Cloche hat crochet patterns

I wanted to post these links to a couple of really cute crocheted hat patterns so that I didn't lose them.  You might want to check them out if you enjoy crocheting.
http://www.hopefulhoney.com/2014/07/1920s-cloche-hat-crochet-pattern.html

http://thewhoot.com.au/whoot-news/crafty-corner/crochet-panama-hats

And here's one more for some cute little button flowers...

http://www.goodshomedesign.com/diy-crocheted-buttons/

Hand made greeting cards

I have a group of friends that love to make greeting cards.  Although I had no extra time to start a new hobby I found myself drawn into this fun group of ladies and even making some cards.  We usually meet once a week, but it is a really relaxing environment where you don't feel pressured to work on anything.  We laugh a lot.  It's just a really great girls day!

charity quilt for square cuts

Since I have had health problems I was shocked to find that I hadn't posted anything for almost 4 months.  I had a lot of pictures of various projects and I thought maybe I would do a few quick posts just to delete the photos.

This quilt top was pieced from  block-of-the-month kits.  I only had 8 of the center blocks and 10 of the outer blocks to work with.  After moving them to several different arrangements I was finally happy with this one! When we complete a quilt, it is donated to a deserving cause.   

Keepsake Quilting Fabric for life!

Keepsake Quilting and Quilters Club of America are offering a great opportunity to win some nice prizes!  Go here to enter!

Deciding what to quilt on the Crown Royal quilt

vaguely following the chalk lines

sketching it out in chalk

I finally finished the piecing of the Crown Royal quilt and got it on the frame.  With customer quilts waiting, I didn't want to spend too much time trying to decide what to quilt. 

My dilemma was keeping the quilting pattern fairly open.

I thought that a stem coming from the corner would look odd, so I changed it to a curly-Q

This quilt is totally flannel fabric and I wanted to keep a soft feel to it.  Sometimes it is a challenge for me to keep my quilting open.  I get used to intense quilting on some of the customer quilts, but who wants a stiff flannel quilt?  When I think flannel, I think soft and fluffy!

Another open space to decide on.
 
I finally chose to go with more feathers and swirls to repeat the design in the borders.  I ditched all around the center and the outer borders.

I wasn't too thrilled with the way it was looking as I progressed across the quilt.  Once it was all quilted and off the frame I decided it looked alright.

My only rules were to avoid the "Crown Royal"  letters and try to keep my spacing uniform.  Sometimes being repetitive can be such a blessing!  (at least in my long-arm world)

This took 3 days to quilt because I still have swelling and a dull ache in my ankle when I stand on it for long periods of time.  Soft tissue damage can certainly take a long time to heal.

I wonder if the one that I am making this quilt for would have given me a couple of what goes into the bag.... would the quilt have turned out different?  Would I have been calmer...
or just hungover.

I left these little corner squares for last and finally decided once again to repeat those swirls and feathers.  All I had to do was to chalk out a circle and put a swirl in the center, then follow the circle around with feathers. 

The top and bottom borders have a very simple pattern forming an X.

My helper was napping.  I didn't want to wake him and so it's not a very good picture of the whole quilt.

I like the back as well as the front.  Now I just need to get my binding on and it is FINISHED!  That is one of my favorite words.

I told myself (and Anita) that I was going to try to finish a UFO every month this year.  I still have good intentions of completing that goal and this will be the project  for January.  That means I have 9 days to get a binding on this quilt and finish one more before March arrives.

I linked this post to Judy Laquidara's design wall, Link a Finish Friday, Off the wall Friday, and also linked to Freemotion by the River's Linky Tuesday.
Be sure to go see the beautiful projects that others are working on!

Bernat Softee Baby Lapel Jacket

I found this picture of a cute little crocheted jacket on facebook this morning and had to share it so that I wouldn't lose it.  I would love to make this in the future.  Most of the babies in my life are boys, so I will be making it in hopes of a little girl in the future.  Isn't it adorable?  This is the link to the actual pattern.