Retreat finish (the final one)

Some time ago (it may be years now) I decided it was time to use some of the 2½” strips that I had cut perhaps years before that. You see, this is a story of epic proportions. Because years before either of those I began worrying that I would leave behind tons of fabric when I go. What foolishness! Still, I worked on a series of small quilts. 

The nursery rhyme series: Nimble and Quick was a blue bargello, both versions of He Loves Me was Dresden plate applique, Around a Girl's World, The Coolest Bug Collection, That Was Against the Rules, Fast Asleep, and so on. Some have titles from lines of the nursery rhymes, all are inspired by nursery rhymes. 

This quilt is both, inspired by "Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater" and titled using the phrase "couldn't keep her." The inspiration came in the form of using pumpkin orange with those blue 2½” inch strips with the strips representing bars. Did you notice that the bars are not all going in one direction? I could have fixed that but I had just finished this improv top and was still in improv mode. 

Take that orange square however you want: a pumpkin, an escape route, a key hole. It's your take on the quilt. Notice in this picture that I had to add a horizontal strip in the orange to make the half square triangles match up. Somewhat. Up close like this you can see how much the medallion is off. Really? Geez. 

But I just wanted a finish and so I refused to rip anything out. An agreement I made with myself--no ripping. So things went in sideways and corners don't meet and goodness knows how many other problems, but stay they did. After all, have you read nursery rhymes lately? There are lots of issues in those little poems, but I love them anyway, and I'll love this little quilt just the same. It's in the TO BE QUILTED bin under about 15 other tops. 

Do you just leave in the mistakes? 

Do the mistakes make you like the quilt less?

Or do they have to be corrected? 

Do the mistakes drive you nuts if you don't?

Dropcloth ~~ a modern finish

I decided about a month ago that I wanted to enter a few quilts into QuiltCon. Hopefully, the jury will accept them, but for now I just want to try. I tried last year but missed the mark, so this year I decided to try a different tactic. I'd make a quilt especially for this purpose.

To that end, I read the rules. Several times. Then I pondered and mulled and thought. And I read the rules again. I decided. One quilt would meet the requirements of the two-color challenge, and the second would shoot for the requirements of the small quilt entries.
Small quilts – A modern quilt that measures 36" or smaller per side. The quilt can be any shape as long as it does not exceed the size limit on any side.

Hmm, that seems doable. So I had an idea. I once saw a painting on a sitcom that I liked. I don't even know if the show is still on the air, but I remembered some things about the painting that I really liked.  A couple of circles in lime green and orange-sherbet colors were important. So I started there and planned an asymmetrically pieced, neutral background so the colors would really pop. 

Then there was a problem. The quilt didn't want to be what I had in my mind. It wanted to be a drop cloth. You know, the kind of cloth painters put on the floor to catch drips. That's what the quilt wanted, and who am I to argue? I let it be a darn drop cloth. The circles became the rings that are caused when paint pools at the bottom of the can. A few droplets appeared. The quilt was doing its thing. 

Since paint can look different when it dries in different ways or when the light hits it, I played with colors using fabric and threading painting. But still it just looked like circles and blobs, and the quilt didn't really want that.

So I added a bit of a footprint. As though the painter stepped on the edge of the cloth while working. I just pulled off my own shoe and used it for a pattern. I really liked that. The footprint made the difference. But when two construction workers come in and they don't recognize a drop cloth when they see one, maybe it's not a drop cloth. Yet.

So I pointed out the obvious and they sort of agreed with me. "Except the thing is too clean, and who knew that was a footprint anyway? It doesn't even have a heel," he said.

So I added another footprint. Bigger. A bolder footprint to satisfy a hard-headed son. I used his dad's shoe for size and decided that maybe this guy stepped in or on the blob just for effect. And I was really happy.

Happy enough that I started quilting it and finished before another construction guy could come in and dash my joy. And as soon as I had a good 200 or so stitches in, I had the brilliant idea that maybe this is one of those drop cloths that you can see through. So I removed some of those first stitches and started building blocks with different motifs in each. Kind of a changing tile floor. Or maybe this is a showroom floor. I'm not sure, but it's definitely a floor because a construction worker came in and recognized the drop cloth lying on the back of the sofa. A different son. One who has a better imagination and knows what he's looking at when he sees a drop cloth.

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: pun'kin

Pumpkins are the gourd of the day at this time of year. I saw a family at Walmart pushing a buggy with five or six huge pumpkins and a net-bag with lots of small fake ones. But with Thanksgiving and Halloween coming along very rapidly, it's time to find a few. 

Curious about why I wrote pun'kin rather than pumpkin? My daddy said the word that way, and he sometimes called us girls pun'kin. With eight daughters, he said it fairly often, so when I hear the word, I think of his pet name for us. Even when it's prounced correctly I hear him saying it his way.

I found many pumpkin themed quilts, but all are small table toppers or wall quilts with the exception of this first one. 

It makes sense, though, that most of the quilts are small. A large pumpkin quilt wouldn't be displayed except for a few months a year. October and November, perhaps. Of course, Christmas quilts have only one year and there are many of those. 

Of course, there are many people who own pumpkin farms, and a large quilt would make a welcome display either inside or outside the home. No matter the size or the season, pun'kin quilts can be especially cute. If you've a mind to make one, there are many patterns and even more inspiration pictures on Pinterest.

AmandaJean's QAL ~~ Finished!

Last week I posted that I'd finished the quilt top that I'd been working on as part of the Crazy Mom Quilts QAL. This week I managed to get it quilted and bound. When I took these pictures there was no label on it yet, but after working on the quilt stats, I decided to sew it on before posting it. So now it's completely finished. 

I really love this little quilt. It's big for a baby quilt at 50" square, but it's perfect. 
That crazy orange, which I got at Hancock Fabric, was really, really cheap. I don't know how cheap, but I assure you I would not have bought it for anything close to regular price. It is definitely not in my comfort colors. However, ...

When I decided to join in the QAL, I also decided to do one thing that I would normally not do. Just one thing. The crazy orange became that one thing. Believe me, it was enough. I almost chickened out. 

I'm so very glad that I didn't. 

I was supposed to take the quilt outside for a photo shoot, but dang, it's hot!  I didn't make it. I died right outside the door. Seriously. Died. Didn't even make a second step. The thing that saved me is that I was holding on to the doorknob. I managed, in my weakened state, to drag my body to the slit of cool air escaping through the crack. You can't know how delicious a sliver of chilled oxygen is until you've died in Louisiana in July. 

I was forced to wait until I could wrangle someone into helping. The photo shoot was delayed for the wedding of Icy and Trin Penguin. They were married right in our living room on the coffee table. Marley was the maid of honor and wore her favorite night gown (gown being the operative word). After the lovely couple was pronounced husband and wife, they kissed and danced. Icy tossed his hat and Trin threw her scarf. Then they posed for pictures. 

Happily, the quilt made a beautiful backdrop for the wedding photos. The preacher was doubling as wedding planner and held the quilt, then discreetly switched his hat to quilt model so that I could get a few (exactly three) pictures before running off to help the newlyweds with their luggage. Mr. and Mrs. Icy Penguin are thankful to have such wonderful friends willing to serve as hosts for their wedding. They will live in Evergreen, La., after a wedding trip to Disney World in Florida.

Quilt Stats Name: AmandaJean's QAL  Size: 50" X 50"  Fabrics: Scrap fabrics from stash Background: Yardage from stash  Binding: Scrap fabrics  Pattern: June from No Scrap Left Behind Quilting: practice quilting / variety of motifs

Linking up with:

Confessions of a Fabric Addict 
Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts

        Myra at Busy Hands Quilts for Finished or Not Friday
 Julie and Linda's Sew Stitch Snap SHARE 

     

Do you like linky parties? Did you know that I have a tab with a list of linky parties that happen almost every week? Look at the tab across the top and click on the one that says,  " UPDATED: 60+ Linky Parties."  The link will take you to two lists: the first is in alpha order and the second is in chronological (daily) order.

Moana costume reveal ~~ finish

In case you haven't heard, Moana is Disney's latest movie. I haven't seen it (although it's played in my house many times in the last week) so my knowledge is limited to this: It's about a Hawaiian girl. She's named Moana. 

Today she had a costume fail malfunction, and I fixed her top so that her upper half is not exposed. 

Here's the backstory: Jenny ran to Walmart for a few things this morning and, as she has only one child, she looked for a surprise for Marley. Lo and behold, there was a Moana costume. Even better: one size fits all! And on sale! It was meant to be. 

It turns out that one size does not fit everyone. The entire costume was too loose. But the top? Wow, the top was loose. Really loose. 

How about matching those fabrics?

 Grandmay to the rescue. I dug around in the oranges to find fabric that might work with the original color. Whip up a strap and done!  Okay, it did take a few several minutes to turn the narrow tube right side out. But I prevailed, stitched the straps on and helped Marley get in. I decided to make a halter-type strap because they remind me of the 70's halter tops we wore to the beach. Perfect, right?

Nothing exposed and no one spoiled...

Tiny finish though it is, linking up with 

Crazy Mom Quilts

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: O R A N G E

It's been a while since I used a color for inspiration and it's possible that I've never used orange. Such a pretty, hot color that can be used with many other colors. It's one that was rarely mixed with anything other than its analogous colors: red and yellow. Today, anything goes, and I've seen orange mixed with just about any other color, so don't be shocked by some of the loud, wild colors that may appear.

Do you wonder about orange quilts? Well, there are a few....

Do you recognize this last one? It's a recent finish from AmandaJean at Crazy Mom Quilts. I hope today's inspiration inspires you to use a little orange in your current or next project! Look for inspiration everywhere!