The holiday weekend was very productive for me! Aside from Mom's quilt, I also wrapped up this blanket. In all fairness, it was close to being done.
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The blanket is square, the narrow top is due to the camera angle. 
I intended this one to be a donation baby blanket but I think it ended up being a bit big at 34 x 44. I'll donate it and I'm confident that they will find the perfect home for it. I love how it turned out.
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The pattern is Woodland Heather Baby Blanket. It's free from Daisy Farm Crafts. I used Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn and an I (5.5mm) hook and cast on 95 stitches. The resulting blanket is sturdy (from the stitch) and very soft.

Now I can start new projects!
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First up is a baby blanket for my new Great Niece arriving in November. I'm making another Daisy Farm Crafts pattern called Even Squares Baby Blanket. My niece picked the colors on the left and I'm trying Brava Worsted for the first time for this project. So far, so good. It's really soft.

I worked up a swatch testing 3 stitches. The bottom row uses the stitches from the pattern. The middle row is double crochet and the top row is half double crochet. I like the half double crochet best so that's what I'm using.
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I mentioned before that I was not going to finish the tank top that I was working on so I put that project in time out until I think of something else to make with the yarn. Instead I started the project that I really wanted to do anyway. This will be another hexagon cardigan. I gave Mom the blue one so this one will be for me. When I did the last one it worked really well to make both halves at the same time so I'm doing that again.

I still have the big blanket going so will alternate these 3, switching each evening and they should keep me busy for several weeks.

If you are in the US, I hope you had a great 4th of July celebration. We had our celebration over the weekend with a visit from one of my brothers, SIL, niece and Mom. SIL needed some dresses hemmed and she was duly impressed with the efficiency of the serger coverstitch. She said she calls that stitch the "store bought stitch"! LOL! 

She had texted me a couple of weeks ago to ask how to set up her machine to hem dresses and I suggested that she just bring them to me. I'm glad I did because they were all knit and really needed the serger. It only took about an hour to do 5 dresses and that included changing thread twice and machine settings twice.

The rest of the weekend I worked on quilting this quilt. This is one that Mom made that I started quilting months ago. I started quilting the stars and then got hung up on the background. It was in time out for a few months, I think.

I had decided that I wanted to do some sort of floral motif in the background and sashing and that's why I too Bethanne Nemesch's Blooming Botanicals class. It was an outstanding class and I learned a lot and I even quilted some flowers. But I also learned that I don't really like quilting floral motifs. I like ruler work, feathers and fillers.

I decided that I wanted to get this one done before we leave for Maine and set a deadline of next week to get it finished. That would leave me time to get the Goldfinch done before we leave too. 

I work really well with deadlines.
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After several days of chaling out ideas I finally decided to return to my roots of ruler work and feather motifs. This design allowed me to do the quilting in continuous rows. It also isn't too dense so, hopefully, the quilt will not be too heavy for my niece. We didn't know it was going to her until she saw it this weekend and loved it. Mom is thrilled.
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The pattern has a nice secondary design. The quilting isn't perfect but no one will look too closely.
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The backing fabric matches better than what shows in this photo. It's a backing fabric that I bought for another quilt and decided that I wanted something lighter. It had been hanging in the closet for a long time and I'm glad Mom liked it for this quilt.

I've also finished a crochet blanket and started a new one. I'll have those to share tomorrow.

My goals for June were:
- another set of birthday postcards - done
- make pet beds with all the batting scraps I've accumulated - not done
- quilt 6 veterans quilts - done
- finish quilting Mom's floral quilt - progress made
- bind and label the firefighter quilt - done and gifted!
- get the Goldfinch quilt top made - big time done
​- placemats for my brother - not even started

Maybe I didn't get ALL of my goals accomplished (I never do) but it was a fantastic month. The two big projects were to complete the Fighter Quilt and get the Goldfinch top done and I did both! I even made a table runner to go with the Firefighter quilt.

I did hit my goal of quilting 6 veterans quilts and most of there were bound by the makers and delivered to the VA at our July meeting. I just love quilting these quilts. They are stress-free quilting and I know that these quilts do make a difference in people's lives.
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The two backpacks took up more time than I anticipated but they were fun and rewarding projects. I also got two more veterans quilt tops done and they are ready for quilting at some point. 

I crocheted 2 hats while I worked the primary precinct, dyed 3 maternity tops for my niece and had a blast making 8 Martian postcards.

I made some progress on other crochet projects and at least one of them will be done in July. I used a total of 7 balls of yarn but I also gave away about 12 balls to a young crochet friend....so I'm counting 19 to offset the 16 new balls that I bought for 2 new projects.

MyYTD stats are:
Quilts - 1
Veterans quilts made - 8
​Donation lap quilts - 12
Veterans quilts quilted - 25
Fabric Postcards - 11
​​Quilted for others - 3
​Crochet blankets - 3
​​Crochet shawls - 1
​​Crochet/loom knit hats and scarves - 24
Doll outfits - 2
Placemats and Table Runners - 25
​Dyed shirts and towels - 3
​Other Donated items - 74
​Garments (sewn and cochet) - 1
​Balls of yarn used - 32
​Other items - 5

I can't believe we are already halfway through 2023. It's going extra fast!

My goals for July are:

- plan my sewing and crochet projects for our trip to Maine
- finish quilting Mom's quilt. That should happen in the next few days
- quilt and finish the Goldfinch
- make placemats for my brother
- my nephew requested new placemats but they might not get done until September
- at least start quilting a guild fundraiser quilt
- make pet beds

There's no way all this gets done because I also have to do packing for a month-long trip in between. But I'll put on some good audiobooks and give it my best shot.

This week's inspiration comes to us from Susan Price. This quilt was made for a SAQA Regional Exhibit called Reflections - representing some aspect of the Virginia/North Carolina Region. (SAQA = Studio Art Quilt Associates) It is based on a composite of 2 photos taken at the Peaks of Otter Lodge on the Blue Ridge Parkway. She said that the shibori fabric was perfect for making the feathery grasses along the bank of the lake. She started with a solid piece and cut away at the stripes till she was satisfied with the result.
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She even included a photo of the original fabric so we could see how she cut it for her grass element.

For sharing, Susan received a 20% coupon for the shop that's good for 3 months! If you have made anything with my hand dyed fabric I hope you will consider sharing it in the Customer Gallery.  The only rule is that projects have to be complete. It doesn't have to be made totally from hand dyed fabric, just include a recognizable amount. ​