Graduation Quilt

The second great accomplishment of the summer!

My brother graduated from high school this past June and I am so happy to finally give him the gift he wanted: a quilt in his school colors.

I started this queen-sized quilt last June. I knew I wanted a scrappy, strip block, but the layout went through many incarnations before I settled on these giant criss-cross blocks. I never get tired of them - this is one of my favorite blocks. And I love them even more when they are HUGE.

These long-suffering gentleman were so patient with the wind, and all my directions to hold this corner higher, etc. Thanks to Mr Awesome (hand at top left!) and our kind neighbor for their quilt holding services! They're going to start to run the other way when they see me coming.

I pieced the backing "blind," putting together any and all scraps I had on hand without looking at the final layout until it was done. Then I folded the backing over the top in a self-binding method.

Mr Awesome acquired this piece of fabric during a trip to the Pacific Islands years ago. (Little did he know he was picking up material for his quilt-obsessed future wife!) It was the perfect thing to complete the backing.

Cool stuff like this happened spontaneously.

My amazing long-arm quilter friend, Kristin, designed and executed the quilting. As with Mumu, I gave her totally free reign, and the final result is as lovely to look at as it is to feel that quilty texture. I love how she chose a Polynesian-inspired pattern.

Top and bottom border

All wrapped up and ready to go off to college...here's hoping it survives :o)

In baby sewing progress...
I've been way more tired lately (as in, take a shower, then lie down to recover from over-exertion), so I'm logging a lot of couch time. This is not always awesome for my sanity, but it's been really good for the little ball on my to-do list. Thank God for hand-sewing. I'm surprised at how quickly it's coming together.

Sorry, no pic. There was about an hour of sun today and I was too tired to find the camera.

I'm striving to be very zen about quieting my inner self so I can channel my limited energy where it is most needed, but some days are much harder than others. I like to be doing things, making plans, crossing items off lists. As my ability to do stuff diminishes, I get more controlling about the tasks I can do. This is why I haven't started the cloth book yet. In my mind, a 6-page book meant to be chewed on has morphed into a visual-tactile encyclopedia for infants. I want it to be PERFECT, to have text pages and picture pages and textural pages, and to be just the right colors, and and and.

A working title: As I Lay Planning, by Your Mother, Crazypants.

Back in real life, the clock is ticking on this pregnancy, so I'm going to finish the book by next week. At 34 weeks, both babies are head down again (yay!) and everything is looking good. The docs tell me they can safely be born at any time (what the what?!) - I'm hoping for at least 4 more weeks though.

Other projects I haven't started yet:
1. Gobbi mobile (this is super quick, no sewing involved)

I've let go of the idea of making another quilt/play mat. Nesting aside, I have to know my limits. I'm a little sad about it, but it is possible to sew once you have kids, right? Right??

Enjoy more stories about progress at Lee's:

Mumu

Get your parade caps ready, everyone! I finished a queen-sized quilt!!

Thanks to Mr Awesome (left) and our wonderful neighbor for holding up the quilt on a very windy day.

I started Mumu in October of last year. This quilt has been a joy from start to finish, really.

It was so windy, as usual. Check out the chair blown over in the background.

Back - thanks again, guys!

It was all smooth sailing until I got to the binding and realized 3 things. I didn't make the backing large enough to fold over on one side; I cut a sizable gash in the exact place the binding edge folds while trimming the batting; I pulled on the voile from the backing to make it fit and ended up shredding the fabric slightly.

What can I tell you. I'm 32 weeks pregnant, 50 pounds heavier (read: hungry), and the WIP list is a mile long. Without the luxury of time, corners are - sometimes literally - being cut. I hate to admit it, but that is the truth. Maybe I am overcoming my perfectionism at last - thanks, babies!

I managed to mend the gash by making a patch. The too-small backing was solved with an add-on piece that you wouldn't notice unless you were looking (and I'm not going to show you, ha!). I think I salvaged the voile with some clever folding and zigzag stitching. In summation: who cares. It's warm, it's quilty, and I love love love it. Oh yeah, and it's DONE!

Now, let's oohh and aaww over the quilting, shall we?

There was no way this monster was fitting into my little Bernina (her knees were quaking at the very idea). Luckily, a friend and quilty angel, Kristin, offered her services on a long-arm. She asked what pattern I wanted, and quilt friends, I was at such a loss. I usually keep it very simple. All-over meander? Echo around each criss-cross?

Sensing the boring-ness of my ideas, Kristin kindly asked if she could have free reign. I gave her the green light, and I am so glad I did. Her work enhances the blocks, compliment the fabrics, and helps fill in the space without overwhelming the pattern. And the texture is divine!

Border on top and bottom

This is one area in which I want to become more adventuresome. I wonder if any quilters plan a top with the quilting already in mind? I usually just choose a pattern after piecing that won't obscure the look of the blocks. Kristin's example is inspiring me to step out of that comfort zone.

Look how the quilting shows off my "perfect" piecing (smug pat on own back).

From the back

You can see here how using the same fabric from different dye lots can look quite different (on the binding vs the quilt top). Both are Kona Snow, but one piece is much brighter.

Mumu finds a home at last!

 

Baby Sewing Progress:
Finished:
1. Receiving blankets! Finally! Our kids only have about 10,000 blankets now.

In Progress:
2. Ball
3. Wall-hanging

Not Started:
4. Books

New Schemes:
5. Gobbi Mobile
6. Montessori fabric balls (2)

I also washed the little play mat. It came out so nice and soft! (My belly somehow found its way into the photo...it has a way of turning up in unexpected places at 32 weeks along.)

But aw, look:

It's hard to see, because my camera has suddenly lost it's ability to focus on details close up (grr...maybe it needs glasses?), but there is damage to one corner. It got stuck on some velcro in the wash and came out all mangled. It may just be the hormones, but I'm heart-broken. My sweet babies are going to come out all perfect and I have to give them something already a little wrecked. :o(

Since we're already a week into August, here's my updated list of quilting goals to meet before September:
1. Quilt Bee
2. Brother Quilt Finished! Post coming soon!
3. Mumu Finished!
4. Scrappy Mumu Pillows Finished!
5. Scrappy Sampler - Not much progress. Some blocks have been siphoned off into other projects. Not sure what to do with this one.
6. Emma's Trip Around the World - No progress.
7. Paisley Sunrise - Progress is sloooow and steady.
8. New Projects - Most definitely. Details here, here, and here.

Thanks for visiting, quilt friends! See more progress at Lee's: