There Goes the Neighborhood

This is another top that got finished up today. I got the idea back in January while playing around with some graph paper. I've been working on selvage houses since then.

I threw in a few trees for good measure.....and a few cats that I had, too.

The roofs and doors match. and i tried to use the same selvages on either side of the houses.

This is what it became.

As I went along, i didn't have any selvages to match for the houses....so some houses became 'not as desirable'.  The houses on the south side of town (bottom of the quilt)....aren't kept up as well as their northern neighbors.

The people here have no pride of ownership. haha

In fact, there is an empty lot...and someone pulled in a trailer there.... and a scruffy dog found a trash can to get into. I had to scour the internet for embroidery designs for the empty lot. haha

Behind the trailer there is an old rusted pickup in the weeds.

It is about 52x57....big enough to lounge on the couch. 

Wonder where my next idea will come from. 

Scrappy Hearts

I got another top pieced together. I make 6" crumb blocks constantly....trying to keep the tiny scraps down. When I got a heart die I had to make some....but with what?  So, my idea was to use some of my crumb blocks and cut out hearts.

I cut out a bunch of them...and put some on blue.

And most of them on navy.

This is the top I came up with.

I thought it needed a border...so, what better than more crumb blocks. the heart blocks are 7" and the crumb blocks are 6", so they didn't match up exactly, but it doesn't matter to me. I used about 45 crumb blocks to make the border.

And I still have many of them left...and still many more to make. they will come in handy again one day.

This top is couch size....I have an idea of what I want to do with it.....just need to get it quilted.

Wildflowers

A few years in the making...but the wildflower blocks are pieced into a top. I have been working on them when i visit my sister...once a month...but, not every month...for probably a couple years.

the flowers are hand stitched onto wool felt blocks of different colors.

all parts of it are wool felt

it was a challenge to get enough white for sashing, so some of it is orange. but, in placing it strategically, it all worked out just fine.

It will be a while before it is quilted...maybe by next winter. it will be heavy and warm.

Crazy Quilt Animals

Molly Mine is one of my very favorite embroidery designers. She makes the most awesome crazy quilt designs. Over about a year, I accumulated these animals and they got pieced together back in February of this year when I was babysitting my sister's 3 dogs for a week. 

It is 52x63"...a pretty good couch size. Large meander in the border. no quilting in the sashing but an X in the cornerstones. I did SID around the blocks.

I went around the animal...and through some of it in the body...and then just made various lines in the background.

I usually use the colors she suggests and they turn out really cute.

And i had a great colorful fabric for binding that had some dark brown in it.

This is the back. i have no recollection where that fabric came from.

It has animal sound words in the blocks 

And, there was some leftovers from the back, so i am embroidering some animals to go with the sounds and will make a child's quilt.

I used Glide Ivory for the top and Bottom Line Beach for the bobbin.

Oasis ... red and brown

This pattern came from Sew Preeti.com.....i believe that is her site. her quilt is blue and white...hence the name, Oasis.  That was too boring for me, so my Oasis is a bit bolder. haha  And I added a border to mine....using some reds that wanted to come and play. I noticed I actually have it hanging upside down. that top row in this pic is left over blocks that I used up to add a half row. 

And I had the perfect maroon and tan stripe for the binding. A wavy X through the blocks and wavy lines in the border.

This was my first set of blocks. I've been looking to use up that brown floral.

Then, I needed more, so these are the alternate blocks. I made about 15 of these wrong side up and had to take the halves back apart and resew. 

This is the back. As usual, a piece from a thrift store.

It is 67" square. I used Glide Ruby for the top thread and So Fine brown for the bobbin.

Black, White and Bold

Another UFO has come out of the closet...this one from April 16, 2015.  It is my June UFO for Judy Laquidara's UFO Challenge. It is 62x74.

I don't remember where I got the pattern, but you piece together 2 1/2" strips and make 45 degree cuts. I had a few blocks left over, so I put that half row on the left.

It's a pretty good scrap buster.

The back is actually a dark blue but got washed out with the camera.

The panto is Climbing Clematis, by Michelle Wyman.

Top thread was Glide Bark until I ran out in the last row, then I switched to Glide Chestnut. It's hard to tell where I switched. Bobbin thread was Bottom Line Taupe

I have already loaded the next one....which was just pieced this month....shock....and have quilted a couple rows. If all goes well, it could be finished tomorrow.

Legacy by Ricky Tims

Another 2017 UFO finished.

Ricky put a free block out monthly....there were 20 of them.....but I got bored at 12 and quit. haha   Each block is 15"  The blocks sat around for a while and finally I pieced them together in February of this year. He calls it Legacy.

I was trying to use up some batik scraps, so it has a lot of batik in it. This block was paper pieced. Most of the blocks you made 4 sections and then sewed them together.

I believe this one was paper pieced also.

This was applique

This log cabin had pretty small logs.

The back is a piece from the thrift store....I used this for the binding also since there was enough left.

It is 54x70. Top thread is Glide Key Lime; bobbin is Bottom Line white.

I did a lot of SID, some fills here and there....some CC...and a circley kind of meander for the lime green. 

Done is good.

The Plus Sign

I finished quilting this one about 10 days ago...and finally got the binding on it today. It was a long time coming. I finished piecing it on March 9, 2014....over 5 years later....

It is 81 x 93".  Panto is Amusement by Urban Elementz

The back is a thrift store find. There is a very faint print on it. Pretend those lines are all straight...i had a devil of a time with it. 

This was my May challenge quilt in Judy Laquidera's UFO challenge.  

I used Glide Orchid for the top; Bottom Line white for the bobbin.