DQS7

Thanks for everyone's nice comments about the medallion quilt photo yesterday. I realized as I took it that the background (and evening light) matched the quilt top really well! I really do live in a beautiful part of the world and am appreciating having a relaxing summer this year to enjoy it.

I've been trying not to participate in too many swaps so that I can concentrate on some larger projects (and UFOs) during the summer break, but I just couldn't resist this one. Here's a peek at the back of my quilt. I just need to put a label on it, but am going to hold off a bit on mailing it - it's not due to be mailed until the first week of September!

Dear Swap Partner,

First, I will be happy with anything that you have fun making! But if you'd like to know more about my tastes, you can check out my Flickr favorites here. I was just thinking that the super traditional piecing and more muted colors I showed this week on my blog might be misleading. :)

I'll sign off with a photo from my balcony that inspired the color scheme of my DQS7 quilt!

Does Anyone Remember This?

I started this medallion quilt (as a wedding gift, I'm embarrassed to say) back in November 2006 and last posted about it here. I've been trying to wrap up some UFOs this month, so I thought I'd add a few more rounds to this. I'm going to put it aside again and work on a few smaller and more modern-looking projects, but I really intend to get back to it again sooner, rather than later! It's up to 66"x66" now - still aiming for 90"x90".

Leafy Rosy Hanging Out to Dry

Here's Leafy Rosy for my mom, finished and hanging out to dry. I'm a bit concerned that the bamboo batting is bearding a bit, but hopefully it won't do it any more! The finished size is about 82"x82", the pattern is a modified version of Leafy Rosy published in a few of Kaffe Fassett's books.

Quilting Leafy Rosy

Victoria asked me how I was going to quilt this top, so I thought I'd post the answer here. First of all, it took much longer than I thought it would - and much more thread! The entire quilt, including piecing, took about 2000 meters of thread! I used Aurifil Mako 50, my all-time favorite thread. I'm happy with the results, though! Now I just need to sew down the binding and then I'll do a proper photo shoot!

This first picture is the overall quilting design. Not sure if it makes sense to anyone but me. Very few starts and stops, starting with straight lines 1/4" on either side of the large (7.5") blocks, and free-motion 'roses' on the diagonal through the large blocks. This left me with the nine-patches. I like doing this back and forth squiggle and wanted to come up with a way to do it in each of the nine patches without having to start and stop in the middle of the quilt. Here's what I came up with:

I hope it might be useful to someone out there!

Round Robin Quilts I Worked On

The three quilts I worked on for the 3rd round of the Spring Fling Round Robin over the past few months have all arrived, so I can finally post more than just a peek here. I think all the quilts turned out great, but this is my favorite of the whole bunch so far.

I added the first border to this one (the solid blue background with simple applique).
Center block: Solidia
Second border: Laila
Quilting: John

I added the second border to this one (the dark squares).
Center block: Tami
First border: Judith
Quilting: Alicia

I quilted and bound this one.
Center block: Gina
First border: John
Second border: Margaret

Many, many thanks to Margaret for organizing the round robin!

I'm still waiting for mine to arrive - think it's been mailed. In the meantime, quilting the Leafy Rosy quilt is taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r......

Another Top!

Despite my wishing that July would last longer, I have nonetheless been pretty productive this month. I've finished another top and am having trouble deciding if I should quilt this next or if I should move on to the next project (another UFO). I should probably quilt this first, but that would require cleaning my floors so that I can baste it!

The pattern is Kaffe Fassett's Leafy Rosy, more or less. The large squares are 7.5" finished and the whole thing measures approx. 82"x82". The borders are two rows of 3.75" green squares. Not really a border in some people's book, but more than I usually do!

Apologies for the rather glum photo, but it's raining here today.

Q4L Number 21

This one is for Austin in Utah, USA.

Blocks made by (from the upper left): Tanya in Japan; Joyce in Canada; Sue in the US; Heather in KS, USA; Katherine in Canada; Anne in the UK; Michelle in OK, USA; Caron in MN, USA; Bea in Germany; Anne in the UK; me; and Caron in MN, USA. Backing fabric donated by Tiina in Finland, batting by Susan in ME, USA. And the whole thing was coordinated ably by Clare!

If you'd like to get involved in this project, find out more information here.

Polka Dot Post

I don't order fabric online very often and my bank account is much better off given the lack of quilting fabric for sale around here, but since I needed some more white Kona cotton, I added a few of these red and white prints to the order. I have a fun idea planned for these, but first I need to finish up a few other projects. It will be hard to keep from cutting into these right away, though!

Strawberry WIP

40 nine-patches later, I'm ready to sew these together into a top! Not exactly my usual colors, but they're growing on me.

Strawberries of a Different Kind

(MOM, if you're reading this, avert your eyes! My mom recently found my blog by googling the Swiss Quilt Festival! Or so she says...)

After all the jam making, I've moved on to strawberries of another kind. These two blocks are for a simple quilt for my mom. She chose the pattern and the fabrics a couple of years ago and I'm sure she thinks I'll never get it done. I'm hoping to surprise her with it in December! I have another strawberry project brewing, too, inspired by these minis from last summer. July is flying by too quickly!

I'm also waiting impatiently for the arrival of my Spring Fling Round Robin quilt and for the arrival of the quilts I worked on so that I can post photos of them, as well as for confirmation of the recipient of the next Q4L quilt, so that I can add the label, wash it, and photograph it before sending it off. More quilty content to come!

34 Jars of Jam Later...

I was distracted a bit longer than I expected! The price dropped, so I had to buy some more strawberries, and then finding apricots proved difficult, but not impossible. This recipe received rave reviews last year, so I was determined to make it again this year. Between all the cleaning, slicing, boiling, etc., there was also some knitting going on. I love the new Novita yarns, so I'm trying to use up some stash before I buy the new stuff. I did give in and buy one skein of the lakka (cloudberry) already. I love the berry names - there's also puolukka (lingonberry) and mustikka (blueberry). Yum. Need to wait a while until those are ready for jam making...

In the meantime, it's back to the sewing machine. I finished piecing this top today. (Sorry for the blurry photo - I just took it and although there's still some light, it's not exactly midsummer anymore!) I started this quilt nearly three years ago! I'm thinking of doing some very simple quilting - just wavy (oceany) lines across the surface. First, though, I want to quilt the Q4L top that's already basted and to finish a small hand quilted project. Back to work!

Distraction

Back soon with more quilt content!

Three Posts in Two Days?

Yes, folks, it's true. Three posts in two days. Summer at home is a good thing.

I had a great visit today with a crafty friend - look at the lovely crocheted potholder she so generously gave me! You can check out her yarn adventures on her bilingual blog. I have been considering relearning to crochet - and now have two very capable friends to teach me - but the question is: do I really need another addiction hobby?! For now, the answer is no.

I pin-basted the latest red and white quilt today and hope to start quilting it tomorrow, but in the meantime I was inspired to dig out a UFO from three summers ago. It's the Marquee pattern from Modern Quilt Workshop. I had everything cut, so it was easy to get started with it again. I ironed everything today, including the binding. This will actually be the fourth quilt I'll have made from this book (and the one closest to the original pattern!), but I shouldn't count my chickens before they're hatched! Here are the others, especially for folks who haven't been reading my blog since 2006/7 (and for those who fear that I've given up quilting for sock knitting!):

Zipper

Love Beads

Confetti

Group Efforts

A finished top today, but not just by me... This was a group effort for Quilts for Leukemia (more info here). Blocks made by (from the upper left): Tanya in Japan; Joyce in Canada; Sue in the US; Heather in KS, USA; Katherine in Canada; Anne in the UK; Michelle in OK, USA; Caron in MN, USA; Bea in Germany; Anne in the UK; me; and Caron in MN, USA. (Please let me know if these links aren't correct - or if there's one I can add!)

To be totally honest, I think it's a bit busy! If I had it to do again, I'd put in some more white around the original blocks, but hopefully the quilting will help!

Another group effort update - in Irish Quilting Magazine! Back in the fall of 2007 I won a give-away on Kate's blog. A few months later, I wrote to Kate and asked her permission to use the blocks for a doll swap quilt for Sherry. And now the quilt has found its way into the issue #4 of the magazine! Thanks, Kate and Sherry!

Back in Finland

I've been home a week now and have no idea where the time has gone! First, and most importantly, there has actually been sewing! This is just a tease - more to come very soon! (The colors might be a clue...)

When I got home, a great package was waiting for me from a friend who's leaving Damascus after two years. This cross-stitch wall-hanging is incredible. There was also a great apron that hit in just perfectly with my blue zigzag mood back in May!

Finally, I finished up these spiral heel-less socks. I was skeptical at first, but my mom convinced me to give me a try. A bit boring to knit around and around, but they really do fit well!