Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Sideways

Back in February, I realized that I had eleven ongoing quilting projects, excluding note cards, projects that I had bought the fabric for but never started, or projects that I've inherited.  I took them all out and photographed them.

Quilt #1: Boy Scout Quilt

The first quilt that I photographed was a quilt that I was making to honor my husband's Eagle Scout:

The top of the quilt had been finished for over a year.  I already had the backing and the batting.

This was an easy one to finish:

Quilt #2: The Owl Quilt

The second quilt that i photographed was the start of the owl quilt.  I had started this one a while ago to donate to raise money for a special needs school--it was supposed to be the 2016 charity quilt, but it became the 2017 charity quilt.  At the time that I photographed all of the in-progress quilts, I just had a handful of squares completed:

As added incentive, I promised to donate this one at the end of April.  Fortunately, I was able to keep that commitment:

Quilt #3: Patriotic Quilt #2

This quilt was part of the tub of "quilty goodness" that I was given.  It was the first time I ever created a quilt top from a kit with pre-cut fabrics.  Unfortunately, this quilt is still in this stage:

Quilt #4: The Purple Quilt

When we moved into this house, one of the bedrooms was painted lavender.  And, the color grew on me.  However, none of our existing quilts really fit well in there.  So, over ten years ago, I started this quilt:

Someday, I will finish it...

Quilt #5: Patriotic Wall Hanging

I had started this about five years ago to donate as part of a raffle.  I made a mistake on it, and there it sat:

Fortunately, the mistake was easy to fit, and this one has since found a new home in another raffle:

Quilt #6: Frog Quilt #1

Several years, a friend of mine asked me to make her a frog quilt.  This is why I don't make quilts for friends:  at some point, I have to make another quilt and the quilt sits.  And, sits...

Quilt #7: Coca-Cola Quilt

Over 10 years ago, my husband and I went to a quilt show at the Boulder County Fairgrounds, and I bought a charm pack of flannel fabric to make a Coca-Cola quilt.  But, just sewing the squares together didn't seem very attractive.  So, I started buying flannel Coca-Cola fabric and coordinating solid colors.  And, I put some squares together, but I didn't really have a plan for what to do with all this fabric:

The great thing about taking these photos was that an idea formed.  I'm still not done with the top, but I've made some progress:

Quilt #8: Elk Quilt

Several years ago, I ran across a great flannel fabric with elk on it.  Naturally, I decided to make a quilt with it.  I searched high and low to find all the coordinating fabric, including a selection of soft fabrics.  I used the Accu-quilt triangle template to make sure that all the squares were uniform.  Then, I started another quilt, and here it sits:

Quilt #9: Frog Quilt #2

A couple of years ago, another friend of mine asked me to make a frog quilt for a special person in his life.  I got distracted, and the special person has since passed away.  Some day, I'll finish this one.

Quilt #10: Patriotic Quilt #2

This quilt started out as a pillow cover.  As I was sewing the pillow cover, I decided that it would make a great quilt instead.  Yet, here it sits.

Quilt #11: Sampler Quilt

Years ago when I was just getting into quilting, I joined a quilt group at church.  We met throughout the winter of that year, and over the course of the winter, we made blocks like this:

Unfortunately, at some point, the group disbanded.  And, I never finished this one.

The Two Steps Sideways

After realizing how many in-progress quilts I have, I made a promise to myself to get a number of these finished before starting any new ones.  That number was much smaller than I had planned.  When I had finished three of the eleven, two new quilts came into the picture.

The first was a t-shirt quilt--my first one ever.  The husband of a dear friend passed away and my friend asked me to make a t-shirt quilt out of his shirts.  I could not say no.  Fortunately, this quilt was quickly (for me at least) completed:

Now, I'm trying to stay motivated on my second owl quilt.  When my niece saw the first owl quilt, she really liked it, but it was already promised.  I'm still in the middle of sewing the squares:

Frog Quilted Note Card

I found a fun print that has frogs all over it.  Here is one of the cards that I made from frogs that I fussy cut out of the print:

Here is the side view:

And, here is a close up of the stitching:

Butterfly 2 Quilted Note Card

There are a lot of great butterfly prints right now.  I fussy cut the butterfly out of one print, and added it to two background fabrics, before adding the fur yarn border:

This is the side view:

The yarn is a little thick.  It does seem to take over the card.

Here is a close up of the stitching:

South Platte River 3 Quilted Note Card

This card is from another photo of the South Platte River:

This is the side view:

And, here are a couple of close up photos of the stitching:

South Platte River 2 Quilted Note Card

The walk along the South Platte River really is gorgeous.  At one point, I walked across a cool old bridge that is now a walkway across the river.  The bridge had this sign at the top of it:

From the middle of the bridge, I took the photo that turned into the following quilted note card:

Here is the side view:

Here is a close up of the stitching:

South Platte River Quilted Note Card

This fall, I took a walk along the South Platte River near the City of Cuernavaca Park in Denver.  The colors were already great, and I couldn't resist playing with the Enhanced setting on my camera.  The following is a quilted note card that I made with one of the photos:

This is a side view of the card:

This is a close up of the stitching:

North Platte River Quilted Note Card

This fall, we needed to drive up to Victor and Cripple Creek.  Naturally, we took the back roads.  Along the way, I took a couple of pictures of the North Platte River.  Here is the front of the North Platte River card:

This is the side view:

And, here is a close up of the stitching:

Old Wagon Wheel Quilted Note Card

Our first stop in Texas was actually Amarillo.  We stopped at the Cadillac Ranch, ate a huge meal at the Big Texan, and then headed to the Palo Duro Canyon State Park to see the musical "Texas!".  The Palo Duro Canyon was pretty amazing in itself, but the musical was definitely worth seeing.  While waiting for the musical to start, we walked around the area a bit, and we both wound up taking some pictures of a wagon out front.

I also took a close up of the front wheel:

When I was looking for photos to turn into note cards, this one came to mind.  Here is the front of the finished card:

The side view:

I kept the stitching on this one fairly simple:

Bench Quilted Note Card

This past summer, my husband and I drove to Houston, Texas, for the national Elks convention.  It was a wonderful drive.  We took the back roads whenever possible.  While in Houston, there were several days when I had free time while my husband was in meetings.  One of these days was the Fourth of July.  I'm not one to stay in the hotel room if I don't have to.  While my first three options for passing the time didn't pan out for one reason or another, I eventually passed by the McGovern Centennial Gardens and was able to find a parking spot.

The gardens were awesome, even if it was a little hot for this northerner!  While walking around, I came across this bench:

My first thought was:  what a peaceful spot to read or even just to pause for a few moments.

When I started making these quilted note cards, I decided to turn this photo a card to remind myself that there are quiet spots for reflection even in large cities.  Here is the front of the note card:

Here is the side of the card:

And, a close up of the stitching on this one:

Butterfly Photo Note Card

Have you ever just lucked into a series of photos?  I had my camera in my hand one day because we'd just gotten back from a military vehicle show.  When I got out of the car, I decided to walk over and check if the raised garden bed in the front needed weeding.  A butterfly was enjoying the flowers, and I was able to get several really good photos of it.  Naturally, at least one of these needed to be turned into a quilted note card.

Here is the front of the card:

Here is the side view:

On this one, in addition to the stitching, I also added a few beads to the flower:

Ketner Lake 2 Note Card

One of my favorite places to stop when I'm taking photos is a bench near the water.  Typically, I'll take pictures of the bench with the lake in the background, but during one walk, I turned around and saw the sun light filtering through the trees.  I had to take the photo.  And, I had to make a card out of it.  Here is the front view of the card:

Here is the side view:

And, here is a close up of the stitching: