Friday Finishes - Cooper's Memorial Quilt

Ok maybe that should just be Friday Finish, because I only got one quilt done this week and it was a very small one.  But one is better than none right???  My plan was to work on my brick quilt, but our LQS (local quilt shop) had a wonderful sale last weekend.  Buy five yards get five yards free, or as I like to say 50% off, which is just so hard to pass.  And which we didn't pass.  We went and got several backs for quilts on our list including Cooper's memory quilt and since Sharla was done with the top I just had to quilt it first.  Sharla pieced the top using Pacific Bali Snaps by Hoffman Fabrics. Cooper was a blankie dog, he loved laying on them and we always joked that he wanted a blankie that wasn't pink, since most of Sharla's quilts tended to have pink in them.  So she picked a wonderful set of blues to make his quilt.  We found a wonderful blue batik for the back and binding.    I quilted it freehand (my first) using a ribbon pattern.  It's not perfect, but I am pleased with the results. The photos don't do it justice, but it was late last night and I took them with the flash so the colors aren't as pretty in the photos as they are in person.

Sewing the label on was the hardest part for me.  I hate hand sewing, but I think I have found a way to attach the label when I do the binding.  We will see how that works on the next one.  I even like how the back looks on this one.

Here is a better view of the label, I love that picture of him and he is laying on a quilt Sharla pieced with left overs from her trip around the world quilt and I quilted on my sewing machine.  I will say I love the long arm for quilting so much more!!!! The blue in this photo is more of the true color, so so pretty!!!

And I consider this a minor finish as well, I got the label sewn onto the yellow and black quilt from last week. I washed it as well, so it is truly and completely done.  I really love the look of a quilt after it has been washed.  It just gets that crinkly look and becomes so soft.

And it has already been claimed by Tucker. But I think the real owner is going to be Hollywood. The night I finished it I laid it out on Sharla's bed. Hollywood, claimed it and has slept with her every night since then. The only except was the night I put the label on it and washed it, he slept with me that night.  But last night when I put it back on her bed, he was sleeping with her again.  I think I may have lost my bed buddy.  But as with every blankie in our house, Tucker had to roll on it first.  He just loves blankies, almost as much as he loves Sharla and I.

Overall I'm happy for the week, I did get something quilted.  And I did get the back pieced for the brick quilt. I just need to get it ironed and on the frame to be quilted.  Hopefully ya'll will be seeing it next week on my Friday finishes.

Today, I'm hooking up with……Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Link a Finish Friday, TGIFF...at That's Sew Julie, and Crazy Mom Quilts.

Setting Goals....

I wish every goal I set was so quickly accomplished.  Just 5 days ago I set the goal of having my yellow and black quilt done by the end of the month and here it is 5 short days later and I'm done.  To be honest I was done two days ago.  Now I will be the first to admit since the top was already loaded on to the frame, I was a good way towards completion, but it has been quilted and bound.  And I think pretty much claimed, since Hollywood is sleeping on it and Sharla is sleeping under it.  I want to wash it so it gets that crinkled look and so I can get some of the dog hair off of it, but that will happen next Monday when I am off next. I've not gotten it onto my quilt ladder yet, because I wanted to wash it first and because Hollywood claimed it.  I'm even noting this as a Friday Finish (something I've never done before now).

It is not quite a queen size, but pretty close, it almost covers Sharla bed.  I didn't get too close because the quilting is not that great, but this one does show the dog hair and some of the quilting.  :)

And last but not least you can see the backing I chose.  It is just the yellow with the leaves in it.  I picked it because they had enough of it, and I thought it looked pretty good.  I used Signature cotton 11 Bamboo as the thread, it has a green tint, but looks good on this yellow too.

After it is washed I will try and get better shots of it outside in some good light.  But this is as good as I could get on a Friday night, when I was pretty tired.  

I've decided I need another goal for this month, so I've decided that I want to have another top quilted and bound by the end of the month.  I've picked what I call my grey/gold/cream bricks.  Yes I have such a wonderful imagination with names.  I have the fabric for the back, but still need to piece it.  So this is a little more of a challenge. Here is what it looks like right now, with the backing fabric.  It needs to be ironed and the threads all trimmed. I like the colors of this one a little better, but it is still a little muted for me.  You know me I'm a wild and crazy girl. 

I've also gone through the process of trying to list out every UFO I have.  Boy was that an eye opener. Between Sharla and I we have almost 60 projects on the list.  Now 23 of those are tops that have been completed but not quilted and a handful more that are almost finished.   So my second goal for this month is to get all my completed tops organized and put with the backing fabric for them.  If all goes well, maybe I will get one or two more tops quilted this month.  The brick quilt should go fairly fast because I'm going to do a simple ribbon pattern on it.  If I complete it quickly then I want to add the blue batik charm square quilt that Sharla pieced.  It is her Cooper memorial quilt and I know she would like to get it done.

Today, we are hooking up with……Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Link a Finish Friday, and Crazy Mom Quilts.

2014 January Goals

I have decided to try and do "A Lovely Year of Finishes 2014" hosted by Shanna Fiber of All Sorts and Melissa of Sew BitterSweet Designs.  Last year several of the blogs I follow were doing this and I thought it was great, but could never convince myself to participate.  But hey, it's not like I go to jail if I don't complete a goal, and setting goals makes me get more done.  And I have a lot to do this year.

For January, my goal is to complete my yellow and black quilt.  I made this quilt expressly as a practice quilt to use when we got the long arm quilter.  I will say it is not my favorite quilt ever, I liked the colors when I bought them, but somehow that like faded as I worked with them.  I have loaded it onto the machine, but somehow just haven't started on it.  I'm hoping this gets the mojo going.  My goal is to quilt it, bind it and hang it on my cool new quilt ladder that I got for Christmas from my wonderful brother and sister-in-law.

Some was quite happy that I put a large quilt on the frame, because that meant the batting hung down and being the blankie boy that he is, he immediately headed for it and was snoring within moments. He wasn't happy when I made him move and picked up all the excess and put it on a box.  But he quickly found his way to the bed I have for him under the frame and was snoring again.

I have lots more on my list for January, I want to do several of the economy blocks for the #economyblockalong going on Instagram.  I also need to begin de-boning some shirts to start memory quilts for a friend and her children. And that doesn't even begin to touch the stash of quilt tops I have ready or the UFOs on my list.  But for now I will be happy to complete one quilt.  Hopefully since I still have most of the month I can do it.  Wish me luck.