February Use Your Stash and a Baby Quilt

 40.5 x 45

Up first is this cute little patchwork baby quilt. I love this kind a quilt because it doesn't take long to put together.  I had some gray circle fabric left over from a larger quilt and so I used it on the back of this one. 

I have a confession to make - I only finished 3 quilts this month and 2 of them were baby quilts! WHAT?  Yep, it's the truth.  But in my defense, I have got 2 tops ready to quilt and 8 more all cut and ready to sew.  My longarm has been giving me some trouble and I think I just didn't want to deal with it.  But I finally made myself fix it and now things can get back to normal.

How have you been doing on using your stash this month?

Fabric Usage
In:  0
Out: 19
Net:  33.75

Charming Baby Quilt

42 x 42 

This baby quilt was made from some leftover charm squares my friend sent me a while ago.  I added in a couple more prints from my scrap bin to finish it out.

My handsome helper said his arms were getting tired during our photo shoot.  I think he just wanted to be seen in the photo!

I had some thread issues on the back of the quilt.  Three knots and only 3 knots.  One of my facebook groups suggested changing the check spring.  I guess you're supposed to do that every year and I have never changed it.  So I changed it yesterday and worked on the tension while I was practicing these swirl feathers Vicki likes to do.  I still got a knot, but it was towards the top when I might have been adjusting the tension still.  So I need to do another practice piece before loading a quilt.

This is actually my second piece.  The first piece was a farming chicken fabric and you can't see the quilting in the pictures.  I did better on the first one than this one.  Although it doesn't look too bad.  It is a fast freehand pattern, so I want to get better at it.

Linking with Myra at Busy Hands Quilts.

January Use Your Stash Update

I am still participating in using my stash.  It really helps keep me accountable with my purchases. I have been encouraging my friends to do this too.  January is always a month for buying solids because Missouri Star Quilt Company offers those discounted gift cards at the end of the year.

I am happy to say that my solid stash is looking good right now. I have plans to make several different and new to me quilts with some of those solids. I always have plans, but sometimes it takes a while to get to them!

There are also plans to make three different HST quilts on my list with these fabrics.

 And a Jelly Roll Wave quilt in these.

Then there is a 4 patch quilt and a baby girl quilt all ready to sew  this week.

And finally I have one ready for quilting.

I was away from my sewing room for a few days and came back to having nothing to work on.  I think that has been taken care of now!

Fabric Usage
Out:  51.5
In:  36.75
Net:  14.75

Another Chunky Race Quilt

 49 x 59

This is my last chunky race quilt for a while.  I really wanted to try some open feathers on this one, but when I got to looking at the top of the quilt, it didn't really say open feathers to me.  So I dug out my pantographs and picked this swirly one.  I haven't done a panto in a while so it was good for my brain to try this one out.

After a couple tries of getting the prep work correct, I finally got to quilting.  I even took some time to teach a friend of mine about pantos.  She just got a new longarm and hasn't even loaded a quilt yet. We went over all the steps and man was there a lot that I just do without thinking. There are a lot of extra steps for a panto that I don't do when I am meandering.

Leftovers on the back to use up some stash. This is a fun and fast pattern that I know I will get out again later.  But right now, I'm ready for something new!

Orange and Green Chunky Race Quilt

 49 x 59

This is my second chunky race quilt to be quilted. I loved the look of the last one so I decided to do the same thing again. This time I left out the ribbon candy quilting that I had so much trouble with last time. And I changed the circles to double circles.  Love those!

I also got smarter and put my better looking patterns on the fabric that was going to show up more.

You can see more of my quilting on the back of the quilt. I love the short sections of quilting, but that you can find it again in other places.

Second one down, only 1 to go!