Two More Blue Finishes

I finished up both of these blue stash busting quilts this week.  I am on a roll!  They are both part of my January goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes. 

The first quilt is named Winter's Joy.  I made it with 10 strips of 5 inch wide blue fabric.  Then I added a thin border of the white, cut 1.5 inches and another border of blue, cut 5 inches wide.  I like how much bigger it was with the borders, but I had to piece the back. 

I would have pieced the back anyway, because I was trying to use up my stash.  But I had to add that white strip to the side as well.  It works, but it is not my favorite. 

I quilted it with a large stipple, and did something a little different.  Normally I would have used the walking foot around the thin stop border, and then quilt the outer border separate.  This time I pretended there wasn't a border and just quilted all over.  I was worried about it while quilting it, but now that it is finished I like it. 

I also did the binding a little bit different.  I used a zig zag stitch to attach the binding to the front.  I love it on the front...

But not so much on the back...

Oh, well.  It is done.  I am not changing it, but I probably won't do it again.  All in all, I am very pleased with how this baby quilt turned out.  I will be donating it to a local charity.

Edited to add on June 1, 2014: 

Because I have not found a home for this quilt, I have decided to donate it to Happy Chemo as part of the Hands2Help challenge. 

Quilt Stats #80
Name:  Winter's Joy
Pattern:  Just made from 5 inch strips and set in a diagonal pattern
Fabric:  Blues from my stash
Amount used:  5.25 yards
Batting:  Warm and White
Size:  about 47 x 56 inches
Date finished:  January 2014
What I learned:

• I don't like the zig zag stitch on the binding.
• I can sometimes ignore the borders when FMQ.
• Light blues are so sweet!

The other quilt I finished is this Double Slice Layer Cake quilt.  I did do something different than the tutorial suggested.  I made both cuts on each square before piecing it.  First, I cut a couple in half...

Then I rotated my cutting mat, and cut at 3.5 inches. 

Then I stacked them all up.  I thought I was more accurate cutting this way. 

I also quilted this quilt with a large stipple. 

I used the same fabric for the binding as I did for the backing, because I had several yards of it.  It is a blue paisley.  I did bind this one by machine by sewing it to the back first, then stitching it to the top. 

I like it a lot better this way on the back. 

My husband and  I have been thinking about giving this quilt to a friend who is going through some health challenges.  I am not sure what to do, becuase I have never just given a quilt to someone (not family) before. 

**I just want to give a BIG thank you to everyone who commented.  I feel so much better about giving this quilt to our friend, and I will be adding a label saying it was made for him to bring comfort (or something else like that). 

(For some reason the beige was hard to photograph.  The color is the most accurate on the snow picture above.)

Quilt Stats #81
Name:  Seeing Double
Pattern:  Double Slice Layer Cake
Fabric:  Blues and a beige from my stash
Amount used:  8 yards
Batting:  Hobbs 80/20
Size:  about 63 x 72 inches
Date finished:  January 2014
What I learned:

• I like cutting everything first and then sewing. 
• I like my traditional way of machine binding a quilt better, but I prefer stitching it down by hand on the back. 

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts (my first time), Needles and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation, and Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.