Oh, Fransson!

I'm Drowning in Sheets . . .

. . .and I'm pretty sure my mail carrier hates me.  As of today, I've received 1,869 fat quarters in 270 patterns from 56 swappers.  Wow! 

The sheets keep coming!

As of today, I've received 601 fat quarters, in 121 DIFFERENT patterns/colors, from 18 swappers.  I can't wait to see what comes in this week!  If you haven't already sent your packages to me, please get them in the mail within the next couple of days so I can receive them by June 30.

Also, people have been asking me when I'm going to start posting sheet-related projects.  I thought it might be kind of fun to use the fat quarters I ended up getting in the swap, so my plan is to post my first project on Monday, July 7, and continue every two weeks until they're gone.

Pink Leopard Print

Here's the baby quilt I made for Poppy, twin sister of Gus, whose giraffe quilt I finished last month.  

Last week, I came across these blocks and, since they were the same configuration as the blocks on Gus' quilt, I decided to use them to make Poppy's.  I thought it might be kind of fun to back hers in an animal print too, so I pulled out a piece of pink leopard print Minky and was surprised to find that it didn't look all that bad with the blocks I'd made.

The pink leopard Minky actually came from my mother, who had ordered it accidentally a couple of months ago.  (She ordered it for this quilt thinking it was leopard-color.)  I was concerned that it might be "a bit much" with all the other prints . . .and it kind of is, but I still like the way it looks.  The kitty on the front is made with a wool blend felt.  I went back and forth on the binding color, but eventually decided on soft pink because I thought the leopard print was bold enough without a high-contrast binding.

I quilted Poppy's quilt in the same pattern as Gus', but the quilting doesn't look as nice.  It's just much, much easier to see the wonkiness of my quilting lines on the white Kona cotton than on all the busy prints on Gus' quilt!

So, here they are together.  I'm pretty happy with how they came out and, if nothing else, I feel like I can safely say that I'm one of the only people to pair some of these quilting fabrics (particularly Denyse Schmidt's prints) with fuzzy pink leopard print.  At least I can say that's an accomplishment!

Sheet Swap Update

So far, I've received eight swap packages comprised of 48 different prints and 261 total fat quarters!

Please remember to send your packages so that I receive them by June 30.  I had so much fun to going through the packages I've received, and I can't wait to see what's yet to come.

Sneak Peek

The original version of this post was mysteriously "eaten" by Typepad.  The post below is my attempt to recreate it.  (At least this time I used the correct version of the word peek.)

Here's a sneak peek at the two projects I sent off today for the Pillowcase Challenge book.

I had originally intended to do a different style of quilting on this one, but changed my mind about halfway through.  Although I adore the finished product, picking all the original quilting out and then steaming the fabric to get rid of holes was not a fun way to spend 12 hours!

You may recognize this bottom project.  I was excited to find the yellow gingham pillowcase for it and I love the way it looks with the chocolate rick rack.

Anyway, here they are -- my first book projects.  Finished just in time to be driven out to the airport mail depot to meet the deadline for overnight delivery!

Birthday Quilt for Sarah Jane

I finished this quilt yesterday for my youngest sister's birthday.

Here's a full view.  I used bamboo batting which is, pretty much, the best thing ever. It was super-soft when I brought it home and even softer after I washed it. 

I made three little felt bird appliques to match the bird in the Botanical Pop fabric and scattered them around the quilt.

This is not a very big quilt, but it's the largest I've ever quilted allover in a free-motion pattern.  (My shoulders are sore!)  If I had it to do again, I would probably have used light gray instead of white thread.  I'm not crazy about the way the white looks on the dark gray binding.

The back is made from some yardage in another Botanical Pop print with a pieced strip down the middle made from some of the leftover scraps from making the front.  (You can see a puffy, unquilted space in the foreground left from one of the bird appliques.)

As you can see from the photos, my cats were big fans.  Thankfully, Sarah has three cats of her own, so the cat exposure shouldn't be an issue.