Another Christmas Quilt....

 

If you can't tell from the flood of quilting posts lately, I've had a little backlog and it's finally cleared up!  Back in April I started knitting that big blanket I shared a few weeks back, and during the months since then I'd been working on that nearly nightly but I'd sprinkle in time at the sewing machine to keep moving along on these quilts.  Well, after they'd come back from the quilter I tossed them in a pile waiting to be bound up and finished.  Once I FINALLY finished that knitted blanket I picked up all these projects waiting in the wings to give them their final touches.

The last quilt I have to share with you (for now) is this pretty triangle quilt I made as a Christmas gift for someone special.  Like the knitted blanket I already have the recipient in mind, but I'm keeping it a secret until after Christmas so that I can gift a very handmade Christmas this year.

The fabric collection for this quilt is called Dusk til Dawn by Cotton + Steel and I used a pattern called Spyglass by Patchwork & Poodles.  When I purchased the pattern and fabric, I did so a little bit blind because I wasn't sure of the fabric requirements.  I wanted to get a good mix of fabrics so instead of buying fat quarters or half yard bundles I bought a layer cake (which, means 10 inch blocks for anyone that cares).  That would allow me to get a large sample of fabrics without a huge expense.

Turns out, the pattern needed 16 inch blocks to start with us I ended up having to modify the entire pattern to fit my fabric purchase.  Best laid plans....I guess....  But, in the end, with the addition of a boarder to make it a little more rectangle shaped, I ended up with a quilt that is 60x70 and overall a good size for a lap quilt.

Considering I had to do a decent amount of tweaking and math, I think it turned out really really quite well.

Christmas seems far away, but before we know it, this will be wrapped up and under the Christmas tree!

Halloween Quilt

Well, we've hit the point where I'm making season themed quilts for the family.  I started last winter when a pattern/fabric collection caught my eye for a Christmas Quilt.  We finally have enough everyday quilts around here that the fun, novelty fabric catches my eye and instead of thinking "I could only have that out for what, 2 months?"  no longer occurs to me and I jump right in to making something I know the girls will both love.  I hope someday these little holiday decorations will spark memories for them...bringing them back to these years where they still believe in everything and the holidays are full of magic and mystery.

Earlier this summer when this fabric collection came out, I snagged it up quick before it sold out.  I knew EXACTLY what I wanted it quilted in before I even had the quilt pattern picked out.  I'd noticed the cutest Candy Corn pattern on Kristy's website (I have all of my quilts machine quilted by a friend of Erin's from high school, her company is called Quilts by Kristy).  Anyways, when I saw this Halloween fabric collection, I knew I'd better get sewing so we could have a fun Halloween theme'd quilt on the couch in time for the fall months.  Fast forward to today and it's already being loved and used on the nightly.  

The collection even came with a cute little panel that I used on the back of the quilt.  

I mean, aren't those little quilted candy corns adorable!?!?  I love them!  I actually don't even really care for the candy itself, but put it on a fabric and I'd eat it up!

The finished quilt measures 60x71 and I used a pattern I bought long ago (maybe for my second ever quilt??) called To The Point by Cluck Cluck Sew.  

Baby Quilts - COVID edition

 

Guys - I have SO MANY quilts to share with you.  Believe it or not, if you lock us down and keep us in the house, canceling all of our plans, I can get a LOT of quilts made in a 6 month span.  For the first time since I started quilting nearly 7 years ago, I have baby quilts fully complete, just waiting on new babies to be in the pipeline.  I'm AHEAD!  I made quilts for babies that are still a twinkle in their parent's eyes!  

That being said, the blue quilt is already snatched up and headed to Liz and Bobby for Baby Boy Mac (That's not his real name...that's just what I'm calling him for now), due to arrive in mid December.  The pink girl quilt still doesn't have a home, but I'm posting them here as a pair because it doesn't seem like it'll be long before this one has a home either.

Both were made from metallic confetti dot fabric that I feel in LOVE with when it first came out.  I mean, that blue quilt looks like the night sky.  The blue one is by far my favorite of the two, but that bubble gum pink is hard to pass up.  I used the Robert Kaufman's Essex Linen for the contrasting fabric.  I've used it in quite a few quilts and I'm always pleased with the result.  It makes for a great soft fabric with a denim like look.

We quilted the blue quilt in a pattern called Splat that I love!!  And the pink quilt is quilted in a pattern called Knit 1 Purl 2 which makes me laugh because the other main craft that I do is knitting...so why know quilt with a knit named pattern?  Ok, it's probably only funny to me.  

Both quilts measure 52x45 which really is a very nice size for a baby quilt.  Large enough to be a good play mat for when they are tiny but big enough to cover them up long into their childhood years.  I've realized over time that I tend to prefer my quilts bigger than the patterns call for.  I just finished a lap quilt that was 56x56 and that just seems TOO SMALL for me!!  I mean, I want to snuggle under a blanket and not have my tootsies hanging out getting cold.  Something for me to pay attention to when I pick patterns and fabric amounts.  

A Knit Christmas Gift

 

Well, it's admittedly early, but I'm already calling it, 2020 will be the year of the hand made gift around our family.  Believe it or not, lock us up in the house for who even knows how many months, and I can start whipping out hand made things like it's my day job (it's not!).  

I can't share who this one is going to just yet....maybe I already know, maybe I don't.  You know...gotta keep it a secret for a few more months!  But, what I CAN tell you is that this one was a labor of love.  I started this blanket in April.  I worked on it nearly every single night since then until just a few days before Labor Day.  That's 5 solid months of slow, careful work.  But, you know what?  It turned out so so good!  It's warm and big and I just know someone is going to love it.

Let's just ignore that wonky part in the picture above...I think I just laid it out funny when I took the pictures.  But, in all honesty, it's possible I picked up a few stitches along the way and it really is a little wider there.  We'll just say that's so there's extra to keep you warm with.

I even gave it a nice bath so it's ready to wrap and put under the tree.  I'm not ready for winter yet...but I AM slowly getting ready for Christmas.  It's going to be a very merry, handmade Christmas...of this I'm sure!

McGrath Family Photos - 2020

There isn't much to say in this blog post besides how much I LOVE our photographer and having our pictures taken yearly.  These easily become my favorite pictures of the year each and every time.  I can't pick just a few of my favorites, so instead I'm way over posting here.  Here are just a few of my most favorites.  Enjoy!