Coastal Haven Quilt

Yesterday, I received a phone call from my good friend, Linda, at Coastal Haven RV Park.  She was passing on the information that the Coastal Haven ladies have decided to make a quilt together.  All of the sewing ladies are to make 2 quilt blocks and bring them to Coastal Haven next winter.  The blocks will be sewn together into a quilt top and quilted.  Then the quilt will be raffled or auctioned.  That is yet to be determined, I guess.

Since I'm still waiting for the pattern for the baby quilt to arrive, I had time yesterday afternoon to make my 2 blocks. I immediately knew that one of my blocks would be a simple Friendship Star.  So I sat down and drew up a pattern for a 10" block.  I looked through my stash of fabric and found a blue and a blue on gold that looked nice together.





After finishing the Friendship Star, I decided to try my hand at making a Flower Basket block.  I have never made one of those and had always wanted to try it, so this was a perfect time to make a Flower Basket.  I found 6 different red fabrics to use as the flowers, and I had a nice brown that made a great basket. The background fabric has a very pale pink pattern running through it.  The picture doesn't show that, so just take my word for it that there is a pattern in the background fabric.
There are a lot of free patterns for 10" blocks on the Internet.  Quilter's Cache is a great site to find just what you want.  There are patterns for beginners, intermediate, and skilled quilters. Click here and just scroll down the page on Quilter's Cache's website to the list of 10" blocks.

Postage Stamp Blocks

I am waiting for a quilt pattern to arrive that I ordered a couple of days ago.  It is a truck quilt pattern for the baby quilt that I will make for my newest anticipated grandson.  I don't want to begin any other projects until I make the baby quilt, so today I took out my overflowing container of 1 1/2" squares and strips.  I sorted them into dark and light, and then started sewing them together into sets of two.

Whenever I finish making a quilt or other project, I cut my scrap pieces into usable sizes for other scrap quilts.  I use an adaptation of Bonnie Hunter's scrap users system. Many of the fabrics are gifts from my good friends who know that I use small pieces in many of my quilts.  I really enjoy making tiny blocks from pieces that most people throw away. Adding other people's scraps to my own gives me a much greater variety.  Some of you reading my blog may recognize some of your fabrics in these piles of squares and strips.

 I find it relaxing to mindlessly chain piece these little "twosies". It really doesn't take long to get a rather substantial pile behind my sewing machine.

 The photo to the right shows you how small the little squares are compared to a quarter.  That little scrap of fabric comes from Rosanne at Coastal Haven.  Last spring she sent a bag full of scraps to me via Linda Saunders. I have had fun using her scraps. They have found their way into mug rugs, place mats, my log cabin quilt, and now my postage stamp blocks.

Here is one of the finished 4 patches.  When I get a few hundred of these, I'll start sewing them together. I like to wait until there is a lot of variety before putting them together.
I have no idea how long it will take me to make a quilt of these little blocks, but I am in no particular hurry.  So, if it takes me several years, that's just fine.

Ipad slip case

 When the new Ipad came out, I decided to get one of the old Ipad2's at a reduced price.  I've been having fun learning to use it.  Naturally, it needed a padded case, so that it will be protected when I take it along on trips. 
I spent quite a bit of time searching the internet for a free pattern.  There are a lot of patterns out there.  I decided that I liked this one the best. It is a free pattern by Pat Bravo found here.
Instead of using 3 different fabrics as in the directions, I decided to use just 2. I am very pleased with how nice the case turned out. 
Now my Ipad has a nice cozy padded case to protect it on our travels.

Earth, Wind, and Water

My latest project is the Earth, Wind, and Water table runner.  I have had this pattern for a couple of years.  It was featured online at Quiltmaker.com.  This table runner uses the off-center pineapple block from the Great Balls of Fire quilt which appeared in Quiltmaker Sept/Oct '09. I used Dark Blue, Burgandy, Medium blue, light blue, and a white background in my version.