Spring Quilt Festival 2011

Lollipop Baby Quilt

Welcome fellow bloggers!  I love doing Amy's Quilt Festivals and this time is no exception.  Normally I show off a large quilt but this time I'm going to show something a bit smaller.  This is my modifications to Moda's Lollipop Quilt.

This quilt was a challenge, because while I wanted to keep the concept of the original design, I wanted to make it into a baby quilt instead of a wall hanging. This kit was plenty generous with fabric so I only needed to add a new backing fabric.  The next challenge was the colors.  I don't usually work with fabrics like these, I'm more of a bi-color quilt girl, or even a single color, I like order to my quilts and I tend actually have to work harder to force a scrappy look, vs. if I had just gone with the yardage my fingers couldn't resist.

This quilt was one I made while working on the Freemotion Quilt-a-long, so I had both that quilt and this one going at the same time.  What a rush having my sewing machine tuned just right!  When I feel the fear of how in the world will I quilt this coming on I can just look at my quilting and say, hey there's an option here somewhere.  Do you have an inspiring quilt like that?  Well I'd love to hear about it, so drop me a comment.  I know you're busy hopping the Festival so I'll let you get back to it.  

I love when the binding gives just the right touch!

As always happy Quilting! 

Tropical Waves Top Complete

Last night after DD was in bed, my husband went off to the sewing room to detox.  LOL, now what was he doing in there?  Playing computer games, but this way was more fun to say.  So while he did a bit of that (I got him hooked on the game, so no love loss there) I decided to add the borders to Tropical Waves.  The top is all done and the final size on the top is around 54"x94" so that's a pretty decent twin size.

What do you think? I took the pictures for you first thing this morning.  Tiny looks really settled, but in truth I only spread the top out long enough to take the picture, so she only just got up there.  I think I'm leaning towards a single piece of fabric for the back.  Perhaps a batik with purple and teal, perhaps something simple, none to fussy.

I once found the perfect water fabric, Atlantis by Sentimental Studios for Moda in blue.  I bought seven yards when I found it to use for my Hawaiian Ocean Applique Quilt, and I wish I'd bought every last piece they had.  I'm always thinking of quilts that could use such a pretty fabric for the back.  Oh well I'm certain the right fabric for this one is out there too, the joy of course comes in finding it.

I ordered the FQ I needed for the binding for Patisserie, would you believe they told me 4-14 days?  That seems a bit wide open.  No matter I have plenty to do in the sewing room until my package arrives.  What are you working on right now?  I was shocked yesterday when I visited fellow blogger Penny's Blog, and discovered the Quilt Festival is next week.  Wow that was quick.  Last year I really really wanted to make it through the entire list, but I didn't, some people may have and all the more applause to them.  We'll see what this new festival yields, some pretty quilts at the very least of that I'm certain.

Tropical Waves Plans Itself

I came up with a border for Tropical Waves, and when I did I thought, hey it can go on two different ways, how about I get the border sewn together without sewing it on and hold a vote right here and see who likes which way better. Great idea right?  Well the trouble with the border I picked - once I laid it out I could see there was very much a right way and a wrong way for the quilt.  So guess what?  I decided the quilt decides this time.

See to the left how the crossing line of teal moves through the border's corner block, while continuing on the same line?

Now in the second picture look past the tip of the quilt back towards the crosses, see now how the purple diagonal is completely parallel to the purple in the corner block of the border?  I think this way will frame the quilt nicely.

My new iron arrived this morning, first thing, I was rather surprised as we're normally on the "oh I forgot" evening pass.  After much research I elected to buy the exact model my neighbor loaned me?  Why?  Oh well let's see, it never peed on me the way the old one did, it has a bigger sole plate so ironing goes more quickly - but weighs the same as my old one.  It also has more steam settings than I would have dreamed possible.  Do you know what I say to those set it wrinkles now?  Shot of stem!  Hiss - Gone and that's nice.

So after I was done with the border of Tropical Waves, instead of sewing it on I started pressing the folded border for the Dresden Plate Quilt, and that went fine as well.  Not sure how long I'll keep the box, I like to always have my iron at my fingertips, whereas having the box implies I will put it away at some point.

A little bit of Knit

Knit Dishcloths

I started these yesterday afternoon while I waited for DD's bus.  I'm surprised I've gotten the first one done already.  Seems practice does add to your speed.  These are dishcloths.  I've always had this on going problem of the towel sliding into the sink or worse onto the floor as it dries, so as the slightly long and skinny dishcloths, I made for DH for Christmas, seem  to slip less, I went the extra step and knit pearl stitches into the center stripe.  I'm hoping they will provide a bit more resistance against slipping.

I took the picture with the little pearls down as they don't show as well as the knit side.  What do you think of my little loops at the end?  I've been putting those in at the end of my dishcloths lately, it doesn't take any extra work and I feel it makes them a bit more versatile.  Not to mention now they can hang from the loops to dry!  LOL.

This yarn is another cotton ball because the cotton is so nice to work with and provides a nice texture when knit.  This little pair will be off to my neighbor's as a just because gift and of course because she lent me the use of her iron for me to alleviate my quilting itch, shh don't tell.  I bought the yarn when we were out shopping together the other day she liked the green and I thought the blue made such a fresh blend I couldn't resist buying it.

In case you're wondering I have cut the strips for the triple border of my Tropical Waves Quilt, but I am waiting on my new iron - due from Amazon on Monday!!!  - before I proceed further.  I will be so glad to have an iron in the house again and that's from a person who hates to iron.  How did I get here?  I actually liked my neighbor's iron so much that I bought the exact model she lent me.  I'll tell you all about it after it arrives.

Spring Has Sprung

For the past month or so my Magnolia tree has been looking rather pathetic, I kept telling myself it was because the buds that loose a leaf as they come into bloom, but still the tree was a sad sight.  Earlier this week I noticed a bloom had opened up but it was to high for me to photograph, and the next day when I thought I'd give it a try anyway the flower was already fading.

Don't you just love a Magnolia Tree in the Spring?

Let me take a minute and tell you about my Magnolia tree, when we were closing on the house we have now DH and I drove past a nursery vendor with a trailer full of plans set up on the side of the road.  Now we are a "drive by couple" and we will slow down and look at things like that as well as yard sales and so on.  If something catches our eye we will stop and if not we just keep going.  We were completely past the turn, when I spot the Magnolia Tree.  I holler and we drive around the block and head back.  Now I can tell you for a fact these trees are normally quite expensive, upwards of $100 for the size of this lone tree.  But what does the man tell us?  A mere $25!  I was so floored all of my bargaining instincts flew right out the window.  Yes please!  Here's the money!

So we closed on the house and within a month or two settled our tree in the front yard.  Magnolia trees grow very slowly and I'm not certain how old it was when we purchased it but it was about 6 feet tall at the time. It's been in the ground here for 8 years now.  It didn't bloom it's first couple of years because the children in the neighborhood would come up into our yard and steal it's leaves off!  But now we have a nice picket fence and the tree has been blooming every year since.  I call the blooms dinner plate size, pie plate size also comes to mind.  Surprisingly my neighbor has the same exact subspecies and her tree has been in the ground for about 20 years.  They are no match for the Beauties you see in Walt Disney World, but they are pretty and very Florida in their own right.

What does Spring make you want to do?  Perhaps you're a Spring Cleaner?  I think we all are to some extent.  For me I want to root up the flower beds and plant something lovely.  It's so hot here in the summer flower choices have to be carefully selected or else they wont make it through the summer, which is the case with many of the beautiful spring flowers in our nurseries right now.