Finishing my Niece's Third Quilt

My mother-in-law and I just helped my niece, S, finish her third quilt.  It was such a fun group project.  It was the second quilt I helped her make.   (I've never seen her first quilt.)  We worked on the other one together last November.

When she came to visit from out of state, she knew she wanted to make another quilt.  She really liked the quilt I made for my father-in-law a couple years ago, and wanted to use the same pattern.  (It is similar to the Turning Twenty quilt, but the blocks finish at 12 inches.)

I told her what fabric she would need, and she went shopping for it with Nana.  Didn't she do a great job picking fabrics to go together?  I love what she chose.  Then she came to my house to cut it out.  She went back to Nana's to piece the blocks and sew them into rows.  (Nana does the pinning and pressing while she does the sewing).  I had her come back to my house to add borders so I could teach her the right way to do it.  We went to my mom's house all together to get it quilted.

She picked a loopy star design for the computerized quilting, and helped me when it was time to roll it.  She really did such a great job piecing it.  It laid totally flat on the frames and was a dream to quilt.

She thought it was great that she could "quilt" and read at the same time.  ;)  While I personally prefer free motion quilting with its wobbles, computerized quilting serves a great purpose.  She was able to get it quilted beautifully and quickly (with a lot of help from her doting aunt).  My mother-in-law loves my mom's machine, even though she is not a quilter.

After it was quilted we went back to my house for the binding.  She wanted me to bind this quilt, but also wanted to watch this time.  The chevrons look so neat for the stop border and the binding.

This process took about a week from start to finish.  Of course, her quilt needed its own photo shoot in my back yard.  (I think she thought I went a little crazy with the camera, but her mom loves all the photos I took.)

I quilted it with a gray thread which blends beautifully with the front and back.

I even got her to add a corner label this time.  You can barely see it in the upper left corner of this photo.

I really am so proud of my niece.  Her quilts keep getting better and better.  But the best part is the bonding time we share when we work together.  She has lived in another state my whole marriage, so I treasure our time together.

It should be a fun summer this year.  Another niece came to watch the quilting and wants to finish her quilt I helped her with a year and a half ago.  (It is cut out, and she started piecing it).  Plus, Cheetah wants to make another quilt to try out grandma's long arm.  She is so sweet to share it with not only her family, but my husband's side as well (as long as I am there to operate it).

This is the third quilt we have quilted on my mom's Handi Quilter Fusion, and we are really enjoying it.  It isn't nearly as intimidating as it once was.  But for anyone wondering, I still love my Tiara best!
XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with some of the fun linky parties on my sidebar.  Check them out to see what other quilters are up to.

P.P.S.  Speaking of summer... don't be surprised if I don't post as often.  I'm really looking forward to more family fun time this summer.  :)