Quilting with Joy

I took on a unique quilting project last year when I won a contest on  Barbara's blog, Cat Patches.   The moment that I entered the contest I had the thought "if I win I'll share the prize with the blogger that told me about the contest."  So when I won a stack of fabric, I contacted Denise at Count It All Joy and told her she had also won.  I sent her half the fabric and she picked out a pattern for us to use.  I had plans for this little project to be finished by March 2012 so that I would have a 'ready made' post for you.

Life got busy, almost to the point of overwhelming, and my sewing machine made two unexpected trips to the repair shop.  I made it through all this and I am proud to announce that I have (at last) finished my block.  That's right, we were making just a simple block...  Here's the pattern by Adrianne at Little Bluebell with its own little story.  The original was a little pillow.  What did Denise make?  Here it is (along with her adventure in making this little gem). 

What did Joy do?  I promise I started off thinking 'little pillow' - something to give a friend who likes to read in bed so she could prop up her book.  But as I played with the fabric something else came to mind, as you can see in this post from July.  If I bought just a couple of yards of fabric I could make a blanket.  Off I went in search of more of the MODA 'little apples' fabric.  (This was the year I learned that fabric lines can come and go quickly.)  All I could find was a few fat quarters of the printed white, a few more of the gray fabrics, and less than three yards of the green. 

This "Mommie Blanket" is for Allison, a new friend of mine.  She recently had her second baby - two under three.  I figure if anyone could use a blankie it would be this sweet (and brave!) young woman.



My 'little pillow.'

Here is it, almost the end of the year, and I have finally finished this little quilt. Many thanks to Denise, Barbara, and Adrianne. 

Cute Fabric - Love the Squirrels!

I learned a few more things working on this little project. Like "share your joy" and "there's no job that can't be put off" and, my favorite, "be nice to strangers - that's how we make friends."

Happy New Year !

             Joy

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Time to Quilt

I'm quilting again. 

I've put it on my calendar - a day here and there, sometimes two or three hours blocked off, just to be creative.  I plan to make all of this year's Christmas gifts.  Plus, I've got a few friends having babies or grand babies, I want to give them something special, and baby quilts are my favorite thing to make.  I'm also trying to use fabric I have on hand mixed in with some new designs and colors.

One of this month's projects is an easy baby quilt.  I'm looking for ways to make them quick and easy, to make them ahead of time so I'm ready with a gift.  Yes, I'm trying to get away from taking forever to make a baby quilt. 

To speed up my quilt making I'm using bigger blocks.

I'm making this one with six inch blocks.  Last summer I found some fabric I liked and bought fat quarters for the entire collection.  Then bought a couple of yards of the fabric I wanted to use as the backing and binding.  Sketched out a plan.  Washed and ironed all the fabric.  Cut out my six inch blocks.

First look at my project...

I noticed that one fabric was just not right for this quilt.  No matter how much planning I do there always seems to be a change or two needed when I see everything together for the first time.

This is for a baby - I want it to be bright and cheerful.

I checked through my stash of goldy yellows and found one that would work (o.k., there was more than one, but this is what I chose).

All better.

I think this is a much happier piece of fabric.

One more thing - if you want this striped fabric let me know I'll be glad to send it to you.  One of my resolutions is to not hold on to stuff "just in case."

Anyone out there need a bumblebee yellow and black?

Now I've got to dash - I'm quilting today.




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A Cowboy and His Blankie

I believe we are made in God's image and inside each of us is the desire to create. 

A Cowboy and His Blankie, it's a beautiful thing...

As you can see, my baby quilt is really a Toddler Quilt. They usually turn out that way because I am a slow quilter and I like to match the quilt fabric to the baby's family.  The parents and, sometimes grandparents, are my inspiration. I just go with my happy memories, plan, sort through fabric I already have, buy fabric that I want, and (eventually) create a quilt.  

X marks the spot.

For this quilt my inspiration came from a Dad in the Air Force and a Mom who loves her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. So airplanes and cowboys were my theme. There are a few cowgirls on this quilt, lots of horses and stars, and I even threw in some yellow fabric with flowers on it to remind Mom & Dad of their last vacation in Hawaii a few months before baby arrived.

Cowboys and Airplanes

I also believe God is generous and that we will only be happy when we are generous. Giving a quilt takes time, imagination, money, the willingness to work, the desire to complete a project -- when we create and then turn around and give away our creation we are really giving ourselves. Whether our creation is a meal, a garden, a home or a wonderful story we share with friends, you and I give a bit of ourselves and we are better for it. 

With my giving of this quilt I got hugs and thanks and a chance to see the cute smile of an 18 month old who had no clue what was going on. He did seem a bit fascinated that someone had left a blanket on the ground.   He did notice a cowboy - he called it a dog.

I'm still learning to machine quilt, it's much faster than the hand quilting I love, but for a quilt that will be washed often I think machine quilting is the way to go. 

It feels wonderful to finish a project.  Now, what's next on my list?