my Ides of March quilt

I wasn't going to share this:

but it is what it is around here.

The Ides of March has come and gone,
and my 'Great Idea' of having my own Irish Quilt in 2015
just didn't happen.
I'm pretty sure that just strips of fabrics,
lots and lots of strips,
don't qualify as a real quilt.  Right?? :)

What started the whole thing was 
a stack of shamrock-y fabrics that became this:

My Irish Lass quilt

which I made a year ago
for my daughter-in- law love.
I loved it so much, had enough fabric left
and cut all the strips right then!

But a year has passed, and my quilt is not a quilt, 
but still just strips.

Maybe next year.
Yep, that's the plan.
The Ides will arrive next year -
calendar-wise and hopefully, quilt-wise, too! 

Do you have similar Best Of Plans,
or is it just me with piles of pre-cut fabrics
for quilts in the mind? :)

pedal to the metal -

it's getting close to Christmas!

I've be working (frantically, it seems) on the commissioned quilt that will be a gift.
I had the machine cleaned, bobbins filled and a new blade in the rotary cutter when this arrived in my mail box:

Quarter-yard cuts of 'Irish', 
the top white dot for setting fabric,
and the bottom green, little stripe for backing.  

I ordered this green stash from Fabric Shack of Waynesville, Ohio, 
which is a couple of hours drive from me.  
I ordered after their closing on Wednesday 
and I had it on my cutting mat on FRIDAY by noon!
And, they only charged half of the shipping amount!!!  

So, thanks to the wonderful customer service from Fabric Shack, 
I was able to start almost immediately!
I cut 2 1/2 by 10 1/2 inch strips from each fabric, 
and sewed them into fours THAT DAY:

Trimmed, then sub-cut into strips and ready to make 16-patch blocks!:

By Saturday afternoon, all 32 of the 16-patch blocks 

and the start of the X-blocks made:

So I feel like it's a great start!

Yesterday afternoon, we did the family tree-trek:

 


It was a great day - partly sunny and about 45 degrees.

The little guys are here today, playing while mommy and daddy are shopping.
So no sewing on the gift-y quilt or decorating the tree, but we sure are having fun!!
And pedal back to the metal tonight.

Hope your Monday is wonderful, too!

my Good Night - Irish Lass quilt

I finished 'my Irish Lass' quilt!
Irish Lass, aka Good Night Irene.

I named it the 'Irish Lass' because
besides the fabrics being
all shamrocks, clover, Celtic knots and shades of green, 
I made it for a beautiful Irish lass,
as a welcome into this German family.

Mylifeisastitch.blogspot.com
My Irish Lass quilt

For the shower, the gift theme was holidays...

with a count down not just to the wedding day,

but also to each holiday throughout the year.

It was a cute idea, with many thoughtful and creative gifts.

My assigned holiday was St. Patrick's Day,
so this quilt fit the theme perfectly!

(I loved it a lot, but gifted it anyway. :)

And I think she may have loved it even more,
as there were tears in her eyes.
Which made me have tears in my eyes.

That's always a nice thank you for a quilt,

knowing the receiver loved your work.

Here are a few glamor shots...
the scrappy binding:

and close-ups of the quilting:

'May your Blessings out-number the shamrocks'



My meandering of loopy, three-leafed clover & four-leafed shamrocks

The backing was a green-plaid homespun,
which you can just see a peek of in this photo.

My thanks to Terry of Terry's Treasures

for hosting the Good Night Irene sew-along.
The sew-along was my inspiration for this quilt,
along with the stack of green/shamrock fabrics I had stashed in my studio. 

Back in a couple of days - I have Lucy Boston blocks to share!

Happy July Stitching!