Finishing things

I made a goal to finish up a few tops this month (February) because most of next month  (March) I'll be en route to/from or in Hawaii.  I am going on a quilting cruise, so I'll be sewing my way across the Pacific both ways, but I'll be working on 'class' projects, not my own UFOs. 

That said, I worked pretty hard on my goal and finished up 4 tops this month.   One is quilted, the other 3 are on the wait list for quilting.

I finished making the top to the second Thimblecreek mystery (they call it a Halloween mystery, but only a few fabrics are really Halloween-ish).  I changed the sashing they designed for it (it was supposed to be a pieced checkerboard sashing, but I didn't like how busy it was, so I redesigned it).

I really like the candy corn border treatment and the little 6" blocks were fun to make.

The Hoffman Color Palette quilt is finished, quilted and bound and I just love it.  Can't wait to find a place to hang it.  I love how it segues from warm to cool (left to right) and light to dark (top and bottom). 

The Animals quilt is finally finished as well... The borders were not as much work as I thought they'd be, and I love how it looks, so it's all good.  I have no idea how to quilt it though.  Traditional quilting like feathering or crosshatching doesn't sound right, and modern type quilting (lots of parallel lines) wouldn't suit it either, so I'm dithering.

I finally finished up that Saturday Sampler from last year too, the red and white one.  It too needs to be quilted of course, and I think an overall pattern for this one will be fine... I will probably end up donating this one eventually, but it was still fun to make.

I will be making 2 quilts on the cruise (one on the way to Hawaii, one on the way back), and there will be free sew time as well, so I'll be working on one of my (piecing only) BOMs.  I will be leaving all the applique BOMs at home, as I do all applique by machine, and we won't have irons available on the cruise (apparently the cruise line only allows them in the laundry rooms and they are a long way from the sewing rooms). 

Needless to say, I should be coming home from the cruise with two quilts that just need borders to finish up, some blocks for the BOM I'll be working on, and hopefully some good memories and new friends.