Posts from — October 2009

A long time in the making

Here is my best example that you can think of a great quilt idea in 30 seconds that can take years to complete.   Click on the photo for a slightly larger image.

I got inspired by Ruth B. McDowell’s book Pieced Vegetables when it first came out, back when I lived in Colorado, more than seven years ago.  I created the lettuce in the lower left corner in Colorado, along with the freezer paper templates for the rest of this quilt.  I remember bringing the green and blue lettuces to a quilt guild meeting not long after I moved to the Midwest, in about 2003.  I completed the last lettuce (the red one) at our WAQG retreat in 2008.  Last night I finished the quilting.

This quilt contains some fabric that I personally hand dyed, in the few times I’ve done some dyeing, but most of the fabrics are commercial quilting fabrics, of a variety of ages.

I’m still trying to decide about the final title for this quilt. It needs to have some reference to Ruth McDowell, since I used her pattern for the lettuces, and perhaps it should reference Andy Warhol, for the coloring influence as well.  Any help out there, readership?  There’s a gift card in it for you, if you come up with the best name!

All this, and he can do Quality Assurance for AllClad?

This, amidst all the “Is he back to full fitness?” hype about a certain quarterback in New England on the sports stations, is what I pulled out of the box when I got a new saucepan this weekend.

I’m so proud of myself for being ahead on something!  Saturday (rainy, cool outside) was a great day to work on some sewing.  (Maybe on Sunday I will have some time to work on one of my own projects… Hmmmmm)

Blocks for C

Here is the pair of blocks I made for C’s Friendship Circle quilt this year.  The blocks are 9 1/2 inches square.  This was from a pattern in a magazine from 2002.  I’m not sure what it was, but C’s pictures showed that this block has some real potential.  I actually cut out enough for a third, but didn’t sew it together.  I think I will just add the blocks to an envelope when I give this to C, in case she wants to incorporate the colors in another block she’s working on.  (How’s THAT for re-marketing one’s laziness?  I’m just offering C more OPTIONS!)

This year’s Friendship Circle project is making blocks for each host.  Here’s the one we made for J.  The rules were to have a circle in the 12 inch (finished) block of a certain size, and she gave us one piece of batik fabric with lots of colors in it.  She said to make something sunflower-esque.  I had fun doing this, but it did take a lot more time than I thought it would.

Sunflower Block for J

It was important to me to not just have hand dyes and batiks in the block- I’m not really sure why.  And I like that it looks like a face.  Here’s hoping J likes it, too!