WIPs Be Gone and a Giveaway

Here's the quilt I'm working on now for the two UFO challenges I'm participating in this year.  This is my rendition of Karen's Soupçon Quilt Along (second one down at her site). Was started in 2014. Have to add the last round which is paper pieced. I'm more confident about doing paper piecing after all the blocks done by that method in the Splendid Sampler.

One side done:

Center of the next baby quilt. Pattern from a book titled Quilting for Joy by Barbara Brandenburg and Teri Christopherson.  I'm hand stitching that applique block I was working on last Sunday.  Getting more done as I finished my ancient one from 1987 - yes, 30 years ago in Sept I started my 2nd quilt of the 280+ quilts I've made in that time span.

Made all the mistakes a beginning quilter makes - chose a queen size quilt, pattern had set in seams,  didn't know how to quilt, etc. I took a hand quilting class, but that was too slow, too.  I made the blocks in no time, but the hand quilting took forever. Then I discover big stitch hand quilting and really started to make considerable progress.  Back then, I bought seven spools of hand quilting thread having no clue how much I would need.  Turns out I had just a few inches left on the one spool I had to use.  Anybody want six spools of hand quilting thread - LOL.

I've always wanted a whole cloth quilt.  Here's the back and the closest I'll ever come to a WCQ:

She's bound and on my bed at last:

I chose to bind it in the light green leftover from the blocks and border.

Lastly, I made a large bag for our Riverside Area Rape Crisis Center.  They are given to victims when they report the crime.  Everything they have on is kept as evidence, so they need a lot of things, IE: sweat pantsuit, flip-flops, underwear, toiletries, socks, etc.

I lined it with the black of the print:







Think I'm caught up on sewing news.  Now for the giveaway!  Since it's been a while here's the scoop:   What have you been working on?  Link up and show me.  You can win a mystery book.  I'll be sending the winner a list of three titles from which to pick of her/his technique preference. So link up for one chance. Follow me for another chance.  Leave a comment for a third chance.  And for a fourth chance, visit Michele here.  Let me know which of her quilts you like best. And for a fifth chance - follow Michele, and let me know for a total of six chances to win! Remember if you don't have a blog, you can always post a photo from a photo stream.  Please be sure there is some way for me to contact you.  The linky is below.  I'll be linking to several parties - Tab above.

Blessings as we approach the end of the First Week of Eastertide - when Jesus walked among us. We rejoice in His Resurrection and 
remember the joy of the life to come because of our Lord.

Design Wall Monday

This is the first Monday of Eastertide - the 50 days after the Resurrection.  It is a joyful time! Hallelujah!

Today I'm celebrating Design Wall Monday. All that meditating produced a lot of sewing since housework was out, laundry was out, even cooking was low key. We did feast on Easter Sunday, but a friend had invited us over.

Coming off my wall is one of my UFOs for the 17 UFOs for 2017 - the top is done!  I had to redo 4 of them from the stack I won (think it was in 2009). Those four were very well made. Unfortunately, they were 1/2" too small.  Maybe I'll make a table runner from them.    It's now sandwiched and ready to quilt.

40"square

Also ready to quilt (a St. Anne's baby top) is my rolling nine-patch top. These are 15" square and are perfect to highlight a large print. I call it a rolling nine patch because that's the block I started with, but I changed it up a bit.  Actually, it is a 25 patch with a nine patch in the middle.  I've seen them as 6", 10", and 12" blocks.  But that was too many pieces for me, so I figured out how to have only nine. Did it by making flying geese instead of a square and two half square triangles. Much easier - you can see the pattern under my free patterns tab.  I used the triangles I cut off from stitch/flipping to make those flying geese in the border. No scraps left - yeah!

36" square

Next was a square for the Fall Festival QAL that Lori at Humble Quilts is hosting.  I'm not doing the one everyone else is doing - just a similar one that happens to be a WIP for me. They were suppose to make a house block.  Mine has a house block, too, so that's what I made.

12" square.

As I watched Father Brown, this evening, I did some hand stitching on an applique block, too. There's more, but I'll save those for another day.  Since we're celebrating Eastertide,  maybe I'll have a giveaway this Friday.

Linking up to some parties.  See the tab above.  Blessings, and thank you for walking with me during the past Holy Week.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! Alleluia!