Lap Quilts Finished

Yesterday I finished the lap quilt I had been working on. I had about half of it machine quilted before we went on our vacation to California so just had half to quilt and then bind it.

I have really enjoyed making these lap quilts, first because they are for a good cause, second because I can use of some more of the "guilt fabric", and third because I can practice machine quilting.

I have so much fabric that I have bought in the past just sitting there in my closet and never getting used as it isn't nearly as pretty as I thought it was when I purchased it years ago. Most of my stash consists of smaller pieces of fabric as I tend to buy fat quarters. I am making the patterns quite simple on these quilts - squares and rectangles or strips. Not too much imagination but I can get them pieced faster. These are working great in the lap quilts as I do like scrappy quilts but the problem arises when I need backing. I have saved the few larger pieces for backing but have had to piece them too. Since I am machine quilting these quilts the extra seams on the back make no difference anyway.

My machine quilting skills are lacking to say the least. I decided this is something I really want to learn and be comfortable doing. I can make mistakes and have wobbly lines of quilting on the lap quilts and it doesn't matter. I told myself I could not rip any of the stitching out and do it over unless something is wrong with the tension and it wouldn't be secure. I have learned over the years I tend to be a perfectionist and sometimes that can drive me crazy so am making myself not be too particular on these projects.

This is the 4th lap quilt I have made for this project. It is a little wobbly and looks like it is not quite cut square along the side before I added the border - oh, well. The other three are pretty much alike in fabrics and patterns but I did try to quilt each of them differently. Sometimes I think I am getting the hang of machine quilting then - Bam - I really get wild with my stitching and it gets crooked or gigantic stitches.

44" x 56" ------------------------------ 36"x 36"

Both of these are 36" x 36"

I do like to use Sharon Schamber's method of putting on binding. It is quick, easy and is much more accurate. Check out the free area page on her website as well as her other pages. Her quilts are exquisite and she has won lots of awards. Check out her website http://www.sharonschambernetwork.com/index.html

Happy Quilting!