Finishing Jewel Squares, part 1

I am giddy. Beyond giddy, actually. I finished the last of the squares needed for Eleanor’s Jewel Squares quilt. Looking at the stack of color is both exciting and daunting… did I really make ALL of those?!

Laying them out on the floor was like a really intense logic puzzle- even though there is a specific layout, mixing block types and colors was still a lot of work. 

During this phase of the process, I learned a hard lesson: when you ask the guy at Office Max to enlarge some pattern pieces at 200%, be sure he actually does that. Otherwise you end up with four of the biggest squares in the wrong size. Grr. Double grr. Blast you Office Max.

After I figured out a layout that I was happy with, I had to do some heavy photographing. Using post it notes and baggies, I *think* it should be easy to piece back together. As I was doing this I thought, “Boy, a felt wall sure would be a smart move!” 

I’ll be back with more progress later!

Graham’s Baby Bento Box

 Meet Graham:

Meet his quilt:

We welcomed a new baby last month! This time it’s a BOY!

We are one of the few left on the planet that like to wait to find out if it is a boy or a girl. Since we didn’t know, I had to make a quilt that didn’t scream blue or pink. I used the Bento Box pattern (purchased from Pink Chalk Fabrics) and used a variety of American Jane fabrics.

This quilt was a piece of cake to assemble! I love how it is quilted, too. I took it to someone with a longarm, so I can’t take the credit!

I used a neat black and cream dot for the backing and binding.

Eleanor likes to lay it out on the floor because, apparently, it is the best “Ring Around the Rosie” dance mat ever.

Today’s task…. finishing the last NINE blocks on Eleanor’s Jewel Squares quilt!!

Here is a sneak peek at her ‘big girl quilt’ to tide us all over until it is back from the quilter. This was taken the first time she had seen the quilt top. She immediately ran over to it and started to wrap herself up in it.

Eleanor’s Doll Quilt

Eleanor moved in to a new bedroom this summer. Why, you ask? Because she is now a big sister! Her new room is a sunny yellow and full of Heather Bailey’s Pop Garden fabric. Knowing that I still needed to finish her baby quilt (!) and get another one done for the new baby, I asked my mom to make a quilt for the room. It is at the quilter right now, but let me tell you, it is fabulous. Simply fabulous. In the meantime, I made this doll quilt for her out of the same fabric. It’s an exact copy of her quilt, just scaled to 50%. And, her quilt has nine wheels instead of four.

The back…

And an iPod for some scale…

Can’t wait to see the “big one”!