I'm back! (again...)

So, do you remember how I was allegedly going to start posting regularly again?  Clearly, that didn't happen.  I have a really good reason, though, I promise.  While my sewing machine was certainly going throughout the summer, I was also a little busy on the home front.  Here's why :)

Meet Anne, our newest addition to the family.  She's a sweetheart, sleeping and eating happily throughout the day (the evenings are a different story, unfortunately). Her older siblings are quite taken with her, wanting to hold her and help with her all day.  The biggest disagreements they have these days are over whose turn it is to hold her.

In the spring, I set myself a goal to finish five quilts before she arrived.  I'm happy to report that I was able to finish all five and even sew another quilt top before the big day.  Hooray! 

My first finish was for my parents.  They were serving a mission with our church in Bogota Columbia for a year and a half.  They came home early last spring before heading out on another mission this past summer, this time serving in Huancayo, Peru for the next three years.  My sister came up with the idea to make them a quilt, so working with our other siblings, we made them this.

 We decided that since we were working on this long-distance (she lives on the west coast, and we're on the east coast), a layer cake would be the way to go so that we could have a fun, scrappy, yet still coordinated look.  V&Co's Simply Color line was perfect - lots of fun patterns in great colors.

 

We used Amanda Jean's Fair and Square pattern, just sized up to make it a throw quilt.  I'm the oldest of five kids, and each of us and our families are represented by one block - a boat for a brother who sails, a globe for a sister in the State Department who lives abroad, the Union Jack for a brother who served his mission in England, mountains and a tree for a sister who camps a lot, and the beach for our family since we love the beach. 

Each of the eight grandchildren are represented by their handprint. The tiny hot pink, unnamed hands belong to Anne - we hadn't picked out her name yet :)

We also threw in some blocks that meant something to my parents or our family - the flag from our summer beach trips, maps of Peru and Columbia which is where my parents' missions have been, a map of North Carolina which is where we grew up, bikes since my parents love to ride, a watering can and shovel for my mom's love of gardening, and the Oakland temple where my parents were married.  

I had only done machine applique once before, so this quilt certainly stretched my abilities. 

I kept the quilting simple - just a wavy stitch on my machine lengthened out.  I think it turned out pretty well.

The backing was also simple, and definitely in my wheelhouse, with two large panels and a pieced bit in the middle.

A simple binding in the blue ikat finished it off.

My parents loved the quilt, and my mom even cried when she opened up the package.  They appreciated all the time, effort, and love that went into it.  And now they have a little piece of each of us while they're living so far away for the next three years. Quilt #1 on my to-do list - done!

Now go check out the other finishes over at Amanda Jean's!