Just in Time - What a Hoot, Devon! is ready for the dorm

What a Hoot, Devon!
75x103 in.
100% cotton fabrics, Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 batting
Original design pieced by Lynette Caulkins, quilted by Patty Butcher
Niceville, Florida 2011

Gosh, I usually feel exuberant when a quilt is finished - but I tied off the last eye button and felt like crying, instead.  :(   That's because this quilt is finished just in time to make the road trip out to Colorado to take Devon off to college. And that means Heather will be gone soon, too!  meh.

These guys are going to do a terrific job of cheering up Dev's dorm room and reminding her of how much we love her at home!

Patty did a  terrific quilting job. It's almost the same job as the quilting on Heather's, except that now Patty has a computer attachment, so she was able to work out a really neat white border treatment that coordinates with the Celtic knots in the corners. Very cool!  





She also wrote "2011" in each corner's quilting.

I think this guy is my favorite. 

No, maybe this guy.

Or this one!

No. It's this one.  :D   Because my Baby Girl worked so hard to get that gold-tassel Summa Cum Laude with a heavy AP load, despite having to fight dyslexia, and while remaining incredibly active in a demanding band program and giving service to her community.

Here's to you, Devon!!  

My WIP Wednesday #12

Ahhhh. . . :D 

What a Hoot is all topped up now, ready for a date with Patty and her longarm! (This is a long-twin, perfect for cheering up a drab dorm room.) 

Oops - I still need to pop in a movie and comb over the back for all the trailing threads. This much white with that many dark/bright patches is a recipe for disaster. If you don't, the strings show through when they meander under the white. Yes, I worked on a tutorial for those Celtic Knot borders, but it's not quite ready yet.

Marissa's Moment only has 5 heart yo-yo's left to stitch on. It lives in my "Away Tote," which gets pulled out for handwork during appointment waits, etc.  (She wanted them stitched this way around, and it's her quilt, so I oblige.)

And it's time to put the next project on the front burner, which is finishing Hugs and Kisses from Above. Need to change Sapphira over for free-motioning, and then I'll quilt up the pin-basted charity quilt for a little practice before popping Hugs in. I think I need to get some plexiglass first, too, and draw out the quilting idea in my mind and see if it really looks like I think it will on that top. 










I even already cut out the binding.

And, finally, my Ginghers are getting little workouts when I use the BOM of the moment to take a break from my main focus:

Check out my BOMs AWAY Mondays regular link-up.

And a big "Thank you!" to Lee at Freshly Pieced for hosting WIP Wednesdays - it really keeps me motivated to keep those UFOs going! (Go check out what everyone else is doing - there are some really neat projects out there!)

This week's stats:
New Projects - 0     (still being good)

Completed Projects This Week - 0          

In Active Progress - 4    (What a Hoot, Devon!, Sailing with the Flying Needles - at longarmer's!, Charity wheelchair quilt, Hugs and Kisses)
UFO Firing Range - 36.667          

Finishes for 2011 - 15  

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
What a Hoot, Devon! (going to the longarmer's any day now)
Hugs and Kisses from Above (minky here - next task)

Sailing with the Flying Needles (is at the longarm studio!!)

Two charity wheelchair quilts
Around the World with Mr. Hernandez (Mr. Hernandez's)
Around the World with Mr. Hernandez (Heather's)
Dreamy Unicorns
Wagon Wheels West #2
Be Attitudes
We Love Kelly
Devon's Silk Spinners
Marissa's Minky Squares
Kelly's Thirties Hand Quilter
Kelly's Calico
Leap Frog Lily Pond
Poor Forgotten Orphan from 15 Years Ago #1

Too Much :)

Too Much Boo Kitty in the box for me to pack my sister's quilt this afternoon. . . 

so I did my Too Much math instead.   :)

P.S. I am not doing this math a 3rd time when Marissa graduates!  ;D   Hooray for tutorials, because I will be relying on mine at that time.

My WIP Wednesday #11

Dev's What a Hoot is almost there! 


After a mutual audition session wherein she chose the border and ribbon colors she wants, 

I got the inner grid and the first borders put together:

(This is hanging folded over in half.)

It was so funny - I worked a bit crazily to get the inner grid together before she got home that night from a date, thinking she'd be all excited. After a little looking, she says with a hurt-feelinged voice, "but how come mine don't get eyeballs??"  ROFL. I got a sheepish grin and "oh, yeah!" when I reminded her that the buttons get sewn on as the very last thing after quilting and even binding are finished. And furthermore, that she had helped me choose the buttons she wants for the eyes at the last button sale!  lolol


Now to make the triple ribboning with the Celtic corners. A bit of a headache, really. Why, oh whyyyy did I not take notes last year when I figured Heather's out??  Definitely doing that this time around, with pics for a tutorial, so I can do Marissa's much more easily in a few years when it's her turn.  :D

Thank you to Lee at Freshly Pieced for hosting WIP Wednesdays - it really keeps me motivated to keep those UFOs going! (Go check out what everyone else is doing.)

This week's stats:
New Projects - 0!!         
        (yay)
Completed Projects This Week - 0 
         
In Active Progress - 1 
        (What a Hoot, Devon!)
UFO Firing Range - 36.667 
         
Finishes for 2011 - 15  

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Hugs and Kisses from Above (minky here - next task)
Sailing with the Flying Needles (is at the longarm studio!!)
Two charity wheelchair quilts
Around the World with Mr. Hernandez (Mr. Hernandez's)
Around the World with Mr. Hernandez (Heather's)
Dreamy Unicorns
Wagon Wheels West #2
Be Attitudes
We Love Kelly
Devon's Silk Spinners
Marissa's Minky Squares
Kelly's Thirties Hand Quilter
Kelly's Calico
Leap Frog Lily Pond
Poor Forgotten Orphan from 15 Years Ago #1

My WIP Wednesday #10

Rolling right along through those UFOs!! Main drive is now on What a Hoot, Devon! 

Everybody has his wings and heart, just need to put on the eyes, beaks, and the one guy's graduation cap and tassel. (20 Owls altogether) Then I can trim the blocks and make an owl party amongst the 16-patches that have been waiting for months.  :D


It'll look like this (an original design that I created last year for our first daughter's graduation - it's a long twin, perfect size and brightness for fitting a dorm bed and brightening up a drab tiny room). . . 

. . . only, with these requested colors. (Well, sorta. The blues camera'd pretty darn true for once, but those "reds" are mostly raspberry pink variations.)






Then it gets a border like this:



















And hopefully next week I'll be reporting that I'm working up the tutorial on making that Celtic Knot corner without chopping the lines all up. I'm finicky that way - can't stand to sacrifice what should be obviously flowing lines to speed. Sometimes you just need to put the extra effort into awesomeness.  :)

~*~*~*~*~

Hugs and Kisses from Above: Just waiting for the minky to get here so I can quilt it. (Better come soon - this must be completed one week from tonight!) Been toying with quilting ideas. Gotta love the acrylic sheet idea I picked up from some terrific person in Blogland. Gonna buy one today while we're over the bridge for some beach time!

Thank you to Elizabeth for sub-hosting WIP Wednesday - Check out what everyone else is up to!

This week's stats:
New Projects - 1         
        (Allowed! Had to support Kelly's Challenge Workshop at Guild, didn't I???  :D  )
Completed Projects This Week - 1 
        (Katie Loves Chris, plus a cute label for Love Those Scotties)
In Active Progress - 2 
        (What a Hoot, Devon!   -and-   Hugs and Kisses from Above)
UFO Firing Range - 36.667 
        (Can you believe?????  One more lurking in a tin - cancelled out the number change for Katie's)
Finishes for 2011 - 15  

Completed tops awaiting quilting:
Hugs and Kisses from Above (waiting for minky)
Sailing with the Flying Needles (is at the longarm studio!!)
Two charity wheelchair quilts
Around the World with Mr. Hernandez (Mr. Hernandez's)
Around the World with Mr. Hernandez (Heather's)
Dreamy Unicorns
Wagon Wheels West #2
Be Attitudes
We Love Kelly
Devon's Silk Spinners
Marissa's Minky Squares
Kelly's Thirties Hand Quilter
Kelly's Calico
Leap Frog Lily Pond
Poor Forgotten Orphan from 15 Years Ago #1