Birthday Surprise

My sister Vicki has been making hats to sell as a fundraiser for several years.  She donates the proceeds of her sales to Camp Kemo, a place for children with illness to enjoy a week in summer.

Here's an example of her hats:

This one is mine!

In earlier years, Sis made bridal and keepsake boxes, decorated and wrapped in lovely fabrics, which she gave as gifts.

 

This one's mine!

Last year while perusing a library book by Kaffe Fassett, my eyes fell upon a quilt that seemed it was designed with her in mind:  

 A HAT Box Quilt!

I renewed the book so often that I was forced to return it to the shelf late last fall.  But not before I had those templates enlarged, rolled up and tucked away!

With the birthday coming at the end of March, I decided to begin the day after Christmas.  I pulled out my collection of home decor *samples and set to cutting with the templates.  
 

What fun wallowing in choosing from the variety of fabric choices!

The "wallpaper" background fabrics for each block were on hand, but the "floors" were a challenge ~ in stores, I couldn't locate stripes that I had in mind, until...

Aha!  Thrift stores have men's dress shirts a'plenty, so off I go.

The thrill of the hunt is the thing, ya know.

   

Pieced the "wallpaper" blocks together

and then began the applique' process.

This was a first attempt, which didn't make the final cut.

Over the next weeks, the design wall began to fill up.

I later added sashing and borders,

 

then quilted it with the help of my friend Alice and her machine, Mega.

It's mostly FMQ except for the leaves.

I pulled out my big market tables to clean it up and cut away excess batting,

then added the binding.  Finished size is 96" x 96".

 

Finally, I framed and hand sewed the label on, designed by Alice and moi.

 

 

Friday I joyfully delivered it in person on her birthday!

 

She loves it, and it fits!

I would make this quilt again...its random fabrics are such fun!

FNSI: Herringbone Baby Quilt

"Friday Night Sew In" 
is hosted by Heidi and her cousin Bobbi, and this month there are over 120 participants!

I continued work on piecing another top, using diamonds leftover from the Pinafore Print Quilt.

As with the previous quilt, this design is from the same Kaffe Fassett book:

and is named "Herringbone Baby Quilt", but I think it would also do as a lap quilt.

Every other vertical row uses the wrong side of the fabric.  I love how it gives such dimension to the top.  And let me tell ya, it seemed ca-razy to be sewing them "wrong sides together"!  Had to keep reminding myself!

I've sewn all of the diamonds together vertically, now to join those rows...should go fast!

Quilt Top: Pinafore Print

I ran out of time and steam, but as promised, here it is almost complete.

The design is from (surprise, surprise) a Kaffe Fassett book, "Glorious Patchwork".   He calls it "Pinafore Print" quilt, as his fabrics are reminiscent of grandma's aprons.  I guess the prints I chose would qualify.

I gathered mostly medium prints from various places, and fussed with the arrangement of the patterns and colors for days, before and during cutting.

Flowers just thrill me, and this diamond pattern shows them off beautifully in their soft blues and pinks.

{side view}

This is a preliminary quilt to the next one, which I wanted to be sure I was able to do correctly.  I've been collecting the fabrics for it for months, and plan to begin the cutting sometime next week. {Squeal!}

Reflecting Pool Finish

My inexpressible and eternal thanks to Alice, who tutored me in LAQ and worked so hard with me in putting the finishing touches on the quilt.

Some of the finer details:   Alice suggested a variegated thread for the quilting ~ in pinks, greens, and blues ~ it was perfect!

I chose this "Open Spirals" design for the skinny inner border.  It seemed to be made  for the "Aboriginal Dots" fabric!

 A little "manual insurance" of pinpoint accuracy and precision!

Blocks were individually quilted with "Curves and Leaves" design. The flannel backing shows greater pattern detail:

 Zoomed.  I love this design!

I googled a new binding technique.

The next day, we created a label, and Alice showed me a better way to hide stitches.

All done!

It has been a pleasure to make this quilt, and yesterday it was delivered to my good buddy Angela, while we worked at Poplar Grove Farmer's Market.  As word got around, fellow vendors, as well as customers, came by her booth to check it out.

If you enjoy pickled okra, squash, collards, or cucumbers, check out Angela's Peppered Pickles via her website, or visit her store on Carolina Beach Road.  

Her company also produces a frozen treat ~ all natural, no dairy, no sugar, made from the finest ingredients:  "Alph's".  My favorite is Almond Coffee, made from ground almonds and coffee beans and a banana.  Even in this heat wave, they hardly drip, as there isn't any liquid!

 These are some happy customers!

And I think Angela is, too!

Update on Reflecting Pool Quilt

My buddy-girl wants extra warmth in her quilt, so I ordered flannel for the backing, and it came last week.

This sumptuous royal blue is by Robert Kauffman.

I pieced the backing and made the sandwich, using "Warm & Natural" for the batting.

All basted up and ready for quilting.

Headed to the LAQ on Thursday, and I get to play, too!

Update: Reflecting Pool Quilt

After finishing all the 12-patch blocks, it was time for the fun part:  

Fussy cutting large florals,

then framing each with a different color of strips.

I began arranging blocks on the design wall playing around with them until the color balance was pleasing.  This photo isn't the final option.

Blocks sewn together...

then inner and outer borders added.  I changed the color of the inner border from the pattern which showed using the bright green....we love purple instead.

The flimsy, all pressed and ready for sandwiching. 

This has been an enjoyable quilt top.

Reflecting Pool

is the name of the Kaffe Fassett quilt I'm making for a friend.  I finally began cutting and must admit, it was somewhat intimidating to get started...a bit leery of making cutting mistakes on such fine fabric!

But thanks to my quilting guru for support and advice, I can move forward with confidence and even enjoy the ride!

Last night after our guests left, I had some time to sew up the first 12-patch blocks.

 

And recently cutting my piece-work baby teeth on leetle bitty 4-patches, these 4-1/2" by 3-1/2" rectangles are a cinch.

And the colors are brilliant!