Some of The Quilts of 2020

I lost a lot of photos when my last phone took the dump during Covid and realized it never uploaded to cloud for I think months.  And of course with the busy year and the hundreds of masks, I didn’t finish as many quilts this year as I would have loved too. But again,  truly the year of the nurse. 

Here are some of the quilts I Finished from May til December and a little about them each. I just decided I need to try and record some since I feel I haven’t done well with this for a few years. 

 

Frogs and Arrows.  Kinda came up with this design on my own and sewed as I went along alternating the direction of the flying geese. This was a shower gift for my friend Ed and Kristen. 

Another one that I didn’t follow a formal pattern, just took off and createdz. Still not sure about the background color,  but my little sewing group picked it.  So I went with it! This was given as a prayer quilt to a friend going thru chemo. 

Here’s another quilt long in the making.  One of my first ever quilts was made from the Amy butler prints.  It was the first fat quarter collection that I bought. I thought it was the perfect fabric for my new niece.  Well,  she turned 2 in March and I finished it in May.  But it’s done.  Another part of that clean out I wanted to do in 2020 and did not have time. 

This is a big block Batik quilt. I bought the fabric because you could see bassets in it.  You know I love my basset hounds. This was given to a coworkers wife. 

Now this quilt was the longest in the making for me and maybe my all time favorite.  It’s a Nancy McNally class I took probably 4 years ago.  In true me fashion,I altered and increased the size of her pattern to make it bigger.  

Well, it sat pinned for several years because I just did not know how I wanted to quilt it. Well last year I started a free motion class to update my skills and decided the quilt would work as an awesome sampler.  Not at all perfect, but done.

A big learning curve and boy have I grown on my quilting in the last few years.  I decided to hang it in the drooping sunflowers.  I love my photos.  I love this quilt still more!  I think it’s the one that made me fall in love with Batiks.  Frankie picked it out to give to a friend. Her husband makes all kinds of things, and touches us so much! 

Another top finished I think in 2019 as part of a quilt along.  Hadn’t decided how I wanted it quilted,  so it sat.  I love how it went with the harvest feel,  so I went to the edge of my friend Jenny and Kirby’s field and hung it amongst the corn!! 

Did a lot of detailed quilting on here. Yep,  these tops are helping me grow. 

My coworker lost his young daughter at 27 this year with 3 young kids.  Here is to the first of a few tshirt quilts. Still hard fit me to feel the sunflowers with it, but I think it worked out!! 

The quilt group I lead did the Jelly Roll Snowflake sew along this year.  With normal me fashion,  I did it bright and cheerful.  Then of course played with the quilting.  Given to the pharmacist who took over Frankies dads store for his new baby. 

The Barrister block scrap quilt that I posted about in my last blog.  Hoping to give to a friend who retired last year that we never gave a party too. 

This top isn’t finished in this photo.  Actually going to sew the binding on today while I am stuck at home. But I couldn’t pass up the field.  Sooo many scraps of cotton from a field like this!! Photo in the St. Matthews area. 

And then the scrap HST runner.  A retreat mate from a retreat last year gave me her cut off corner scraps from her quilt.  I used them later for a demo for my sewing class.  I actually by chance had the same Essex linen she used and made myself  this table runner.  Yep,  I think I am gonna keep.  That’s about all I had time for in the Crazy 2020, until my Covid sew in that I shall post tomorrow!! I hope!! 

Barrister’s Block Batik Scrap Quilt

 So it’s been a while since I posted. I wish I would find some time to be better about this. But maybe the challenges that will require it will help me do just that! 

     Kim Lapacek over at Persimon Dreams is hosting a block of the month scrap challenge this year.  My intent before COVID was to try to finish every block into a scrap quilt this year.  I successfully finished one and a top before COVID turned my life hectic.  Well instead of using up scraps, COVID mask making created more. Well now I am finally pushing that to the side and I am sewing up all the scraps I can find. But there still are more and more....

     February block was called the Barrister block.  I actually enjoyed to read the history behind the block, because the name was so odd. The block actually was created and named for a women’s right to practice law.  Sometimes known as the lawyer’s puzzle block. Some say the spikes represent the curls in the woman’s hair or actually wig.  

The block though is completed by all 4 big sections with either side opposing the other. Each smaller section measuring 8 inches to make a 16 inch block. 

This quilt top is 100% scrap. I actually did almost all of it back in March before my nurse work life went crazy.  It sadly barely touched my bin of batiks. 

I quilted the quilt with loops and lines. 

I finished it at the first retreat of 2020 for me since everything else was canceled in October at Lutheridge.  Then yep,  I am just sitting down to make this post.  On my bucket list of stuff to finish up in 2020. 

So here it is.