Quilt 142 - Jen and Tim's quilt

45 x 55, 2009

I made this quilt as a wedding present for a friend of mine. She was having a luau themed wedding, so when I ran across these fabrics in Mom's stash, I thought they would be perfect. Hopefully it will be the perfect size for a picnic or to cuddle with on the couch. Mom kept the quilting simple, just outlining the purple flowers in the border and outlining the squares. We used the border fabric for the back and the binding, too.

Those of you who know us will be happy to hear that we didn't even have to finish the binding on the way to the wedding! It was done last night!

We hope you are all enjoying your weekend! In a few hours it will be cool enough to get back to the garden!

Quilt 141 Symbols of Courage

2009, 24x30"

Symbols of Courage is our Invitational Quilt for Gig Harbor Quilt Festival 2009.

Please check out that web site at http://www.gigharborquiltfestival.org/ for information on when and where you can bid on this quilt. This quilt needed to be finished before we headed out on our family cruise to Alaska. Karen, Doug and Ione participated in Holland America's "On Deck for a Cure 5K Walk".

Quilt 140 - Plaid Bars

2009

55 x 75"

While we were at Pacific Beach in April, I made this quilt for my friend Jason. I saw a similar quilt pattern in a catalog. They offered different colored quilts, each using variations on a single color, shades of green, shades of yellow, etc. I loved the monochromatic look, but since we had several bundles of these stripes and plaids, I decided to use a variety of colors. (I will make it in a monochromatic color scheme some day. Simple pattern but so cute!)

My bachelor buddy needed something masculine, but not boring. I was a little concerned about the red pieces but there were enough fabrics with hints of red that I think they blend well. It was backed with a plush material. I started laying out the pieces in order, but had to rearrange some when I ran out of certain pieces of fabric. Now I wish I would have had it a little more random, but some people like order!

Mom quilted it for me, keeping it very simple so as not to distract from the fabrics. I love that it looks like it could have been made from men's shirts. Another quilt I almost kept for myself!

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day, Everyone! On this day of remembrance, we think of all those who have died in our Nation's service, including Erwin Harder and Andrew Shields. We hope all of you will have time to spend with friends and family. Have a safe and happy holiday weekend.

Quilt 139 - Patriotic Scraps to 12

2002
This is Armed Forces Appreciation Weekend. We post this Patriotic Quilt as a reminder to thank all of our Armed Forces Members for their service. This is a pattern I designed to use up fabric that is donated to the different charities that I am involved with. We use this pattern "From Scraps to 12" often in the making of quilts for the "American Hero Quilts" project. Please check out the website www.americanheroquilts.com and if you can, please help with this project. The quilts are greatly appreciated by the wounded service members who return from Iraq and Afghanistan through Madigan Hospital in Tacoma, WA. My azalea is blooming a bit late but it sure was worth the wait.

- Posted by Ione

American Hero quilts at Pacific Beach, Day 2

Ten worker bees turned into 12 today! We got more accomplished and even got some boxes organized! The top picture shows some of the projects we completed over our two days here at Pacific Beach. The group is looking forward to our next session in October. Email us if you want more information. Below is a quilt Karen started using a panel. Luckily we found some coordinating fabrics. After the addition of a blue border it will be ready for quilting. Check out Americanheroquilts.com for more information about the program.

American Hero Quilts at Pacific Beach

10 Worker Bees today at the American Hero Quilt community sew day at Pacific Beach. We also had about 15 visitors stop by to see what we were doing. This is a picture of the projects we worked on, 5 of which were started from scratch today. Looking forward to more productivity tomorrow.

Mom and I took a VERY short walk on the beach tonight. Was a little colder than yesterday, and with our sandals on it felt even colder! Now for some freshly baked cookies and a movie!