Turtle Baby Quilt Finished for April OMG

It's been quite a month for me! First my husband officially retired after 34 years with his company. We had a big celebration, and a fun time was had by all.

That was the first week of April. Then we got sick. I got the shingles and then I caught the flu. He has the flu crud, too. Not exactly how we wanted to begin our retired life, but we're on the mend now, so I'm playing catch up.

I did get my OMG April Goal finished, which is also on my list for the Second Quarter of the 2018 Finish Along! I had to quilt and bind this cute little Turtle Quilt. I really like the navy blue in it, along with the lime green. Perfect for a little boy!  I had fun doing all sorts of fun free motion quilting on it. Loops and swirls and curves and lines and curlicues. I tried hard not to over-quilt it. That's always a challenge......but it turned out nice and soft and should wash up just great!

I haven't had time to think what my May OMG will be. We will be busy moving parents into assisted living and selling their home, and then taking a much needed vacation. So I basically have one week to do any quilting. Maybe I'll skip May. Life takes priority often times.

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Linking up with:
OMG
2Q FAL FAL 2Q
Linky Tuesday

Custom Quilting for an Appliqued Gem!

My latest client quilt turned out to be a lot of fun with a variety of custom quilting throughout! As I was quilting, I kept thinking of it as The Bunny Quilt, for good reason, don't you think?

This top was pieced a few years ago and was her first attempt at applique. I think she got the hang of it pretty well!

She used fabrics that were very traditional, maybe even some French General. All French General? At any rate, it was so fun to view this in person, but my photographic skills just don't do it justice.

She wanted 'light custom' for the quilting as she was donating the quilt to a charitable auction to benefit Hopewell, a therapeutic farm community near Cleveland, Ohio, that serves adults with mental illness.  A very generous offering from someone in Idaho!

I tried my best, but as the quilt progressed, I finally decided I just couldn't do 'light custom' on an applique quilt and just went for it.  I tried to change up the quilting in each of the blocks, but several have that easy outline quilting (definitely light custom on those). Pebbles, on the other hand, are not.

Fun feathers around the border. A flowing leaf in the sashing.

I found I really wanted to stitch in the ditch around all these blocks and the sashing. But I refrained - light quilting!

For the most part, I left the applique pieces unquilted. Except for a few straight-line stitching in the the birdhouse, water can and other spots. 

At any rate, it such a joy to have a quilt like this come through my door. I get to enjoy the labor of the quilter's efforts, and try to do something to enhance it just a bit.

I hope the auction brings a good amount for this quilt.

Oh - almost forgot to mention that I had an outbreak of Shingles while I tried to get this finished up for her deadline. Not fun! I even had the vaccine two years ago. Perhaps my case would have been more severe had I not had the vaccine. At any rate, I'd highly recommend everyone over 60 get a vaccine. There is a newer version now that is supposed to be more effective. Plus, I caught a killer cold and developed bronchitis while dealing with those shingles. Enough, already!

Come on Spring!

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Hands2Help 2018 Quilt On Its Way!

It sure feels good to give, doesn't it? Even when you don't get a direct thank you, but you know in your heart that your generosity will be appreciated.

Big smiles on my face as I got my Hands2Help 2018 quilt sent off in the mail yesterday.

A Cute Baby Girl Quilt for Hands2Help 2018

This was a simple patchwork quilt with fun pinks and oranges and browns. And a truck! And some farm animals scattered about. Different. And perfect for some little one!

My quilt went to Little Lambs Foundation for Kids out of Logan, Utah. Hoping it will find a good home through their efforts.

Thank you, Sarah, for once again spearheading this great cause. It will be fun to see how many quilts find new homes this year!

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Linking up with:
Oh, Scrap!

What's On Tap for Q2 Finish-A-Long?

I've come to the realization that my husband truly believes there should be a finite end to my quilting projects.

What???

That is such a foreign concept to me, that I don't even know how to process it. And he thinks we have enough quilts. What???

 

Help me set him straight. What do you tell your significant other about The Need To Stitch, The Need to Create, The Need To Do Anything Other Than Watch TV???

So in this vein of thought (that one can never have too many quilting projects), I've come up with my Goals for the second quarter of Finish-A-Long. Let's see what I can accomplish between now and the end of June:

1.  Quilt up my Star Quilt (carry over from Q1).

2.  Quilt and bind a replacement quilt for our son.

3.  Quilt and bind my Turtle Baby Quilt

A reader pointed out the error of my ways, and I've since corrected the placement of the bottom section. Doh!

That's enough. In fact, if I crank through all that, along with everything else that we have going this time of year, I'll feel quite accomplished.

Yep, yep. Good plan!

P.S. My husband retired last week.........


Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Linking up with:
Q2 FAL

April's One Monthly Goal

Looking forward to April, but wow, it's already here!

So, for my April OMG goal, I'd like to get this little baby quilt quilted and bound and ready for someone to love!  It was fun putting it together. And more and more these days, I'm all about FUN!!!

What's on your agenda for April?

Quilting with a smile,

Barb

Linking up with:
OMG

Kaffe Table Runner Brightens My Day

This little gem was such a fun project. I adore bright colors, and the greens and reds and oranges and purples in these fabrics make this one of my favorites!

 I purchased this as a kit at the quilt shop in Sisters, Oregon, about four years ago. And then it sat in a drawer. Why, I don't know, because once I got it out to make it up, I was delighted!

Sometimes a kit is just the thing I need to get me motivated for a bigger, more involved project. Sometimes a kit does the trick. Yep, it certainly did this time!

This turned out to be a long table runner, which is perfect for our dining room table. It measures 16" x 71". I finished it and it has brightened up the long winter days we've had this season. Sweet!

This was one of my goals for the quarterly 2018 Finish-A-Long. So glad I put it down as a goal, because now I can thoroughly enjoy it!

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Linking up with:
2018 Finish-A-Long
Oh Scrap!
Monday Making
MCM
Linky Tuesday
Midweek Makers
Needle & Thread Thursday
Finished or Not Friday

Easter Wishes

Happy Easter to all, and may thankfulness, gratitude and blessings abound!

Quilting with a smile,
Barb