I finish things now, and I think, "I need to make a new post on my blog about this !" But time passes and I start something else, and..................I GET BEHIND ! So, to catch up, I think that I have just two new finishes. First, if you've read my blog for a while, you may remember that last year I made a very big throw quilt, close to twin-size, for my daughter, using her papa's flannel shirts. It was her memory quilt, and she loves it.......snuggles in it on her couch. Well, it's been bothering me, since then, that I still had a big zip-lock baggie of the leftover pieces that were just too big, and frankly, too dear, for me to toss out. So, I got them out with the idea of making myself a rag quilt. Instead, it turned into a lap throw without a batting, just big enough for me to snuggle under in the recliner, and feel like I still have James close by (just a little bit) ! I bought a piece of flannel, for the back, that reminds me alot of the brighter flannel shirts that he wore in his younger days. As he got older, he got more conservative. I included a couple of pockets, and several of the shirt labels, and I'm really happy with it. *************************************************************** Then while a friend and I were visiting another widow last week, I showed her my memory quiltie, and she acted (teasingly) like she was going to keep it. I said, "do you want a quilt?" She promptly went back to her bedroom and then returned to hand me a plastic bag filled with pieces of poly-cotton solids in quarter-yard or so cuts. I thought, "oh, no....not poly ! But I told her that I would see what I could come up with, and she told my friend that as long as it was made with love, it would be wonderful. Well, later I went to a secondhand store that I haunt, and I was hoping to find more fabric, possibly for a backing . Then I came upon this beautiful sheet, and realized that the print contained several of the fabric colors from her bag. I went right home, washed and dried that sheet, and cut out my design. That was Saturday, and on Tuesday I put the last stitches into the binding. This is a photo of the top before quilting. It was a challenge to work with the poly-cotton after so many years of 100% cotton fabrics, and don't even ask what it was like to join two pieces of extra-loft batting together by zig-zag stitches on the machine ! But, I am very happy with the finished product, and I hope to be able to give it to Mama Nelly on Sunday, at church. ************************************************************** And, oh yeh ! This will be an upcoming finish. The center portion is all pieced, BIG HEXIES ! But I haven't decided whether or not I want any borders. Stay tuned !