Quilts to the flimsy stage

I have the last 3 Christmas quilts ready to be sandwiched and then quilted. They are Tessellating Stars for Buck's mom and 2 sisters.

The blocks are 9" square. Each quilt is 5 blocks by 5 blocks.

I used scraps of the fabrics to make top and bottom borders for each quilt. I wanted to make the quilts rectangles instead of squares.

It's a new year, ya'll!

It is wonderful having a baby to enjoy this new year. I can't believe how fast he is growing. He is 3 months old already. I won't get much quilting done tomorrow, as Brayden and David will be here.
This is the quilt I made for Brayden for Christmas. It is different textures and shades of blue and white. It is really very pretty. Jenn says it is her favorite of all of the quilts I have made for him to date.
I used large squares of different textured fabric for this quilt. The squares were about 9". The fabrics included flannel, fleece ( the bubbly ducks), velour (with raised dots), satin, terry towelling, and a 'shiny curly lamb's wool-looking' fabric that is very soft to the touch. I really don't know any of the fabric by name. I think all of them came from Hobby Lobby. Every fabric is washable on delicate and in cold water, and can be tossed in the dryer. I serged this one to make sure none of the fabrics frayed. The backing is a 24" square of blue flannel printed with clouds with a border of 6 1/2" squares of all of the quilt fabrics.
I learned the evening that the term for the 'binding' method I used on this quilt is called the Birthing Method. I just layered the quilt top wrong side down on the batting, and topped it off with the backing right sides together with the top. Sewed around the edges with about a 1/2" seam leaving an opening large enough to turn the thing right side out. I then topstitched around the edge to keep everything together and also to stitch the opening closed.
David and Buck are planning on digging a ditch from the house to the shop to bury the electrical line tomorrow. I will be watching the baby, not using a shovel. The ground is very wet and softer than normal, so digging will be easier now than later.

Pray for Breana

My heart is heavy as I write this post. I've not posted much in the last couple of weeks in part due to Breana's circumstances. I've not been able to put the words down to discuss the terrible plight of our family. My grandneice, Breana, is ill with a mitachondrial disease. Mitachondrial diseases vary in their severity, and she is not yet diagnosed with a specific one. Her doctor is expecting test results for diagnosis within the month. These diseases are very dire.
Breana, only 3 years and 4 months old, is the only child of my sister's only child. Being an Early Interventionist, I know her future is very grim.

Merry Christmas

It's after 11 and I'm still madly quilting. It will take a miracle for all of the quilts to be finished by Christmas. I've gifted 3 more quilts this week, 2 snuggle Bargelloes for 2 grandneices, and a disappearing nine patch for a grandnephew.
This is in addition to 2 train quilts, 2 bargelloes, 1 simple stars, and 1 monkey wrench(also known by churn dash).
There is a Kindergarten teacher in Arkansas who must hate me! One grandnephew is so tickled with his train quilt he took it to school for his nap quilt. I teach K, and I know what a stir that quilt caused when I took to school to use as a visual for my lesson on quilts. (Quilt is a great Q word!! )
I have pieced 2 Tessellating Star tops for my in-laws and need 2 others. These really need to be at to the flimsy stage before the new owners can know about them. A note with 'some assembly required' will be attached to each flimsy and backing. I will return them quilted by the end of the month.

Wacky Week of Weather

This has been the weirdest week of weather in Central La.
Monday was a windy day, with a front moving in.
Tuesday brought a tornado touching down just about 2 blocks from the school, during the school day! My Kindergarteners got a special lesson in 'ducking and covering' and 'practicing to be safe' using their naptime covers. They really enjoyed the change of routine and were very cooperative with staying down and covered. I was terrified the tornado would move our way. Thanks to the Lord it did not. The kids thought they were practicing like we do for fire drills and lockdowns.
Wednesday added lots of rain and very cold weather. It didn't make it out of the 40's. Central Louisiana, remember. It was in the upper 70's Tuesday!
Thursday brought rain/sleet/snow throughout the area. School is closed because of the danger of putting the busses on the road with icy streets and overpasses. No chains around here, we expect hurricanes, not ice.
I can't wait for Friday!

Thanks to Julia, Scrap Happy Quilter

Julia sent 3 quilts to be given to children who do not have covers for nap time in my Kindergarten class. They are beautiful quilts, cherished by those who received them. I have not told the children the quilts are theirs to keep because the others would riot. Have you ever had 13 really angry Kindergarteners on your hands? LOL. I will send the quilts home at the end of school this year. I will post pics as soon as I have them. It is the next to last week of school before Christmas.
Thank you, Julia

Thanks given for Thanksgiving!

I do not have to work this week! School is closed for the week. I can sew and quilt until my fingers are numb and my heart is content.
I am working on Christmas presents for a lot of my clan. I have 2 train quilts ready to be quilted. They required a lot of applique. I don't even like to applique. But the boys will love them, as train crazy as they are. I have another ready to be sandwiched to be quilted. I have the fabric pulled for a soccer playing boy's quilt. I need one more boy quilt and 3 little girls' quilts. I have fabric for one. That's only the ones needed by Dec 6.
I have a third train quilt that is now being enlarged to twin-sized. His new room will have a train theme. Mom asked me to make his quilt big enough to be his bedspread. He won't get his quilt by the 6th.
I need to make quilts for mil and 2 sil, and one neice for the 25th.
In all of the quilting and piecing yesterday, I made christmas tree napkins.