Cherry Checkerboard Quilt and I learned a new trick!

Cherry Checkerboard

Cherry Checkerboard with Super Helper

 I started this quilt a LONG time ago with the leftovers from this quilt. It sat around as a quilt top for, oh, forever. I have a hard time quilting anything larger than a baby quilt on my Bernina. Some people can ram a king size bedspread through there, but I am not one of them, being as I am not double jointed and have only the standard two arms.

Last year my local quilt store got a long arm quilter and made it available for renting. For $15/hr you can happily quilt tents or king size bedspreads or even normal size quilts. I took a class for 2 hours and the next day I quilted TWO quilts in about 7 hours. It was actually really fun. I dislike the quilting step on my domestic machine and expected not to like it on the long-arm. WRONG! I loved it. I will definitely be doing this regularly from now on. They even change the bobbin for you- and supply the thread. It's a great deal.

 I did loopdy-loops on this quilt and am very happy with how it turned out. Next time I might get brave and do some flowers or feathers or something fancy. 

We are keeping this quilt and are already using it on the couch. 

(But we do fold it up and put it away when we're done. At least while it still has that new car smell.)

I am linking up with Lit and Laundry for Finish For Friday. Swing on over and see what other bloggy persons have been up to.

ETA- I just found a really cool new to me blog, amylouwho, with a Sew and Tell for Fridays. There are some really really cool quilts and sewing projects over HERE.

Huge massive finish. MASSIVE!

My Cherry Surprise Quilt is done!!! Down to the last stitch in the binding. I am so relieved. I started this over 6 years ago and thought it was just the Neverending Quilt. But it has ended, and now I get to enjoy it. I am afraid to use it, though! I put too much into it. So I will just look at it for a while, and maybe in a few months will work up the nerve to sleep under it.

The back. I used a Kleenex box to show scale. It was the closest thing handy.

I was going to hand quilt it and had it basted together and then couldn't bring myself to start. So I picked apart the basting stitches (which kinda stung) and sent it to a local long arm quilter. She did an amazing job and I hope my pictures captured some of her beautiful work. She did something different in each row of the log cabin going around.

Then she did some feathers and vines in the borders and made them look so pretty!




These are my corners- they are much improved! I have been working on that this year. I am proud of these. Lots of practice there.

I am just so relieved this is done! "Ahhhhhh!" *big sigh of contentment*

I linked up over at Lit and Laundry for this post. She holds a "Finish for Friday" every week and I have been able to hit them quite a bit this year. If you would like to link a big finish, head on over. Or you can just see what others have been finishing up this week.

This post is brought to you by the number 2.

I missed Finished For Friday last week, which is hosted by Lit and Laundry every week. I was trying for a quilty finish every week this month, but missed it. I did have a finish last Friday- I finished being 33! My birthday was Saturday, and not one, but TWO of my aunt-in-laws offered to babysit for us, so we got to go out on both Friday and Saturday nights. (TWICE in a row!!) Happy Birthday to me!!

I did (finally) get the TWO baby quilts bound this week so they are ready to go to their new owners on Monday.

For my birthday Paul went with me to TWO new-to-me quilt stores in Green Bay, and I chose a yard of fabric at each. (See how good I was? Only TWO new yards of fabric!)

Jane Sassaman designed this one for me:

Amy Butler kindly thought this one up just for my birthday:

THEN we went to Joann's and I got a new cutting mat! Yay! Paul was quite a good boy during our outing, although he did try to borrow my scarf to hang himself at one point.

The boys spent Saturday night sleeping over at their great-aunt and uncle's house, so during my peaceful quiet morning with NO CHILDREN I made myself a present- a new bag like the one I made for my cousin.

I used a bright green (thrifted) linen tablecloth to make this bag:

The lining is polka dots of course, and I put pen pockets in again. Loving those.

I cannot believe how much more I can get done with no little, mmm, helpers we'll call them.

I addition to binding the baby quilts, in the past two weeeks, I finished TWO quilt tops. Well, finished the centers anyway. This is my Cherry Checkerboard quilt I am making to use up the cherry applique squares left over from Cherry Surprise. I finished making all the blocks and stitched them together, but I still need to put the borders on. It turned out very narrow, which I don't like, but in order to get the Irish chain to look right, this was the layout I had to use. (It's about 60" x 84" at this point with no borders added.) I think as I add each border I will make the side ones an inch wider than the top and bottom ones to kind of fix this issue.

This next one has been sitting in my WIP box for FAR too long. I finally stitched the petals down on all the flowers. (It took me a while to collect the right thread colors.) I am not quite sure what I will do for borders on this one. It will be a play mat/blankie for my newest niece, Baby Autumn, who is just the cutest thing in the world. She loves to stare at my Mom's ceiling fan, so I think she will like this.

A closeup of the satin stitch holding the petals down.

My SIL should be able to wash this a hundred million times with no problems. These babies are ON there.

So that's what I've been up to. If you have a finish to share, head over to Lit and Laundry and join in! Be sure to compliment her beautiful hexagon quilt. It's gorgeous!

Cherry Surprise!

For the past week I have been "up nort" (that's how we say it here in 'da U.P.) at my parent's house, visiting and quilting. We had lots of fun doing both and I even got to play some Pinochle. Of course, I had to pack before I could leave. Got the important stuff, so we were good to go. I also brought some fabric and my WIPs. Here is the drunkard's path as it is now- it's a top! I couldn't believe it when we measured it- IT WAS SQUARE! Well, it's a rectangle, but I mean it was not all crooked- it was the same size on one side as the other and the top and bottom were the same. I have never made a quilt that came out even before. I almost cried I was so happy- I really am getting better!

Now for the big news! Cherry Surprise is done! Well, the layers are basted and pinned anyway- it still needs to be quilted. I changed the name, too. I was calling it Cherries Jubilant, but now it has a new moniker. Here you can see where the cherry part comes from:

And here is the surprise! This is the back:How awesomely cute is this? I am just bursting at the seams! This quilt ended up being way bigger than I had intended at first- it's 92" x 103", so I guess that makes it Queen size. I had wanted it for a couch throw, but it got bigger and nicer and so now I don't know what I'll do with it. Roll up in it and giggle? Hang it on my living room wall and grin at it? Take a picture of it and put it on a t-shirt that says, "LOOK! I made this!"? Post pictures of it on the Internet shamelessly begging for compliments? Break my arm patting myself on the back? Hm. Not sure. Probably I'll do those last two.

Cherries Jubilant!

This has been a long time coming! I started this quilt around 5 years ago, and tonight (well, this morning I guess) I finally finished making the blocks! It's 3:30 am, and I'm tired, but happy. Right now they don't even look cute to me anymore. LOL! I bet after a little sleep that will change. I need to mess with my layout a little more, or I could just leave it there and let the Committee for Arranging Tops Sloppily (C.A.T.S.) do their magic. ( Ok, I DID mention that it's 3:30 in the morning right?)

For some reason I have had a hard time with this quilt. It looks so scrappy and random, but I put a lot of effort into making it look like that. This one just didn't come very easily. Ah, well, it's the ones that give us the most trouble that we love the best. (Right, Mom?)

I kept taking it out, working on it a little, putting it back, taking it out just to look at it, putting it back. I even gave it to my sister for a while, but she gave it back after cutting some strips. This baby just didn't want to be borned I guess.And now I can clean up THIS mess! Well, to be truthful it's even worse now but I'm not going to bother taking another picture AT 3:30 AM! So 'night all, and hopefully the next post will be a completed top.