Finished projects

Looking back over the pictures of what I've completed this summer I've realized I've managed to get several projects finished up.  The biggest project was my challenge quilt for the Stretching Art 2013 Challenge.    

I love participating in this annual challenge because it always challenges me to try something new.   This year it was the use of raw-edged woven and quilted strips for the center of the quilt.    To work with this years theme was "Here Am I" I had fun looking for charms and buttons that fit a part of my life and me.   There are charms/buttons for my graduation from grad school this year, but being a Texan, Irish, Scottish, for having lived in AZ for many years loving cats, collecting snails, and to honor friends and family.   There are buttons from my CQ stash as well.    Once those were sewn on I then wrote words on the alternate blocks that either I had come up with or that friends had said to describe me.   Overall this quilt went together quickly which is what i needed this summer.    It finished out at 17" wide by 31" long.

I also managed to finish off a couple of gifts early this summer.   The first was a quilted cover for a Nook for a birthday present for one of my best friends.    It was late, but that's pretty much how everything went this last school year.   The outer case is a drapery print in blues and the lining fabric is a old style book end print.  

The second gift I finished was for my niece who graduated from high school this year.   I made her an embellished towel set  to take to college with her this fall.   The set has a wash cloth and towel with a strip of fabric sewn on them.  The third piece in the set is a hand towel that has been made into a toiletry holder with spaces for a toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, etc.  The instructions that I used as a basis for the toiletry holder can be found here on The Organized Wife blog.   Thankfully this gift was done on time for me to head down to my niece's graduation.  =)

Next up for gifts - baby gifts for two ex-coworkers, and thinking ahead to a wedding gift that I need to start thinking about.   Thankfully the latter doesn't need to be finished till next summer sometime.   The baby gifts tho need to be worked on now.   And to easily finish both of them I really need to get my quilt frame set up so that I can use the long-arm to quilt.............but that won't happen until the end of September when my niece is back up here after finishing basic and advanced training for the Army National Guard.    Other plans in mind are to work on a quilt for my niece, but it definitely won't be done for when she finishes her training, especially since 2 wks from now school starts back up and I won't have a lot of time to sew anymore.....sigh.

Gratitudes:
1. For the funds that God provided to pay for new brakes on the Rav and the new sensor earlier in the summer.
2. For the amount of the commissioned work that I was able to accomplish this summer.