Math for the Black and Red block quilt

I thought I would include the math & dimensions for Libby's Christmas quilt I made her. The blocks were pretty simple. They are 12 1/2" blocks- there were 25 total blocks for the quilt with 6" sashing on the outside. Finished quilt came out to about 72" X 72" square.

Back to the blocks...I had 6 colors of the flannel - I prewashed & dried all the flannel, actually did the Red twice. I was a little worried about the red, not sure if it would bleed or not. So I washed & dried it twice. I had 2 'sizes' of blocks. they were all 12.5" blocks, however the inside dimensions were a little different.

All the solid Black, White & Grey had 8" blocks on the inside- adding 1/4" on each side made it an 8.5" block. the sides with seam allowances came to: 2 cuts of 2.5" X 12.5" and 2 cuts of 2.5" X 8.5"

For the Black & White Damask, Red and Grey & Black print had 5.5" blocks on the inside (including seam allowances), the other cuts were 2 cuts of 4" X 5.5" and 2 cuts of 4" X 12.5"

No specific layout or pattern on how I arranged them, but I tried to have patterns & solid opposite each other if possible.

Giving is receiving !

Finally celebrated Christmas with my husband's family this morning. The Alabama crew made came in late last night so we celebrated first thing this morning. I've been so excited - I had made 3 quilts, one for my mother in law- Dee, one for my husband's Grandfather & 1 for my husband's Aunt Libby. I finished Dee's quilt back in September sometime, made Grandpa's quilt back in November and ahem....STARTED Libby's quilt last week.....and finished it LAST NIGHT. Yes it was pulling it close, but I did it. And she was thrilled! and it was a good thing we celebrate Christmas a few days AFTER the 25th :)

I think I only make handmade gifts because I love to see the faces when they see it for the first time. pure joy :) Libby even said, she was secretly hoping I would make her one. She was thrilled when she opened the bag. My mother in law on the other hand, cried. a good cry though. She knew immediately the fabrics used were from her grandmother. I didn't get any pictures of Grandpa opening up his gift because all 3 of them opened theirs up at just about the same time.

I was taking a little test shot of Kathryn (Gavin's cousin) opening her gift when I realized Libby opening the quilt! oops!


That smile is realizing what it is :)


inspecting the flannel quilt


My Mother in Law Dee starting to tear up



Since I finished it late last night- Kathryn & I went outside for a quick shoot this morning (using my new lens yahoo!)


Finished quilt is pretty large- 74" X 74" a nice big snuggle quilt - 100% cotton flannel both front & back




And my next project will be a design wall in my office as my floor isn't cutting it anymore. I am happy with the finished quilt- but wishing I had added more red so it didn't look so random in the quilt. I used 6 different flannel prints, but black/grey/white/red flannel prints isn't so easy to come by. but over all, I'm glad Libby loves it and I just wish I bought enough flannel to make myself one too!





From my funny little family to yours- Merry Christmas and happy new year!

Do it yourself FAIL

Can't help but post this because it is too stinking funny not to share. And God Bless my friend Jes for doing this. This is the reason why I call her one of my 'besties' something like this happens & you can't help but laugh at yourself.
jes & I have been talking for sometime now about buying ourselves a dressform. Jes has gotten into sewing clothes. I haven't yet, but I still want a dressform. She decided to go the DIY route & save some money, so she found an online tutorial & followed it.
As I'm sitting at the computer tonight getting some work done, I get this text picture....



And the text that follows says...
"So David {her husband, who is a volunteer firefighter} was duct taping me to make a mannequin of myself and just got paged out to a house fire. Now I'm stuck standing in this until he gets home. Greatness!! LOL"
My only response was "that's hilarious! It's Facebook worthy!"

Jes decided to quickly figure out how to cut herself out of it when my husband replied with "Hope you don't have to go to the restroom anytime soon!"

I think we'll be laughing over this one for a while!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cancer sucks quilt done!

Ahhhh i love it when a big project is complete! Even better when I get to hand it off and send it to it's new home.

I met up with Sara & Mimi yesterday. We let the boys all play & I got to hang out with Sara & Mimi for a few. Mimi is such a fun lady. Always has the right thing to say at the right time. And it's usually some smartass comment too :) She has a tough demeanor about her & seems that she can take on anything. But she is sweet & so loving even when my boys haven't seen her in almost a year, they're holding her hand & giving her hugs in the first 5 minutes. In my mind she is that ideal grandmother type & I know if my Mom were still here she would be just like her. So I appreciate the extra love and attention she gives to my boys. What a great lady she is!

SO onto the pictures....I photographed the quilt before leaving this morning...always a mistake- morning sun is harsh, but I couldn't NOT photograph it!

There was 1 block sent that had cute buttons on it & I was afraid to put it in the quilt. If Mimi ever washed the quilt, I wasn't quite sure if the buttons would bleed their paint or not- so instead I used the block as a pocket on a tote bag. I thought the bag would be handy to carry her quilt & kindle in to chemo. plus it matches :)


2 of the blocks I made- the cancer sucks is my favorite :-) & I thought the martini glass was just cute!



top part of the quilt- so many great blocks were submitted. i love that there are pictures of her grandchildren and family too. The tote bag is covering up one of my favorite blocks- it's a moose in an Alaska setting (all pink) really detailed and looks like lots of handy work. If I did the same, it would end up looking like a cow or something. ha! Should have taken a pic without the tote bag. doh!



More blocks.... love the Alaskan cruise ship too...I love how each block is so different!


bottom part of the quilt - the boys in the family submitted inspirational quotes. I thought that was sweet!
Thank you to everyone of Mimi's friends & family who contributed to this quilt. I really enjoyed it. I also know that Mimi will enjoy this quilt & physically see the love and prayers being said for her thru this battle !

Cancer sucks quilt is almost complete!

Wow have I been busy! Busy with work, boys, and even 2 craft shows in the past 3 weeks. Finally things have been calming down. I finally acquired the remaining few pieces/blocks a couple weeks back so since then The Cancer Sucks quilt has been my #1 priority. I'm thrilled to say I'm almost done!

On another good note, I'm also happy to report that Sara got great news from Mimi earlier this week that the cancer is shrinking. Praise the Lord for news like that!

I'm hoping to get the quilt to Mimi in the next couple of days before her next scheduled Chemo appt. I've received such sweet notes behind these blocks going into the quilt that I've decided to put them in a little notebook for Mimi. I've also thought about adding some encouragement to this notebook. SO whether you know Mimi/Judy or not, but would like to contribute you can either email me here or you can even comment on this post & I'll add it to the book.

"Encouragement" being a quick note, scripture, prayer, etc. Get creative!

I can't wait to post final pictures of the quilt and notebook too!