Grads, Grannies and Gratis

This is the last day of my SMS giveaway so go here and participate!

Thursday morning my daughter graduated from 4th grade! It was a nice program and she got several awards (A-B honor roll, perfect attendance, A in conduct all year, etc.). I'm  a very proud mama! I checked her out early and let her have some mom time. And Friday morning we will be attending my son's graduation program from kindergarten. Woohoo! I'll give him the same option of checking out early for a day with me. Last day of school!

I finished my granny square quilt and my daughter helped me deliver it. That was fun for her because she and her dad sort of "work for" this lady at the church when they do skits and help with small/large groups at our church (2-4 year olds). She's in charge of that age group. She loved it and even emailed hubby to tell me how much she liked it.

The front was done in all scraps and Kona bleached white. I did straight-line quilting 1/4" away from the side of each sashing seam, then again 1/4" away from that line. This was done both ways. 

Every other block was quilted with what I call stitch to the side of the ditch around the diamond shape and the center square. 

Then every OTHER block was stitched the same way outlining the inside of the X. 

The back was Eclectic Garden and I had a hard time giving this fabric up. So soft and I love the colors!

Here's  a close-up of the X outline on the back. You have to look close to see it. Don't stare too hard; it'll make your head hurt!

I'm very excited that my friend Mitzi is in charge of BOM for our quilt guild because she decided to do the granny square. That way I can make one to keep. Yeah! And she had a great idea for it. Anyone who wants to participate will do 3 blocks; keep one, donate one for a charity quilt, and put one in the pot. A name will be drawn from the people who participate for the ones that are put in the pot each month so there is the potential to go home with a lot! And luckily we're going to do it for about 3 months.

Since I'm talking about quilt guild, I just have to show you guys the GOR-JUSS version of a Granny Square quilt that my friend Judy did in our quilt guild. We tease her because she always has to do things differently, and let me just tell you, that means her pieces are always unique and spectacular! Judy decided to group her squares into 4 before sashing, then she decided to turn them up on point. She added a single 2.5" square to separate each set of blocks.

Sorry for the cruddy picture; I used my dumbphone. But how stinkin' great is this quilt? I may have to aim for something like this for my next one, or take a cue from Judy and get more creative in how I put my next one together!

Speaking of quilt guild, the president of ours is a friend and she loves hitting yard sales. She's great about sharing her finds as well. In the past she has picked up 7 yards of Amy Butler home decorating fabric for me for $15, and some scraps of vintage Girl Scout fabric. Monday night at quilting guild she brought me some vintage game fabric she picked up last weekend for 50 cents. From selvage to selvage it is 35" (the selvages don't have holes and don't feel like a different texture like fabrics today) and 2 yards + 14" long. The selvage says Masterpiece Prints (c) 1953 Original Artist's Design "Pastimes". I've scoured the internet trying to find information on it and the only place I could find it was a retro skirt someone made for Etsy. Their version was pink.

So here's my question...what would you do with it? I was thinking about the fabulous game night quilt Lindsay at LinzSews is putting together as part of her Bee. It would make a great back for something like that. Do you have any other ideas?

 

Linking up!