Swoonin Again

Many years ago, when the pattern for the Swoon quilt was released, I jumped in with everyone else and made a swoon quilt. (Pattern by Camille of Thimble Blossoms) A couple of years ago, I bought the Swoon 16 pattern for 16 smaller blocks, and made one for a friend in need. My sister has long loved this quilt pattern and wanted one, so I finally caved and said I would make one for her. The only condition I put on it was that we would have to find a quilter to quilt it. She wanted 16 full size (24") blocks so it would drape all the way down on her bed. It is about 104 inches square.

 She agreed and we set about the project. I had her go on line to find the fabric she wanted. I told her the best way was to choose a fat quarter bundle. That way it would already be fully coordinated. She knows how to choose colors she likes, but having to choose that many fabrics is daunting. This way, there would be enough fabrics for 2 per block, times 16. She knew she wanted a creamy color for the background. That was easy. We used my Kona color card once the fat quarter bundle arrived, and chose the perfect cream color.

Now, if you have never made one of these quilts, there are 81 pieces in each block. It very definitely is a precision piece of work. I would cut the fabrics for 2 blocks on one day. The following two days, I would sew a block each day. I did have to use the seam ripper a couple of times, but over all, it worked out fine. I have my copy of the pattern stapled together so I can just flip the pages as I work through the steps.

This is the finished quilt top. This is a queen size bed. The 24 inch blocks are centered on the bed. You get a sense of just how big this thing is.

The fabric she chose is Mill Creek Garden by Jan Patek. It a a beautiful collection of purples, greens, brown and cream. I had her pair up the fat quarters the way she wanted me to sew them. This way, the designing of the quilt could be hers. It worked beautifully.

It took me several weeks to get all the blocks made. I didn't want to rush it, and it was hard some days to stay on track. I truly think this will be the last quilt of this size I will ever make. I am just getting too old to struggle with that much fabric. It is tough. But I am glad I did this and can't wait to see it quilted.

I sent her to the local quilt shop to get recommendations for long arm quilters. I have found that that is the best way to locate one. They gave her 6 business cards and she sent out emails to 4 of them. She has chosen one and we will go meet with her tomorrow at the quilt shop. I have explained about batting and backing, and this quilter can provide both, which makes my job easier too. The only thing I will still have to do is to bind the quilt when it comes back from the quilter. I am hoping that when it is fully finished, I can get a full photo of the quilt to share here with y'all. Until then, have a lovely day.

A Light in the Window

This is a post I have been looking forward to for awhile. I put some projects aside to finish this one up so I could send it off to it's recipient. We all know someone who has lost a loved one suddenly and unexpectedly. My Light in the Window quilt was designed to show love is still in the home after all is said and done.

 This is my new pin basting on the table system. It works pretty well and saves my knees.

       Can you see the "beams of light" in the quilting here?

          A single heart in a window.

          Found this great wide backing at Pineapple Fabrics.

Ready to be shipped. And it has made it to its destination.  I hope it brings love and comfort to its new owner.

A Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose

I began this quilt in June for my sister's July birthday. I was able to present her with the top on time, but life gets in the way sometimes, so the quilting was just finished yesterday. The reason I chose this pattern is because my sister's house is known as the Garden House and she grows lots of Roses, among other things.

These are but a small peek at the many roses she produces every year. So the Pixelated Rose Quilt is perfect for her.

 Here it is in all its glory. I couldn't be more pleased with the end result. After washing, the texture was awesome.

 I used an older Dear Stella print for the binding. I thought a bit of color was needed against all that white, but not too much.

 The pixelated rose and the rosebud needed some quilting to give it some gentle curves to suggest the rose petals. So I used two colors of Aurifil to do my wandering curvy lines.

These are the threads I used. I used the two greens to give the leaf areas some form as well.

 And the white background got some semi-measured straight line quilting.

      I even added a few actual leaves here and there just for fun.

 The back was pieced with some chunks of fabric left from other projects, but I think it looks great.

       Here you can see the leaf veins on the back of the quilt.

And here it is on the bed at last. Both my sister and I are very happy with this quilt. Happy Birthday Sis!

 And Just a few more rose pics, just because they are beautiful. Linking up with Amanda Jean today.

Detour

Have you ever been working on a project, or projects and you suddenly have to take a detour?

 I had finally gotten to the binding point on this quilt that I started a lifetime ago in North Carolina.

               And I had started working on a baby quilt for a friend's first baby.

And I was also working on a project for a baby shower as well. Not a quilt, but something else.

And then it happened. Another friend in need. Someone with an illness in need of comfort and support from as many people as possible. So this was born:

 I dug deep into my stash to find something not to flowery and girly. I found several pieces of Daysail by Bonnie and Camille that I had been sitting on, just waiting for the right quilt. Perfect.

 I pulled lots of coordinating fabrics. I had no idea exactly how big I was going for. I used Melissa's method for making flying geese. I love it because it is a no waste method and it is quick. I chose flying geese because I find the idea of soaring birds inspirational.

 I had it together in 4 days and on to quilting. I decided to do straight line quilting, but as I started, I was unsure of how many lines I would use.

 At my husband's suggestion, I used a navy blue Aurifil thread to quilt the lines. I liked it, as it went with all the fabrics, but something was missing. So I quilted a second line, very close, in teal or red, depending on the placement. That was what it needed. Glad I had so many colors of threads. The teal was 40 weight but the red and navy were 50 weight. I just went with it.

 I added a little flag to my signature tag, using some binding scraps that caught my eye. The binding is also from Daysail.

And now, less than a week and it is done. I will be taking it with me to NC this weekend to hand it off to a friend who will see that it reaches its intended recipient. And now, my heart is at ease for having this done and I can return to the path I was on before my detour.
I will show you the other finished quilt before I leave for the east coast.
Linking up to Let's Bee Social