Quilts by Julie Ramsey
Archive for April, 2010
Sharing the love
Apr 30th
All three of the quilts I mailed out on Monday have reached their intended destinations, and the recipients couldn’t be happier!
My Mom messaged me on Skype to let me know she’d gotten hers yesterday. She’s going to take it to the recipient today, and I can’t wait to hear what the gift-getter thinks of it! I also repaired a quilt I’d made for Mom that her dog chewed up, and she’s very relieved to have it back in one piece so she can nap with it.
I got a Facebook note from the cousin who recieved the princess quilt, and she was thrilled to get it! She posted a picture of herself holding up the quilt, and that made me smile.
Also, I just got a phone call from my grandparents a few minutes ago– I didn’t think their quilt would be there until Monday, but it made it early! They were so touched and so happy to get their surprise present, and I’m glad I could make their day a little brighter with some Arizona quilt sunshine.
It’s times like this that I have to remember that no matter how down I may get about little mistakes in my quilting, people love getting them and think I do good work. Quilting is more than a way to pass the time, it makes tangible things that mean a whole lot to the people who get them. All the love I put into my sewing projects is amplified a thousand times to those who get to use the quilts every day, and I can’t think of a more special aspect of the hobby I enjoy so much.
Sale!!!
Apr 30th
Ok, nix the lime-and-black quilt designs for a bit. Fat Quarter Shop is having a sale on Jelly Rolls (sets of precut 2.5″ strips) and I found some that I really like. I think these will be perfect for a baby quilt or two!
Twist of Lime
Apr 29th
I’ve wanted to do a lime-green-and-black quilt for a while, ever since I saw a really neat one in that color scheme hanging at the local quilt shop. I spent some time playing with Electric Quilt this morning, and I’ve come up with a few possible designs. The two that I like best are also the most complicated, but I’ve got a pattern book that actually makes the construction very simple, and I’d be able to put them together in a weekend if I didn’t have anything more pressing to do (which is usually the case).
Next up
Apr 28th
After sending a quilt off to one set of grandparents, I’m getting ready to start into a quilt for my other grandmother. (Gotta share the love with everybody!) I have some really neat reproduction fabric on the way– just waiting for UPS to show up this afternoon– and I’m looking forward to getting this one finished, maybe even by the weekend.
Hawaiian Shirt
Apr 27th
I’ve got one quilt for Quilts for Kids from one of their kits almost finished, but I want to send along a second one made from my own fabric as well. I found some funky Hawaiian-shirt-type fabric at Jo-Ann on Sunday, and decided to make up a simple crib quilt featuring it. I finished this top in about four hours, and it only took that long because I made the alternate blocks with cut triangles instead of a double-half-square-triangle method.
I love the color in this one, it’s very bright and cheerful. After the fact, I think I should have gone with a bright green instead of the pink, but I still like the combination and think it’ll bring a smile to a child stuck in a hospital.
A productive weekend
Apr 25th
Both commissions are finished and ready to ship out on Monday! Hooray!
With time to spare, I decided to start working with my bundle of fat quarters. I used a slightly different pattern than I originally intended, going with the square “bento box” pattern, rather than the rectangular one from the magazine that I’d started with. Between last night and this morning, I managed to finish up the top for a small lap quilt (45″ x 60″) relatively painlessly. The pattern is very easy, and would be great for beginners.
I think this one is going to be mailed off to my grandparents in Iowa once it’s finished. My grandfather has been in the hospital with pneumonia, and it’d be nice to give him something cheerful to take to the hospital if he ends up in there again.
Fun with Electric Quilt
Apr 21st
My fat-quarter assortment from Connecting Threads showed up on the doorstop today, hooray! Now I just need to finish off my two commissioned quilts so I can start in on this one.
I made up a rough draft of the next quilt in Electric Quilt; the colors aren’t quite right (slightly less obnoxious than these!), and the design will be more scrappy, but hopefully it’ll be a good approximation of the finished result.
Princess Kaitlyn
Apr 11th
The top is finally finished! Time to sandwich it and start the machine quilting– with a very simple design, probably just outlining the large squares– this afternoon.
I’m really happy with the way this one turned out. The top is a little wavy since I didn’t use any stabilizer for the appliqué (oops, lesson learned for next time), but I think the overall effect is really fun.
Retail therapy
Apr 10th
My car needs to go into the shop, so I’ve been stuck at home all by myself for several weeks now. I’m in a spot where none of my non-urgent projects seemed all that appealing, so even though I can’t drive to Jo-Ann, I did the next best thing: shopping online!
I’ve had this pattern from a magazine sitting around for a month or so, and decided to take advantage of a coupon I had for Connecting Threads and order the FQs I needed to make this. I ended up picking up a FQ pack from their “Slip of Summer” collection, and I think the colors will be very cheerful:
Of course, this puts my to do list as such, in rough order of priority:
It may sound like a lot, but I do have a regimented order to finish everything, and it’s actually best for my sanity to have my sewing somewhat scheduled out like this. And with unemployment marching on, keeping myself sane is a top priority right now.
Pinwheel top finished!
Apr 5th
Finally got the top for my latest pinwheel quilt finished this weekend. The plan is to get it bound this afternoon, and hopefully start in on the machine quilting tomorrow.
