2019 Q2 FAL Finishes

In April I posted my proposed second quarter Finish-Along finishes on Sarah's Cedar Fork Stitches, who is one of many hosts this event. On the list below, the first three goals were accomplished, and you may click on them to see the post associated with each finish. The other three are languishing on my UFO pile, so they will be included on my Q3 FAL goals!

Completed:
1. Finish a green quilt for my granddaughter's April birthday
2. Complete a quilt for the Hands2Help Quilt Challenge
3. Complete a quilt for the 2019 Pantone Quilt Challenge, which I had intended to combine with the Beothuk Star QAL. I finished the flimsy for this challenge. I dropped out of the Beothuk Star QAL because I had trouble figuring out the instructions given on the blog. Sometimes I really need a paper pattern in front of me, and even then I make mistakes!
Not completed:
4. Quilt the Meadowland quilt
5. Quilt the Eternally Yours quilt
6. Piece the Craftsman quilt

I am linking to Cedar Fork Stitches 2019 Quarter 2 Finish-Along.

Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Finish, OMG, and Finished or Not Friday

This is my first time participating in a Hand2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge. Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict has been hosting these challenges since 2011! I'm excited to send this quilt to Bernie at Needle and Foot for her charity Mercyful Quilts.

This is my second time using Yellow Brick Road as a pattern. In spite of the pop of bright fabrics, I am hoping this is neutral gender enough to be used by a male.

For the backing, I had a quilt-width blender in my stash that I purchased from a LQS years ago, and I didn't have to piece it -yay!

I added cornerstones for a little interest, and this is my first time making a border and binding in the same color, which I like a lot!

I tried something different with quilting - a kind of quadrant design. I used a hera marker initially then pretty much eyeballed it. That's why it's a bit wavy and out of line. And I ran out of spray baste, so there are wrinkles after quilting. But as the trendy folks like to say,"it's organic"!

As you can see in the photos below, May was a busy month! Our second grandson was born, and I spent a few days helping out while my daughter was in the hospital, our oldest granddaughter graduated high school, and our son turned 49, and we will celebrate his birthday on Sunday. Garden weeding and planting was a priority this month, and there were times this past week that I doubted I would finish this quilt in time for the deadline on the final linky party. But last night I powered through and finished hand-sewing the binding at 9:00.

Little Everett was born May 7 and named after my Dad. He is so sweet.

Our oldest granddaughter graduated high school May 17. She posed
with my husband and me and my son and his beautiful family.

The garden is starting to come on! We've picked some onions and a few tomatoes so far.

Quilt details:
Finished size:
52" x 70"

Pattern:
Yellow Brick Road by Atkinson Designs

Fabrics:
Skinny Vines in Lime by Valentina Ramos for Robert Kaufman
Solid Lemon
PB&J by Basic Grey for Moda
Road 15 by Sweetwater for Moda
Chamberry by Carolee McMullin for Adorn It
Kona Coal
Grunge in Grey Paper by Basic Grey for Moda
Blue plaid - unnmarked stash fabric
Hobby Lobby's version of Grunge in dark blue

Backing:
From the Mary Rose Collection by Quilt Gate

Border and binding:
Hobby Lobby's version of Grunge in dark blue

Thread:
Superior Threads So Fine #50 in Genoa Grey

I'm happy to link to Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge final linkup. I am also linking to One Monthly Goal at Patty's Elm Street Quilts and Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts.

Hands2Help Comfort Quilt and Pantone Quilt Challenge May Progress

Our daughter (on the right) with her best friend who is 4 months pregnant!

We are leaving on Tuesday to stay with our 3-year old granddaughter while our daughter gives birth to her baby brother! In between laundry and packing, I am trying to stay caught up with two quilt-alongs and decided to combine my progress on both in this post.

First is May progress for the 2019 Hands2Help comfort quilt challenge, hosted by Sarah, who blogs at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. You can read the details of the challenge by clicking the "Comfort Quilt" gold badge in my sidebar. The second is the Pantone Quilt Challenge highlighting Pantone's 2019 Color of the Year, Living Coral, so click on the coral badge in the sidebar for more information about that.

For the comfort quilt I am using Yellow Brick Road pattern by Atkinson Designs (which I just used for this quilt) and making a quilt for a male for Mercyful Quilts, which is sponsored by Bernie, who blogs at Needle and Foot. Bernie collects and delivers quilts to Mercy Hospital for terminal patients, and you can find information about it here. The fabrics are about as masculine as I could muster from my shockingly feminine stash.

The blocks are pieced and ready for layout. I know this pattern goes together quickly, and that's good because the quilt needs to be finished by May 19!

For the Pantone quilt featuring coral, I will be using these glorious fabrics.

My inspiration for the Pantone quilt was a painting by Julia Hacker called Lolita, and I think Pat Bravo's Wonderlust in Bold captures the colors perfectly. This fabric is from her Legendary collection (click on the link for the full collection - it's gorgeous!). The quilt needs to be finished by June 5. I am considering going scrappy with a traditional block called Uneven Nine Patch. I'm drawn to Nine Patch blocks, especially disappearing ones, and am fascinated with the different patterns created by sewing, cutting, and sewing again the same nine squares. The Uneven Nine Patch is made with the same method but using a Four Patch. I decided to do a few test blocks, and here is a little tutorial:

Start with a four-patch. You can do any size, but I am using 5-inch charm squares in this test

Cut a 2-1/2 inch strip off the left side of the four patch

Move the cut strip to the right side of the four patch; sew and press

Now cut a 2-1/2 inch strip off the bottom of the block

Move the cut strip to the top of the block; sew and press

Completed uneven nine-patch blocks

I did a couple more blocks (they are addictive) to show the resulting little four patch in the center

I am liking this on-point layout

This post is linked to Sarah's Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge.

One Monthly Goal for May

There are so many things I want to get done this month, but my main goal is to complete a comfort quilt for the Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge. Full disclosure: I haven't even started it yet! 😦

Here are the fabrics I chose, suitable for a male. I have at least decided on a pattern! Yellow Brick Road is what I used for my granddaughter's quilt last month, and I enjoyed putting it together.

I am linking this post to One Monthly Goal for May, hosted by Patty at Elm Street Quilts.

Hands2Help Comfort Quilt April Progress

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict is hosting her annual challenge for comfort quilts. This year there are five charities from which to choose, and I have chosen to send my quilt to Bernie at Needle and Foot, who collects quilts for Mercy Quilts.

I made a quilt last year for Mercy Quilts, blogged about here. Bernie has mentioned a need for quilts for males, so I had to really look deep into my stash for male-ish fabrics but finally found a few blues, lime-y greens, and grays that will work.

I will probably use this Yellow Brick Road pattern that I purchased in 2012. I used it for the first time this past week for my granddaughter's green quilt. I think I've mentioned that pattern reading is my downfall, and this pattern is no exception! It is a popular, well written pattern that is easy to follow for most, but I've had to use my seam ripper several times because I didn't read the pattern thoroughly. But now I have familiarity with the pattern, so I should be able to breeze through it (fingers crossed!)

The next progress post will be May 5 with the goal for a finish on May 19. Check out Sarah's linkup here for more quilts in progress!