
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
collins, a finish

Saturday, March 19, 2022
spring break stitches
This year we’re all in Mexico together with a bushel of cousins in tow.
I brought along my bright and sunny Cheery quilt to give the handquilting treatment to when I’m relaxing inside out of the bright sun. Of all my quilts, I think this is the perfect one for a Mexico photoshoot, because of the colorful palette.
I also forgot how cold this room is at night (been here twice before) and how thin the provided bedding is, so I’ve been quite grateful for the added layer each night. Who knew quilts were needed for tropical vacations?
I had high hopes for finishing the handwork on this quilt this week, but I neglected to bring all the thread colors with me. I left behind the white for the sun and rays on the yellow blocks, and the golds, too.
But I should have the colored frames all done before we head home, and that’s great progress.
Saturday, March 12, 2022
handwork, spring and fall
Saturday, March 5, 2022
crossroads joy
Monday, January 3, 2022
guys and dolls, star and improv, twin finishes
these two quilts remind me of fraternal twins, although one is really the parent quilt that the other one came from.
but since i finished the bindings on two consecutive days, they feel more like twins. they're the rare twins where one is comes on december 31st, late at night, and the other doesn't make it until january 1st, which means that even though they're twins, they are born in separate years.
i say born, but these twin quilts were actually completed in such a fashion - hours apart, but different years. i'll always think of them as being finished together despite the different years tagged to them.
"guys and dolls" the stella grande star version, first started in february 2017, was finished late in the evening on new year's eve 2021. therefore, it's a 2021 finish.
and although i got more than a quarter of the binding completed on "guys and dolls improv" before midnight that night also, i did the bulk of the binding on new year's day, and the last few stitches on january 2nd.
it always feels strange to me that a quilt which was mostly complete but waited for its binding a long time doesn't get counted as a finish until that binding is done. it feels like it was a quilt well before that. saying "this quilt took two (or four) years to finish" because i didn't get around to binding it for months and months makes it sound like a labor-intensive, difficult quilt, which neither of these two were at all. both were quite simple and easy. i just set them aside for a time and quilted other things instead.
when to call a quilt an official finish is a self-imposed designation, of course, but i don't know how else to call it a finish until that binding is all done and the quilt is ready for a first wash and use, even if the top came together in a day then sat around for months waiting for a backing or if it was sandwiched and quilted right away but didn't get bound for a long time.
it feels even weirder to call the improv quilt a 2022 finish when it was so nearly a december finish. since i haven't done any quilting in a long time, it really feels more like they were both new year finishes completed over the holiday weekend. yet they aren't.
as i'm the kind of person that likes exactness in definitions and splits hairs, as my mom would say, i have to call one a 2021 finish and the other a 2022 finish.
that's enough puzzling and quibbling over dates. let's look at the quilt details.
"guys and dolls" stella grande version was given the big-stitch machine quilting treatment using aurifil 12wt in brass (2975). i echo stitched on both sides of most seams using a large stitch setting (4 on juki). i love this effect as it feels very similar to handquilting.
the binding is kona cotton in "candy pink" (1062).
i used the same kona cotton "candy pink" for the binding of the improv quilt. probably because i just made them both at the same time and/or i didn't have enough of a navy on hand. looking at it completed, i wish i had used a navy for this one. it's good enough, i just think a blue would have been better suited to this quilt.
this is the first full-sized improv quilt i've made and i couldn't be more pleased with the results. it has both a modern and a scrappy-traditional vibe at the same time.
it feels really good to have both these quilts complete and in rotation for the first of the year. they've always felt a little like valentine's day to me, so we're right on track to have them done for their season.
together, they were a great way to wind up one year and begin the next one.
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
betsys all in a row, a liberty + chambray finish
i didn't quite finish it on christmas eve, but i got more stitching time on the 28th, which allowed me to finally complete this lovely, luxurious lap quilt. it will now join my other liberty + chambray lap quilts that we use for church on sundays.
the pattern for this quilt came about when i had several 2.5" x 11.5" chambray strips and various 2.5" wide liberty london tana lawn in betsy pieces, as well, leftover from making "betsy scrappy trip" in january 2020. i've made a diagram and some loose instructions for the pattern if you're interested.
the handquilting for this is done in white (2021) aurifil 12wt. i simply echo quilted both sides of each chambray strip. this makes for a loose, lovely drape to the quilt.
the binding is a blue herringbone flannel, which adds yet another tactile note to the quilt.
the final luxury is the liberty tana lawn backing. i used betsy in the 40th anniversary pink colorway.
that's a wrap.
there's not much time left in the year, but i may be able to squeeze another finish or two out of the holidays since i have a few quilts in the "needs handbinding" phase.
Saturday, June 5, 2021
sunny geese, a finish
i've taken photos of it a few times and neglected to post it as a finish. so now you're going to get a couple different views of my very cheerful "sunny geese" quilt.
i'd say at least half the yellows are blender prints selected for their color rather than florals or geometrics that i like as stand alone prints. it was hard to find yellows in the sunny range i wanted - not too soft and buttery, not to gold or brassy - that weren't blender prints. there was one heather ross "sleeping beauty" print that was the absolute perfect color. i had a few other lovely florals, including some liberty tana lawn, which played very nicely with everything else.
the low-volumes are mostly black and white prints, but there are some that have yellow, grey, or light tan in them, too. i also used a yellow liberty "betsy" in a few places. it's not as light as most of the background prints, but it was too light to use as a yellow. having a range of volume even in the low-volume gives more depth to the quilt.
the prints are all small to medium in scale, which works nicely with this size block and arrangement. i'm not opposed to cutting up large scale prints for such a project, but i do like that you can tell what each one is in this quilt.
the binding is a classic black and white stripe, which sets off the sunny yellows so nicely.
i happened to get a bit of machine oil on the quilt and needed to soak that corner, which i did in my bawthroom sink. oddly, it looked so pretty and at home there that i had to take a picture! it's probably my most liked photo on ig this year. the lighting in there is so nice that it's a great place to take quilt photos, albeit a strange place for a quilt, even if i did do all my quilting in my bawthroom once apon a time.