baby quilts

Looking in the Rearview Mirror of 2023

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I have posted multiple photos of quilts and projects in Instagram (@lifesloosethreads), but thought I needed a proper 2023 end-of-year blog post!

In 2023, I finished 7 quilts.

The first benefitted MD Anderson’s Ovarian Quilt Project. It is an online auction held every other year. The funds go to ovarian cancer research and education. This is my third quilt for MDA which honors the memory of my sister, Mary. My sister, Gretchen, made her first quilt for MDA’s project. The angel wing art quilt pattern is my own design. The quilt measures 44″ wide by 49″ long. Since teal is the color designated for ovarian cancer, one of the feather layers is teal. The others are yellow, purple, and orange. Expertly quilted by Lisa Taylor and awesome quilt label by Sally Wasserman.

The second quilt is a Quilt of Valor given to a local World War II veteran in August. The quilt kit is entitled “For the Brave” by Patti’s Patchwork and measures 72″ long by 58″ wide. As I was constructing the quilt top, I kept telling myself this was the only Quilt of Valor I would ever make in my life. The kit had some challenging blocks and I was just over it. However, when months later, I placed the quilt over the shoulders of my veteran, I changed my mind. I’m already thinking about my quilt for 2024. It was quilted by Lisa Taylor.

I am not certain when I started quilt number three! Maybe at the beginning of 2022. I worked on it at several quilt retreats and got lots of fun poked in my direction. And rightly so! The complex little blocks (each 4 inches square) took up very little space on my designated very large design wall. The quilt is entitled “I Spy 96.” The adorable paper-pieced I Spy quilt pattern is by Kimmie Tanner and Missy Winona. It is 43″ wide by 60″ long and contains 96 of the 100 quilt blocks in the book. I have a specific wall for the finished quilt. My least favorite block was the teapot with 41 fabric pieces. Judy Mathis used a swirly quilting design and the label was made by Sally Wasserman. I used Kona solids and mixed in batiks for the images and various white solids for the background. The backing is by Wilmington entitled “School is Cool” by Nancy Mink.

Quilt four is a baby quilt entitled “For Baby Calvert” for my friend’s first grandchild! I used a Moda panel called “Farm Charm” by Gingiber and sashed the blocks. Love the black sheep! The backing is from the same collection but with small sheep. It was quilted by the lovely Val Payne and label by Sally Wasserman.

Quilt five is “The Little Ghost” from a pattern/kit by Leslee Price with multiple blue and cream blocks and appliqued eyes and mouth. It is 45″ wide by 50″ long. It is quilted by Val Payne and label by Sally Wasserman. The quilt goes with the children’s book “The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt” by Riel Nason. I am thinking about donating this quilt/book to a charity next fall.

Quilt six is a Minecraft wall hanging quilt for my grandson, Jacob. The pattern is by My Rainy Day Designs. I made nine 12″ blocks and Jacob picked his favorite Minecraft characters: dirt, sheep, chicken, creeper, mooshroom, pig slime, and zombie. I have no idea what Minecraft is all about but that is okay! I used a fusible 2-inch Quilt Fuse grid for fabric placement. Jacob and Ben helped with the layout of several of the blocks. The finished blocks are sashed with finished 2-inch black borders. The backing is Benartex’s “botanica” by Amanda Murphy. It was quilted by Val Payne.

Quilt seven is a 30″ by 30″ small quilt from Jillily Studio entitled “Joy Wreath.” I purchased the kit/pattern (included fabric for the top, back and binding) at this year’s International Quilt Festival. It was a fun little project that came together quickly. It was quilted by Val Payne with a snowflake panto.

There were several quilt-related projects in 2023, which included: a collaged banner with granddaughter Melanie’s name, a University of Alabama pillow for my favorite neighbor’s awesome son, barn quilt (it was a super fun class), and participation in our guild’s 2024 paper-pieced raffle quilt.

Angel in Flight Art Quilt on “A Joyful Embrace: A Memoir”

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So I wrote a book entitled, “A Joyful Embrace: A Memoir.” It is now available for purchase as an e-book, paperback, or hardback on Amazon. The book was a labor of love about the rare glimpse into the inspiring and joyful life of my daughter, Mimi, who was born with cerebral palsy. Though wheelchair-bound with the mental capacity of a delightful two-year-old her entire life, her extraordinary social and spiritual gifts challenged what is “normal” for anyone she encountered.

I also designed and made the collage art quilt, entitled Angel in Flight, which graces the cover of the book. My friend, Lisa Taylor, did a beautiful job longarming the quilt. The pdf pattern is available for sale in my Etsy shop.

Profits from the book will be joyfully donated to The Village Learning Center in Mimi’s memory.

2022 Quilt Projects Roundup

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In 2022, I cranked out 7 quilts and lots of smaller projects like Christmas stockings, table runners, as well as pillowcases and backpacks for charity. I’ve also learned some new skills in 2022: machine binding, cute little zipper pouches, and a chic sewing machine cover at A Needle and Thread, a local Houston area sewing lounge. I am definitely going to do more learning this year.

But back to the quilts! The collage angel wing quilt was the only quilt pattern I created this year. It can be purchased in my Etsy shop as a pdf downloadable pattern. It is definitely wall hanging size. A photo of the angel wings will also appear on the cover of my upcoming book A Joyful Embrace: A Memoir which will launch on Amazon this February.

My lovely fellow quilter, Noreen (we call her the “Fabric Whisperer”), agreed to be my pattern tester and made the angel wing quilt in pastel colors. I love how it turned out. As always, she continues to awe! Just as she asked, I paid her in jars of homemade pickles.

I re-created Laura Heine’s elephant collage, Lulu. Originally, I was going to give the new quilt to my niece, Karin, a mighty cancer survivor. Instead, I gave her my original quilt over Thanksgiving. I will keep the new version. It is very similar with the yellow background. I love to show Lulu at my trunk shows as the quilt that got me hooked on collage art quilts.

I also created a simple baby quilt with appliqued name for my grandson, Leo, born in late 2022. He is also the cutie pie featured on the angel wing quilt. The zookeeper panel quilt was made for the Michigan grandkids and now hangs in their playroom. The gigantic snowflake quilt was for my daughter, Katie. She loves all things modern! This quilt is totally her style right down to the horizontal quilting. My quilting buddy, Sally, made the amazing quilt label with the snowflakes. Another one of my friends who is at the top of her game.

The cowboy boot quilt is currently hanging in my foyer all ready for when Houston Rodeo season cranks up in late February. I purchased it as a kit several years ago at the International Quilt Festival changing up a few of the fabrics.

I’ve made my list of quilt projects this year and hope to top 2022. I do expect a fair amount of time to be spent marketing my book so we will see what happens. At the top of my list is a Quilt of Valor kit purchased at Stitchin’ Heaven in Quitman, Texas. I have a few of the blocks finished. Let’s just say the directions are great but this one is not as easy as I expected!

Angel In Flight collage quilt pattern release!

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While at a recent quilt retreat, I put the finishing touches on my latest quilt hand sewing the binding and quilt label. The quilt measures 42″H by 45″W. The pdf pattern is available in my Etsy shop. I call it “Angel in Flight.”

I chose lots of Kaffe Fassett fabric, and a teeny bit of vintage Tula Pink, for the angel wings. Can anyone spot the tuna can? While auditioning the wings at work, Robin, picked out the perfect background fabric. She really knows how to put fabrics together! The ombre background fabric, by Hoffman, is called Southwestern Skies Storm Clouds. It gives the perfect illusion of the angel wings flying to Heaven. Margo, owner of My Favorite Quilt Store (great online fabric store), picked out the binding (Blissful Blooms Navy by Moda). The longarm quilting was done by Lisa Taylor at Kingwood Quilts. The quilt label was embroidered by the lovely Sally, who has been making my labels for the past 10 years. This quilt was truly collaborative. Yep … it took a village to make this quilt and I love how it turned out!

While designing the angel wings pattern earlier this year, I envisioned it being a baby quilt. It would be one where you lay an infant each month between the two wings and snap cute photos documenting baby’s growth and changes. Of course, when the quilt was finished, the first words out of my mouth were “This is not a baby quilt.” But it could be. I have someone that wants to make it with pastel fabric. Stay tuned! It will be lovely!

The photos below basically show the steps of collaging the angel wings. Many of the supplies to make my collage quilts can be purchased at My Favorite Quilt Store such as Steam A Seam 2 Lite, pattern ease, applique pressing sheet, Karen Kay Buckley Scissors (blue handle), fusible glue, and lovely fabric!

2020 … a year in review

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I feel like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland taking out his pocket watch from his vest. Yes, I’m late, I’m late for a very important date! I should have written this post two weeks ago about my “year in review.” I have written one every year for a very long time. For most of us, 2020 was painful with a capital “P.” Yep … me too. My husband of nearly 48 years passed away after four months on hospice. He died the day Houston’s Rodeo was shut down due to COVID on March 11, 2020. Rick was Texas born and bred. So it must have seemed to God to be a noteworthy day. At least the Willie Nelson concert during the rodeo happened. Since then I’ve been pretty much locked down like everyone else trying to figure how to dig myself out of the deep rabbit hole of grief. I am haulin’ myself up … a little at a time.

So is it any wonder I have been sitting at the sewing machine … a lot. I’ve finished 7 quilts (2 of which were pieced and machine quilted Christmas tree skirts), 4 pillow cases with French seams, a cute table topper for my sister, and a mini sleeping bag for a Ken doll. Not quite Twelve Days of Christmas song-worthy … but almost. This many quilts in one year is a new world’s record for me.

Oh, and I’ve poured myself into writing something special. I finished a manuscript for a memoir about my sweet Mimi who left us in late 2018. The title is An Angel Lived Among Us. I started writing it in early 2019 a few months after Mimi died. Shortly after that my husband’s brain tumor popped up. Yesterday, I sent off the book proposal which was more painful to write than the book. You wouldn’t believe the stuff publishers want to read about instead of the actual book. However, this is such an interesting learning experience for me. If the memoir is not picked up by a publisher, I will self-publish. Stay tuned on the book’s publishing progress!

Until next time … stay safe out there!

Quilts … a look back at 2014

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Four entire quilts were cranked out in 2014! Pretty good year for me. Two were gifts … one donated to charity and I’m keeping one. Not sure what 2015 will hold!

The first quilt was for our first grandbaby, Jake. I finished it before he was born and named, so it doesn’t have his name on it. I bought the pattern and kit at the International Quilt Festival in 2013. It was so fun to make and with Kim Norton of A Busy Bobbin to quilt it, I loved how it turned out. The pattern also includes a quilt with a flamingo, monkey and, I think, a frog. A future grandbaby?

The next quilt was donated to the Village Learning Center for their annual gala. I like to make something totally different for them every year. It was the first time I’d worked with so much black fabric. Made me a little nervous. It was sold in the silent auction to a very nice lady who was so worried she didn’t get the high bid at the end of the night!


Santa Baby was the most challenging quilt I’ve made to date! I chalk it all up to not reading the directions carefully. A valuable lesson was learned … and still the quilt turned out great. This is the only quilt this year that was custom quilted and I love the feathers quilted by Kim Norton. I dub her the Queen of Quilted Feathers!


The last official quilt completed in 2014 was the contemporary one for my adorable daughter, Katie! We collaborated on design, size, fabric choices and quilt name. It was an awesome experience! She has the perfect spot in their house to hang it.


I started my 2014 Texas Row-By-Row quilt in 2014. During the summer, quilters were able to stop by participating quilt shops all over the United States and pick up a free row pattern, and purchase a fabric kit, designed by their shop. It takes 8 rows to make a quilt. My sister, Gretchen, picked up a row pattern and kit for me in Victoria, and my friend, Sally, picked up one or two from her Texas travels. The finished jar row is called “Harvest Time” and is from BJ’s Quilt Shop in Bay City, Texas. The quilt shop even had all fabric pieces cut so all I had to do was sew. Don’t you just love the bug jar?


I’m putting together the sailboats now. The block is called “Regatta!” from Quilter’s Emporium shop in Stafford. By the way … they have an awesome quilt shop! This row is a little challenging with the bias edges, but I’m making it work! Only six more rows to go!

It’s for the little rutabaga

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I knew when I first laid eyeballs on the quilt kit at the International Quilt Festival last fall, it would be my first purchase. I mean … our daughter and son-in-law will have our first grandbaby in early May. Hooray! Oh, and our daughter also works at the Houston Zoo (www.houstonzoo.org). Naturally, a quilter, and grandmother-to-be, I had to run out and make a quilt for the little rutabaga.

We used to call our grandbaby-to-be a “sprout” for the longest time. It seems now all the rage is to compare their current size to fruits and veggies. Today it is the size of a rutabaga!

Picking which animal quilt option was a no-brainer, as back last October we didn’t know if it was a boy or girl. I figured the giraffe was generally gender neutral, although the pink flamingo and the monkey were also pretty darn cute. I have to say applique is not my favorite way to manipulate fabric, but I decided to jump in anyway with both feet. With the help of my trusty “Applique Pressing Sheet,” I could do this project in no time. Made it easier to build the whole giraffe and then fuse one large piece onto the quilt top.

Next step is to sew around the edges of the applique pieces before sending it on to my long-arm quilting lady!

The adorable animal quilt is published by “The Teacher’s Pet,” http://www.the-teachers-pet.com, out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The quilt pattern is called “Peek-a-Boo Pals” and includes all four animals in the pattern. An alphabet chart is also included. I opted not to put a name on it since the first name is not entirely settled.