Two small quilts

I recently finished another baby quilt using the Lullaby Lane pattern by Sassafras Lane Designs.  This is the fourth quilt I've made from this pattern; I like the way it features a large-scale print, and it lends itself well to making two quilts from mostly half-yard cuts.

This quilt is similar to the one I made for my grand-niece a few years ago; I only used different solids.  For this quilt I used Michael Miller Cotton Couture in Limeade and Malibu.  I had actually chosen these fabrics several years ago, and ended up using the same two solids in my Masquerade quilt.  I think the Limeade in particular is a great lightning-bug green to pair with the Wee Wander fabric.

The lightning bugs also inspired me to try quilting with glow-in-the-dark thread.  I had a lot of trouble with the thread shredding; I don't know how much to blame the thread or my machine.  I was disappointed in the glow results at first, until I charged it up by leaving the quilt in the sun for an hour or so.

(In the above photo you can see where a new spool of thread begins, but it is not so noticeable in person.)

Here's a view of the back:

The unfinished top has been a work in progress for several years, waiting for a recipient to be identified.  I'm glad the quilt has finally found a good home.

I finished another small quilt earlier this year, but I could not share it before now.  This quilt was made for a challenge put on by our local guild, Heritage Quilters of Huntsville.  The theme of the challenge was "Stitchin' the Blues," and the primary rule was that the quilt should use only blue and white fabrics.

I named my quilt "Blues in the Night," and the design was inspired by a photo I saw of a painted wall in a designer's home.  My first impulse was to keep the repeated pattern across the quilt, then applique something orange on it -- but that would not have qualified for the challenge.  So I played around with jumbling just one corner.

Here's the quilt on display for the challenge.  The awards were based on popular vote, and mine did not win anything.  But that's ok; I did get some excellent compliments from some quilters I admire.

This was a fun challenge, and I had a couple more ideas that I didn't pursue.  I might have to complete one of them later.