Five, count 'em, five

Never to do anything in a small way, I have embarked on a major project. During the past two years, I have made a quilt for my brother-in-law, my brother, my mother, my brother-in-law and his new wife, my brother and sister-in-law at their anniversary, my nephew and my niece. Whew! The one part of the family that's been left out of this gift-y barrage is my other nephew and his family who live in Germany. He last received a quilt from me 20 years ago, and his kids got baby quilts, but nothing for quite some time. That is about to change.

He has three children, two girls and a boy. The oldest is, oh my heavens, going to be 14 this fall, the middle girl is 10 and the youngest, the boy, is 4. I want to make a quilt for each of them, including my nephew and his wife. This idea started out as making a quilt for the family and then grew. My first idea was a black and white "propeller blade" block (what is it really called?) quilt like this:

They have more modern taste than I do, and it seemed like something they would enjoy. Plus, I have been seeing a lot of black and white quilts on blogs and chat groups lately and had never made one. So, I started collecting fat quarters of black and white prints. I also found a great lime green and black/white/lime print for the border. So far, so good.

Then I got to thinking while I was making a star quilt out of a layer cake of Moda's Frolic collection that it looked like a great pattern and fabric for a kid, and the younger great-niece might like it. But if I made her one too. . .

You see where this is going. Now I'm making five quilt. The star quilt is at the longarmer, the second one for my nephew's wife is completed and in the drawer waiting to be quilted, and the third for the oldest girl is in process. I'm using patterns from the book "Schnibbles Times Two" because they are attractive, the right size (around 75" x 75", good for a second cover on the bed or TV snuggling) and showcase great fabrics with larger patches. It was the source for two of my last projects.

There isn't a rush to finish these because they live in Germany and I can't give them the quilts until their next visit, which may be later this year or next, not sure when. Or, I can send them over with my brother when he goes to visit the grandkids (I'll pay the extra baggage charge). No way will I ship them. Not after having a quilt lost in the mail once. It just about killed me! I sent a wedding gift quilt to Atlanta last week, FedEx next day delivers, sign for the package, and I was a nervous wreck until I heard back that it had been delivered safely. So mailing them to Europe? No way.

However, I'm one of those people that jumps into new projects with both feet, so even if there's no hurry I want to do them NOW. I have no patience!