It's done! Sitka Rose, the January Book of the Month selection, is finally finished, as a baby quilt.
Made from the Sitka Rose pattern
in the I Love Color (affiliate link) book by Marcia Harmening,
it's a lovely design that's perfect for scraps from two color families.
If I hadn't been so distracted by other pretties, I would have given this quilt a bit more of the attention that it deserved. Once it got to a baby quilt size, I was ready to move on - other projects started calling! Not saying that I wouldn't do it again. I'd love to make it again in some bright, fun prints, or even solids.
As for the quilting, one of my favorite pantos, Easy Peasy, is stitched in a mauve pink Glide thread which accents the rose idea perfectly.
And a pretty, soft floral flannel graces the back.
Just keeping with the flower theme in a perfect quilt to snuggle a little girl in!
Have a wonderful day quilting!
Ah, what a fun time! Too bad it's over, but due to weather conditions, I had to say goodbye to Road2CA a day earlier than expected.
Which means I missed seeing all of the quilts, though I got to see some of them as I volunteered to help hang Tuesday night. And what I did see where incredible - I have no plans get to that level!
The quilts are outstanding, but for me, Road is all about the classes. Tuesday and Wednesday where spent with Claudia Pfeil, with a lot of thinking at the machine. We did paisleys,
which Roscoe liked very much. Me, not so much.
I had a better time with bubbles and circles.
For that class, I had the machine to myself, so I really got to do a lot of filling. But when I want to do something like this again, I'll spend some time doodling first so that my brain can get in the groove of the process.
And a belated birthday celebration did happen, complete with cake, candles, and a perfect card from my sister.
Today, I hope to get some sewing done.
Happy Quilting!
Aren't these sweet???
I couldn't stop at one as these have been a yummy distraction - I highly recommend them! The tutorial to make your own can be found at Skyberries Handmade.
Though this block takes 35 pieces,
turning it into this
was a snap with chain stitching. Starting in the upper left corner, column 2 was stitched to column 1, chain stitching style. No cutting of threads here!
Column 3 is added to the column 1+2 unit, then column 4 to the 1+2+3 unit, and finally column 5 to the 1+2+3+4 unit, all the while keeping those chains intact. The result? Seven rows, all in the right order, and no parts to lose or confuse!
Now time for pressing. The first block I did, I pressed all seams open. But I found it hard to match up the seams when sewing the rows together.
So for the next blocks, I pressed the rows in alternate directions.
The nesting of the seams made stitching so much easier!
Now I could sew the rows in pairs,
then sew the pairs together, to finally make a luscious berry! Yummy!
Ready to make yours? Then hop over to Skyberries to get all the details. Meanwhile, I'll be thinking of a way to set these off in a quilt. Who knows - maybe I'll have to make a whole basket of them!
Happy Quilting
In December, I signed up for Alida's Growing Up QAL, and this month, the fun began!
This gorgeous rose was designed by Alida at AlidaTweloqDesigns, and isn't it a beauty? She also has a swirly heart, so two designs for January.
This month, the goal is to cut out applique in one piece, fuse it, and sew it with no stops and starts.
Truly easy! I will admit I was tempted to cut the background away in certain spots, but resisted.
And glad I didn't give in, because with a bit of trimming on the background, I ended up a rose outline piece.
This is not fused to anything yet, as I'll decide what to do with it at a later date. I want to see how the other blocks go before committing.
Stitching was super easy, with a 1.5 length and width zigzag using invisible thread. On the back, I used Pellon's 541 Wash-n-Gone stabilizer.
Having done a lot of embroidery many years ago, I learned the value of stabilizers. With a bit of trimming around the edge, eventually this one will disappear with washing. More could be trimmed but I'll leave it at that.
So pretty!
There's still to get in on the fun!
Happy Quilting!
Finally finished! The last of my Christmas quilts is done.
Introducing Holly and Berries.
Thanks to everyone for being so patient on this, since I gave you enough teasers to last a lifetime. I hope it was worth the wait, cause I'm really pleased with how this turned out. Too bad it wasn't done sooner to enjoy hanging on the wall. Oh well, next year.
This quilt finishes off the last of the Christmas scraps from all those other quilts.
Fortunately, there were enough greens and reds to make the blocks. Initially, I thought I'd build a top around pinwheels, and started making green blocks, semi-log cabin style, to match the pinwheel size of 6 3/4".
But after fifteen green blocks, I tossed out the pinwheels and changed direction, sewing up red blocks,
and some cream ones,
once a design started to emerge.
With not enough fabric for any more green or red blocks, I was left with these scraps. Looks like there's enough for a back in there, right?
You bet! Adding in the pinwheels (wouldn't want them to go to waste), and using a bit of row creativity, the back looks great too!
And now that scrap pile is down to this.
Can I get a big round of applause?! Into the general, overflowing scrap bag it goes! But did I clear out space for other fabric? Nope - still some poinsettia fabric to tackle next Christmas.
Now let's have a look at the quilting. In the green and red areas is a more dense holly and berry pantograph,
that uses my Pantographs and Custom Quilting Technique tutorial. Notice that the panto does not go into the cream squares.
This combo sets off the ladder of cream squares across the quilt.
And it also looks really cool on the back!
I think I'll look into magnetic hangers for this quilt, as I really don't want to cover up anything on the back with a hanging sleeve. Yet another two-fer quilt!
Ok, I think I'm done with Christmas until July, when there may be another blog hop. Time to move on!
Happy Quilting!
Happy New Year! The calendar turns once again, not only for a new year, but for a new month. And that means it's time for a new Book of the Month selection!
For January, the honor goes to I Love Color! (affiliate link) by Marcia Harmening, a book full of six wonderful projects.
Maybe I'll be inspired and take off in my own direction - I love it when that happens!
Happy New Year!
