Quilted Presents

 My granddaughter Nikki is getting married in June, and her bridal shower is coming up.  Working with Nikki's colors and some wonderful fabrics by Seth Apter, here is her quilt.  Of course I hand quilted it in an off-center spiral and backed it with an Art Gallery cotton.  With the wool batting, this quilt is wonderfully soft and will provide a lifetime of cuddling. 

And while not a necessity, of course I made a matching tote bag which really allows two of the feature fabrics to shine.  

And while working on Nikki's quilt, I also started one for great niece Cassidy who is also getting married this summer.  Cassidy's color choices are totally different from Nikki's.  The outer borders are quilted and it is now bound.  But I can't decide whether to quilt it by machine or by hand.  Since this shower isn't until July, I have plenty of time to ponder!

The three quilts above are currently at the Benton house in LaGrange.  We lived in that house from 1986 until 2021.  And I can't even begin to count how many quilts I made in that house.  The current owner doesn't have a quilt.  So I dropped these three off for her two choose one.  Still waiting to hear which one of these three appeals!  All I know is that there must be a quilt in that house.  

Purses and Trips Around the World

Preface:  As the rhythm of my life changes, so do my blogging habits.  I am sewing more than ever but apparently only doing a blog post a month.  Sometimes I get so caught up in quilting projects that purses take a back seat.  I'm happy to announce that I have gotten past my purse block.  Several of these purses were made before Christmas, and they have just been waiting to be mailed.  I finally got busy and made several more.  

So many of these purses were inspired by the scraps I had at hand.  And since I've been on quite a quilting jag, I have so many scraps from which to choose 

 

And Trips Around the World are my design of choice these days.  I have three going.  Just above is a quarter of one I am doing for a great niece's bridal shower.  And the quilt below is for my granddaughter's bridal shower.  The one above will be tied.  And Nikki's below is being hand quilted.  I have two more weeks to finish it. 

 Also there is a Trip for Sammy.  His fabrics are below.  Why him?  He's the grandson who tells me every time I see him that he uses a quilt I made for him nightly.  And that quilt is several years old.  It's time for a new one.  These fabrics just appeal to me, and they have a decidedly masculine look.  There's no deadline for his quilt, and I'll decide later whether it will hand or machine quilted!  Bottom two pics are just sweet - the baby quilt + baby from the cheater panel and Neighbor Sam sent me this picture of her wife and twin girls on their quilt.