Turning Twenty

Well not really. I am afraid being twenty is only a distant memory. I am talking about the "turning twenty" quilt pattern. I am sure many quilters have made one. I made this particular one a couple of years ago with a couple of friends that wanted something  not too complicated and quick to put together. It is now complete due to my effort of making my WIP pile a little smaller.

There is everything in this quilt as far a fabric goes. I aimed for fabrics that went well together at least in my opinion so there are batiks. Asian, and regular cottons. What I wanted to make note of though, was the quilting. My daughter in law gave me a quilt book for mother's day last year. It is by Malka Dubrawsky. She does amazing work.

As you can see it is quilted with parallel lines that are different widths apart. Now, I must confess that I measured the distance from previous line of quilting and made little "tick" marks as I was going along, also measured from the edges of  the blocks to help me keep the lines parallel  to the blocks and quilt edges. I did not do it free motion. Malka does hers free motion and she does not mark anything. I knew I would find it too frustrating to do that so did what was comfortable for me. I liked how it turned out. The close lines of stitching make the quilt feel extra bulky and solid. Even though it took a bit of time I would do this on a quilt again because of that. It is fairly easy too. Good for a beginner.

Keep an eye out for today's blessings!

Donna

Happy Valentine's Day!

Dont you love it when something happens with the perfect timing, without planing. I finished this little table topper yesterday and put it on the kitchen table. (I know, it looks like it is bed size). Thought it looked great, like it was saying that spring is on its way even if it was in the minus high teens yesterday.

I got up this morning and realized it was Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's to me! Perfect timing.!

The quilt design is called "Lolly Pop Chain". So fun to do. You can find it on Leah's site. When her page comes up click on 'find a design' or type name of design in search box. She has over 365 designs! Also she shares almost everything you could ever want to know about FMQ.

I had a bit of a challenge finding something to use for the binding. I have this habit of planning tops but not backing and binding. So as I chip away at my pile of WIP there is a mad scramble to find something suitable. I had used most of the extra fabric that matches the top for the backing. I used three different pieces. Something I dont often do but liked how it turned out. It is a good way to use some of your stash. I did find one small piece, though, in the back of my fabric cupboard. It was a match and there was just enough.  

Hope everyone's Valentine's Day is full of chocolate, love and then chocolate!

Keep an eye open for today's blessings!

D

Fun and easy.......

........and beautiful. I have blogged about this quilt before. It was not complete then but it is now finished. It is  hard to see but I used left over fabric for the binding.

It  is a great quilt for the beginner or for someone who has been quilting for awhile, and has lots of scraps. A young women I know has just started one. She has done lots of sewing but this is her first quilt! So exciting. I think she is hooked.

Also wanted to share a couple of pictures of a quilt that I quilted, but my daughter Janine pieced the top. This was one of her first attempts at quilting when she was in her teens. (She is now in her twenties and is into anything to do with fiber). She wanted to quilt it herself  but wanted it for her apartment so we decided I would quilt it so she could enjoy it. I wish the colours turned out better, but you get the idea.

Some of the quilting; I used an over all "plume" design. Not really feathers, but bits of feathers.

And last but not least, I cant resist showing pictures of one of the things I have on the go right now. It is of course scrappy, but selectively so. By that I mean I am using similar colours but using different fabrics to represent those colours, if that makes sense. You can get the pattern here. She has made it a print able one!

Thanks for sitting with me awhile. Hope there is a little time in your life for a "scrap" of creativity.

Keep an eye out for today's blessings.

D