More quilty stuff

Well, since my last posting got such a good response, here are a few more of the quilty things I've been doing in the last few months.

First, I fixed the borders on this quilt. I thought I had this one finished before (especially since I've blogged about it), but it needed a little extra work that involved taking both borders off, fixing the quilt, and sewing the borders back on. However, it was worth it in the end. This quilt still needs a name, so if you think of one, let me know.



Of course, since I had leftover fabric from that quilt, I started on this one:


(the pattern for the front comes from a wonderful quilt maker named Bonnie Hunter and can be found on her website at http://quiltville.com/smokeymtstars.shtml)

I actually finished the piecing of this quilt last June or so and bought the border fabrics in an Orem quilt shop before I came home, but it was only in the past few months that I finally got the borders sewed on. Did you know that there were three specialty quilt shops within a mile or two of my apartment in Utah? Yeah, it was a good thing I had a thesis to write.

I pieced a back for this quilt from my leftovers and remaining yellow stash. You can't tell from the picture, but the strips are in the middle of the quilt I think I like this side, too! I'm still trying to think of a good name for this quilt, so if you have any ideas, let me know.




Of course, with the borders on these two quilts, I needed a new project. So, here is the reason I now have a limited selection of fabrics in my purple stash. I have named this quilt "Purple Patch." It's hard to tell from the picture, but this quilt finishes at 66 x 74 inches. I had a hard time getting enough of a wingspan to hold the quilt properly.



(if you're interested, the pattern is from another great quilter named Mary Johnson [no relation] and can be found at http://maryquilts.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/double-4-patch.pdf)

For graduation in August, my aunt and uncle and their family gave me a gift card. This quilt is what it turned into.



We call this one the Newspaper Quilt, since it's Black and White and Red all over. It's another pattern from Bonnie Hunter (http://www.quiltville.com/starstruck.shtml), and I love it!


Of course, we can't forget the small projects, either. You've seen a few finished ones, but I have one more. Here we have a table topper/wall quilt made with a Disappearing Nine Patch. I'm thinking of calling it "With a Cherry on Top." What do you think?




With all these tops done, I can continue on. My personal rule of not starting a new quilt until I've finished piecing another one seems to be keeping my in-progress pile down to four or five. I'm not going to count; it would be too scary. And yes, I've already begun on the replacements. :)

So what's next? Well, I have to quilt all of these completed tops, for one. Of course, there's always piecing the back for the queen-sized top I finished right around the time Andrew went into the MTC. My sister dubbed this the Caramel Quilt, and, in the unlikely event that I decide not to keep it (not going to happen!), laid her claim on it.



(the leftovers from this quilt found their way into the purple patch quilt. I'm detecting a trend here; are you?)


So, having been this productive, what are my options now?

I could do the actual quilting on this Christmas runner which I finished piecing last May. It's prepped for quilting; I just have to do it.



I could work on the three quilts for which I have pieces cut and/or partially sewn (Remember the pictures previously posted?). I could wash and or cut the fabric for the other quilts I have planned. I could work on the Grandmother's Flower Garden (all hand-done) which is going on its twelfth year of production. I could work on my knitting (that's my entire yarn stash pictured previously. I'm doing well in that, at least) and show you pictures of the dishcloths I've made. I could finish a cross-stitch I've been working on sporadically for the past seven or eight years. I could finish the embroidered pillowcase set I started this summer (I've got one of them done, and the other has been started!). I could start and/or finish any number of projects. I've never claimed to be un-domesticated, after all.

Or, I could pray to find a real full-time job.

Personally, that's my favorite option of all.