Summer Reflections

One thing I especially love about being a teacher is the cyclical pattern of the years. It appeals to me to have starting, pausing, and stopping points. It is exciting to begin each new school year with all it's potential stretching out before me. There are long-standing holidays and breaks throughout the year I anticipate and enjoy. Finally, comes the end of the school year with the prospect of summer fun and relaxation. Students are not the only ones who enjoy this pattern of life. Looking back over the past couple of months I've enjoyed working on several projects during the summer break.

The first project of summer was this Modern Chevron baby quilt for my great-nephew {pattern by Rashida Coleman-Hale}.This pattern is such a fun twist to zig-zag quilts. I used straight line quilting in the solid white areas and left the colored fabric unquilted to make a nice soft quilt. 




Next, I made this pinwheel baby quilt as a silent auction donation to benefit a children's charity through my professional teaching organization. I made these pinwheels with squares of fabric left over from the Modern Chevron quilt shown above. I have to admit that I am really smitten with this quilt...pinwheels are just so classic. I am thrilled that it raised $150 for the charity :o)




Woven ribbons is a quilt to symbolize that none of us stand alone. Our lives are intricately woven together with those we love. This yellow ribbon quilt is for my dear friends who are separated by a military deployment for the next year. {pattern by Melissa @ sewbittersweetdesigns.com} 





I'd been seeing the sweetest quilted frame purses on flickr and fell in love with their charm. When I found frames at my local JoAnn's store I thought the shape and size would be a perfect fit for crocheted African Flowers. Crochet has always been a great love of mine. It is so soothing to sit with yarn and quietly crochet. These two little purses made sweet little gifts for a meet up with college friends.




Once all of the scrappy triangle blocks arrived from my bee mates in the Faith Circle of do. Good Stitches I set about putting them together into the quilt top. It needed to be a bit longer so I requested input from friends. Melissa, our bee leader, suggested the wonderful staggered squares for the top and bottom borders. I am so pleased with how this quilt turned out! We make our quilts for Restore Innocence. {scrappy triangle block by Ashley of FilmintheFridge.com}




Towards the end of summer I started working on this divided basket for my dear friend. This is the perfect project to use fun fabrics! I thought the subtle apple print on the front pocket fabric would be the perfect background for grid quilting with red thread. I was so happy to find just the right project to use the Meadowsweet polka dots (lining) that has been in my stash. {pattern by Anna of Noodlehead}




Using fabric scraps from the basket I made up four little coasters to tuck inside along with some fun apple treats ;o) {apple design by Charise of Charise Creates} 




Finally, just in time for the start of a new school year I made myself a new lanyard. After  contemplating my fabric for quite a while I decided that Mama Said Sew would be the perfect choice...a great way to share a little about who I am...so fun!! I am super thrilled with how this turned out ;o)

It's nice to look back and see finished projects! I also have quite a few additional starts and a whole stack of work-in-progress. Enough to keep me busy through the fall and winter :o) How about you? I'd love to hear about what you worked on this summer...maybe what was your favorite finish?