 Here are the last 2 quilts that I have to quilt before Tuesday. This is one that I pieced a couple of months ago. This is the second time I've done a quilt like this. Periodically I get out my Go! Cutter and cut up my scraps. My favorite die is the 4" HST die. Once I've accumulated a lot of them I start sewing pairs with one light and one dark. There are a zillion ways to arrange HST blocks but this is one of my favorites. I think it kind of sparkles. This one is bound and ready to deliver Tuesday night.  The last one that I got quilted is this rail fence quilt. I'd bet a lot of money that this one was made by Betsy. I think it's very soothing.  The quilting on this one doesn't show without some side light. I quilted it with some free-motion contours.
Yesterday, I got my 4th truckload of mulch spread. Only 6 more to go! Today we will go to the Baby Sprinkle to deliver the farm quilt.
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 We do veterans quilts of all designs and colors but we do a large percentage of them in patriotic themes. The two that I quilted yesterday were patriotic. This one features a Coast Guard fabric and, I think, was made by Gwendolyn.  I quilt most of the patriotic ones with a star pattern and when I have large patches of a solid color I always pick a thread that will stand out. In this case, white worked best for both quilts.  This one was made by Dawn and is so striking. She has a good design sense. I like that the busy print is in the center and the last round. Dawn is a relatively new quilter and she got a dose of bias reality with this one so the edges were a bit big. She got some help from other members on understanding how to deal with bias but she was assured that we could work with the quilt as it was.  I stitched in some pleats on the longarm using matching thread. Then I quilted in white so that what you see in the border is the white and the navy pleats are virtually invisible. The finished result is beautiful and I think Dawn will be happy.
Just FYI, this isn't even close to the worst that I've had to deal with. Two more quilts and I'm done until Tuesday!  Every day this week is kind of a rinse and repeat day. I'm spreading a truckload of mulch in the morning, quilting veterans quilts in the afternoon and listening to banging on the house all day. The guys work so hard and they are probably 90% done with the house, except for new porch railings that someone else is doing. Only the guest house and garage left to do. They will be easy compared to the house. Today is a rain day so we all get a day off. I'll do some more quilting but no mulching. My back will be happy.  Both of these quilts were made by Peg. She gave me 5 or 6 tops last week. I think the red/white/blue one from yesterday might be one of hers too.  Speaking of yesterday's quilt, Pam asked about the pattern for the RWB quilt. I don't know the pattern name but I mocked up a block in EQ. It's a 12" block so it will be easy to calculate the cutting instructions.
Off to quilt 2 more today.  I got the longarm cleaned up this weekend and started tackling the stack of quilts yesterday. I'm not sure who made this one but I love it.  This is one that Mom made.  She made another of this pattern back in November. They have completely different looks from the same block.  Here's the simple block.
More veterans quilts coming!  One of the things that From The Heart asks for is wheelchair blankets. The optimal size is 27" x 36" and that makes them really convenient to make in either crochet or quilting. IO made these 3 tops over a year ago and just got around to quilting them this weekend. Yesterday I got the binding done while the workers were banging on the outside of the house. I think I might wash them before donating them so that they will be even softer and more drapey.  The backing is a black-on-white fabric that I overdyed years ago. I even had enough to use for binding. For 2 of the quilts I used the back side of the fabric for the binding. I think these will appeal to some gentlemen and they probably don't have as many manly things donated.
I don't know what I'm going to do today but it might be time to start something new.  Yesterday I spent some time out in the sun picking up sticks, visiting a friend and then doing some laundry. Just before dinner I was able to sit at the machine and get the binding on this quilt. This quilt started with the leftover from The Big Blue Quilt. I really like how this turned out and hopefully someone at the VA hospital will love it.  It's quilted with my go-to wavy crosshatch pattern.  There's nothing like a dumpster with an integrated porta potty to get a party started. That's a darned clever design. Work starts on the house today.
 It was rainy all weekend so it was a good time to be sewing. I now have 4 farm blocks made and should have the top together by the weekend. The horse and cow are the most complex blocks so I tackled them first.  I also got the two veterans quilts quilted. This one was made by Peg and I know that she had 4 more tops ready for us to quilt. It's rare for Brenda and I to run out of quilts to quilt!  Both quilts (Peg's and mine) are quilted with a wavy crosshatch. I default to that almost every time I receive a square based quilt. It's fast and always looks nice. I'll show my whole quilt once I get it bound.
This week we are on watch for a blizzard Wednesday or Thursday. We were supposed to get new siding and gutter on our house this week but that's been appropriately postponed. I think I'm going to take some time this week to plan an extra beach trip this Spring and to plan our 2026 winter vacation. That will keep my spirits up! I did get out and walk around yesterday and saw that all those daffodils that I planted in the fall are starting too come up.Maybe the general weather will start warming once this week's storm is over.  OK, so I mostly wasted yesterday. I found out that the Philadelphia parade was shown on my local CBS channel so I had to watch it. No quilting happened but I did pull out this blanket to finish while I watched TV. It's a 24 x 40" wheelchair blanket for donation. I made it with Hobby Lobby Yarn Bee Soft & Chunky. It will look familiar because this is the second one that I've made.  The stitch is the linen stitch with alternating single crochet and chain stitches. It's easy and mindless, perfect for watching TV. I used a K hook for this bulky yarn.  Before I start another blanket project I will add the leftovers to a scrappy corner to corner blanket. These can be good pet blankets.  My mail yesterday brought my Super Bowl t-shirt!
 Last night while everyone else was at the Kitt Peak Observatory I vacuumed enough of the floor to be able to take a few crochet projects. I have finished the two shawls I was working on and I'm happy to report that this is the end of that yarn for shawls. There's a little left over that will go in a scrapghan at some point. The pattern is this one. I've made it so many times now that I don't think I need the pattern anymore. It's such a good one for donation shawls. I already have yarn picked for the next one.  Here's the second one. I do like how the yarn makes each one look a little different.  I brought along a couple of Caron Cotton Cakes from my stash and started a shawl like the brown one I made last month. This will probably hold me to be one of my car projects for the ride home.
On the critter front we have seen a coyote, lots of quail, javelina, roadrunners and several varieties of hummingbirds. At the Arizona-Sedona Desert Museum we also saw mountain goats and a grey wolf. Everyone else checked out the reptile exhibit. In vacation news the weather is hot and glorious. Yesterday ot got up to 84 and it's supposed to be a couple of degrees warmer today. We've had a couple of good days sunning and reading by the pool. Sunday night we went to a concert at the Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson. It was fun to see downtown Tucson but, I have to admit, it was some of the most boring music I've ever heard. But it was a lovely night to sit outside with friends. Yesterday I skipped the morning walk because my ankle/foot is acting up a little. Today I'll tape it and do a walk, not a hike. Last night everyone but me went to the Kitt Peak Observatory. I passed because I have well documented altitude problems at anything above about 5500'. the observatory is at 6900'. Instead I stayed back and relaxed, made myself some fake bread, read, watched a movie and did some crochet. It was lovely.  Well, there was a lot of football to watch Sunday and Monday so I was able to finish one last project before leaving town. This will be a donation blanket for a chemo or dialysis patient. It finished to be about 38" x 65" I've made this blanket once before in 2021. The yarn is Universal Major. I got it on sale several years ago. I'm not a huge fan of pink but it was on sale and I know that someone will love it. I used 4 skeins, about 1300 yards.  The pattern is the Inchworm Baby Blanket. It calls for 2 colorways of this yarn but I only used 1. If you prefer video tutorials here's one from Fiber Spider that I used to supplement the written pattern. I used a J hook but should have used a K, I think.  The colors in this photo are the most accurate.  OK, now we are officially off!
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I'm Vicki Welsh and I've been making things as long as I can remember. I used to be a garment maker but transitioned to quilts about 20 years ago. Currently I'm into fabric dyeing, quilting, Zentangle, fabric postcards, fused glass and mosaic. I document my adventures here. Categories
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