tail end of the whirlwind

Well, maybe not the tail end of the whirlwind quilt making. I actually have one quilt that is basted and ready to be quilted.....I am just not in love with it. Yet. With all the schools closing down for about 4 weeks, I suppose that leaves me with plenty of time to fall in love with it.

These two quilts were not new creations. I wanted to make a new design but I told myself I had to complete 3 unfinished quilts first. I store my projects in ziploc bags, so I went to my 'Bin of Bags' and grabbed three.

Can I tell you how completely gratifying is to complete something that has been lingering as a bunch of pieces for so long? Aside from that fact that these projects take up space in my mind (I am always aware of the things I didn't finish.....as if the quilting Principal is disappointed in me...), these bags take up space in my craft room. And I truly think that an excess of things plays a part in my lack of motivation.

Anyway. I completed two! That's exciting!!

Here is my first one, which was a leftover bit of strips from my 16 patch quilt. I had bits of strips in precious fabric I couldn't bear to toss but wasn't sure what to do with. I threw them up on my design wall and moved them around until I came up with this quilt.

Ladies and gents, quilt #4.

Like my gulf quilt, I decided to have the binding be the same color as the background, so it did not take away from the color and pattern of the design.

The colors, and that warm peachy pink background are just soooooo comforting and warm. I am fan of this one. Who would have thought that some left over strips of squares that I akmost discarded could turn into something that makes me happy? 

Well, I guess I did, because I saved them. lol.

Straight line quilting allowed for plenty of wrinkle between the lines.

Finishing strong with my faves quilt photo. This one is all ready to be cuddled and can be found in my shop here.

And, now for quilt #5. I think I started this one a couple years ago, with bits of my Hello Bear fabric I wanted to highlight. 

I assembled them in picture frame style, just sewing pieces to frame the center block, and them trimming the squares to 10 inches. I added a border to all sides to make it larger, and voile!! A gray and white toned quilt with the most adorable woodland creatures framed like a comfy little scrapbook of furry friends. 

I think the vertical border strips were cut to 1.5 inches x WOF, and the horizontal border strips were cut to 5.5 inches x WOF.

This Bonnie Christine fabric is soooooo adorable. I have made at least one quilt from this line so far.

Look at the cute little mama and baby owl!

I noticed the tones in this quilt can feel with warm or cool depending on what it is surrounded by.

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It is listed in my shop here.

Y'all be sure to send me all the FINISH IT vibes, so I can wrap up this throwing star quilt that has been in progress since 2017!! Say what?!? It is basted and the binding has been created, I just need to quilt it and stitch the binding on! 

another couple whirlwind quilts

I mentioned yesterday that my lack of quilting generally results in a frantic drive to make things. I started with a straightforward design, and kept with it for the next two quilts, wanting to keep it simple so I could play with color.

Quilt #2 was inspired by the way the our gulf waters look when the sun hits. Varying shades of blue, with a sparkle unique to the Gulf Coast.

I used some of my favorite prints, too, so it's a fun little patchwork mix.

The cotton + steel moons, the HR goldfish, the eggs!! Love those prints.

I backed it in a solid deep turquoise blue, and I like how the quilting is so visible.

It was a bit small after I pieced the squares, so I added a little border, making it about 40 x 51 inches. 

p.s. those whales!!!!!

In case you haven't noticed, this is my favorite type of quilt picture to take. This quilt is available in my shop HERE. 

In case you are wondering, the squares in this quilt were cut to 6.5 inches, and I cut the border strips 2.5 inches x width of fabric. 6 x 8 grid of the squares, with the 2.5 inch borders means this quilt finished at about 40 x 51 inches.

Quilt #3 was fun to make and basically consisted of strips I sewed together, all the same width, but pieced together at different lengths. I added a border, like above, to make it a little bigger. 

This is for sure one of my top 5 color palettes of all time. It reminds of the sandy beaches leading into the ocean. See a theme developing here? Counting down days until summer has got me fixated on all things sea!

The border and the binding are the same fabric, so as not to distract from the focus. I quilted it with wavy lines across the colored strips, as my way of "mixing my colors" or "blurring" the color line.

These colors are my kind of peace.

Again, the solid backing really highlights the quilting.

This one went to my shop, but I will be making another larger version for myself to keep!!

Told you. My favorite kind of quilt picture. Shows the quilting, the backing, a glimpse of the way the colors play together, and because this is the way my quilts look on my couches and bed, it just makes me feel cozy.

I really loved making this one. You know how you have some quilts you sort of have to push through? Where you look at the quilt midway through and think, is this even worth finishing? Is that just me? (I actually am working on one of those quilts right now. It's been draped across my chair since Wednesday, all pieced together and basted on to batting, just waiting to be quilted.) Anyways, THIS quilt above was not one of those. I enjoyed every bit of the process and despite my back screaming at me while I was quilting it, I just kept staring down at it with heart eyes. Even a rather basic design can make me so happy.... the simplicity of it allowed me to enjoy the process even more, rather than stressing about points and perfect piecing. I am alllllllll about removing stress from this hobby of mine and trying to avoid the rules or anything that requires perfection. These two quilts were just the ticket.

*In case you are wondering, I *think* the strips in this quilt were cut to 3 inches wide, and varied between 18 and 25 inches long. I pieced two of the same color tone strips together, and then sewed all the vertical strips together. I think I cut the border strips 3.5 inches x width of fabric, for the vertical border. The top and bottom borders were cut to 5.5 inches x width of fabric and 6 inches x width of fabric. It finished at about 41 x 51.5 inches. 

a break and then a whirlwind

Maybe I should just accept the fact that maybe I fit into a weird subgenre of quilting called "stagnant-frenzied quilting." As in, I do nothing for a long (long, long) time, and then I get my groove back, and I churn out several things, almost compulsively.

Part of this is dictated by my circumstances. I have 5 children and my husband deploys overseas very often and is gone for months at a time. When my husband is gone, it's really difficult to find the time to quilt. Complicating it further, after working all day and then attending to my kids, my brain seems to be deficient in creative inspiration. The lack of time and motivation naturally lead to a pause in creativity.

But also, that tends to be my personality. I am all or nothing and I tend to exhaust myself doing the all, and that eventually leads to nothing. My goal is to do what I can to lessen the periods of nothing, because I truly do love and benefit from quilting.

So, my lack of making led to 5 quilts being completed in the last couple weeks.

The first thing I made was this simple star quilt, that was inspired by a floor tile I saw somewhere. I searched for the inspiration tile, and of course, now I cannot find it anywhere.

Here are a few pictures of the completed quilt.

I did some basic quilting at the 4 corners mark, and then did a bit of hand quilting at the top and bottom of the stars. You might need to squint to see it.

I really wanted to let the Maureen Cracknell print speak for itself and felt it needed to be a big block to really let it's beauty shine.

This better shows the edge quilting I did.

It was a fun, quick, and satisfying return to quilting and it is in my shop here.