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July 13, 2022
Cats in the Lagoon, a quilt for JB from Crayon Box Quilt Studio


My daughter loves cats! She watches cat videos, wants/buys things with cats on them and snuggles our 2 cats almost non-stop. When I first came across the Cookie Cat pattern by Lori J. Miller in a magazine many years ago, I knew she would go crazy over it and want one of her own.

During the pandemic we updated her bedroom, taking it from Pink/Purple little girlish to pale Aqua tween vibe.  These are the "before" photos.


 
The new paint color, Sea Ice by Behr. 
 
Once the painting was finished, it was time to upgrade her other furnishings ...

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June 29, 2022
Colleen's Christmas Vintage Fire Truck Quilt #2 from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

My customer Colleen likes to make panel quilts and the newest one using this adorable vintage truck is another beauty.
Here is the "before" photo showing how it looked once it was loaded on the frame. 
There really was only one perfect chose for the stitching design for this one - the Holly Berries panto.  Glide thread in Candy apple was the right compliment for the quilt's colors.
All done.  This panto always stitches out so nicely.
Another rainy, overcast day meant the pictures had to be taken indoors.  Oh well.  You can still see how great this turned out ...

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June 21, 2022
Kate's Jeweled Squares Quilt and blog commenting whoes from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

I can't stand it when Blogger changes something that makes blogging harder.  I want to scream at them Why!  I've been doing some blog reading through Feedly as I've gotten way behind again but I haven't been able to comment on most of them.  When I click on the comment link, it asks me to sign into Blogger.  When I click on that, it wants me to start a new blog (um, No!) or if I switch which Google account I'm using, it just goes to my own blog.  If anyone knows how to fix ...

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June 18, 2022
Kate's Braid Quilt from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

Receiving work in the mail is always fun as I have no idea what's inside until I open the box. My client Kate sent me 2 tops to quilt for her. This is the first one, which she made for her niece.
This is the "Before" photo. Kate used great bright colors, perfect for a teenage girl.
Kate picked out a different pantograph and when I auditioned it before I started stitching, I wasn't thrilled with the look.  She trusted my judgement to pick a design that suited the top and backing better and Daisies turned out to ...

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June 15, 2022
Colleen's Hanging Garden Quilt from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

Now that Girl Scout cookie sale season is finally over, I can get caught up on posting. I have so many pretty quilts to share with you.
First up is this beautiful Hanging Garden quilt made by my customer Colleen.

I absolutely love the fabrics and the colors she chose for this quilt.
Unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating when it came time for the photo shoot so they had to be taken indoors.  That's what happens when you need to get the pictures done because the customer is coming to pick it up.
You can see the beautiful ...

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May 11, 2022
A Duo of Zoo Dwellers Quilts for Twin Baby Boys from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

I'm again behind in posting about my own finishes and client quilts so I'm determined to get posts up to date, even with Girl Scout cookie season still happening here. 
 
Before my Mom retired (a recent event that she wasn't thrilled about but needed to happen), she had a coworker friend who was expecting for the 1st time....twin boys.  Mom ask me to make a pair of baby quilts for them, with the thought of having them the same pattern but slightly different.

I went shopping at a quilt store while we were on a trip ...

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April 27, 2022
Colleen's Sailing Quilt from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

My client Colleen has become a very proficient piecer in a short amount of time. I always enjoy seeing what she brings me to quilt for her.  This is her bricks quilt using sailing theme fabrics.
Unfortunately it was a rainy, overcast day so I had to take the pics indoors. The colors of the fabrics in this quilt were a lot more vibrant in person.
This is the "before" picture.  You can see here how much brighter the prints were.
When I stitch any quilt, I stop after getting part way on the first pass to look and make ...

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April 11, 2022
Love Wedding Quilt for Linda and Kevin from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

When I received the Save the Date card for the wedding of my friends Linda and Kevin, I knew I wanted to do something special for their wedding gift. 

I found the perfect plan, a kit already in my stash that I had purchased my years before at a quilt shop in northern NJ.  The colors were just right for her decorating theme.
With big blocks and sashing between them, the whole quilt top went together very easily and quick.  Within a couple of days, it was loaded on the frame.
The stitching truly brought this simple quilt pattern to ...

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April 7, 2022
Sailing on the Wind from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

 Sometimes you make a quilt for someone because you come across a new pattern and/or fabric line that you know instantly is perfect for someone in your life.  That's exactly what happened when I first saw The Regetta by Patchwork Studios.  

You see, my son's best friend Jon's parents, Linda and Tom, have a sailboat on a local lake where they spend practically the entire summer and they graciously invite my son to join them for multiple days at a time over many weekends each year.  They are even teaching him how to sail.  It goes ...

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April 1, 2022
Always and Forever Table Runners from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

One of the things that has been very satisfying over the last year and a half has been the fact that I've been able to get a bunch of UFOs finished or previously un-started projects actually made and off my To Make list.  One of the items crossed off the UFO list was the pair table runners I pieced using a charm pack of Always and Forever by Deb Strain for Moda.

The last time I showed these here on the blog was February 2014, so a whopping 8 years ago.

They were both simple piecing but I still ...

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December 30, 2021
Adirondack Stars - a quilt for my sister Marianne from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

So it's time to stop procrastinating about writing posts.  I have a lot of finishes to tell you about.  While I haven't been good at writing blog posts this year, I have been good about getting long-awaiting projects crossed of my To Make list. 
 
A number of years ago, 10 years prior to be exact, I cut up a bunch of fabrics in preparation for a class at a LQS, which sadly closed a couple of years ago. The colors I chose to use were a variety of green prints. 

along with this mix of blue prints.
plus ...

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July 26, 2021
Kathy's Pink and Black Flower Blocks Quilt from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

 When my customer Kathy brought me her adorable chickens quilt, she also brought this pretty Pink and Black Flowers Block quilt.

 

The combination of colors that she used is very vibrant and it just needed the finishing touch.

Unfortunately with the practically daily rain and/or overcast skies we've been having here, getting really good pictures of the finished quilts is nearly impossible but trust me when I tell you it turned out gorgeous.
Glide thread in Military Gold was the perfect choice for the top.
The panto Surf's Up was fitting and I really like the way ...

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July 21, 2021
Charms for My Sister from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

 This is another recent finish and this one was for my younger sister Diane. 

Way back in Spring 2013, I signed up for my very first charm swap.  Little did I know the appeal of swapping charms at the time and I eventually ended up hosting a number of Kate Spain charm swaps in later years.  I had no plans for them at some point I added a Disappearing Nine Patch pattern printout to the baggie they were stored in and put them on my project shelf.

Fast forward to 7 years later, I decided to use these charms for ...

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July 9, 2021
Kathy's Adorable Chicken Quilt from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

 My customer Kathy brought me an applique quilt of adorable chickens to stitch up for her.

 

This quilt is for her daughter, who actually purchased the pattern and the fabric and asked her mom to make it for her. Although this would have been fun to add great details with some custom quilting, Kathy wanted only an edge to edge design.

This is what the top looked like before any stitching was added.
 
 Here a few of the cast of characters, both before and after.
 

I imagine Kathy had fun creating each of these blocks and her applique is fabulous ...

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June 28, 2021
Vicious Villains Quilt for Anne from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

 Once upon a time, I saw a panel on a Facebook fabric selling group and new that instant that I had to buy it for my good friend Anne who is a huge Disney Villains fan.  Once the panel and the coordinating border and backing fabric arrive, I pieced it together and added it to the "to be quilted" pile and there it sat.  Forgotten about.  For way too long! 

One big thing the past year has brought front and center to my attention is to get my tail in high gear and get finished all these projects so that ...

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June 17, 2021
Mickey Mouse Quilt for Sharon from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

 When I bought the Villains panel and fabrics for my friend Anne, I also knew that I also needed to find something for my friend Sharon.  Her favorite character is Kermit the Frog but after an exhausting search online, I came up empty.  She's also a big Disney fan and I found out that Mickey is her favorite character. Mickey panels and prints were much easier to find.

This is her finished Mickey Mouse quilt.

Once it was loaded on the frame, I knew that the quilting would bring it to life.
Picking the right panto was tough.  I ...

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June 1, 2021
Colleen's Hunter Star Quilt from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

 My customer Colleen called me to say that she had a big top to be quilted.  I couldn't wait to see what she created.  When she arrived with it, needless to say I was excited to get to stitch this one.  This is her Navy and White Hunter's Star Quilt.

This turned out so beautiful. Colleen is going to use this one on her own bed. I'm a tad bit jealous.
Here is the "before" photo.  It's a big quilt, measuring 98" x 98".  Luckily I have a 12 foot frame so I can fit big ...

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May 28, 2021
Colleen's Green and Gray Star Quilt from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

 It's always fun to see what my customers bring to me to quilt for them.  Colleen's creations never disappoint.  This is her Gray and Green Star Quilt.  Isn't it beautiful?

 

I actually remembered this time to take a "before" picture. As I've mentioned before, her quilts are always a pleasure to work on because they are well constructed.

She picked a new-to-me panto called London Fog and once I started stitching it I definitely liked how it turning out. So Fine Silver was the thread of choice for the top.
This is the completed quilt fresh ...

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May 10, 2021
Charmaine's Tumbler Baby Quilts x 7 from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

My customer Charmaine has been busy again, creating a mountain of baby quilt tops and of course I had the pleasure recently of quilting them for her.
They were all her usual I Spy Tumbler design and they include such a huge variety of prints.
Since the tops are so busy, we pick a panto design that's not too detailed.
For this stack of tops, we chose the Fascination panto. Quilters Dream 80/20 batting was used for all.
She always provides soft flannel backings that are so snugly.
The last quilt was actually for her grandson.  Evidently he ...

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May 5, 2021
Winter Frost Wall Hanging, Table Runner and Placemats from Crayon Box Quilt Studio

In December 2020 I participated as one of the Chefs for Moda's Countdown to Christmas Quilt Along.  This year's theme was Winter Frost and the fabrics chosen where a mix of prints and Moda Grunge in Ice Blue, Royal Blue, Aqua and White.
 
While designing blocks for these events, I've come to the decision that I don't want to end up with random blocks that get put away, never to be seen again.  I didn't have time to make the entire quilt so I chose to make a wall hanging with a limited number of ...

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