Those are wonderful! wtg, Laura!

Laura I love them both they are beautiful. Did you have to PP that pattern.Also what is the name of that pattern.
Red

Laura those are great.Love the colors you chose as well.TFS
Kathi

They are very cute! I'm impressed. You have tons more patience than I to do 2 lg quilts of that detail. I get bored with a pattern easily (Quilting ADD), so finishing 1 quilt before needing to work on something else can be a bit of a challenge for me.

WOW,

That's a ton of work you did. I'm impressed not only with the pattern and the sheer undertaking of doing ONE, let alone TWO!!

You win the quilter extraordinairre award of the the month.

Dianne

Laura, I absolutely love your quilts! Wow, is that a lot of work! I remember you talking about it before. They just turned out great and I bet your family will have a raffle war over it at the reunion. To me, it looks like the cows are wearing pajamas, LOL!

Rebecca

I see a lot of pink in those quilts(maybe not 50%)! Are you thinking the Pretty in Pink challenge????

I'd seen this pattern in The Quiltmaker Magazine a few years back. I'll have to see if I can find them and make that barn!

Vicky

WOW, you did a great job. Unfortunately there are not quilting short cuts, you still have to quilt them both separately. I'm glad your idea worked out for you. Will you use it again?

Georgia

Wow, Laura, those are both great! Cannahavanna's comment that the cows look like they are wearing pajamas is just TOO funny. You did a great job. And making two at once --- well, I just have to say you have loads more patience than I have.

Ginny

Wow! They are amazing. Your patience must be endless. It boggles my mind to even think of the quilting part. Once a top is finished, I lose interest. Have to push myself to do the quilting .I really like the pattern. Where did you get it? Is a lot of it PP?
~Geraldine

I love those tops! That is a lot of work!
Are the cows, trees, etc appliqued? Or paper pieced? Or what?
Thanks for sharing.
Linda

Thanks guys,

It is all pieced. It is from a Pam Bono Designs book called Quick Rotary Cutter Quilts. The pattern is 'Till the cows come home. She has a cute picnic table cloth in there using the same cows in black and white in the border.

None of it was difficult piecing but it is a LOT of DIFFERENT pieces and I found the instructions hard to follow. (My rant about that is on here somewhere...) But that could be just how my brain works. I did also have to "adjust" by adding/removing chunks form the fences and trees to make the rows fit together too. But that could be just my 1/4" seam!

VICKI - I did think of that pink challenge while I was looking at them but thought it might be cheating to use a top I already made! I have another pinwheel top with a lot of pink in it in my closet too. I don't think it's 50% pink though -- I may have to go read that challenge rules...!

Georgia -- You're right -- quilting them sure won't be faster! And that's NOT my favorite part... Plus it's so big... I May try the Quilt as you go method where the top is whole but you add the batting in chunks.

Cows in PJs! That is funny. Especially my big flowered ones. They will have yarn tails when it's all done and I may do some other embellishments on mine. (applique flowers, a flag or two. Maybe a crow on one's back, etc.) But I'll take my time on that!

Thanks for all the kind words!

Laura--Love those cows! What great quilts!

I haven't made two at time like you did, but I do have two quilts going every time I piece. One is the "real" project--the one that's got a deadline. The other is one that I'm making blocks for but with no deadline. Right now, the second project is scrappy little (4.5") nine-patch blocks that will eventually be set with alternating neutral blocks into a queen-sized quilt.

The technique was made popular by Bonnie Hunter, who calls it "Leaders and Enders." (I've included the link to Bonnie's great website.) Instead of using a thread anchor at the end of a chain of patches ( a thread anchor is that scrap of fabric that you sew across so that your thread ends don't get sucked into the bobbin when you start the next chain), I piece these little blocks. I have a basket next to the machine with the little squares in it and I just grab them and go. It's surprising how many of these little extra blocks I can get done while piecing another quilt and it's not extra work at all since I'd be sewing across an anchor anyway. And a side benefit is that I'm using up all those scraps that are overflowing out of my scrap bin and threatening to engulf my cutting table.

When I'm bored or feel like working in the studio, but can't really decide what I want to do, I cut a bunch more of the little 2" squares. After 15 or 20 minutes, I'll have a good sized pile of them again and I've planned my day. It's a pretty nifty trick.

Annie

Here is a link that might be useful: Bonnie Hunter: Leaders and Enders

Laura,
Rules for the Pretty in Pink are:
It can be multi-colored but the main color has to be PINK.

When I look at these quilts I "see" pink so I would say that passes the "rules."
As far as "but thought it might be cheating" others are using projects that are or were already in progress so I say go ahead.

I just bought the fabric for mine today after I finding the pattern looking through magazines last night. Now I can't wait to get going on it but I HAVE to make shams for my daughter to match her Pineapple Blossom. Then I have to make a pincushion. So much to do so little time!

Vicky

Annie -- I love that idea of making blocks as you sew through leaders. I was "confused" at first because I thought -- well, then won't your thread get stuck in the leader/ender? But I realized ...not if you always keep one in there.

BY THE WAY! I have been to Bonnies site before but followed your link today (great site) and I just LOVED those "Maverick Stars" she is showing on her home page. LOVE THEM they are PERFECT for a QOV top I have in mind. Very cool -- THANKS!!!!!

VICKY -- GOOD TO KNOW! This pink challenge just may motivate me to get that puppy finished! Well, at least the one for my family reunion!

You lived up to your challenge!!Great job and a fun quilt (both of them). That was a good idea but I am afraid I would get bored along with the frustrations that had to be part of the making everything fit. Your family will have a great time with that raffle!. You will aready be a winner.
TFS Jayne

Jayne, it did get tedious in parts -- I think the fact that it had the cows/trees/fences helped. That checkerboard got really old in a hurry! But I made a big kaleidoscope quilt for my parents, and a quilt with all HST's for my DMIL and those were actually more boring than doing these two tops, I think because it was the same shape again and again and maybe not the theme/colors I'd be first to choose.

BTW: On this one, I did not get bored working to fit it all togehter, I got REALLY REALY IRRITATED!!!!!!!!!!! LOL. BUT another benefit of "two for the toil of one" is that once I put the first one together, I knew what was coming for the next and worked ahead of time to massage the rows into the right length.

HOLY COW! What a fabulous quilt! Those are wonderful tops! You should be very proud of getting them done. They look like a lot of work. I really like them both.
Be careful climbing on the counter tops! Mom wouldn't let me do that! Isn't it great being an adult! Just don't let your kids catch you doing that!
~Abbigail~

What a lot of work went into those! They make me smile, especially when I imagine the yarn tails you are going to put on the cows. Absolutely delightful, and pretty to boot!

Making two of the same thing at once sounds like a good idea. At least for the cutting out part, and I can see how the second one would go faster once you have dealt with the problems that arose in the first. I guess I'd have to be sure that it was an interesting pattern, though, because I will never forget the awful boredom I felt when making my queen-sized storm at sea quilt years ago...the same blocks over and over and over.

I am crazy for cows-I collect them. Your quilts are awesome! What fun! Thanks for sharing- JudyLee

Those quilts are fabulous. Good job. You have way more patience and persistence than I do.

Absolutely fantastic, Laura! I have done something similar in the past and plan to do this again. You really outlined the pros and cons for us very well. There is something to be had in continuing your mindset for a second quilt top of the same pattern and fabrics.

Well done!
Teresa

What wonderful quilts. I'm a country style person and hang things like that on my walls so mine would be smaller.

One suggestion, (I love family reunions) is take two Pigma pens to the reunion and both quilts, yours being just the top. Have it autographed by everyone you see in a similar spot, like all the lighter pink squares on the border, or a fence post or on a cow. Tie the second pen to the auction quilt with a ribbon and when people see what you've gathered for posterity, they will bid higher. Autographs at a reunion on a well-labeled quilt can be a star of the show.

Just my thoughts.
Linda

Linda,

That is a VERY intriguing--brilliant, perhaps?--idea! I also like the idea of signing in the pink too, where it will be visible but won't stand out above the pattern of the quilt.

There is something about writing on quilts in general that typically doesn't appeal to me from an aesthetic point of view. Signature blocks, for example are not my style -- But I do like the sentimental part of it. I think this could really add to the quilt.

Just like Mary had people who contributed QOV blocks write their name and city on them -- I think of the veteran looking at their quilt and thinking of the people from all over thinking about, and appreciating, them.

Hmmmm... I think I REALLY like this idea.

BTW -- When My Step Daughter got married she got a plain white serving pattern and some pens that you write on ceramic w/ and then "bake" it in the oven and had all the wedding guests sign the plate. Very cool!