Serendipity Super Scrappy Strippy Quilt

I didn’t come up with a name for this quilt and one with alliteration until after it was a finally finished and ready for some pics and a boast post. Since starting the Serendipity Super Scrappy Strippy Quilt (S4) back in September and just finishing it yesterday, I realized there was a lot of unplanning and fortunate occurrences with this quilt which started with Demando moving out and leaving his queen size IKEA bed behind and it needing a quilt. 

During this time, I was working on my Tell Tale Blues Quilt and had staggered strip quilts on my mind and knew I had a lot of 2-1/2” scraps leftover from making these type of quilts and other quilts which I could use to make the S4 quilt which would go with the blue bedroom walls. Since these leftovers had teal and aqua in them, I kept them in my bin of aqua/teal fabrics and were reminded of them whenever I happened to be searching in that bin. 

These scraps are mostly from the above four quilts all made in 2018: The Hinto Minto Baby Quilt, Stacked Squares Quilt, Echinacea Dream and Spa Spurts Quilt. I remember the color inspiration for these quilts which were the Delilah blocks Susan Snooks, Patchwork and Play was making at this time. We both loved Anna Marie Horner’s Echinacea Glow fabric in the Pretty Potent color way which included teal and peachy pinks. Not to throw Susan under the bus which I am known for doing to her, is that I was going to link her quilt but could not find it on her blog, since she does not have a photo gallery of all the wonderful quilts she had made and she should. I may be receiving a reply or clarification from her, I think.

Some of the scraps were leftover strip sets and some were 2-1/2” strips and they were sewn together to make a very long strip of two 2-1/2” rows sewn together which were then subcut them into two strip set panel sizes: 20-1/2” and 40-1/2”.

The 40-1/2” strip set panels are in the middle flanked by a 20-1/2” panel on each side. It was an easy make and the flimsy was finished around the middle of September and has been waiting to be quilted since then which at that time I was starting to have problems with Juki Junebug.

Well, Juki Junebug has been replaced with Jinny Janome, my new 1600P, who was waiting to machine quilt one of the many flimsies that have accumulated during the past few years. I was not planning for S4 to be her inaugural quilt and was going to quilt one of the Lotta Jansdotter flimsies from last year but Serendipity/Senior moment struck as I was putting away some fabrics in my aqua/teal bin and was wondering where my leftover strips and strip sets were. I spent some time looking around my studio to see where I could have stored them, were they stuck in a bin with other low volume scraps or were they put aside on the project shelf for a new quilt? I couldn’t find them for at least 15 minutes which was annoying since I rather be sewing than searching. I happened to go by the cart which had flimsies waiting to be quilted and there I saw S4 and realized that I had forgotten that I made this. It’s been four months and like they say, how soon we forget, which is happening a lot with my quilt brain. I knew S4 would be the perfect quilt to test Jinny Janome with since I planned on doing both straight line and wavey lines. Fortunately the Janome open toe walking foot I used on Juki Junebug could be used on Jinny Janome. On a side note, my Juki walking foot which is a closed toe and came with the machine could not be used on Jinny Janome which I needed in order to sew the binding down. I made do with the Janome walking foot and had to use another way to maintain a 1/4” stitch line.

Jinny Janome quilted wonderfully and you can see I played a little quilt chicken on one of the corners of S4 which I did’t noticed after I was almost finished with pin basting. I crossed my fingers and hoped that the machine quilting would not push the top past the batting. I think it helped that before I started machine quilting with Jinny Janome, I moved Juki Junebug upstairs because I know bad quilt karma happens when she’s upset, especially now that she’s second banana. Juki Junebug is at the Spa getting her latest problems fixed and will be moving to the GP house where she sew supreme once again.

Here are some pics showing the wonderful scraps of mostly Cotton+Steel and Art Gallery fabrics along with text prints. I especially love the cat prints. The backing was from the vault and was a wide back print purchased at a nice discount from Amazon several years ago. It’s not as modern as the front but I’m saving my Carrie Bloomston wide back text print for another quilt, not yet made but in my head. I used a CT Essenial Thread in Parchment and the binding was the teal XOXO print by Cotton+ Steel. S4 measures 80”x90” which was pretty large to test Jinny Janome with but I was confident that she could do it. As much as I love my Juki Junebug and already owning a Janome Gem for over ten years, I knew Janome is a pretty good and reliable brand.

One of the reasons why I finished hand sewing the binding while we were at the GP House this weekend was because I knew the Master Quilt Holder (MQH) would need some help holding it up. Also, we left right before a big snow storm and was lucky it didn’t follow us which would have interrupted photo taking. When the flimsy was finished, Demando, also affectionately know as the Apprentice Quilt Holder was still at home and was able to assist MQH. My youngest son and father of the darling granddaughter lives next door at the GP House was able to assist and now will be referred to as the Rookie Quilt Holder. Even though this was his first time assisting, he listened and followed his father’s example and with no lip or complaining as the Apprentice Quilt Holder is known to do. 

The darling Granddaughter was taking a nap during photo taking so I thought I would close this Post with the Serendipity Super Scrappy Strippy Quilt in the foyer and her baby photos in the background. I really enjoy making another quilt using my Staggered Strips and Squares pattern but this time without any squares or rectangles. If you’re not familiar with this pattern, you can check out my “sort-of” tutorial on how I make the staggered strips Here.

January is finally living up to its reputation as we’re experiencing cold at the GP house and we’ll be heading back to more cold as in freezing temperatures along with snow. The only good thing about this is that it is good sewing weather. Now I need a cup of hot tea just thinking about it and wishing warmer days will be coming soon.

Linking up with:My Quilt Infatuation/NTT

Citronickle Canyon

I’m having a good string of Finally Finishes since the beginning of June and my Citronickle Canyon Quilt is the tenth one in seven weeks. So far this year, it’s my twentieth Finally Finish and my sweet sixteen UFO-I guess almost weekly travels to the Grandparent House helps me to stay on task. The Citronickle Canyon was an UFO from last year and finished in March around the start of the lockdowns. I thought I share the idea behind this quilt and the influences of good quilt friend Wendy/Pieceful Thoughts.

If you read any of my past posts, you will remember that Citronickle is the name Wendy came up for the yellow green color which is a combination of Kona’s Pickle, a beloved color, and my liking to call any yellow green Citron. You can see in the quilt that Citronickle makes an appearance. The Canyon portion of the name is from Violet Craft’s Palm Canyon fabric line which Wendy and I both received a mini roll of 20 strips in a Fat Quarter Shop Sew Sampler Box. I can’t recall the conversation which transpired between us that prompted her to send me the remaining strips she had left after making a lovely bag with her roll of Palm Canyon. It wouldn’t surprise me if I had mentioned that I very rarely use any of the fabrics included in the Sew Sampler Boxes which I’ve been receiving these since the beginning of this wonderful program and, yes, I have a wonderful collection. In order to make this quilt I needed to buy some fat quarters and yardage of the focal print of Palm Canyon plus I added some Michelle d’Amore Contempo prints which I purchased during a Colorado vacation in 2018 along with (not shown) a Art Gallery print and a gray and white Pick up Sticks print which I purchased after seeing this in some of Wendy’s quilts.

The pattern is a variation of my Staggered Strips and Squares Quilt Pattern and the Big Cat Crossing Quilt  shows larger patches of a focal print and vertical rail blocks used in this quilt.

The Citronickle Quilt is made up of 8”x16” patches of the focal print, 8” rail blocks set vertically and various sizes of strips sets made of 2.5” strips and 4”x8” rectangles. One difference with the strips is that some of them were sewn with diagonal seams to complement some of the angular prints.

Here’s a close-up showing the focal print which shows the wind turbines with the rail blocks and strip sets and you can see the all of the fabrics I mentioned above. I like to mention I really love the focal print and it was hard for me to cut which is why these patches were 8” x 16”.

Upon my return home last week from the Grandparent House and with a few days in between before we left again, Citronickle Canyon was quilted with diagonal straight line quilting 1” apart and some spots a little wonky which I thought would work  since this quilt seem to have an angular look. I quilted it with a 50wt Silver Aurifil thread and the binding is the gray and white Pick up Stick print dutifully saved in the binding drawer. The quilt measures 56”x72”. I forgot to take a photo of the backing which you can see on the left side of the fabric photo above. I mentioned this print in my June Unexpectations Post as it was the backing used for the Zingy Zebra baby quilt.

Here’s another photo of the Citronickle Canyon hanging around the fence at the Grandparent House. It’s too bad there are no canyons around.

Last of all, I want to mention that I’ve finally switched to Follow.it after reading so many posts from other bloggers who recommended this as a way to advise followers when I publish a blog post. At first I was hesitant and stubborn about making the switch but I really like this site not only for announcing new posts from me but also for reading other posts from my blog buddies, the news and other points of interests. I’m still learning how to navigate this site but so far no problems and I can’t say enough about their customer service. It’s so nice to communicate with a person in real time and am so thankful they converted my subscriber list. It was so easy and I am amazed that I was able to do this. Thanks Suz, Janine, Nancy and Sandra for writing such great posts about this new service and helping the poster child for being technically challenged on Blogging to finally go with the flow.

Last night after returning from the Grandparent House and enjoying the start of a six-day hiatus from the darling granddaughter and before I started quilting another 2020 UFO, I thought I “treat” myself by playing with the Alison Glass fabrics I been accumulating/purchasing lately. I decided that I am going to make another Ernie Express Quilt but only using two fabrics instead of four fabrics in each block. This is the start of something fun and will be doing a “somewhat” tutorial on the making of these blocks. They do sew fast or as I am saying during the month of July “freakishly fast.”

If you’re looking for inspiration or need something to get your sewjo sewing, check out to see what Wendy is doing. You might see some Citronickle.

Linking up with:My Quilt Infatuation\NTT

Best of 2018 Linky Party

The Fourth Annual Best of 2018 Linky Party hosted by Meadow Mist Designs is now going on.  I had such fun participating in it last year and didn't want to miss this party.  I think I spent more time on deciding what my best or my favorite five were and what their respective categories were going to be.  Here they are, going clockwise, with the links to the posts:

1. Most Popular Post:  Kaffe Fassett Stripe Quilt
2. Most Popular Tutorial Post:  Staggered Squares and Strip Quilt
3. Post with the Best Quilt Photo:  June Quilt
4. Best Post About An Old Quilt:  The Picnic Quilt
5. Post with the Best Finish: Kaffe Fassett Applique Quilt

I had a pretty good year, despite being sidetrack with my fourth quarter injury and recover, and will be doing a final post by the end of the week.  But before I do, I first need to read up on the other Bloggers Best of 2018 Linky Party.  

Happy Reading!

2018 Bloggers Quilt Festival: Echinacea Dream Quilt

This is the week of the Bloggers Quilt Festival hosted by Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side.  I have a new quilt, Echinacea Dream freshly finished just last night at 1 a.m. in the morning.  This is the second year I am participating and may not have remembered that you don't need a a new quilt for the festival.  Oh well, at least this was a very good impetus for me to finally finish this quilt which has been laying around my studio for the past month.

If this quilt has an air of familiarity, it's because this is the fourth quilt I've finished using my Staggered Squares and Strips pattern and also this is the second quilt made with my favorite colors of the year, steel teals and grays with a hint of coral, which were used for my Spa Spurts quilt finished earlier this year and many of the fabrics used for this quilt can be seen on the Echinacea Dream Quilt.

I just love the fabrics in this quilt, especially the Anna Marie Horner's Echinacea print in the Pretty Potent color way which I've seen my fellow blogger and mentor Susan Snooks of PatchworknPlay used for her beautiful Delilah quilt.  One of the reasons why I love making Staggered Squares and Strip Quilts is that it's a great pattern to use a mix of fabrics from all different fabric lines and also because I can die-cut these strips.  The Echinacea Dream Quilt follows the pattern I just used for my Smiling Sloths Quilt.

I had a hard time coming up with a name for my quilt, which is part of the fun of making a quilt, and was just calling it plain old Echinacea and added Dream after it was finished last night.  Usually when  I have a deadline it usually attracts quilting disasters but thankfully the stars and strips were aligned yesterday.  Choosing the backing and binding were an easy decision and not the usual one or two hours going through the backing vault and stash, picking the thread, I used Silver, Juki June Bug was on her best behavior and no binding strips were lost--this quilt was a dream to finish. This does not happen too often; really it doesn't, because Quiltastropes are always waiting to happen in my studio.

Here's a close-up so you can see the wavey line quilting, charcoal gray polka dot backing and the Spa Green binding; have I mentioned how much I love these colors.  This quilt measures 56" x 70"--I am amazed how much my length loses, 2",  after the quilting.

I woke up this morning to an overcast sky and thought, "Great", after a perfect finish last night, I wouldn't be able to take photos outside, but to my surprise and joy, the sun came out.  The Master Quilt Holder and I braved the mosquitoes to take some outside photos but decided to include an inside photo with Susannah the goat who, thankfully is metal, because it looks like she's ready to take a chomp on some Echinaceas.  Now that this quilt is a finally finished and part of the festival, I can visit and enjoy the other great quilts on the Bloggers Quilt Festival.  Next year, I hope I remember that I don't need to make a new quilt just for the Festival or will I?  I got out of a few things yesterday because I needed to focus on finishing this quilt--I don't need to tell Hubby that there was no Quilt Emergency after all.  Sealed lips would be appreciated.

Hope everyone is enjoying this year's Quilt Festival and thanks again to Amy for hosting.  This is a great way to visit other Quilters' blogs, get inspired by wonderful quilts and make new blog buddies.

Linking up with:  Amy's Creative Side: 2018 Bloggers Quilt Festival, My Quilt Infatuation, NTT From Bolt to Beauty: Brag About Your Beauties

Fabulous Freebies Blog Hop: The Staggered Strips and Squares Tutorial

Are We Hoppy? Today is Day 4 of the Fabulous Freebies Blog Hop hosted by Calico Joan of MooseStash Quilting where bloggers are sharing their favorite freebie project found online--either their own or another bloggers. This is really a fun and great blog hop and I am loving the projects posted so far. Here is the list of the participants:

Monday August 20

Just Let Me Quilt

Seams To Be Sew

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Days Filled With Joy

Tu-Na Quilts, Travels and Eats

Quilt Fabrication

Tuesday August 21

Life in the Scrapatch

Songbird Designs

Samelia's Mum

Vroomans Quilts

Wednesday August 22

Bejeweled Quilts by Barb

Creatin' in the Sticks

Just Because Quilts

Hazel's Daughter

Adventurous Applique and Quilting

BeaQuilter

Thursday August 23
Sew Many Yarns
Words & Stitches

Patchouli Moon Studio

something rosemade   You Are Here

Sew Golden A Chance

Clever Chameleon

Friday August 24

That Fabric Feeling

Selina Quilts

Quarter Inch Crafter

Yanicka Quilt

MooseStashQuilting

I am happy to be sharing my Staggered Strips and Squares Tutorial which I originally posted back in January.  I love making quilts with lots and lots of fabrics and joining the Fabulous Freebies Blog Hop was a wonderful reason for making another Staggered Strips and Squares quilt. The name of my quilt may be a bit of a misnomer because there are rectangles in this quilt but I originally had planned to use just squares but realized the focal print needed to be more than a 4.5" square.  My latest quilt, Smiling Sloths, which is made entirely of Cotton + Steel prints, old and new and you can see the Sloth print needed to be showcased.

The tutorial was based on a baby quilt I made, The Hinto Minto Baby Quilt and both of these posts will give you an idea as to how I came up with this idea for this quilt and the tutorial.  Since I've made this baby quilt, I have made two lap-size version and in the process of making another one.  What I love about this pattern is that the 2.5" strips were cut from my stash using my die cutter and it's a wonderful way to use up some of the wonderful focal prints I have; also this quilt sews up quickly. 

Over thirty Cotton + Steel prints were used for the The Smiling Sloths quilt; some of the prints are from the first C+S collection by the original five designers who are sadly no longer a part of Cotton + Steel so making this quilt was a little bittersweet.  If you've read any of my previous posts, you will know that I am a big fan of Cotton + Steel fabrics and sometimes have to challenge myself to use the other fabrics in my stash.  

I originally intended to make a baby quilt but because I love the Smiling Sloths with the neon Iguanas so much, I decided to make it a lap size, 56"x72" (approx.).  The Staggered Strips and Squares pattern is very flexible and can be adjusted to any size depending on the amount of fabric you have.  The quilt is based on the pattern I drew up once again on graph paper and my patches and strip blocks are based on increments of 4".  Here are some details of the number of cuts which are in parentheses and the sizes:

• around 100 strips, 2.5" x 20" were used and then half of these strips were subcut approximately 10" (you may not need all of these and I like to have extra)  Once the strips were sewn together in one long strip and then sewn together, as detailed in the tutorial, the strip sets were then cut as follow: (25) 8-1/2", (12) 12-1/2" and (17)16-1/2".  You can always cut more if needed.
• the Sloth patches were cut (13) 4.5" x 12.5" 
• the Accent patches (the navy, gold and coral plaid) were cut (14) 4.5" square

Here's a photo of the patches and blocks laid out on my big design board. As mentioned in my tutorial, the pattern drawn on graph paper is just a guideline and you can always change it around, just make sure the patches and strip sets measure the width of the quilt you decide.  Adjusting the rows is easier when it is made wider than if it's made an inch or two narrower. Also, as you can see by the red arrows, it's okay to have strips sets with the same fabrics next or above each other to create "globs" like I call them to add to the improv look of this pattern.

Here are some close-ups of the horizontal, wavy and straight quilting I did using Coral thread, nice and easy.

The backing is the Alexa Abegg, C+S Hatbox print which I fortunately had yardage along with the gold print for the binding which is a newer print.  I really wanted to use the Navy Add-It-Up print which sadly did not have enough of and couldn't buy more since I am observing an August fabric fast.

The Smiling Sloth Quilt is now the third Staggered Strips and Squares I've made; you can see my second one, Big Cat Crossing here.  I have the fourth one ready to sew now, the patches and strip sets have all been cut. I'm looking forward to making this one because I love the combination of the teal and peach prints which is one of my favorite color combinations this year thanks to Susan of PatchworknPlay who used it for her beautiful Delilah quilt.

If you like making Jelly Roll Race Quilts or making quilts with 2.5" strips, I think you would like making the Staggered Strips and Squares quilt.  It is a great stash buster.  Just like challenging myself to use other fabrics besides my Cotton+Steel stash, I'm doing another challenge to make other quilt patterns besides the Staggered Strips and Squares, of course, after I finish my fourth one.  You can't always make easy quilts, can we now.  

If you haven't already, please visit the other Bloggers' posts; they're fun, inspiring and filled with great resources.  Good Blog Host, Calico Joan has created a Pinterest Board where you can find all of the Fabulous Freebies posts there.  It's nice to be able to have one spot to find all of the Fabulous Freebies posts. 

Thank You Joan for hosting the Fabulous Freebies Blog Hop!

Linking up with: My Quilt Infatuation, Needle and Thread Thursday and Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop Friday 

Saying Good-Bye to July

It's been almost three weeks since my last post and part of my reason for this brief respite is because it involved indulging in way too much July Sidewalk Sales, both online and on foot, which resulted in my having to reorganize my studio. I don't dare show photos of my latest acquisitions which also include my winnings of 33 fat quarters from participating in MMM Quilts Plus Playtime QAL (Thank you Sandra and Cali Quilt Co.) or my new storage unit; I'm just glad my studio is once again organized and a fabric diet will be planned for 2019.  I spent the last week of July catching up on some sewing and can post some finally finished quilts.

First up is my Stacked Squares Quilt designed by Erica Jackman of Kitchen Table Quilting and is a free pattern available from Moda Bake Shop.  I first became aware of this pattern through Kelly Young of My Quilt Infatuation and this is the second one I have made.  

I started making this quilt last year when I purchased Lynette Jensen's Quilts with a New Attitude being the Modern Traditional quilter which I am and also in possession of a bit of both Thimbleberries and Cotton+Steel fabrics, both RJR lines. I liked the idea of combining one of Lynette's traditional pattern with the modern C+S fabric so my intention was to make the Sky Blue Waters pattern.  I changed my mind when I realized that I needed a new wall quilt to go with the new blue and green bedspread for our "guest" bedroom (truth be told, I still call this Mike's room even though he hasn't occupied it in our ten years and is only used when he and his family comes to visit) and thought the Stacked Squares patten would make a better wall quilt. However, I did get the idea to combine both Thimbleberries and Cotton + Steel fabrics together since I thought some of the blue and green prints I had in both of my stash would go so well together.

I made these blocks almost a year ago and sadly I didn't feel the urgency to finish this quilt.  It was on my 2018 UFO list and my only impetus to finally finish this quilt is because there is another quilt I want to make similar to the Stack Squares pattern using blue and yellow Cotton + Steel.  Sometimes my UFO list has to take precedent and a DrEAMi project has to wait.  Also, I was really hesitant about cutting up these blocks since cute animal prints were involved and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be--the squirrels sewed up nicely.

My C+S+T (Cotton+Steel+Thimbleberries) quilt measures 60" square. Here are some close-up photos of the quilt.  Can you spot which prints are Thimbleberries and which ones are Cotton + Steel?   I quilted it with curvy lines, about 1" apart, with mint green thread and the funky dot backing is a ten year old print from the backing vault.  I used a green Thimbleberries print for the binding not only for nostalgia sake but also as a way to use up more of the Thimbleberries stash which has been quietly sitting on my shelf.

Now that this quilt is finally finished, I'm wondering why I didn't finish it sooner.  Also, since I've become reaquainted with the Thimbleberries book, I may do a variation of the Sky Blue Waters pattern with the blue and yellow Cotton + Steel prints.  It's funny how quilt inspiration can strike you or is this what you call serendipity?

And speaking of quilt inspiration or should I say impetus, I finally finished my sweet granddaughter, Micah, Fish Quilt which I mentioned in my last post that I had forgotten about it and needed to finally finish it since my claim that every quilt I started in 2018 were all finally finishes was not true because of this top.

The Anne Kellle fish fabric used for the backing was purchased last year when Micah was just months old and the 4.5" squares was pulled from stash but the top was not made until March of this year.  There's no better impetus for finally finishing this quilt than a visit to see Micah this weekend and I'm pretty sure she's going to love it since she's in a Fishie phase right now.  I love the wavy grid quilting with the variegated thread on the top and thankful that I had enough of the stripe fabric for the binding.  I think I'll be using this quilting pattern again for my one-patch quilts, a favorite of mine  for baby quilts.

Some of the other sewing I did was another Staggered Squares and Strip quilt top which I am doing for the Fabulous Freebies Blog Hop, August 20-24th hosted by Calico Joan of Moosestash Quilting where Bloggers are presenting their favorite or their own free quilt tutorial.  Here's a sneak peek of the quilt which I will be posting on my day which is August 24th and should be no surprise that it involves Cotton + Steel fabrics.  I'm being very partial when I say I love making these quilts because it's, easy,  a great pattern to use a lot of different fabrics and the quilting comes easy for me.

I'm calling it a month now and saying good-bye to July.  It's been a busy and fun month for me and I expect more of the same for August except for the fabric buying.  We'll be traveling in September and  hubby saids there are four quilt shops around where we will be staying so I need to do a fabric fast for August.

Linking up with:  Tish Adventure in Wonderland, UFO Busting, Cooking Up Quilts, Main Crush Monday, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework, Oh Scrap!, My Quilt Infatuation, Needle and Thread Thursday and Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop Friday 

The Big Cat Crossing Quilt: A DrEAMi and a Finally Finished for the End of June

Last January, when I made my Staggered Strips and Squares Quilt,  the Hinto Minto, and posted the sort-of tutorial, my plan was to make another one showcasing the black and white Cotton + Steel Neon Snow Leopard print and some of my fun prints in my stash.  During the past six months, in between QALs, projects, etc., I only managed to cut and sew the strips for the first round and only found time this month to work on the quilt to finally finish it in time for the June DrEAMi link-up hosted by Sandra of mmm Quilts.

I modified the pattern for the Big Cat Crossing Quilt by:

• cutting the panels of the "Cat" print 8-1/2" x 12-1/2" because I really wanted to showcase this fun print 
• the 4-1/2" x 8-1/2" accent blocks were set vertically along with some of the 81/2" square blocks
• the quilt measures 54" x 72" (approx.)

I machine quilted wavy, organic lines with a variegated gray thread with white thread on the bottom and much to my surprise turned out better than I expected.  I love how these quilting lines look on the "Cat" print; it really gives them some movement.

Once again, there was some indecision on my part as to the backing.  I had some 60" wide black and white print from IKEA which I wasn't completely happy with using and finally made up my mind that I would. But then I decided to take one more look in my stash and found the black and white Cross fabric which I thought would be perfect since the quilt is called Big Cat Crossing. I didn't have enough of the Cross print so I had to make a pieced back, which is not my favorite thing to do, by sewing another black and white print on the sides.  Luckily, since I don't make pieced backs very often, I managed to  center the quilt top  evenly with the backing which I didn't think of doing when I was basting.

The Big Cat Crossing Quilt was bound in the Cotton + Steel black and white Netorious print.   I'm beginning to become a fan of machine binding, not because it's faster than doing it by hand but I like it's another way to accent the quilting by using the same color thread for the binding.

What a wonderful way to end the month of June with a DrEAMi!  If I can toot my own horn, this is a great pattern for the 2.5" strips you can find in your stash.

I'm one of the twenty-two Quilt Bloggers who will be participating in the Fabulous Freebies Blog Hop hosted by CalicoJean of MooseStash Quilting. The Blog Hop will be from August 20-24th and Bloggers will be posting their favorite online free quilt patterns.  I will be posting my Staggered Strips and Squares tutorial on Thursday, August 23rd and will include my Big Cat Crossing Quilt and another quilt I have in the works.  Details are still being worked out and there may be sponsor giveaways.

Finally, I like to give one last shoutout for June which is sadly ending too soon.  I am amazed that I was able to finish this quilt in the wonderful month of June which started very busy for me with the projects completed earlier in the month.  I celebrated my Golden Anniversary of my Sweet Sixteenth birthday (another way to say I turned 66), went on a eleven day road trip  and visited my friend Mary Etherington in Iowa, went to the Quilt Museum in Lincoln, NE and finally ended up in Granby, Colorado where I discovered, The Fabric Nook, a gem of a quilt shop where I indulged in several fabric purchases.  We also made several side trips to Steamboat, where I met up briefly with a fellow Bee Blogger,  from 2017 and FB friend, Nancy Bekedam of Grace and Piece Quilting, visited the Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, where I was able to photograph my two "Colorado" quilts: Whitewater River Rafting (Regatta) and my Modern Neutral Jelly Roll Charm Chase next to a flowing river on a fence with barb wire--ouch, don't think that will happen again and a visit to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden.  Soon after we arrived home, my darling granddaughter, Micah and her mother came for almost a six day stay.  So I think I did pretty well with finishing the Cat Crossing Quilt and my June Quilt, my UFO finish for this month.

There's been enough excitement this month to hold me over for the next couple of months.  I'm looking forward to staying home and planning on finishing up some projects on my never-ending list such as quilting my Plus Playtime Quilt in which the link-up is in early July. Stay cool and dry since we Midwesterners having been experiencing too much rain and heat lately which is good inside sewing weather for me.

Linking up with: mmmquilts, DrEAMi June Linky Party, Cooking Up Quilts, Main Crush Monday, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework, Oh Scrap!, My Quilt Infatuation, Needle and Thread Thursday and Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop Friday