This is my newest design, Charm Pack Shuffle.

Every year for the members of my Girl Scout troop we do a little something to celebrate birthdays and this year I decided to make something for each of them. After coming through my pile of small project ideas that I've saved over the recent years, I chose to make them Tiny Bags which is a free pattern from Sew Can She.  Caroline's blog is chock full of terrific free patterns so if you haven't checked it out yet, you definitely should.

The first Tiny Bag was for Rachel.  I asked her Mom what her favorite color is and Teal was the reply so I dug through my stash to find this fun Teal polka dot fabric.  Finding a few coordinating prints for the other parts of the bag wasn't difficult.

The next customer top to be quilted was this bright Orange and Yellow number by Charmaine.  It was a project from a guild workshop in the spring.

The "before" shot.  Charmaine gave me free reign to do what I wanted and while I was severely temped to do some custom quilting on it, time and her budget weren't part of the equation.

The top's colors remind me of flames and that was my first idea for designs but when auditioned, I didn't like it.  So another idea was needed.  

The panto choice I went with is Whirlygig.  The overall effect is pretty and I think the bit of spikiness of the panto design plays off the piecing and colors. Luckily I had the perfect thread in stock, Superior's Rainbows Autumn Leaves and So Fine Pumpkin was used on the back.

The quilting shows on the back just the right amount.  

Charmaine was happy with the result and so another happy customer was on her way to not having yet another UFO in her pile. 

Quilting for my customers certainly is varied and interesting.  I can't wait to see what's up next.

My customer Marylou certainly has been busy lately piecing a bunch of quilts.  As happened last time, when she picked up her Baby Animals quilt, she dropped off this Log Cabin variation one for me to quilt. It's also to be a gift for a new baby girl.

Choosing which pattern to use took me a little while as many that I thought I would like for this quilt I rejected once auditioned.  I finally settled on Fire Flower and I'm pleased with the effect.  Thread was Glide Pink on the top and So Fine Lilac on the back.

But that idea  will have to wait as more customer tops are in the queue to be quilted and I have a few other projects in the works that are further ahead in the "To Make" line.  Some day though.

The 3rd of Eiko's quilts for her grandchildren is this interesting scrap and Peach one.  I don't know which block this is but it utilizes a lot of scrappy variety.

Here's a before picture of it on my frame.

I wanted to share a close up picture of the blocks.  There are a ton of bias edges and thankfully while the blocks had a little bit of fullness to deal with, it wasn't too bad.

Here's the completed quilt in all it's glory.  This is a big one, measuring 85" x 95".

As always, I like to do a "texture" shot to show the overall effect better.

The panto Eiko chose for this final quilt was Cascade.  Glide in Military Gold thread was used on the top and Perma Core thread in Bermuda Blue was chosen for the back.

A bright Blue and Green Batik was provided for the backing that also worked well as the binding fabric since there was a lot of both colors in the pieced blocks.

I'm sure Eiko's granddaughter will treasure this gift from her Oda for years and years to come.

Thank you Eiko for trusting me to complete these sweet quilts for you.

When my customer Marylou picked up her French Roses quilt she dropped off another to be quilted.   this is her adorable Baby Animals quilt.

I forgot to take a picture of the whole top before I started but I did snap this partial picture.

What a difference a bit of quilting makes.  The flowers and flowing lines look sweet and soften the square piecing nicely.

Marylou let me choose which design to use on this quilt (I love when that happens) and I felt Dainty suited it, especially since this quilt is a gift for a new baby girl. Thread for the top was Glide Lemon Ice and So Fine in pastel Green for the back.

She provided a pieced backing that included this cute farm scene print.

Marylou loved the result and I'm sure the new mom who received this quilt was too.

Thank you for letting me quilt this for you Marylou.  I look forward to seeing what you bring me next to work on.

This is the 2nd quilt that I completed recently for my customer Eiko.  This one is destined for one of her granddaughters.  It's a nice mix of complimentary blocks.

I remembered this time to take a "before" picture.  I love to see the difference the quilting makes.

Finishing up the very last row is always satisfying, especially when the design spaces out so well at the bottom.

Eiko chose the Whirlygig panto for this quilt and I used So Fine in Fern thread on the top and Primo Soft in Military Gold for the back.

The backing she provided is this bright Chartreuse which gives a nice pop to the overall quilt but I didn't feel that it worked to also use for the binding so I picked a complimentary Teal tone on tone to frame it nicely.

Another nice customer finish is in the books. I'm sure she will be thrilled with the result.

There is one more quilt for Eiko to show you.  Stay tuned.

Last month, in the midst of the craziness that is the beginning of the school year, I squeezed in attendance at a quilt guild workshop and made my first (and definitely not the last ) barn quilt.

Our speaker was Suzi Parron who wrote this book.

Learning the history of how barn quilts got started and seeing her slideshow of so many very cool barn quilts that now grace buildings across the US was very enjoyable. 

Suzi was a fun and enthusiastic teacher and it wasn't long before everyone was underway creating their masterpieces.  As the class was scheduled to conclude at 2pm and I had to finish by that hour to get home and meet the school bus, I forgot to take more pictures in process but here is one.

The steps aren't hard, it just takes time, depending on which pattern you choose.  Of course the one I fell in love with was one of the harder ones she offered, the Double Aster.

I had a blast and I absolutely L.O.V.E. the way it turned out.  I haven't decided where it's going to go in my home but it will definitely be a place where it is noticed.

I can't wait to make more barn quilts and I've got a few ideas brewing but those will likely have to wait until mid winter to even get started.  Plus I want to convince hubby to let me make a bigger one to hang above our garage door.  There's a big empty wall there that would be perfect for one.

My customer Eiko brought me 3 quilts to complete for her, including the binding, which are to be gifts to her grandchildren.  This Blue quilt was the first of the trio that was completed.

This top was a challenge due to the fact that there was a lot of excess fabric in the blocks.

You can see it better in this picture.  The seams between the blocks were tight but the interior of the blocks had a lot of excess fabric to deal with.

Thankfully, with the help of spray starch, a lot of patience (and I'll admit - a little praying), I was able to tame the fullness pretty well.

I was pleased with my initial impression of the results when I took it off the frame but until I trimmed and bound it, the true picture couldn't be determined.

This side view certainly looked promising.  

Eiko chose the Popcorn panto for this quilt and it really worked well to soften the edges of the angular blocks plus had enough stitching to help flatten the full areas.

The backing she provided was a tone on tone medium tan fabric that proved to be a good showcase for the quilting plus I had enough excess to also use it as the binding fabric.

I think my customer will be pleasantly surprise of how nicely it turned out and the eventual recipient will cherish this gift of love from his grandmother.

The other 2 quilts I completed for Eiko will be in a couple of upcoming posts.  Stay tuned.