Appliqué Prep

 I spent about 9 hours doing appliqué prep work for Warren's Farmall Scenes quilt today, and still have quite a bit more to do tomorrow.  I use the freezer paper/starch method of appliqué.

Starting Warren's Farmall Scenes Quilt

 I have begun grandson Warren's quilt, which I'm calling Farmall Scenes.  This is what I got done today.

Sherri's Nursery Rhyme Quilt, All Done

 This evening, I finished my friend Sherri's Nursery Rhyme quilt, which is for her new little granddaughter, Lily Joy.  Her daughter Kristin did the exquisite hand embroidery, which is a vintage iron-on set of Aunt Martha's, and Sherri put the quilt top together.  Those lavender squares have a lily-of-the-valley print -- perfect, for a baby named Lily!  Lily Joy is my great-great-niece.

The quilt measures 52" x 71".  The batting is Hobbs Heirloom 80/20.  I used Bright White 40-wt. Omni thread on top and Silver 60-wt. Bottom Line thread in the bobbin.  The quilting is rulerwork and free-motion.  The last photo shows the problem bottom border, smooshed into subjection with starch and a hot iron (see yesterday's post for the before shot).

Backing

Last Two Rows, Nursery Rhyme Quilt

 I'm on the last row of my friend's Nursery Rhyme quilt.  Take a look at the last photo, bottom middle.  I'll be making use of starch and my new iron tomorrow!  I had to use starch on the top border, and also on the left border there beside Lucy Locket. But the bottom border is going to be the trickiest, trying to corral that excess fabric.

Quilting Nursery Rhymes Quilt

The Nursery Rhymes quilt has more rows than I thought it did!  I quilted two rows today, and there are still two more to go.

 

Half Done Quilting the Nursery Rhymes Quilt

 I've reached the halfway point on my friend Sherri's Nursery Rhymes quilt.

Sherri's Nursery Rhymes Quilt

 The first two borders are done on my friend's Nursery Rhymes quilt.  She made it for a new grandchild, and that grandchild just arrived today!  It's a little girl.  Furthermore, that new baby girl is my great-great-niece!  💞

When I start a quilt, I like to take pictures of the various rulers I am using for various parts of the quilt, so that when I get to the bottom of the quilt, I'll know what to do.

Ian's Pillows and Label Complete

 I finished Ian's pillows Tuesday, machine-embroidered his label yesterday, and sewed it to the quilt today.  As you can see, I have changed the name of the quilt to "Fisherman Fred Goes Canoein'".  This, because I learned from a fellow quilter that the little embroidered and cross-stitched boy has a name:  Fisherman Fred.  The pieced blocks are named Crossed Canoes.  So "Fisherman Fred Goes Canoein'" it is.  The colored fabrics of the pinwheel in the label were the four largest leftover pieces of fabric there were from the layer cake I used for the rest of the quilt.  The pillows measure 13" x 13".  After discovering that the grandchildren like to actually use their pillows to rest their heads on, rather than just perching them on their beds as decoration, I refrained from stuffing these pillows as full as previous pillows I made.  Poor kids, trying to lie on bricks!  😄  These are nice and soft.  They might not look as good, but at least the child won't get a concussion just trying to lay his head down.

Gone Fishin' Quilt is Done

 The Gone Fishin' quilt for grandson Ian, 8, is all done.  I still need to finish the pillows and the label.

The quilt measures 76" x76".  Daughter-in-law Amy found the cross-stitched blocks at a secondhand store.  There were six cross-stitched fishermen (fisherboys?) on each of two large sheets of fabric.  I cut them into blocks.  

The alternating block pattern is called 'Crossed Canoes'.  The printed fabric is from a layer cake (10" x 10" stack of 42 pieces of fabric) son-in-law and daughter Kurt and Victoria gave me.  I'd been saving it to make a throw for Kurt, but when I was searching through my somewhat meager stash of fabrics, I could find nothing that looked right with the cross-stitched blocks -- until suddenly I spotted that layer cake.  Ah-ha!  Just the thing.  I managed to use up every last bit of that layer cake, with only a few slivers of fabric left over, pieces too small to save for anything.  (Sorry, Kurt.)

I designed the quilt in EQ8.  The blocks measure 9", finished.  I used Quilters' Dream wool batting.  There is Omni 40-wt. bright white thread on top, and Bottom Line 60-wt. light silver thread in the bobbin.  The quilting was done on an 18" Handi Quilter Avanté on a 12' Studio frame.  My machine is hand-guided, not computer-driven, and the quilting is a combination of free-motion and rulerwork.

I've added a few photos that are highlights from previous days' quilting.  Photos 3 and 18 show the back.  4 through 8 show the binding, which I put on entirely by machine.  9 and 10 are the pillow tops -- and yes, I'm going to make two, rather than one with the Crossed Canoes on each side.  I asked daughter Lydia (Ian's mama), and she said, "I think two pillows would be nice.  Seems a shame to hide one of them. 😅"  So two it is.

I will give the quilt and pillows to Ian for Christmas.  That's a long time from now; but I plan to enter them in our county and state fairs, and possibly another quilt show.  And with this, 12 of the grandchildren's quilts are done!  17 more to go.