Cabbage Rose 2008 BOM - "Serenity Now!"

Yay! Another finished quilt top (will get it quilted ASAP).

The blocks are from the Cabbage Rose Quilting block of the month program from 2008-2009. They offer two colorways for each BOM - not a fan of Kaffe Fassett fabrics, so I went with the earth tone batiks option... very happy with the warm, yummy colors. I opted not to go with their finishing kit, but used a setting pattern they sent with the last block that just used dark & light batik FQ's plus a little yardage. I love the secondary pattern of the dark stars around some of the blocks.

Don't look too closely at the setting triangles/border or you'll see where I had to rebuild the fabric after I found out the hard way that my new sub-cut ruler is 6 inches wide... not 6 1/2 inches. Oops. I was already having a rough day at that point so the quilt will be named "Serenity Now!" in honor of the serene fabric colors and the extreme need for serenity I found while trying to recover from my cutting mishap.

Cabbage Rose 2007 BOM

Fun with bright batiks. This was the 2007/2008 Block of the Month from Cabbage Rose Quilting in Ft. Worth, TX. I love the colors, and the simple black setting which allows the colors to really shine. The quilting is done in black as well.

I'm currently working on setting the 2008/2009 BOM blocks (earth-tone batiks, yum)... then I can start assembling the 2009/2010 blocks (can you tell I like the Cabbage Rose BOMs??)

Mini Charmer Totes

All of these little cuties were made using the pattern "Mini Charmer" from Quilts Illustrated. Each tote uses about half a Moda charm pack or one full Connecting Threads pack, plus 1/2 yd coordinating fabric. The twins are made from a single set of Moda's "Rouenneries" charms (one is my mom's and the other is, as of yet, homeless...) The next one is mine, and uses fabrics from Connecting Threads' "Sweet & Sour" line. Last is my daughter's bag, with fabric from CT's "Riviera" line.

"Biscuits & Buttons"

This little table runner/centerpiece was a kit I found at a shop somewhere while travelling... It ended up being my travelling companion on several road trips, since I could easily work on it where ever I was - lots of handwork, that. Simple construction - buttons holding the folded squares, which are then tacked at the corners.

"Lily's Heart"

This sweet little quilt has lots of back story. A few years ago, a sweet quilty friend of mine gave me the Eleanor Burns book Still Stripping After 25 Years. Not too long after that, she was diagnosed with ALS, aka Lou Gehrig's disease, and as she has weakened physically (but never spiritually - truly an inspiration to me!!!), she has become unable to complete quilt projects she had previously planned to make, and decided to share those unfinished projects with friends and family. This is one of those projects.

She actually planned for the lap throw size of the "Love the Log Cabin Quilt," but I opted to make a baby quilt for a couple of very special friends who, after a difficult pregnancy & delivery, now have a BEAUTIFUL baby girl, named Lily. So this is "Lily's Heart" - named for that gorgeous little darlin', and in honor of my dear friend Mary.