Finished projects

After a long time of not quilting, I’ve recently gone back to it,  and while I was also working on some challenging creations, I also took the time to finish projects I’d started before the hiatus. One of them is this:

This is a quilt from a Quilts for Kids packet. It is my….fifth one for this organization which distributes quilts to kids in hospitals. Every time I finish one, I request another packet. I enjoy it, and enjoy the freedom of working with colors/patterns that are out of the norm for me.

Close up:

Quilts for Kids sends me pre-cut fabric, and the pattern. I provide batting, and the sewing, and send it back to them. Then they distribute it to different hospitals to comfort children. It's a worthy cause and one to which I enjoy contributing. It is, as my kid would say, a win-win.

The second project I finished is this (excuse the corner cut off by the picture):

This was inspired by the parasol fabric, and I enjoyed making it, and using those rich colored fabrics, very much. The little diamonds of red and blue remind me of lanterns…
Close up:

Next up, a post about some of the newer projects, as soon as they get gifted to their respective recipients.

As Promised...

So, while it's true I am back to sewing, and really loving that, it's also true that the projects on which I am currently working are intended as gifts, which means I cannot post about them until after they are received by their respective recipients. To carry us through until then, here are some cross-stitch projects:

This is the second cross stitch I made (the first one is hanging on the wall in my office, and I've been forgetting to bring the camera to work to take a picture of it). I made this for my eldest as she was embarking on a serious, transformative journey. The butterfly had come to symbolize this journey of hers, for me, and was a frequently recurring image/sighting/metaphor. This seemed a fitting gift.
Here's a close up:



 

This is the second one I made, for a friend who'd moved to New Mexico, looking for peace, a slower pace of life, and tranquility:

 Close up? Sure!





And the third one, most recently completed, for my youngest, who loves loves loves horses:

This kid (14 years old now!!) has loved horses since she was old enough to say "horsie", and probably before. She loves them.
Notice the horse in the cloud?

That is the reason I chose this particular pattern.

These are all counted cross stitch patterns (I call them cross stitch by numbers), which makes them ideal for when I am too tired to do any meaningful brainwork. They've been keeping me creative and have provided much needed relaxation during all these sewing-free months of my hiatus. I am working on another one right now, though back to sewing, and will have more to post soon.
Yay for creative outlets!