Sunday, July 18, 2021

The Positivity QAL Link-up 2

Uh, oh, I've gone way ahead on the Positivity Quilt Along that Preeti at Sew Preeti Quilts set up to benefit Mercyful Quilts, a hospital hospice program that Bernie at Needle and Foot champions. You can read about both the QAL and the program by clicking on those links to their websites, and you can look back at my last post for my quilt up until now. 

My problem is that once I started this quilt, I just could not adhere to the schedule. I wanted to sew and sew and sew. And after my last post, I forgot all about taking photos as I worked. So I have no whole flimsy photos. Let's pretend that my quilt has not been done for several weeks. I'll show you a couple bits and pieces, and in my next post I'll try to have some photos out in the wild (if it ever stops raining) and the stats. 

Let's look at a section of the back first.  


I challenged myself to find something at the sidewalk sale of a local fabric store. I really wanted to stay with the geometric fabric print theme. There were hundreds of bolts, but, I kid you not, only one bolt that had anything that seemed like it would work. I was hoping for something lighter because I didn't really want the quilting to show so much, but the tiny print in this navy fabric worked fine to (mostly) disguise any quilting issues. We'll just call those wobbles my signature style of walking foot quilting. I had some leftover pieces from the front and decided to work them into a strip to add a little more vibrancy. 

Here's a closer view of the backing fabric. (Those little turquoise dots really do work well with the front):


Here's the flimsy on my basement floor (because rain outside) waiting to be trimmed. (Ignore the fact that it's quilted.)

For the binding I cut more blues (still trying to use them up and getting closer). The binding looks like solid navy here, but it is those same tone-on-tone prints that I used for the plus signs. 

Remember all those bonus HSTs? I knew that if I didn't use them right away, they'd go into the scrap bin never to be seen again. I played around with them a bit and came up with some placemat ideas. Our local Meals on Wheels program collects these through a local fabric store to gift to the recipients each spring.  This one is waiting for a back.

And this one needs a border to bring it up to the requested size.

I tried to keep fabric placement random, but now I see some side-by-side stars that look a lot alike. (Funny how photos let you see what you don't notice in fabric.) Oh, well. Random is random. I have enough yellow and cream HSTs left yet to make one or two more placemats. 

I'm linking up today with Bernie at Needle and Foot, where we are sharing our progress in the Positivity QAL.

I'll be back with the finish link-up on August 22. In the meantime, I need to scope out some places for a photo shoot, finish the placemats, and get started on my next quilting adventure.

I hope your quilt-making is positively delightful this month! 



 


12 comments:

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

positivity really turned out great - I like those colors

Sylvia@Treadlestitches said...

What a pretty quilt! And I think it's awesome you already have it quilted! There's nothing wrong with working ahead. The blue binding will be the perfect finish.

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I think you should be shouting from the rooftops that yours is finished! It looks beautiful, and will be so appreciated!

Susan Smith said...

Lovely!!! Can't wait to see some "in the wild" shots. Clever use of the leftover triangles & I can see all the stars in your second placemat & it's great. I also forget to take photos & you've reminded me of something I must do, when it stops raining. We've had the most overcast year I can remember so far & it's cold & windy now, but it is winter. Outside photos are waiting here too. Take care, stay safe & hugs.

Bernie Kringel said...

Not to worry Janine, you are not the only quilting rebel. There are two quilts already at my house waiting to be taken to Mercy!! Love yours so much. Great colors - and that backing is an added bonus.

The placemats are awesome. I have so many of those trimmed HST's and keep thinking I should do something with them. They are cute and ready to be stitched into something. Someday...

Thank you for linking up and for making a quilt for Mercy Hospital! :-)

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Yours turned out great! Love the extra dimension those corners lend!

Mari said...

This is so pretty, and I love the little extras you made, especially the friendship stars. Snowballing the corners really made for a great design. As for overachieving by finishing the quilt already, I'm sure that's because there's another quilt lurking in the background, just waiting to be made. Maybe some of those new fabrics are screaming for attention? Congratulations on a great quilt, and I can't wait to see what comes next.

Sandra Walker said...

That backing shot sure intrigued me on Instagram, and the front does not disappoint! Love your colours (you knew I would) and I love the placemats Idea! I may do that with the leftover HSTs from FYOP! I love how you got so totally zeroed in on getting this done, and oh, I can relate to trying to use up navy blues....

KaHolly said...

Fantabulous!

Louise said...

Yours turned out super cute! I love that all the plus signs are different tone on tone navies :)

grammajudyb said...

I wouldn’t be apologizing that you are nearly finished! Holy Moly, I’m in awe! I just hope mine gets finished by the deadline! I’ll work on making the binding while it is being quilted! It’s a fabulous quilt!

Kathleen said...

What a great job you did. I love it when people just forge ahead and get it done. Hooray for you!