#300-A Friday Finish and A Giveaway

So here we are at post number 300! I almost can't believe it. That is a lot of words and pictures. I have come a long way since I started. I have learned so much from the quilting and blogging community and I want to say thank you to all of you who have inspired me.

For my Friday finish this week, I raced to finish one of the many baby quilt tops I am working on this year. I really wanted to get this top done, and I did, but there is a small mistake that will have to be ripped out and fixed. Let's take a look.

 I tried to arrange all the blocks to spread out the colors. When I make a quilt like this, I don't plan it out very much, so I just grabbed two fabrics that paired well with each other to frame the center. I always figure I can work out the block arrangement afterwards.

 See the two blocks in the top row that are blue on the outside? Those weren't supposed to be together, and I don't think they were, when I laid things out. But in my haste to finish the top, something got mixed up.  So they will be separated before I quilt this.

 So many fabrics in this one. Sweetwater's Noteworthy, Pearl Bracelets, Squared Elements, Flea Market Fancy, Malka Dubrawsky, and some other older fabrics from my stash. This was a fun fabric pull. Now, a few of my favorite blocks:

              The blue fabric here is a batik that I love, with tiny yellow and orange dots.

 One of my favorite grey stripes from Sweetwater, and I am sorry I can't remember which line.

 Navy blue Dimples surrounded by a great stripe from the Noteworthy line from Sweetwater.

                       Here is Denyse Schmidt playing nicely with Squared Elements.

I love this quilt already and I hope the new parents love it too. I don't know the gender of the baby yet, but I think this is cute enough to go either way. Now, since you have read all this way, let's talk giveaway.

 I have this pretty fat quarter bundle that I put together. These are all Kona Cottons I bought at my LQS. I wanted something bright and springy to give to you.

 I looked at lots of fabrics and chose these to hopefully appeal to a wide audience. And then, for fun I added a spool of Aurifil thread from my stash and some pretty springy zippers from Zippit.

I know you could find something fun to make with these. So, in order to be entered into the draw, since it's spring and all, in your comment please tell me what your favorite spring flower is. That's it. I will draw a winner next Friday, May 2nd. Drawing is open to any and all. I will ship internationally. Thank you again for reading about my quilting adventures here.
Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts.
Giveaway over. Winner has been chosen.

Seeing Stars

Here is my Friday finish for this week. I Found this great block, as a quilt in the Modern Bee book by Lindsay of Lindsay Sews and Craft Buds. I though it would make a great single block quilt for over the fireplace. Since it was too small for my needs, and finished at only 16 inches, I added a row and a 3 inch white border. I love the result.

 I chose bright colors, red raspberry and a yellow green, for my star points. This is a great block. The directions are very clear and easy to follow and yes, it would be lovely to have a quilt of this. The one in the book is beautiful.

 I never seem to get a day where the time I have and the light I have match up for great pictures. Sorry about that.

 For the quilting, I found the center point and quilted lines radiating out from there to give the illusion of shining stars. This was my hubby's suggestion and I love how it turned out.

 It is subtle, but it does show up. I think I will be making more of these and perhaps a quilt is in my future with this pattern. There are still more in the book I want to make.

 I used the Pearl Bracelets fabric to bind the edges and create a matching defined frame for the quilt.

I had this yard of fabric which I used for the back. I thought it was cool when I bought it, still do, but could never figure out how to use it in a quilt. I am learning through this using of my stash that my fabric buying habits were really all over the place. I am hoping to cure that and buy things I can really use and blend with what I have.  Linking up with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Friday.  Have a great weekend.

My MSBHQAL Friday Finish

This is my second post today. I was in a blog hop with Madam Samm and all the creative ladies that hop on Sew We Quilt this morning, but I couldn't not post my Friday finish and link up with Crazy Mom Quilts. So here we go...and let me tell you these pictures are not the best. I had no one here to hold up the quilt and this is the only non rainy day I am going to get.

 She's a beauty! Thirty blocks and enough sashing and borders to make her fit my queen size bed.  I put one green block in each corner. There are some Pearl Bracelets in there and some Bonnie and Camille Vintage Modern.

 Since it is such a linear quilt, I wanted the quilting to have some curve to it. I chose an edge to edge pattern of flowers, leaves and berries.  It took me awhile to be able to afford to have this quilted, but it was worth the wait. I dropped it off on a Monday and it was ready by Thursday afternoon. I had to wait to pick it up on Monday, but I came right home and made the binding which I machine stitched.

I had this beauty on the bed for us to use that very night. My hubby loves it too. The top thread used is a shimmery celery green and a medium grey is on the back.

 I bound the edges in the same Kona Medium Grey that I used for the sashing and borders. I didn't want anything to drag your eye to the edge. This is already one busy quilt.

 I used a piece of Kona Ash to extend the back and appliqued 5 blocks made from scraps onto it.

Now all I have to do  is get my bedroom repainted to the pale grey I want so this quilt looks right at home. It really doesn't go with the blue walls.

 I have to say, this is one of my all time favorite quilts and I really want to make another, although smaller, one of these. Each block is a masterpiece.

So thank you, thank you, thank you to Molli Sparkles for the brilliant sparkly idea of the QAL and Anne at Play Crafts for the wonderful pattern she let us use. I am thrilled with the outcome. Linking up to Finish it up Friday.

Molli Sparkles QAL Squares...DONE!

When I first thought to join the MSBHQAL, I thought I would do a lap size quilt. Then, I pulled fabrics and thought about bed sized quilts. Then I pulled more fabrics because I didn't have enough for a bed sized quilt. Now the blocks are done.  All 30 of them using 18 different fabrics. Whew...

 This is the entire stack of 30 blocks. I love the look and feel of it in my hands. I took them off the design wall and took them outside on the deck to photograph. What a difference it makes in natural light. The colors pop, just like in real life!

 There are 4 green blocks; one will go in each corner. That way, things stay a bit balanced.

 Each block is a bit different. Each has 6 different fabrics in it. There is some Sweetwater's Reunion, some Squared Elements (so soft) Pearl Bracelets (so versatile), Bonnie and Camille's Vintage Modern. Picking the fabrics for this was so much fun!

 This is one of my favorite blocks. I can't really pick just one, though. Each one has lots to offer the eyes. I am really excited to see them all together.

But that process won't begin until next week.   So until then, happy quilting. Have a great week.