I have finished the Lexington Challenge Quilt!  I was surprised at how big it turned out and it's my own fault for using my "selective reading"........When I read that this was a throw quilt my brain thought lap quilt so when I ended up with a 64x64 inch "lap quilt" I was not happy to know I would have to manage quilting it on my Singer............anyway I do love the quilt and am happy with how it turned out..........

I also want to show you the lovely table toppers I have received from my Swap Partners in my Sewing with Friends Group

This beauty is from Lynette

I love the bold/jewel colors!  Thanks Lynnie....I Love it!

I also received this gorgeous Autumn topper from Irene which I may have already shown you but it's so pretty that it bears repeating...............

Irene added some machine embroidery quilting that just finished it off perfectly! Thanks Sis!

Now I have a question...........the end of this month/first of next month is when I have had the Perfectly Pleasing Pincushion Parade 

and I'm not sure about doing it this year.  I have become such a lazy blogger that I'm not sure I will get any response to it.........if some of my faithful (what I have left of them) followers can pass the word and see if anyone is still interested I will be happy to host it again..........if I get enough "yes" responses I'll do it again.........and if not I'll skip it this year and see if I can get back to blogging and get back my followers and start back up next year........

Lexington Challenge, Table toppers...

I joined the National Quilter's Circle Lexington Sampler challenge and after being 3 weeks behind have managed to catch up!  It is a 9 week challenge and so far we are on week #4 (each week has been 2 blocks of same pattern).  You can choose to make either a bed size or throw size quilt. (the bed size has additional borders). Although the original quilt is basically reds I decided to use a blue palette.....Here's what I have so far.....

week seven has a bonus block for the center if we don't want to use plain fabric or our own center block. I really don't like either of the middle colors here so I will most likely wait for the bonus pattern or find one of my own.  Does anyone have a suggestion for a 15 inch center block?

I got this beautiful table topper from my swap buddy, Irene....I'm all ready for fall!  Irene used the Swoon block and added the triangles to make the second on point background square. (ummm….I may have "made her" use the swoon pattern....lol)  She also included some beautiful machine embroidery.  I love it so much! Thanks Irene. Sorry my photo doesn't do it justice....in addition to the pumpkin center, there are quilted leaves also.

Oh...….and here is the front of the topper I made for Irene's table...….

 I guess that's all for this post.  I hope Blogger has fixed the no comment notification problem...………….

Table Toppers and Visiting with Family

Last post I showed you the back of the table topper I sent to my swap partner and now that I know she received it I will show you all the front of the "God Bless America" topper:

I had wanted to make a swoon block since they became so popular a few years ago but just never had.  Then I came across a table topper on Pinterest that someone had adapted from a swoon block and decided to take the opportunity.  It is really easy because all you do is cut 2 pieces of 9x9 fabric diagonally and sew to the middle of each side of the finished Swoon block to make the additional 4 points. 

 We allow ourselves 2 months between swaps in our group but I have a really busy remainder of the year and I've been trying to get ahead so I don't end up in a pinch later on...

That being said....I've made my next topper...…….since my swap partner will see this post I will do like before and show you the back.  Irene had requested an oblong or rectangular table topper in teals, brown, and creams: 

I am visiting my son and his family this week and having a great time.  We went to the beach on Memorial Day and will have a party this weekend to celebrate my granddaughter's 3rd birthday before I head back home....as a bonus my other son and his family will be here and I'll have all my grandchildren in one place at once!

H2H and Sewing with Friends .............

Today  I am linking up with Hands2Help at Confessions of a Fabric Addict with the Transformers Quilt I made for the event.    As you can see I got a lot of grief  help from Cali while I was constructing the quilt.....                                              

Fortunately "we" were able to get the quilt finished and sent off to Little Lambs Foundation for Kids....a non profit 501(c)3 Organization operating out of Utah which provides comfort kits to children ages newborn to 17 years old who are transitioning into foster care, emergency shelter or who have been hospitalized, by providing them with a little comfort in a bag....you can read more about Little Lambs by clicking HERE

 

 

My Sewing with Friends group just finished our last swap....we made postcards.....here are the ones I received. I love them all!
 

 

Our new project is table toppers.......We do one every two months and our first one is due in the mail by July 15th but I wanted to have mine done for my swap mate by 4th of July so I'm sending it out to you this week, Mary.....sorry but I'm going to only let you see the back.....heehee....

 

Cali had to have one last "look" before The Transformers went in the mail...................



 

What does Love look like??

This is the 8th year Sarah at "Confessions of a Fabric Addict" is hosting the "Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge....and my 3rd Fourth year (lost track and just realized I've done 4 years!).....
well, anyway...........it is a great cause......Sarah has several charities to choose from so if you would like to help out......click on the link below or the one on my side bar...........
                                   

This year I made a Transformers Quilt which I will be donating to Little Lambs Foundation for Kids......you can read about this wonderful non profit Organization at Sarah's blog.....

You can see I had a lot of help from my kitty Cali....

I used some Transformers fabric I found at a second hand store to make some hourglass blocks then added sashing which actually made the blocks look more like box kites.........then I added some autobot and decepticon badges with my embroidery machine and then did FMQ with some variegated quilting thread throughout.   

 I used colored bobbin thread so that the back of the quilt would show the badges too.   Over all I was pretty pleased with how the quilt turned out.  It is about 52 x 52..........and the blue is really more vibrant than the photos show.......I hope it will make some child happy as well as keep him warm.........

 

Cali liked the finish too!

 

 

 

 

Granddaughters are so much fun....Part II

I just had to show you how the quilts I sent my baby girls hit it off.................
The "I believe in Fairytales" quilt I made for the baby made it just in time for her 1 Month photo!  Would you believe the dress she is wearing is actually a matching dress for the Raggedy Ann I made for her??  Yes, I am in love......

 

...and big sister loved the doll quilts and matching PJ's I sent along............here she is with the set she picked out............the PJ's fit "Dolly" perfectly!

 

Did I say I'm in love????

 

 

 

Granddaughters are so much fun!

I was blessed with a new granddaughter last month and promised I would get her quilt from Nana finished in time for her first month baby photo..........Nana managed to have her Raggedy Ann done in time for the birth and was waiting on some fabric to finish the quilt..........here is Raggedy............we don't know what her name will actually be.....her "big" sister named the Raggedy Nana gave her "Dolly"....so maybe this will be "Polly" or "Molly"?? Or maybe "Annie".....who knows.....lol....

I had been saving some "Fairy Tale Friends" fabric from American Jane for quite awhile to make a special quilt....Fairy Tale Friends has long been out of print but I had a charm pack, a layer cake, a honeybun, and a panel.  The panel only had 15 squares so I made an extra 5 fairy tale scenes using my embroidery machine so I would have 20 blocks........I used the Attic Window pattern and added some more embroidery and here it is!

I used the panel for the front. For the back I used some of the charms, honey bun strips and the cake layers , together with some of the red fabric I had used for the window panes and some more embroidery.....I used a variegated thread to do some free motion meandering all over and was quite pleased with the results. 

  My new little Kitty was a great help too.......

My Sis found a vintage quilt top that someone had hand embroidered with the baby animals and gave to me. I cut it in half and made two doll quilts for the Raggedies....I used flannel for the backing and made a set of matching pajamas for each.... I'll send these along with Ella's quilt......