Table Runner

I've been retired for two and a half years and this is my first post in a very long time!

This table runner was made as a gift for a very generous friend who lets me use her house in Florida for several weeks during the winter. My husband doesn't like Florida so I get to stay by myself! (I do visit my sister and friends while down there too.) While there I have my own private quilt retreat where I get a lot of work done. I cook and eat when I want and stay indoors all day if that makes me happy.

About two years ago I made a quilt for my grandson with these blocks. The designer called it Cats Cradle. But this block is also known as Grandmother's Choice - perfect! I completed all the blocks at a quilt retreat, but I had mistakenly cut too many block parts, enough to begin another quilt. Recently I completed that new quilt but had these blocks left over. 

I hope this table runner will find a permanent place in the Florida house!

Treasure Hunt, a Mystery Quilt

I just completed the binding on this lovely quilt (June 2018). I finished the top in spring of 2017. The mystery quilt, offered by Cotton and Chocolate of Thousand Oaks, California, actually began in the fall of 2016. I wasn't able to get the initial instructions or shop for fabric until January 2017 during our annual visit to daughter and family. 

I can usually pick fabric for a quilt pretty quickly, but choosing fabric for this project had me roaming around the quilt store over and over. I found myself returning to the batiks corner several times, so I gave in to the siren song of turquoise and green batiks that continued to call to me.

Most of the block units were made in Florida while vacationing at my sister's place on the west coast and I finished them up at home. I found the perfect backing by chance at Yankee Quilter in Seymour, CT. Treasure Hunt was a true treasure to construct, especially because I was celebrating my retirement. 

A Jumble of Quilts

I am so behind in documenting my finished quilts that I present some here in no particular order. And because it's been so long, I've forgotten some formatting. I'm sure there will be a lot of white space.

Here is a pretty preview of some quilts that appear further down the page.

 

I'll start with this Christmas table runner I made for my friend Joann. This is particularly notable because at the time I bought all the floral fabric on the bolt, she had already looked at it and put it down. Mistake! I scooped it up and marched to the cutting table!  I had not heard the end of it till I made this for her.

I made this navy and white quilt MANY years ago, early in my quilting career. It's the first of two of this pattern. It needed much "aging" before I got around to getting it quilted recently. My friend Peg has the other one, profiled much earlier in this blog.

Ah, this was a mystery quilt! During the big quilt room clean up a couple of summers ago (talked about in an earlier post), my daughter exclaimed, "This would be perfect for Aunt Kathy!" And so off to the quilter it went and was ready in time for Christmas 2013.

I left my quilting comfort zone to make this apron for my daughter Laura. She loves aprons and this fabric. Hmm, I also made a quilt for her college graduation. That picture must be on a different computer.

This is Lydia's 3rd birthday quilt. I found this kit in the Cotton and Chocolate quilt store in Thousand Oaks, California last May. How could I possibly resist cupcakes? Of course, the store was out of the perfect backing fabric, but I managed to find a better perfect fabric here in Connecticut!

Gramma with Princess Sophia

This is another cupcake kit I found in California. Yeah, yeah, I know...kits! Here's the thing. In order for me to make the most of my time in that shop, it's just quicker to pick up something already assembled, and the patterns are terrific and the fabrics, well, I love them! I've found that the shops in California have a really excellent stock of ...happy fabrics.

The pattern was easy to put together. Again, I found the perfect backing here in CT! This is MY cupcake quilt - for the kids when they sleep over.

I found this pattern...where else...California, in Northridge, at a Candy's Quiltworks. The good thing - Kim used to live in walking distance of this store. The bad thing - Kim used to live in walking distance of this store.

The shop had a sample of this quilt made up with red, one of the reasons it caught my eye. Black, white and red is pretty common, so I changed it up with electric lime green.The black and white strips came in a jelly roll. I can see why precuts are so popular!

 This is MY quilt! Kim's eyes popped when she saw it for the first time during her annual summer visit. No Kim, you cannot have this one!

I found the border fabric at Sew Inspired in Simsbury, CT and the backing fabric at Yankee Cloth in Wallingford, CT.

Here is another mystery quilt made many, many years ago. This quilt was aging very nicely when Kim discovered it in the closet two years ago. She was aghast that I had these beautiful tops just piled up in my closet. Well, I don't blame her. So this one went off to the quilter too.

 

oooh. Fuzzy picture. 

I love the backing fabric I chose for this quilt. 

One of the not so great things with this lovely item is that after living with this quilt for a few weeks, the black fabric started pulling away around the quilting. You can see a white spot on the full picture. I think maybe I used some not-so-expensive fabric and now I'm really paying the price. I don't know what to do about this situation, but in the meantime, I'll just use the back  as the top.

UPDATE 4/24/2019: The disintegration of the black background fabric was so severe that I am currently unpicking the quilting to save the backing and batting. Perfect for a hand project while watching TV.

Not too long ago, I pulled out this unfinished project from a class I took several years ago. I don't recall why I shelved it, but I do remember shopping for the beautiful the Asian fabrics in the Bento Box pattern.

This lovely was not destined for anyone yet, so when the call (actually a Facebook request) came, I offered it up for auction. No tears. Just happy that someone will love it.

I'm not done yet. I'm never done. Quilters are never done.