Animal Crackers Quilt

Last night I finished binding a UFO from last year

I don't watch a lot of You-Tube videos, but somewhere along the line a Moonkin Stitchery clip popped up somewhere and I liked what I saw. Her tutorials are no nonsense, easy, clear and concise. Her older videos include a PDF download, but these recent ones do not. However, her tutorials are easy enough that a printed pattern isn't really necessary. She's gracious enough to share her designs at no cost. The videos I've seen all use layer cakes and with the exception of fat quarters, I'm not a big precut fan, but on occasion, I will pick them up on a good sale or just cut 10" squares from my stash. If I like a pattern, I'll often add fabric from my stash to a pre-cut in order to make a quilt bigger or just to add more variety.

A while back she shared a tutorial for a Deep Dive Quilt and I knew I was going to make it. I have a Sweetwater Layer Cake of an old line called Animal Crackers (2020) that I thought would be perfect. I loved that line so much that when I found a fat quarter pack on sale I bought that as well. I love Sweetwater's collections and I am really smitten with this one

Last June I thought, "I'll just cut up the layer cake, put it in a bin, and have it ready to sew when I get back to sewing and then I just could not help myself. DH had saddled his horse at 3 a.m. and trailered out to a ranch in Yeso (2 hours away) to help them brand and I found myself with time, and a strong desire to stitch.

So stitch I did and before he got back, I had a quilt top. I often listen to an audio book when I sew, but this time "animal crackers in my soup..." ,ala Shirley Temple, kept playing in my head as I sewed so I had to turn the audio book off. LOL.

Jackie and Sandy quilted this fun, whimsical swirl called Misty Jade across it 

I backed it with this print from the Animal Cracker line

And pulled a red grunge for the binding

This made a 48"x56" quilt, a great size for little monkeys.

I may keep this one here for grandbaby adventures.

Charming Baby Quilt

 Today I have another baby quilt finish to share. I missed adding this one to my list of quilts I hoped to make this year so I'll just count it as a bonus quilt

This is one of the first fabric lines I bought when I began quilting and  I've made numerous quilts with it. It was a Moda collection called Lily & Will from Bunny Hill Designs. Circa 2010-ish I think and after all these years, I still love it. 

                                                    

I love the versatility of HSTs and this time I set them into a broken dishes design. Jackie and Sandy quilted it with a design called Feather Flip using  a Linen colored thread

I cobbled the backing together with 3 different pieces I had left

and used  a brown print for the binding with what, I think, is the last of the leftovers, but I'm sure I will uncover more if I dig deep enough.

At 40 x 50, it'll be a nice way to welcome a new little one. It's been very handy to have a collection of baby quilts on hand and this one will be added to the armoire until it is needed...and as I was about to hit publish on this post, we found out that friends are expecting their 1st grandchild. If it's a girl, this will be perfect.

Peaches & Cream Gingham Quilt

 This is my 1st quilt finish of the year. Yes, it's another gingham quilt. I like the simple, timeless, classic design and I really like having a few on hand to welcome new babies. Last month I needed 2 and it was so nice to have some ready.

Sometimes a fabric just feels right for a gingham quilt. Such was the case for this sweet floral and coordinating fabrics I pulled from my stash back in May of 2023.

Sandy quilted it with this sweet daisy design that shows nicely in this shot

I backed it with this soft peachy-pink Minky that I've used often in the past

It finished at 48x58 - 

                                        

The quilting shows well in this one

I had trouble capturing the colors accurately

                                                 

But this is pretty close

After the sub-zero morning, 38° felt almost warm and that sky was SO blue

I know some of you are gasping that I toss my quilts out in the wild like this, but it's just for a few pictures - they get a good wash

                                      

I think this made a sweet finish

All in Good Time Quilt

This is my oldest UFO. I think I started it about 6 years ago. I found the floral print in a Texas shop in San Angelo and knew I was going to use this pattern. It's free here Spring Splash. I don't generally gravitate towards quilts with only 2 or 3 fabrics (although I do like ginghams quilts), but I thought this was a fun way to show off a fabric you really love.

 I've made a few versions of this pattern - it makes up quickly, but once it was a top, it seemed to always be pushed to the back. I never could settle on a backing I liked either. I would add it to my list of quilts to make each year and each year it would roll over, but I finally just used a pink from my stash. It's an awful lot of pink, but it's a sweet finish and hopefully it will be well loved.

My favorite part might be that black and white dot for the binding!

Jackie and Sandy always choose the perfect patterns for quilts - I never even make suggestions - I just tell them to pick something they will have fun quilting

I couldn't come up with a name either, but since it took years from the first stitch to the last, I thought All in Good Time fit it's circumstances.

It's 40x40 and I don't need it right now, but I like keeping a couple of baby quilts on hand for gifting and it feels good to finally add this one to the 'finished' list.

Gingham Quilt Finish

 I saw this pink floral fabric in a little quilt shop in Amarillo a few years ago and simply couldn't leave without some.

                                

 A sweet friend was having her sewing machine serviced and I had tagged along. We always get into trouble when we're together. I knew immediately that I wanted to make a gingham quilt with it and I knew I had some coordinating fabric in my stash that would be a good fit...

I love the classic, simplicity of a gingham quilt - it's a fun way to showcase a special print and it doesn't get much faster to put together when you need a gift in a hurry

Sandy quilted a pretty little floral pattern across it that shows nicely on the soft pink Minky I used on the back. I've used it quite a few times and I'm surprised at how often this shade coordinates with what I'm working on

I needed binding for two different quilts and this Grunge worked for both

                                   

and  you might want to sit down, but I actually machine bound this. 😲 I know! And it turned out pretty darn good, but honestly, I'm still not a fan, but it's good to know that I CAN do it. 

It finishes at 46"x56". The Bird of Paradise out in the chicken yard continues to amaze me each year. Not a drop of rain since October and this tropical wonder puts on a show year after year in this parched desert country.

I don't even think this quilt was on my list of projects I made in January, but it's a finish now and ready for little girl snuggles. 

Fishing for a Design

 I've been trying hard to stay focused on my 2024 quilt list, but new projects can be quite bossy. The other day I was sorting through projects on hangers...they all needed something...either a backing or a border or a binding or they were waiting to be quilted. These two fabrics were hanging together

They are from 2 different companies and I've had them for at least 10 years, probably longer. I had partially pieced a row quilt and machine embroidered some fish blocks, thinking I would use the fish fabric for a backing, but the embroidered blocks were a mess. If I recall, I had just started embroidering and I hadn't used the correct stabilizer and they were terribly wrinkled so I tossed them and the pieced rows.

Thankfully, I didn't toss these two fabrics because I still think there is a quilt in there somewhere so I regrouped and dove into my stash

I have ideas, but no plan as of yet, so I'm just going to throw a line in and see what bites. Hopefully it won't be another 10 years. 😂

Lilly and Will Row Quilt

This Lilly and Will from Bunny Hill fabrics was one of the first lines I bought when I started making quilts which was in 2007 so these fabrics are well-aged. I don't even remember what I bought, but apparently is was a lot because I have made a lot of quilts with it. I really like the combination of pink and brown. The collection also included a blue and brown colorway that I used to make 2 baby boy quilts, but I still had pink leftovers and this little row quilt is the latest in my Lilly and Will series. I've always liked row quilts and just tried to work with what I had left

I pieced this probably 7 or 8 years ago, but only recently handed it off to Jackie and apparently I didn't take any in-progress photos. 

This soft, muted pink Minky is a great match for this shade of pink

                                         

and I chose the coordinating dot for the binding

The name of the quilting design escapes me, but Jacque and Sandy always  do a beautiful job. This little quilt finishes at 50" x 56"

The trees are just beginning to leaf out with the promise of Spring 

It makes me laugh that I felt the need to buy so much when I first started quilting and I think I've made 5 or 6 quilts using this fabric, but I still love it and hopefully the quilts are loved as well

Bramble Patch Baby Quilt

 I haven't finished a quilt since September, but I picked up  this baby quilt from Jackie in October and it's finally finished - this is my last finish for the year.

Last year I made this quilt for our girl's maid of honor who was expecting her first baby:

It's hard to get a good picture of a soft, pastel quilt during the day in New Mexico, but these prints are precious

Before putting the leftovers away, I set about making a second quilt. I chose 60° triangles. I've made a few triangle quilts before and although some of you may cringe, they are very easy to piece. The secret is starch. Lots of starch. I use a 60° ruler and then it's just a matter of piecing straight rows and trimming the edges. I think I cut my triangles at 5 1/2".

Sandy quilted this sweet design called Billowy

 and it finishes at 44" x 54"

I backed it with this soft peachy-pink Minky  that is a great match for the colors in this line and it shows the pretty quilting better

 I framed it with a scrappy binding 

This line included 2 panels that were a part of the FQ bundle and I'm generally not a fan of panels, but these are pretty cute and with the addition of a pieced patchwork border, I think these will make a couple of sweet quilts. I'm sorry about the fold lines:

 There are enough leftovers for at least one more quilt, but I'm waiting for inspiration so for the time being, they'll hibernate in their designated bin, but this soft quilt is finally finished and ready for gifting