"I kinda think I've got my quilting groove back," she whispered. I don't want to jinx it. It just feels good to be working at my machine after such a long time away from it.

This is the quilt I made out of that bundle of 5" squares I bought awhile back. I usually follow someone else's pattern but this one I created myself. Not very complicated, but I like it and I decided to call it "Girls' Best Friend" since it's all diamonds.

It measures 50x59 inches and I quilted it on my Husqvarna Viking in a pattern of a fancy design in the white blocks, a free hand daisy in the colored diamond blocks and a vine with a stylized rose and leaves.

I didn't have enough fabric for the back and since it's an 80 mile round trip to go to the fabric store, I used leftover pieces of the top fabric to make a pieced back.

I took it to work last week to decide if I wanted to put it up for sale in the annual employee craft sale or if I wanted to save it to put in my future Etsy store. When my co-workers saw it, it was sold! On the spot! No question about it! Wow! That felt really good.

When I finished that quilt about 2 weeks ago I turned next to my great nephew's penguin quilt. Three year old Harri is my sister's grandson and she had planned on making him a penguin quilt. When we were going through her apartment after her death a year ago, I ended up with a huge box of things including the pattern and all the fabric for Harri's quilt. So, it was up to me to make the quilt for Harri.

As I was going through the box a few weeks ago, I found a bunch of other fabrics--polar bears and such--that didn't look like they fit with the penguin theme. In the quilt magazine, I found a pattern for a polar bear quilt as well as the penguin quilt, and the light bulb went on. She had planned on making the polar bear quilt for Harri's big brother, Cris!

I've finished the top of the penguin quilt and am taking it to work tomorrow to pin it together. When it's all quilted up, I'll post a picture. Then I have to make up Cris's polar bear quilt, which he doesn't know anything about.

Working on these quilts is a bittersweet task. I'm pleased to be able to finish what Jan wanted to give to her grandsons. I thought about her all the while I worked on Harri's quilt. I know the boys will love these quilts as much as if her hands had done the sewing. I just wish she could be here to keep me company as she used to do when we sewed together at each other's houses.But if she were, we'd get no sewing done because we'd be laughing and giggling so much. :)