Quilts, Quilts, Quilts...

My Summertime Quilt is finished. Remember when I began my whole project last summer? It all started with Rebecca Barker's Quiltscape image of the strawberry basket sitting on a quilt.

I contacted her to make sure she hadn't designed this quilt yet and received her blessings to move forward with creating the quilt and pattern when I learned she had not done so.

I had planned to complete it during our summer travels, but had neglected to pack the border fabrics. Finishing it was my first order of business when we returned home. Kathy at Sandy's Quilt Shop did my machine quilting and I added the binding as soon as I got it back.

I'm going to be writing out the pattern in the upcoming weeks so that I can make it available for purchase. I'll be sure to let you know as soon as that process is done.

Last night was our November Guild meeting. I wanted to make at least one doll quilt to donate to the Salvation Army project. I finished this one with cupcakes on the front and lots of color on the reverse.

The women in our Guild were busy this year. Last year we donated over 50 doll quilts. This year, we outdid ourselves with 74 beautiful and unique quilts for the Salvation Army. A representative was at the meeting to accept our gift, and she was very grateful to have them.

One last thing. I am happy to announce that I took Third Place in the Disconnected Piecers Quilt Guild "Paw and Whiskers" challenge. There were lots of gorgeous, whimsical and lifelike projects, and I consider myself fortunate to have received recognition.

More projects tomorrow...

Well, It's Something...

Do you remember when I shared that I was working on this Summertime quilt? I started cutting out my project in April. Waaayyyyy back in April! (You can read about it here if you weren't visiting Brynwood then.)

It all started with Rebecca Barker's beautiful Quiltscapes artwork. It's all her fault! I was so inspired that I decided to design a the pattern for the quilt in Rebecca's painting. (I called and asked her first whether or not she had done that, as she has make patterns of some of the quilts in her designs. She hadn't done this one and was excited at the prospect of me doing it. yay!)

I know that many of my friends were shocked that I didn't finish this quilt in the first month, but I designed this piece as I was sewing it and it just took longer than I ever imagined. On to Plan B.

My intention was to finish this quilt early in our travels on the Flying Cloud, but I realized two major things while we we away. 1) While there's plenty of room in our coach to make individual blocks for a quilt, here isn't enough room to assemble those blocks and add borders to complete it, and 2) You can't do a bloody thing if you forget the border fabric. Yes, my friends. Left it behind in the studio. Phhhhhtt!

I managed to start adding those last green swirl borders yesterday (I also had some other home "stuff" that occupied a significant portion of the rest of my day), but I did make a start re-start.

Today, I'm going to finish the borders, assemble the backing (which I know you'll love!) and take it down to Sandy's Quilt Shop for the long-arm quilting.

When it comes back after Kathy's artistic touch with the long-arm, I'll bind it and then set about making the pattern. I'll then be making this available in my Etsy shop for anyone who might want to make their own Summertime quilt. So there. Not a lot, but it's something. That's progress in my book.

A Feeling Of Accomplishment...

I spent yesterday in the studio, thoroughly engrossed in the process of assembling the blocks for my Summertime quilt. Every cut mattered, and if I cut a square the wrong direction (which I did when my mind slipped from time to time) I rendered it useless for this project and had to put it off to the side. "Concentration" was the word of the day, but I really made progress.

After the blocks were assembled, I cut 2" wide strips for sashing. I love the soft green swirls that remind me of watermelon rinds. Don't you think it fits in perfectly for my theme?
The green shows up a little "yellower" on my screen, so I'll assume it might on yours, too. The color works really well with the actual blocks and I promise to take a photo outside in daylight when it's all finished.
I'm posting this photo again so that you can see what the inspiration from Rebecca Barker's postcard looked like. I think I've managed to stay pretty true the original as I created this quilt without a pattern. I'd be lyin' if I said I didn't waste a little fabric in the process of calculating and assembling the blocks!
I ended the day with all the sashing completed. Next, I'll add a border or two and then it will be on its way to Kathy for quilting. I have to get in line for her services (she's got room in her schedule for me the end of June), so you won't see my Summertime quilt again until I bind it and it's all finished.

Tomorrow is Silent Friday in honor of Fezzik, so I'll catch up with you on Saturday. I'll be working on my crocheted sweater, so perhaps I'll have some progress to share with you then. Happy creating!

Summertime...

One of the blogs in my favorite quilt blogs list is Sew We Quilt @ Stash Manicure. She recently introduced her readers to Rebecca Barker. (Click here to see her post.-but don't go read it yet.) These are just two of the paintings that Rebecca creates. She's also a quilter, but this lady really can paint, too! This is the link to her website, where you can purchase her designs as notecards or prints. (Oh, and Madame Samm is having a giveaway for some of Rebecca's cards at the end of her post at Sew We Quilt!) Can you imagine having one of her gorgeous pieces hanging in your studio or a room in your home?

These two paintings of Rebecca's really got my attention. I'd been thinking about making my next quilt a red/white/blue, patriotic-themed quilt, but these two cards completely derailed that idea. I've decided, instead, to make my next quilt a Summertime quilt!
I've selected fabrics that are the colors of grass and fresh summertime fruits - a combination of strawberries and watermelons. The pattern I'm going to sew is going to be similar to the one on Rebecca's strawberry card, but not exact.
You can see that I haven't chosen the fabric like the golden color in the photo yet, but I have time. After all, I'm going to have to "do the math" to design my quilt, too. Or, I might just decide to keep that half of the block white.
I'm starting by cutting 2" strips, the width of the fabric. I arranged them by alternating light and dark fabrics and have already begun to sew each row of strips together. I'm taking notes as I do this so that I can keep track of supplies and measurements as I go.

I admit it will be a bit of "trial and error", but I'm hoping to keep the "errors" to a minimum. You know what they say..."Measure twice, cut once". I'm not going to copy Rebecca's exact design, but I do love the way her art makes me think of warm summer days and sweet summer fruit, and I'm going to do my best to duplicate that feeling. I know that my blocks will be larger than hers, so I'll be interested to see how that affects the overall look and feel.

I saw on Rebecca's site that she has published books with quilt patterns in them. After I finish this one, I may purchase one of her books to be able to make some of her other fabulous designs without having to do my own math.

I hope you'll join me as I prepare for summer picnics and s'mores by the campfire with this new piece. I'll keep sharing my Summertime quilt project with you until I've got it finished. Don't you just love starting something new?