April Project Round-up

Hello to all of my blog readers! Sorry I haven't posted much. April has been a really busy month for me. First, my husband Mike and I went to New Orleans for the French Quarter Festival on vacation for five days. We got home the same day as the Boston Marathon tragedy. Then I went up to Maine to QuiltPort USA for a 3-day quilt weekend retreat. And when I got back from Maine I had to go to Pittsburgh for two days for work. So there are two half empty suitcases in my bedroom  and a lot of catching up to do. I will definitely share some photos from New Orleans and Maine with you!

Project Total for 2013 To-date
So far this year I have completed 30 projects: four quilts (one bed size, one wall hanging and two table runners) and 26 small sewn gifts that range from pillowcases to baby blankets to bibs, etc. I have two large bed-size quilts that just need to be bound, one of which is Anna's wedding gift (she'll celebrate her one year anniversary on May 5th, so I'm not too late yet). I'm also ready to layer and quilt Anna's baby quilt for her first baby which is due at the end of July.

Small Finishes in April
I finished this baby quilt which is for sale in our Etsy Shop that I run with my friend Marion. I think I bought this as a kit back in 1995, and there is unfortunately enough fabric left to make a second one! Originally I had planned to do some machine embroidery in the circles, but never got around to it.

I also put the binding on this cute little cheater cloth panel quilt for my friend Mary Kate. This will be a belated birthday gift. Normally I wouldn't give a panel quilt as a gift, but my friend picked it out from the eQuilter website and said it was just what she wanted. She will probably hang it in her Teddy Bear room (she collects teddy bears). My friend Kim P quilted it for me.

I did make a quilt for the back of the Teddy Bear quilt out of my stash box of beige fabrics (sadly it didn't make a dent). So at least there was some quilting involved.

I also whipped up a flannel blanket for Anna that I was going to send by overnight mail for her baby shower until I figured out it was going to cost $32. So it will go in the box with the soon-to-be finished wedding quilt and baby quilt.

Anna is doing an ocean theme for her baby's room.
She is expecting a boy.

This weekend has flown by. I spent Friday evening unexpectedly in Pittsburgh since my flight had a two-hour delay. I got home, kissed Mike and the pugs and went to bed. On Saturday, Mike and I did some work in the yard because it was a beautiful sunny day. I planted some of the pansies that I bought several weeks ago and we brought out all of our outdoor furniture and our grill.  We went out for sushi and saw the movie "42" about baseball player Jackie Robinson. It was very good.

Today, Marion and I spent several hours working on a custom t-shirt quilt commission that has to be ready for the end of May. We have half of the quilt top sewn together. It looks really nice, but it has been A LOT of work.

Hope you are having a great day!

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy