A Herd of Horses

I see a herd of horses in the distance...

In these troubled times with social isolation and people being stuck indoors it is great to have a hobby that keeps your mind on other issues.

I dug out a charity quilt "kit" from a box and decided to make an improv quilt top. The fabric I had was two different horse panels and a few matching fabrics in "denim" colors. My vision was cowboys in well-used jeans taking care of the horses.

I cut up the panels in different sizes and added strips of fabrics around them in an improv log cabin style.

White strips of background fabric was added, and some pinwheels appeared.

Making this quilt in an improv style made it essential to work heavily on quilt math. That really kept me sane with all the troublesome news and information flying around.

The quilt top was steadily growing.

I added some rust red fabric in the lower right corner for extra interest.

The herd of horses relaxing on my deck.

During a walk in my neighborhood I discovered this newly constructed playground that would be perfect as a quilt holder, a big spider web!

But, first, after the quilting was done with straight lines with the walking foot, the quilt had to be displayed on my porch wall. Finished size is 51" x 63".

A border of grey checkered flannel was added for extra size, and a brown checkered flannel for backing. That gives a cozy feeling, and maybe the quilt can double as a horse blanket?!

A detail shot of the quilting.

Finally a close-up of the quilt on the "spider web". Even the colors of the quilt match the surroundings!


This is my sixth charity quilt for the year, and number 50 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Project Quilting 11.6

The last challenge for Project Quilting this season is Vibrant & Vivacious; use bright colors in wild combinations. Thanks to Trish of QuiltChicken and Kim of Persimon Dreams for organizing this fun challenge.

My project is a little round pincushion. I am "killing two birds with one stone" with this one, it is done as a testing of a pattern for Happy Sew Lucky in addition to an entry in the Project Quilting challenge.

The pattern 'Round Pin Cushion' gives instructions for pin cushions 3", 4" and 5" in diameter. I chose the smallest one, and in the Whirligig design. That required foundation paper piecing, one of my favorites.

With this small size I could use my tiniest, bright Island Batik scraps.

The sides of the pincushion was made with a bright yellow batik. This pincushion will have difficulties hiding in my sewing room!

It was a little bit fiddly attaching the sides to the top due to the small size I decided to make. The next one will definitely be a bit bigger.

As always, the patterns from Happy Sew Lucky are well written.

Cat-Eye Pouch

Some time ago I won three FQs of this cute fabric line in a giveaway. Unfortunately I have lost the name of the line and designer, maybe someone can help me?

After having made quite a few big quilts I needed to make something small, so I decided to make a cute pouch I found this free tutorial for.

I fell for the design of the pouch right away, and the fabric I had available was perfect for it. See how cute the bird looks in the forest!

The backside of the pouch is almost as good looking as the front.

The lining is the 'icing on the cake, it makes the pouch complete and perfect!

This little pouch will be cherished!

My Quickest Finish

When Kim of Persimon Dreams launched the latest Project Quilting challenge last Sunday, 11.5 Give it Away, I jumped at it right away.

Monday morning at 9 AM I gathered a bunch of squares I had cut to 4.5", together with a cute Disney fabric for backing. The piece of backing decided the size of the quilt.

I cut a few more squares to make it a 9 x 9 grid, and sewed the top together.

At 5 PM The quilt was completed, only eight hours from start to finish. The resulting quilt is 36" square, quilted in a cross hatch design with the walking foot. The green binding in a geometric design is attached by machine to make it extra durable.

The Disney Princess backing fabric will be perfect for a little girl.

I have been making charity quilts on a regular basis since I started quilting, so I knew exactly where to give it away: to my local hospital!

This is my fifth charity quilt for the year, and number 49 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.