Pirate Strings by me.

 Another string pieced quilt that will go to the police.  I so love using up these little bits of fabric that otherwise would just continue to accumulate.  Too big to throw away, too small to keep.  At last, projects to use them up!

This one is "Pirate Strings" because I used the Skulls panto.  There is some boy out there who's going to need a quilt to keep him warm, and will love the fact that it's got skulls and crossed bones quilted into it.

Everything came from leftovers from other projects.  Obviously the strings, but the black sashing is some 108" wide backing fabric that was in my stash.  The backing, not shown here, is pieced from other 108" wide backing fabrics that I found and were nearly the right size.  The batting is pieced, and even the binding is leftover from other binding projects.  Heck, it's already cut down to strips and folded in half, all it needs is to have pieces sewn together to make it long enough.

Von Bergen Dairy Farm Quilt by Nancy

Where do you even begin to describe this quilt?  I guess at the beginning. 

I received an e-mail from Nancy in February 2014 with the following in the e-mail."In working out my grief at losing my mother in June, I finished some family tree research which I knew would have pleased her immensely. The outflow of the research  caused me to undertake this quilt project, which depicts my great grandparent's dairy farm, and would have been such a source of delight to mom, as well as providing a durable family history for my kids and grandkids."  Nancy then attached some photos of the quilt top, and described what she had done.  Above is the full quilt after quilting.  Below are more detailed photos of specific parts of the quilt.

 Here is the house.  Nancy quilted the house before she sent it on to me.  Notice the small glass bead to represent the old glass doorknob on the front door.







Below, we have the family.  Nancy took a photo, and "dressed" the people in the photo in fabrics.  Underneath she has included the names of who is who.










The fruit trees on the farm are all dimensional.  Nancy took small pieces of fabric and stitched these to the background.

Here is "The Large Black Walnut Tree".  They don't show in the photo, but Nancy has made small French Knots on the ground to represent the walnuts that had already fallen to the ground.  Notice the quilt hanging on the clothesline to the left of the tree, and the vegetable garden to the right of the tree.  Again, all dimensional.

It's a dairy farm, so you have to have dairy cows.

My favorite is the barn.  The door actually slides back and forth on the metal rods that she has attached above and below.

The walkway up to the front door is surrounded by flowers.

Now for the best part.  Many of these dimensional buildings lift up to reveal something underneath.  Nancy has a photo of the original house, certificates to acknowledge that the family was an Early Settler to the territory, a drawing that Nancy's mother made of what she remembered of the farm, and a plotting by the city to show who owned what piece of property.

The circle shows where the Black Walnut tree was.

I don't know if this house still exists, but regardless, this is a wonderful testimony to the family that worked so hard for so many years to provide a home for their families.  The treasure that Nancy has created is just amazing, and I hope that it will be treasured for many, many generations to comes.

Lavender 108" wide

Galaxy #403, Lavender.  I already have this cut and pre-washed to use as borders and backing on the next charity string quilt.  $11.70/yd

Pink 108"

Galaxy #101 Chantille Pink.  Wish I were better at computer skills, and knew how to make this the true Easter Egg pink that this fabric really is. $11.70/yd

Black backing

Although this reads as grey on the computer screen, this is actually Galaxy #805, Black
$11.70/yd

Kahki backing 108"

A nice neutral fabric. Galaxy #707. I've used this a lot on charity quilts where there are so many colors, nothing in particular stands out. $11.70/yd

Patriotic fabrics for sale

Banners $5.99/yd

 These fabrics are all 45" wide, something I purchased for another project, but now find that I've got more than I can use.  All would be perfect for Quilts Of Valor, or some other patriotic quilts.

Medallions $5.99/yd

Flags $5.99/yd

Stripes $5.99/yd

Blue backing

Again, 108" wide fabric, Galaxy #202 Chantille. $11.70 per yard

Backing fabrics for sale

I have started to carry a limited number of 108" wide backing fabrics.

All are 100% cotton.

This fabric is by Galaxy #22015.  The fabric is white, but the bottom photo looks pink because I placed another fabric behind it to attempt to show the design.  $11.70 per yard.

The Cozy House Quilt by Paul and Oceana

Oh the interesting things you learn about your co-workers.  I had stopped by work for some reason or other, and co-workers commented on the skirt that I was wearing.  The conversation then changed to Oceana looking for a quilter to finish a quilt that she and her husband had pieced.  Next thing I know, Paul and Oceana, and their sweet dog were dropping off this quilt.  All done in batiks, silk batting.  The silk was a new on for me, and quite nice to work with  Personally, think I prefer wool for the loft.  They chose a thread called Colorburst, since it has all the colors of the quilt in the thread too.  The picture really doesn't do justice to how beautiful this quilt turned out.

Animal Appliques by Sara

Sara is having a new grandbaby!

I believe that the nursery has an animal theme, so Sara found most, if not all of these different animals online, and created her own pattern for machine applique.

She chose a leafy vine for the background, and then I stitched

around all of the details.  Each eye, eye lash, trunk detail, etc.

I love the sleeping lion.

In order to add texture, I stitched over Sara's machine stitching on his feet and body.

12 different colors of thread, but it worked out so well!

Noah's Ark by Michael

Michael is at it again.  Making the sweetest quilts that he will give away to charity.

He started with the Noah's Ark fabric,and put all the animals into the arks and around the borders.    I love how the arks are all scrappy.  Michael chose to have waves quilted in boats and the ocean, a pond water meander in the sky, and a different wave in the sashing strips and borders.  The backing is flannel for softness.