Jungle Print

 Another four patch, this time with a jungle print Daisy Kingdom for the plain 4 and 1/2 inch block. It's for a friend of my daughter's. The back is a green leaf print. 

"Edna" had a ton of yellows and yellow greens in her stash; I made at least six quilts in those colors. 

Four Patch

 Not sure if this has a name, but I really like this pattern for using up scraps. This went to our gym teacher. 

Fall Quilting!

 I rarely quilt during the school year. Over the summer, I completed 25 crib quilt TOPS, but didn't get around to quilting them. Since there are several babies in my vicinity who need quilts, I had to step up production and finished off four quilts this weekend. Of course, the rainy weather made it hard to get good pictures. 

There were a lot of electric blues in my collection, and I got in influx of yellows, so an Attic Windows with these colors seemed easy. The backing is a fabulous piece of 1990s fabric, made in the US, that I picked up at the thrift store. Blue, maroon, forest green, and tan check. This is going to the third son, John, of one of my daughter's friends. 

Back with more blues, as well as some purples, and a gray and white print in between. This was a good way to use up a variety of two and a half inch squares. This is for a fellow teacher who just had her first grandson, Elliott. 

Looking at this, I should have ended with a row of blue blocks instead of the white four inch squares. 

Reading Blue Devils Beach Ball Quilt

My daughter lives in Reading, and their school colors are blue and white. She has a neighbor who just had a little boy, so I thought it would be nice to give him a quilt in his future school colors. 

The blocks are 6 and 1/2" squares with 2 and 1/2" square corners. Made the scrap blocks last summer, so this was easy to put together. 

And yes, the quilt is clipped to a chicken wire fence around a tree. The trees are feral in my neighborhood. Don't want this one getting out and attacking anyone! (Actually, deer tend to nibble on the nice tender bark.)

Ocean Waves in Blue and Plum

  

Yes, I did one like this last year, but it is a good size, and I like the pattern. 

Still trying to use up a quantity of electric blue, and the fantastic backing is from "Edna's Stash". The purple was some of hers as well, that must have been from a border, so it was perfect. 

It's 34"x 56", just perfect to keep on the back of the sofa, which I'm pretty sure is a legal requirement in the state of Ohio. Of course, to be absolutely correct, it should be a crocheted ripple afghan on the back of the sofa, or perhaps a granny square one! 

Bright Colors

 Someone gave my the flowered fabric, and I was pleased that I was able to find matching green, orange and turquoise in my stash. The back is bright orange, not a color I usually use. Just wish I could get a better picture to show how pretty the colors are. 

Sent this quilt to author Tanita Davis in honor of her book Berry Parker Doesn't Catch Crushes, since Berry loves the bright color tangerine. 

(Second image from Ms. Davis' Instagram account.)

The REAL opening of Quilt Season 2025!

Back in March, I cut out about ten crib quilts and put them in boxes (WITH directions!), so in the week we've been off school, I've sewn four quilt tops!

     

This summer, I will be trying to balance my sewing with keeping up with books reviews, and also "tutoring" my three month old grandson. My goal is to get ten baby quilts FINISHED, so we'll see how that goes. I also have five tops that I put together over spring break, so it could happen. I give away almost all of my quilts at this point. 

The most EXCITING thing (not grandson related) of the summer was the thrift find that my older daughter brought to me this morning. We are both big thrifters, and like to just browse at the stores. For the last five years, I've been trying to thrift more fabric than I buy new, which was a good plan, considering the recent, tragic loss of Joann Fabrics. So when I saw this pile of fabric that my daughter got for $10, I was thrilled.

There's easily $500 worth of fabric here, almost entirely quilting cotton. A LOT of black and white, but some fun pieces as well. 

I've decided that this was Edna's collection. (I like to make up stories about my thrift purchases, including this one about a Fair Isle sweater I bought.) Edna's been quilting for a long time, because I recognized a Colonial blue flower and butterfly print that my mother and I used in 1981 to make favors for my cousin's wedding. Edna REALLY had a thing for cows, and made a lot of quilts for her grandchildren that included fabric of things that interested them; Minions, Disney princesses, SpongeBob, and Snoopy. 

Edna was a master at using even the smallest pieces of fabric; two crib quilt tops were included in the haul.

In her later years, Edna's ironing wasn't quite what it could have been, but you cannot fault her thrift at using every last scrap, or her fondness for some Judie Rothermel prints. 

While I have plenty of fabric, my daughter and I agreed: it would have been foolish to leave such a find on the shelf. My reaction would have been much like hers. She said she squealed, embraced the clear plastic bag, and practically ran with it to the cash register. 

Considering that my design process is driven by chance finds, I have a LOT of projects that will come out of this epic find!