pet, but that doesn't fit into their schedule right now. So, Narinder will take Simran shopping for drawing supplies when she gets here and I got busy making a pet-substitute quilt for Megha.  This one was nearly quilt in a day.  I would have finished all the cutting and piecing in one day, if I hadn't stopped to watch a TV movie.  Because Ravinder and girls are due to visit Dec 17, this quilt was the first one after the hiatus to go on the machine, bumping the Maple Leafs and the 2 Mother finished.

I believe all the fabrics in this quilt came from a JoAnn's sale.

Size: 59" x 59" Lap Blanket Size
Quilting: Quilted in a loose stipple meandering design, with some "bones" added. I made a bone template on Dec 1, 2014 by enlarging a design in a book.  I used a Chaco marker to mark the bones on the quilt. 

The Template

On the Quilt (a bit difficult to see)

I used red polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Rosella". I looked up Rosella on the internet and they are beautiful Australian parrots with some bright red feathers. So, quilting is at times educational!) Free form quilting. 5 bobbins. 

A Rosella

Selecting the Thread for Quilting
Backing: Red dog print and the black, white, and gray bone print. I made a stupid mistake figuring out how wide to make the bone print, so I had to unpin the quilt just before the quilting was finished and sew on another piece. I lost a whole day correcting that error. Sometimes I worry about my brain functions!

The Back
Batting: 100% bamboo
Binding:  A red print. The binding was "crowd sourced". I asked Keith, Ann, and Sally if I should use brown or black and Keith to be funny said "red".  Sally and Ann agreed, so I had to find a suitable red. I'll learn to crowd source!  I did ask only Sally about which color thread to use for the quilting and she said red, which is what Mother had said first.

Crowd-Sourced Binding Basted
Pattern: Traditional  block inspired by a baby quilt kit I saw on the Internet. I expanded the block sizes to better feature the red dog print and to make a better size for a lap blanket. I added a couple more borders also. 

The idea

Piecing by Patty.

Pinned into frame December 1, 2014. Quilting on long arm quilter December 1-5, 2014. (Patty). 

Binding by Patty. 

QC by Spencer.

The Result

The Label

Location:County Line Quilts