A Triple Finish

While I love the whole process of making quilts, there's just something wonderful about getting them D-O-N-E, done!  

Maybe it's the space it opens for other ideas to enter, or maybe it's the sense of accomplishment, that I shepherded something through to completion, that I followed through with an intention.

You've seen these quilts in various stages in prior posts.  The first two were sent to the longarm quilter a few months ago and returned several weeks ago, and have waited patiently to be trimmed and bound.  I finally finished them last week.

This is a scrappy, stringy Hole In The Barn Door (or Churn Dash) quilt.  I was inspired by the blocks Chantal was making last fall.

I'm glad I went for the scrappy inset border rather than settling for just the gray.

The backing was a vintage cotton sheet found at the thrift store.  It adds such a nice softness to the feel of the quilt.  You can see Sandy's pretty quilting from the back side.

The second finish was this scrappy Trip Around the World quilt that was fun to put together with an eclectic mix of strips.

I love the riotous look of this one.  The backing is one I found at an estate sale of a quilter, yards and yards of a perfume bottle print.

This will be my new fall TV-watching quilt.  Bring on the popcorn and Netflix!

Last, but not least, is my Positivity 2022 quilt.  I raided the box of batik scraps for this one, and I really like how it turned out.  

The back is a pretty floral cotton shower curtain I found at the thrift store, brand new in the package.  I want to say it was $2.99 or something like that, which is fantastic for four yards of fabric. 

I quilted it in an overall meander and made the binding from leftover batik strips.  This will be on its way to Mercyful Quilts this week.

Whew, that feels good!  Three quilts done...now what's next?  For starters, I might make some fall crafty stuff with a kit a friend gifted me earlier in the year.  How about you?

~Paulette

Positivity Quilt Top and Summer Highlights

I missed the link-up for the Positivity QAL finishes, but rather than listing my excuses, none of which are good, let's focus on the positive.  I have a top done!

This is pretty much the sum total of the summer sewing around here, so woo-hoo! :)

I thought I might have a fully finished quilt to show you, but no dice.  I did piece a backing and Franken-sewed a batting together for it this past weekend, but then realized this baby is kind of big to baste in the usual spot on my kitchen floor.  I think it's doable, but I'm going to have to make a plan, move some things, mop, etc., so it's going to have to wait a little bit longer.

Tomorrow I'm checking into a nice hotel in preparation for a colonoscopy the following day.  Flushing a couple hundred bucks down the toilet for the privilege, but at least I won't have to drive an hour to the hospital in morning traffic the day of the procedure, which seemed a bit too risky, if you know what I mean.  The procedure is a routine thing (mostly), since it's been over 10 years since the last one.  Suffice it to say, I'll be glad when it's, uh, behind me.

The summer has really flown by, but I've enjoyed it.  Reading, walking, putzing, biking, spending time with friends, crafting, etc.  

A friend and I got together a couple weeks ago to make cork fabric wreaths.  We missed the class at Sallie Tomato last fall due to unforeseen circumstances, so we held our own on one "craft-ernoon" and put them together.  They turned out very cute!

On a little day trip this summer, hubby and I stopped at an antique shop where I admired this vintage quilt.  

The price was reasonable, but I didn't take it home, just took pictures.  Love all the sweet fabrics and hand quilting.

Another recent highlight was spending a day with my great-niece and my sister (her grandmother).  We took a long walk, toward the end of which I offered a little horsey-back ride.  

Eight years old is a magical age of enthusiasm, spark, humor, and curiosity—and it's contagious in the best way!

~Paulette

Positivity Progress

When I saw the first Positivity 2022 Quilt-Along posts at Sew Preeti Quilts, I knew I wanted to jump right in!  Are you excited about it too?  You can find all the Positivity 2022 posts linked HERE on her blog.  It's not too late to start!

My first inclination was to use some Civil War reproduction fabrics that I'd been given over the past year or two among other scraps.  I like all kinds of quilts, but I have to say that reproduction fabrics are not what I'm usually drawn to working with.  Putting them together in a donation quilt seemed like a good way to use them up and move them on.

However, what seemed like too much in my stash was not quite enough for this quilt.  So I pivoted to another group of fabrics needing attention, and that was an overflowing box of assorted batiks.

There were plenty of those.  I pulled out every one in the box and ultimately decided to just go for it and use almost all of them, save a couple of outliers. 

My background fabric is neither white nor cream.  It's a Waverly fabric called Pearl, a very subtle gray, which seems to play well with the wide variety of batiks.

Here were the first test blocks.  Looked good to me, so it was full steam ahead!

I got caught up in a couple of audiobooks while making blocks.  First it was The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes.  Then it was Finding Me, the memoir of Viola Davis.  Both very good reads!

Soon enough, I had this little pile of pretties.

And here they are pressed.  There should be 80 of them, but I haven't double checked yet.  

I'm not sure if there are going to be layout suggestions or if we are on our own to play around with it.  Either way, I'm ready for what's next!

Linking to Needle & Foot 2022 Positivity Quilt Along Link Up.

~Paulette