Almost finished - 2 black quilts

Late last week, my favorite long-arm quilter finished two quilts for me. The first is actually for my work neighbor. He bought the top at a yard sale for $1... We bought backing, batting, and had the quilting done - and the cost is still under $200. This photo is not the best - it reallly need better lighting so I'll try and take another photo during the day vs. evening.

The second quilt is a based on the Tropical Dreams pattern from the February 2011 issue of American Patchwork &  Quilting (one of my favorite magazines). I have a ton of 2.5 squares, so this was perfect to use some of them. After completing the top, a friend was looking for a quilt donation. I showed her three tops and she picked this one. I'll definately recreate this one with the black background.

Here's more than 1/2 of the top.

A close up of the quilting... it's all freehand - she's a genius!

The back - this fabric was pretty cool - from Joann's

I've also been making some gifts for my best girlfriends. Here's the stack - just to show them off but not show a lot of detail!