June NewFO Challenge

I was browsing the blogs and ran across something that really caught my attention.  It was from Carla of Cora Quilts and was her American Jane 9 Patch Baby Quilt:

I'm not sure what it was about her baby quilt, but I knew I needed to make one.  So, I went digging through my 2 1/2" blocks to gather a variety of fabrics and started putting together some happy blocks.  They weren't as happy as Carla's and I might just have to do this one again using the fabrics that she used which was ABC 123 Charm Pack by American Jane for Moda Fabrics.  Here's my top put together:

I've also made a couple of pillow cases.  I originally made them for a charity give away, but when I showed them to my daughter, she fell in love with them.  Maybe she'll forget about them before I have a chance to mail them to her.

I've been sort of busy this month.  I have finally got my Sister's Choice blocks put together into a top.  I first posted about this quilt in March and am now on the search for a border for this:

I'm happy with how it has turned out.  There are so many different fabrics that have been accumulated over the years as well as some that were given to me by friends and family.  There are lots of memories here.  I look forward to having this one live on my bed.

To see what everyone else is doing for the 2013 NewFO Challenge for this month click here.

     

2013 NewFO Challenge - May Update

I'm following the NewFO Challenge where anew project has to be started every month.  They don't have to be finished ... just started!  While visiting April's NewFO Linky Party I found a really cute pillow I liked at Leisa's Day by Day called Whimsical Birdhouses. Leisa was kind enough to send me her Birdhouse Block pattern.  So, that was the project that I started this month, right after mailing off my To Boston With Love flag.  Here's Leisa's pillow that really caught my attention!

The rules for the NewFO Challenge include the fact that you don't have to finish the project that you start.  I got the birdhouses all built, but didn't have to time finish up the pillow.

I am part of a group called Ozark Fabric and other Fun Stuff! and we are creating quilt blocks that are going to be put together by one of the group to make a quilt to send to Moore, Oklahoma.  I have sent off my blocks already and many more are arriving at the quilter daily.  I remembered to get a picture of them before mailing them off.

I have also finished all of the blocks needed for my Sister's Choice quilt.  My sweet little helper Popeye helped me get them all sorted out into rows.  Now I need to get them put together and choose the fabric for the border.

 Visit Barbara over at Cat Patches and see what others have started this month.  Happy quilting everyone!

My Sister's Choice!

One of the items that I originally listed on the 2013 New FO Challenge was Bonnie Hunter's Sister's Choice quilt.  This is a lovely quilt that is on the Free Patterns! tab of her blog.  It can be found here.  She was or looking for something to do with her over flowing bin of 2 1/2" scrap strips!  As I have been using Bonnie's Scrap User's System since I started quilting, I too had many strips in my 2 1/2" drawer.  This seemed like a perfect quilt for me since I've been quilting for less that a year.

 This is a picture of Bonnie's Sister's Choice quilt that she has on the bed in her guest room.  I hope mine ends up looking as good at hers.

 I only had 8 blocks made so far, but I really was happy with how the blocks were turning out.  I have been using the same neutral fabric for the background and the same green fabric for the star points.

 

 I am up to 52 blocks now and have had to switch to a different neutral twice since I used all of the first two up that I had in my stash.  I use a safety pin to group 10 blocks together, so I don't have to keep counting how many I have.  I have a few more 9-patches sewn together, but those will have to wait until after Easter for me to be able finish them. 

I still haven't decided how I will finish the quilt.  Bonnie didn't use any sashing and just sewed the 72 blocks together 8 X 9.  She used a 1 1/2" inner border and a 5" outer border.  In making all of the flippy corners, I ended up with MANY bonus HST's.  For now I've just stuck them in an extra drawer but I think I might use them to do some kind of a border with. 

Happy Good Friday everyone and hope that you have a very Happy Easter!  To link back to the others participating in the new 2013 New FO Challenge, click here.