Springing into quilting action for the month of April

 The weather here in the Pacific Northwest is typical of April but that doesn't mean I like it.  We switch from warm, sunny days to miserable, cold, wet, dreary days in a matter of minutes and hours.  But, on a sunny day, one can't help but enjoy spring growth and colours. 

Two more quilts of Valour got bound and labelled and are ready for donation.  These are technically UFO's since I made and quilted them in the fall of 2021 but didn't get them completely finished until March 2022.  However, as UFO's go, that wasn't a lengthy wait. One is a tumbler quilt and I did cut the tumblers in 2020 and these were leftover from a quilt I made a year ago.  The other is Sew Easy, a 3 yard pattern that is super simple and quick to make. 

 

I also quilted and bound 8 preemie quilts.  I cut kits for these in the spring/summer of last year and then stitched them up at retreat in September 2021.  I had managed to cut battings and backings for them and they were spray basted and waiting.  Last week, I quilted them and got the labels and binding added and they are now ready for donation to my guild's We Care program. There is quite a selection of fabrics in these quilts.  There are trucks, Dora the Explorer, bears, tools, Lorax and some ducks. 

Now, I am onto my next huge project getting all the tops hanging, quilted.  I have spent the last couple of days making "frankenbatts" which is leftover batting pieces put together to create a new piece that is large enough for a quilt.  Great way to use up batting scraps but not my favourite activity.  Thank goodness for Zoom because chatting with guild members on a Friday is a good distraction from a task I don't enjoy.  But, it does feel good to see the stack of leftover batting reduced in size and it is like getting a batting for free. 

I have been cutting some backings as well and have 3 quilts ready to go.  I would like to prepare two more so that I have 5 and can try to get those done between now and the middle of the month.  If I can do 10 per month, that is just over 2 per week and it would make a nice dent in my hanging collection of tops waiting to be finished.  This week at Wednesday Quilt Divas, I came home with 4 more tops to add the hangers.  sigh. 

Maybe by this time next week, I will have a couple of finished quilts to show you?  Think positive.