Wrapping up 2016; looking forward to 2017

I'm back! it's been a super busy December (and end the end of November got a bit crazy, too) with turkey butchering, a few road trips, a funeral and an epic family trip to WA state to see my son and his wife, and their new baby, E. E is my first granddaughter, and joined her cousin C, (my first grandson) who was born 6 days earlier!

 

almost the whole family traveled to Seattle, WA to see the new baby, and since my daughter and her husband came along (the parents of baby C) we had TWO babies to hold! it was a nice time with family, and we also squeezed in some sight-seeing: the Space Needle, Pike's Place Market, the Seattle Aquarium and the gum wall. (gross)

finally things are settling down, and i'll have a bit of time in the sewing room before spring, and all the farm chores hit again. I am focusing on getting some of my RSC 16/15/14 projects done. the granny squares (above) are all done, just need trimmed. I think I have 67!

my soduku quilt was pieced in RSC14, but not completed. I decided with TWO grandbabies, I'd better be prepared with quilts at grandma's house- just in case they both visited at the same time. (unlikely, but it's good to be prepared, right?)

the above grandbaby quilt was completed 3+ years ago, just after my daughter got married. I knew it would be awhile before she had children, but again: be prepared! (pattern here)

hubby got this antique cradle at the thrift store (!) and we're all ready for whenever those sweet babies pop in.

I'm planning on crossing a TON of my UFO/WIPs this year. (post on that below) but I'm still going to participate in RSC17: here's what I have in mind-

• Kona solid 16 patch
• continue working on my crumb blocks
• finish up the RSC16 column-along
• use my 3" squares in the color of the month- still thinking about what pattern to use...

click on over to so scrappy and see what everyone else is doing! and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

why re-invent the wheel?

after receiving an invitation to a baby shower for early November, I figured I better get busy on the baby quilt I was planning to gift.

 

my stash of 3" squares is pretty impressive, so I knew I wanted to use those. (even with these 3 quilts, and RSC14, the suitcase is still overflowing!) as far as I know, this particular quilt is an original that I've designed. I'm know I was inspired with other quilts that I've seen, but I don't' remember seeing this particular design before.

 

the pink/yellow/purple quilt is for our church's sewing group. we like to give a quilt to each new baby that is dedicated. now we'll have 4 quilts in reserve for the mamma's to choose from - 2 for a boy and 2 for a girl.

 

the second quilt is for a dear friend's daughter- M is expecting her first baby in early December. the nursery is teal/grey/white. I threw in some yellow just for fun. I love how it turned out- but wish I had remembered to put the side pieces on the center square before adding the top and bottom borders. oh well.

 

the last quilt is for a dear friends daughter (same dear friend, different daughter.) H had her second baby girl in july (?). I did ask for some input on the colors- H wanted purple/sage colors. the fabric that I used for this quilt is hand dyed fabric from Vicki - I won it last month (I think it was last month!) while participating in Judy's Tell It To The Stars  mystery quilt. the background is Kona thistle. (the light purple didn't show up too well in this picture)

 

the quilts finish about 40" X 50" (I think!). what made centers particularly easy, I think, was that I used the solution to a Sudoku puzzle to lay out the centers! I chose 9 fabrics, 9 of each, and just followed the answer key to lay out the center patchwork. easy-peasy!