Sewing/Quilting Projects | RV There Yet?

Since we have a day or so until our March project really kicks in, I thought I’d share some recent crafty things I’ve completed lately. Ok, so actually they were from last year and were mostly Christmas gifts and yes, it is March, but somethings just don’t get organized so easily! (Like a “show and tell” post!). But, because some of my faithful readers are my quilting buddies from my previous lifetime, I thought I’d do a little sharing.
Today it’s all about Alaska. I know, I know, you heard about Alaska for 4 months. But this is about Alaska memories! Have you ever heard of a “Shop Hop”? A Shop Hop is where area shops (in this case quilt shops) join together in some group marketing plan to entice shoppers to visit all of the shops and purchase stuff! With quilt shops the plan is often to purchase a particular block kit at each shop that can be sewn together into one large quilt. In Alaska, the Shop Hop covered the entire state, and while we made it to lots of those shops, we didn’t make it to all. But that didn’t stop us – my quilting buddy Naomi and I still managed to pick up (or have shipped to us!) 12 kits! If I had followed their directions, I would have ended up with a quilt that looked (more or less) like this –

But I didn’t really want an Alaska quilt. So I decided to add borders and make individual wallhangings. A plan much more suitable for someone who lives in less than 400 square feet.
So, to help me remember the bears that we saw,

I made the bear wallhanging.

To help me remember the moose we saw (and oh, how l loved the moose!)

I put this together –

And my favorite fireweed…

The towering mountains –

The ancient glaciers –

the serene loons –

and while we never did see any Eskimos in kayaks, we did see some of those wonderful jackets –

Oh, and the outhouses…..

(This one is headed to our Vermont Cabin, where we do indeed have an outhouse!)
And then the last three –

Out of the eleven that I completed, five of them went to my unsuspecting family as gifts. 🙂 The other six are in my wallhanging “stash”. And every time I pull one of them out, I’ll be reminded of the wonderful summer we spent in Alaska!

Tomorrow – the rest of the Crafty Story!

Yes, we’ll be cooking. 100 meals, 3 times a day, 7 days a week. OK, so we haven’t cooked every one of those meals, but we’ve certainly been on hand for most of them! And the next 9 meals will be our personal responsibility (the cook’s away!). But aside from the panic that the rice really will NOT BE DONE in time, or the questions about cooking butter beans, seeing the smiles on the faces of the boys (along with the hands that go up when asked if anyone wants seconds) has made all of the extra hours worth it. Hopefully next week we’ll get a day or two off, so I can get some housework done!

But since about the most exciting thing that has happened in my life lately is the fact that the rice did indeed get done (never underestimate how long it is going to take to get a huge pot of water to boil – I really should know better!), I thought I’d share some photos of my quilting projects that I did for the family this year. (This is mostly for my quilting buddies – everyone else, view at your own risk! )
Hayley’s Quilt
Since the girls are together in the same room (bunk beds no less!), I made her a quilt to coordinate with the one I made for Ellie last year. Tammy and I picked out the fabrics when we were together in August, and we chose a simple fat-quarter pattern (Yellow Brick Road). Since it was an easy pattern, I tried to put a little extra detail into the quilting. I don’t have a picture of it on her bed, but here are a couple of it on my bed – along with some close up detail shots.

I also made a pillowcase and a little pillow to match. (Those pillowcases are so easy to make – and are such a big hit!)

Maddie’s Quilt
I also made a quilt for our new granddaughter – though at the time I didn’t know if it was a granddaughter or grandson. So while this may look a little like we were expecting a boy, I actually just built it from my “stash” – and I tried to make it nice a bright and interesting. Again, it’s a simple brick pattern, and I did just basic machine quilting. But the back is nice soft flannel, and I hope it gets lots and lots of use!

The Nap Quilts
And the rest of the gang got “Nap Quilts”. I used the same Yellow Brick Road pattern, and put a nice cozy fleece on the back. Two were done in homespuns (again from my “stash”) and two were done in some fun bright prints. I kept one of the print ones – and can verify that it works great! (for naps, that is!)