Tropical Twist Quilt

Last year I spent a few days cutting down my scrap basket for 2 quilts from this book

I finished the first one back in March. You can see that post HERE

And this is the second, little sister, quilt. It's called Knots & Chains in the book, but I'm calling it Tropical Twist

It's hard to see the quilting, but Sandy used a design called Spring Fling on it

At 62"x62", it's just a small lap size, but it packs a big punch with so many fun colors & prints.

So many happy low-volume bits and pieces

The hummingbirds were quite smitten with it

We probably have close to 60 birds and they are eating us out of house and home.

They really are the most fascinating little creatures

I backed it and bound it with the same print as the first one 

I would buy a whole bolt of that backing fabric if I saw it. Thankfully, I still have quite a bit left.  

                                                                  

Skeet gives his seal of approval although he's really inquiring about his evening treat.

Not my usual color story, but it just makes me so happy

This dirt road ranch wife must have been channeling her inner Jimmy Buffet while working on these quilts...someone please pass me my lost shaker of salt. 😉

First Ride Flannel Quilt

 Today I've got a flannel rag quilt finish to share.

Yes, it's July. Yes, it's hot. Yes, a flannel quilt in summer makes no sense. Yes, that's how I roll. 😉

However, we DO live in the mountains and our mornings have hovered at 57-60 degrees and I love nothing more than greeting the day out on the deck and a flannel quilt is good company on a crisp mountain morning

This quilt is part of my flannel bin project that I posted about HERE

It finishes at 70"x80"

This cowboy print has been in my stash for at least 15 years

Just a humble rag quilt

But I'm fairly certain it's going to be reached for often in the years to come

And those are always they very best kind.

Leap Frog Flannel Quilt

Earlier this spring I dug into my flannel bin, determined to clean it out and get the 15-30 year old fabric into quilts. I posted about the project HERE.

This is the first of those quilts...Leap Frog

The tan, speckled fabric isn't flannel, it's cotton, but it was perfect so I just threw it in.

Such a simple design - no pattern - I just tried to make the best use out of what I had. It finishes at 56" x 68".

I DID buy the Minky for the back though

Those frogs are absolutely delighted to have escaped into the wild after so many years and I'm fairly certain that it will accompany a particular little grandson on many adventures although June is not the best time of the year to cuddle with flannel. I'll save it for his birthday in November.

Land of Enchantment

As much as I will always be a Texas girl, I have to admit that New Mexico has a special place in my heart. It's where DH and I began our journey as a married couple. It's where our son was born. It's where the good Lord has set us for the second time. It's home.

The sunsets and sunrises are spectacular on a regular basis. 

The food is addictive and don't even get me started on how much I love fresh green chile! 

New Mexico has its own unique southwestern culture. There is a rich history here and it is reflected in the jewelry, fashion, architecture, fabrics, people, and landscape.

I'd been on the lookout for a quilt pattern that represented the Land of Enchantment and in 2014 I stumbled upon exactly what I was looking for while browsing through Flickr:

I contacted the lady who posted it and she was kind enough to  direct me to the designer who is from Switzerland, of all places!

Desert Winds

I planned to use a lot of Michele Watts' prints. She's is a local designer who had a few lines with Moda and I just happened to have some yardage in my stash.

I finally started this one in May of last year. Yes, I'd had this project planned for 12 years. It took a while since it's made of 2 1/2" squares and 80 x 98.

Once I started,  I was determined to stay the course. I didn't have quite enough of all the original prints so I scattered some Grunge fabrics throughout which appeals to my scrappy heart.

I ended up extending the patchwork border one more row

Once I had it pieced, I went in search of a backing. I didn't have anything in my stash that I thought would work. The minute I saw this print, I couldn't hit buy fast enough - it's perfect!

Then Sandy worked her magic

And I spent 4 weeks binding it. 

But it's now complete!

And apparently I need to pay more attention when I'm piecing! Good gravy!! I didn't even notice I had turned a block! I think I need to take a photo of every quilt top before it's quilted and double check for errors. I think those oopsies are charming in vintage quilts, but it's very obvious in this design. I keep wondering if I could take the quilting out of that one block and fix it. Have any of ya'll done that before? 

The wind DOES blow a lot here in the spring and those blocks could be construed as tumbleweeds and that one just tumbled in a different direction.

Sigh. Maybe I can just leave it displayed like this and call it art. 🙃

Hashtag Christmas

When I saw this pattern from Cluck Cluck Sew, I immediately thought it would make a great scrappy Christmas quilt.

I made a different scrappy Christmas quilt in 2018 

And I thought it was time to make another and hopefully whittle down my Christmas fabrics a little.

I like that the pieces in this block are big enough to show the fabrics.

The white is a white on white print from my fabric pantry called Architextures.

I made the first block in January and finally pieced it all together and handed it off to Jackie and Sandy in August. The fun quilting design called Holly Ribbon is perfect and shows so nicely on the Minky I used on the back

The fabric I used for the binding is from my pantry too...it was $2.00 / yd at a quilt shop that was closing probably 10 years ago and I bought what was on the bolt...probably about 8 yards. 

I really like this pattern and I think I now need flannel, western, and fall versions. At 75" x 85", it'll be a great cuddle quilt. 

The kids can decide which one they want. As soon as I hung the quilt out on the deck, it began to snow

It was 44 out, too warm to stick

The flakes were itty-bitty

                                                     

           

And the sun was shining through the clouds

It makes me happy that the kids request and enjoy and use the quilts. One day they will be saturated, but they haven't reached that point yet! 😉

Jungle Jam Quilt

 Today I've got a baby quilt finish to share. It started with this bright jungle print I've had in my stash for over a decade. 

It's a magical jungle with unicorns and dinosaurs and walruses and horses mixed in with typical jungle animals, but when you're little, anything goes and I thought it was a cute print with fun primary colors. Plus, I remember it was in the clearance bin of 1 yard cuts at the local quilt shop. The backing stripe also came from the same bin.

I just pulled fabrics from my stash for the coordinating fabrics. Sandy used a fun variegated thread and quilted it using a design called Quirky.

I actually pieced the top probably 6 or 7 years ago, but I wasn't thrilled with the design and it sat in the back of the closet until last month. When I packed it as we moved last fall, I decided it was time to finish it.

It's 40 x 40, smaller than I usually make.

Our little local library is staffed entirely by volunteers and supported 100% by the thrift store next door, but they welcome donations that they raffle off so I'm thinking I'll donate this little quilt to them.