Library Doll Quilt For My Friend Ardee

I have an online friend named Ardee who is one of the sweetest people I know!  There was a challenge on Facebook called "Crafty Pay-It-Forward", and she was one of the people who responded.  She loves to read, has rescue kitties, and has a fondness for llamas, so this is what I came up with for her.  :-)

Two More Doll Quilts

Here's a couple more doll quilts I've made.  They don't currently have a specific home in mind, but I'm sure they'll find a new home soon!  :-)

This one was made with selveges, and has an applique'd heart in the center, along with some buttons for embellishments.  Not sure why the heart looks blotchy in the photo.  It's bright pink in person.

Here's an "OBW" (One Block Wonder) kaleidoscope doll quilt I made last year.  This was before I'd tried my hand at free-motion quilting on my regular sewing machine, so all the quilting is straight lines, outlining each hexagon.  :-)

February Doll Quilt Swap - QuiltingBoard.com

Here's the doll quilt I made for my partner, mooretll, on QuiltingBoard.com.  The theme was "Strips and Stripes".  Hope she likes it.  The label is from some fabric I found in my late Granny's stash.  Pretty nifty, I thought.  :-)

This is my first attempt at quilting feathers.  Not too bad, I guess, but I need to get them fluffier.

The extra items are little fun goodies that I enjoy sending with the doll quilts.  One is a tin with a giant cookie, and the other is a set of wooden craft stamps with a little red ink pad.  The other item is a mug rug made with the same fabrics as the doll quilt.

February Doll Quilt Swap - QuiltingHaven.com

Here's the doll quilt I made for my partner, ________, on QuiltingHaven.com.  I can't fill in her name yet just in case she sees this blog, because it's supposed to be a surprise!  LOL!  Hope she likes it.  The label is from some fabric I found in my late Granny's stash.  Pretty nifty, I thought.  :-)

This is my second attempt at quilting feathers.  They're fairly decent for a second-timer, but I still need lots of practice.  I quilted them in dark thread so it wouldn't be so obvious if ... er ... WHEN ... I made a mistake!  :-D

The extra items are little fun goodies that I enjoy sending with the doll quilts.  One is a tin with a giant cookie, and the other is a set of wooden craft stamps with a little red ink pad.

Boomerang 9 Swap - Pacific Group - Urgodschild2

"Urgodschild2" from California sent a gorgeous and very unusual F8 in an Aboriginal pattern, and asked that white be added.  I made her a Disappearing Nine Patch block to keep from cutting her lovely fabric into too-tiny bits.  Hope she likes it!  :-)

Here's the block she sent me!  It's called Blazed Trail.  It's gorgeous!  :-)

Boomerang 9 Swap - Pacific Group - TwinRiversFarm

"TwinRiversFarm" from Virginia sent an F8 with an intricate floral design on it, and asked that I match the colors in her fabric.  I chose the hot pink, and made an Antique Tile block for her.  The pattern is from Quilter's Cache, link below.  Hope she likes it, and that it's not TOO bright.  :-/

http://www.quilterscache.com/A/AntiqueTileBlock.html

Wow!  Check out the stunning block she sent me!  It's a head-turner, for sure!  :-)

Boomerang 9 Swap - Pacific Group - TravelingGramma

"TravelingGramma" from Arizona sent a solid black F8, and asked that a bright color be added to it.  I chose pink, and made a Disappearing Nine Patch block.  Hope she likes it!  :-)

And here's the STUNNING block she made for me! WOW!!!  I love it!  :-)

Boomerang 9 Swap - Pacific Group - TheMamaHauser

"TheMamaHauser" from Montana sent a navy blue and gray-ish batik F8, and asked that solid black or solid white be added.  I went with white, and created an Amish Diamond block.  The pattern is from Quilter's Cache (link below).

http://www.quilterscache.com/A/AmishDiamondBlock.html

And here's the gorgeous star block she made for me.  It's so pretty!  :-)

Boomerang 9 Swap - Pacific Group - RoseIrish48

"RoseIrish48" from Minnesota sent a fun turquoise F8 that has streamers of orange, lime green, and hot pink.  I pulled the orange and hot pink colors, and created an Arrowhead Puzzle block.  The pattern is from Quilter's Cache (link below).

http://www.quilterscache.com/A/ArrowheadPuzzleBlock.html

She sent me this lovely block, called Mississippi.  Very pretty!  :-)

Boomerang 9 Swap - Pacific Group - NanaKathy55

"NanaKathy55" from Georgia sent a brick red F8 that has stars on it, and requested an Americana quilt block with the colors brick red, dark blue, and cream.  I added a solid dark blue fabric and a cream floral fabric to make a star.  The pattern is my own invention, but it's based on the Friendship Star pattern from Quilter's Cache (link below).

http://www.quilterscache.com/F/FriendshipStarBlock.html

Here's the block she sent me.  Pretty!  :-)

Boomerang 9 Swap - Pacific Group - Moonwork42029

"Moonwork42029" from Kentucky sent a fun red, black, and white F8.  It's going to be part of a surprise quilt for her dad.  I appliqued a black cat, since he enjoys cats.  :-)

Here's the gorgeous block she sent me! Wow! I love it!  :-)

Boomerang 9 Swap - Pacific Group - Ljdugas31

"Ljdugas31" from Massachusetts sent a black and white batik F8, and asked for a bright color to accent it.  I chose a bright turquoise color.  The block pattern is called Goshen Star, and I'm working on a tutorial for it.  :-)  Hope she likes the block!

Here's the gorgeous block she sent me!  My photo doesn't do it justice at all.  She included a note with the name of the block:  Stepping Stones.  Pretty!  :-)

Boomerang 9 Swap - Pacific Group - Joanelizbay

"Joanelizbay" from Missouri sent a pretty yellow and white floral F8, and asked that white be added to it.  The block I chose is called Disappearing Nine Patch.  Hope she likes it!  :-)

Here's the lovely grown-up block she sent me.  Isn't it pretty!  It's called Martha Washington Star.

Boomerang 9 Swap - Pacific Group - Elisabrat

"Elisabrat" from California sent an F8 with fun jack-o-lanterns on it, and asked for blue, purple, or something pumpkin-y to be added for the accent fabric.  No spiderwebs or spiders, because she doesn't like them!  I chose a purple fabric as per her request.  The pattern is called Amish Diamond, and is available on Quilter's Cache, link below.

http://www.quilterscache.com/A/AmishDiamondBlock.html

Here's the block she sent me.  Wow!  I just love it!  :-)

Boomerang 9 Swap - Pacific Group - Abby'sMom

"Abby'sMom" from New Hampshire sent a solid black F8, and requested large-print flowers to accent it.  Here's what I came up with.  The pattern is very similar to the Centifours pattern on Quilter's Cache, but I changed the center so that the flowers didn't get broken up.  Here's a link to the Centifours pattern:

http://www.quilterscache.com/C/CentifoursBlock.html

Here's the pretty block she sent me! :-)

Boomerang 9 Swap - Pacific Group - OldCatLady

"OldCatLady" from Ohio sent a pretty and unusual gray fabric, and requested either white, gray, or pastel pink be added.  Here's what I came up with, using some marble-patterned pastel pink.  The pattern is called Disappearing Nine Patch.

Check out this amazing block she sent me! WOW!!!

Boomerang 9 Swap - Pacific Group - Jaba

I'm in a group called the Boomerang Swap.  The group contains 35-37 or so people from all over the U.S., and there are usually some international folks as well.  Each person mails a "Fat Eighth" (F8) of fabric to each of the other people in the group.  Everyone uses the F8s, along with their own accent fabrics, to make a 12-1/2" block for each person, and mails them back.  In the end, everyone ends up with enough blocks to complete a quilt!  :-)  This is the 9th Boomerang Swap.  I've been in all of them ever since the 3rd one.  (I would've been in the others, but I didn't know they existed!  LOL!)

I mailed out all of my F8s yesterday morning, so they should be arriving in everyone's mailboxes soon.

The first F8 arrived in the mail today.  It's belongs to "Jaba", and she lives in Wyoming.  That was a fast trip, going all the way from Wyoming to Georgia in just one day!  She sent a lovely cream-colored fabric that has blue flowers and butterflies sprinkled all over it.  She asked that I use the colors that were in her fabric when making her block, so I decided to go with the pale blue.  I had a green that matched the leaves, but I was afraid it would be too dark and overwhelming for her pretty fabric.

Here's her finished block (sorry about the bad lighting).  The pattern is called "Goshen Star".  I'll post instructions for it soon.  I hope she likes it!  :-)

Here's the gorgeous block she sent me.  I just love it!  It's totally perfect!  :-)

Vroom! Charity Quilt

Another quilt top made!  This one has all kinds of vehicles:  cars, motorcycles, airplanes, trains, etc.  :-)  The pattern is called Warm Wishes.

Some Charity Quilts I've Made In The Last Few Days

Here are some charity quilts I've made in the last few days.  They'll be going to hospitalized and/or traumatized children.

Above two photos:  Front and back of the same quilt.  The front is pieced with random strips of fabric from my scrap bin.  I made them into 12-1/2" squares, then sewed the squares together.  The back is made from 2-1/2" jelly roll-type strips that I received in a swap.  This one's quilted and ready to go.  :-)

Above Photo:  Pink Poodle Princesses!  This one is a top only at the moment, but I hope to get it quilted this weekend.  The back fabric has fancy little poodles on it as well, along with polka dots.  The green fabric has little pink hearts on it.  This quilt top was made from mostly remnants and scraps.

Above Photo:  Pink Floral Paisleys!  The main print is a wild floral pattern with paisleys.  The accent blocks feature pink and yellow zigzags, and multi-colored flowers on a white background.  It's a top only at the moment, but I hope to get it quilted this weekend.