Pinkish

Happy new year of projects. I'm not really sure where I'm going, but I am pressing on. I'm starting with some small projects, one of which will continue little by little all year.

I did not participate in Angela's Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) at So Scrappy last year, choosing instead to focus on the Rachel's Quilter's Color Quest. This year, I'm going to sorta, kinda participate in RSC. I plan to make a Year of Scrappy Triangles, a tutorial by Leila Gardunia from 2017. These are 6-inch (finished) foundation paper pieced patterns, one block each week for 52 weeks. Here are my blocks for January (not trimmed down all the way):

The RSC color for this month is pink. Now, you can see that many of my scraps in these blocks are not pink. But look closer. Every patch has pink in it. My plan is to try to use up some of my multi-colored fabric scraps from my overflowing bin. The bin holds not only single scraps but some cut-off bits of blocks with more than one fabric. That's the bin on the upper left. The plastic punch bowl has a subgroup of those scraps that have pink in them. 

 
My "rules" for these blocks is to use as many multi-colored scraps as I can to make my blocks and then fill in with other scraps and pieces from my stash (which really could also be called scraps as most of the fabrics are much less than a quarter yard). For these pinkish blocks, I managed to use a different fabric for each patch. (That might not be possible every month.) I don't know yet what I will do for the other half of each block. I think I need to see how these go for the next few months before I decide. I'm also not sure how closely I'll follow the color for each month. I'm going to be flexible--maybe some months I'll check out the Monthly Color Challenge at Patterns by Jen and throw that color in as well or instead of.

But wait. There's more. I'm really, really tired of my old stash, so to perk myself up, I'm going to treat myself to some brand new fabrics in the color of the month, building a collection of some fun modern prints as well as some colorful low volumes, all quarter-yard cuts (unless I see something that I simply must have more of). This month I found these fat quarters at Lark Cottons:

I'm tempted to use them in my scrappy triangles, but I think I'll stick to the fabrics I already had on hand for those. Just going to pet those new ones for a bit.

This month, I also made a bunch of Bear Paw blocks in two-value combinations, and pieced a top from them and others I made last year for the Quilter's Color Quest. (Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of all the new blocks.) I added in some low volume strips to bring the blocks from 6 inches to 8 inches, and then joined 48 blocks to make a quilt top. Here are a couple pink blocks from that project.

That quilt is basted, and I started quilting it this week. I got slowed down by a pesky stitch-skipping problem. After a lot of trouble-shooting, I finally put in a denim needle, and it worked, although it sure does make a racket munching into the fabric. I'll share more about the quilt when it's finished. 

I'm linking up this week with Angela at So Scrappy for Scrap Happy Saturday and with Cynthia at Quilting is more Fun than Housework for Oh Scrap on Sunday.

I'm looking forward to digging in the scraps again next month and checking out some modern new fabrics in the next color. I'm wondering, do you find you need something to perk yourself up this year? If so, what works for you?

(Just a reminder: I'm not affiliated with any company, so when I mention products, services, or stores I'm just documenting what I used or liked.) 

 

Happy Wholecloth Flowers

Hello, 2021. Can you believe some quilters have new finishes to share already this year? That's amazing. I have a finish to share, but it's really the last finish of last year. I shared one photo of it in my 2020 wrap-up post, but didn't have time to get a post together for it, so here it is again.

Looks wonky; just the breeze

During November I had the thought that I might be able to eek out just one more quilt. I had a two-yard length of fabric I had bought as a souvenir at a Ben Franklin store on vacation in October 2017. I love Ben Franklin (think five and dime store, variety store...much cooler than a dollar store), but they are few and far between in my state now, so shopping there for fabric was high on my list of vacation activities.

I knew immediately how I wanted to quilt this fabric, but it took me this long to get to the quilt. I wanted to make it just a bit wider than the fabric, and when searching around in my bins, I discovered that I had a bunch of solids that were in the same color families as the fabric. And I don't even have that much solid fabric. There must be a connection between those pieces and this print. Are these "my" colors?

I used newsprint (packing) paper to foundation piece 1-inch (finished) piano keys for the borders. I didn't feel like planning corners so I just attached the strips and used a partial seam to finish it all off. 

I am still not real comfortable going into a retail store, but I did not have fabrics on hand that might work for a quick, easy backing. The next best thing was to search online for fabric immediately available for curbside pickup at Joann. My first choice would have been a local independent store, but they don't have a big online presence at this time. (I hope that might improve in the future, but I know that's hard for small stores.) You can not imagine how long it took me to look at (agonize over) every bit of fabric, squinting at or enlarging to try to determine how the colors and prints might look in real life. I fancied a small print multicolored floral, but of course, that was just a fantasy given what was available. I finally settled on a mottled yellow print.

It was described as a floral print, although I couldn't see that on my screen, and the colors sort of vibrated between yellow and orange. I took a leap of faith that that might translate to a goldish, cheddary (not lemon!) yellow. I was thrilled when the fabric was just as I envisioned it when I picked it up. The flowers just show up as texture, but it works well with the front of the quilt.

I knew that I would be tempted to over-quilt this, but I wanted to keep it a soft and not too lengthy project. All of the quilting is following the shapes. I tried to follow as close as I could, but did not obsess about it, so there are lots of wobbles--enough to keep it playful. 

I started with the shapes of the biggest flowers, then the tan leaves, and finally the interiors of the biggest flowers and some of the ladybugs. I was tempted to outline some of the small flowers, but wasn't sure how to keep myself from doing all of them, so I stopped. My freemotion quilting is a little rusty. I don't do it as much as walking foot quilting these days, and my stitches were a bit tiny, but the machine has a great stitch (tension is just perfect), so it still looks good.

I puzzled over the border a bit. I get bored quilting in the ditch, so I did not want to do that. I thought of a vine with leaves, but wanted it to be even simpler. Then I remembered that I had some very old cardstock stencils from back in my hand-quilting-only days. The biggest one just happened to be the width of the border.

I used to carefully measure and plan these kinds of borders to go around corners with symmetry, but not this time. Following the borders in the same style as they were attached was easier and had a more modern vibe. 

I used my hera marker for the lines, which worked well on the solids. And the soft December light by my window was just right to see the lines as I quilted with my walking foot. I left the last bit of border clear for my initials and the date.

(before washing, the washout marker shows)

When planning the size of the quilt, I made sure to allow enough fabric for the binding. I love pieced scrap bindings, but again, in the interest of a quickish finish, a single fabric was preferable, and the big print achieves the same purpose of varied colors. 

I took my time with the piecing and quilting, but it could have been a very quick project. I know that I will keep my eye open for other very large print fabrics to do this again because it was really fun. Minimal piecing, minimal marking, loosey goosey quilting, easy backing, along with a fun print--who doesn't love that?! (The only thing I might have done differently was center the main fabric vertically so those big bottom flowers weren't cut off in an awkward spot.)This quilt is going to be set aside with another similar-sized quilt until I have one more, and then I'll ship them off as a donation. 

Here's a gallery of photos after washing. I tried and tried to get good photos in the sun, but our weather has been fickle. The sun would peep out, I'd run out and get set up and then it snuck back behind the clouds. But I did get a few.

Where's the sun?

I did find some sunshine for a few seconds through the living room window.

Here are the stats for this one: 

Pattern: Wholecloth with piano key border
Fabrics:  Free Mind by Hoodie Crescent for Newcastle Fabrics; various solids, mostly Kona, but some others, too; probably a perennially-available Keepsake Calico fabric from Joann

Batting: Hobbs Premium 80/20

Thread: Superior Masterpiece in Granite for piecing; Superior King Tut in White Linen for quilting; Yellow, hefty hand quilting thread from my drawer (the label is gone, but it's got a nice glace finish)

Binding: 2 1/2 inches cut, double layer, machine sewn to front and hand stitched on back. 
Size: 48 1/2 by 60 1/2 inches before quilting; 47 3/4 by 59 3/8 inches after quilting; 44 by 55 3/4 inches after washing on cold and machine drying on low.

Machines: Singer Featherweight for piecing; Singer Treadle 115 for free motion and walking foot quilting and the machine work on the binding.

So that's a final wrap on 2020. After the week we just had in my country, I truly wonder what awaits us in 2021. Quilting will continue to be needed as a balm, I think. I gave my two machines a spa treatment this week while I was between projects. Then I started a new project, a Year of Scrappy Triangles, 52 patterns by Leila Gardunia. I think (hope) I can handle one block a week. That's all I'm going to say about it right now. I'll tell you about my "rules" for these blocks after I have a few made.  

Have a safe, healthy new year, and keep quilting!

I'm linking up with Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday (yeah, I know I'm late), Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop and Wendy at Wendy's Quilts and More for Peacock Party.

(Just a reminder: I'm not affiliated with any company, so when I mention products, services, or stores I'm just documenting what I used or liked.) 

Summing Up, Pressing On

Well, you know what kind of year we've had. That makes it all the more fitting to sum up our quilting projects--all those things that brought creativity, color, comfort and light to our lives. I'm joining in with Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs for the Best of 2020 Linky Party. 

I think we are supposed to link up the best 5 posts by whatever criteria we wish to use, but since this also is a wrap-up of the year for me, I've decided to link up all my finishes. Don't worry, there aren't that many. It just so happens that there were 5 months when I posted finishes, so I'll divide them up that way. 

My year started really slowly, but little by little I did make progress. Finishes didn't happen until July!! But then they came pretty fast. So let's take a quick look. If you'd like to read more about them, you can click on the links, or for all of them at once, click on the Finishes for 2020 label either on the right side bar or at the bottom of this post. I'll include a few attributions here, but for full info, you can see the individual posts. 

July. Whew! I finally finished the quilts from the blocks I made throughout 2019 for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge hosted by Angela at So Scrappy. 

This Crumb block quilt had been a bit of a drag for me. I found out I didn't really like making crumb blocks, but I stuck with it, making blocks in colors to match the background fabric which I had purchased at the beginning of the year. I'm pleased with the end result, but that's probably the end of my crumb-making career. The quilt is destined for donation, but I'm holding on to it a bit longer while I gather together a few more quilts of similar size. 

The other RSC19 quilt was yet another Butterfly Quilt (I can't stop making them) made from Butterfly Dance Mini by Ellis and Higgs. I made it my own by doing the pattern 14 times and string piecing the butterfly wings. I recently gave this quilt to my Dad to give his neighbor for Christmas. She's been really watching out for him this year, bringing him meals and treats and getting his mail for him every day, and he wanted to thank her for her friendship and support. 

September I finished three quilts in September. Two were almost identical quilts. I had picked away at them for much of the year, making the blocks for each simultaneously. One was a very late wedding present, and the other was to be an entry to an art show at our church that was cancelled because of the pandemic.

For these Colorado quilts, I used a columbine pattern from Ruth B. Mc Dowell's Pieced Flowers book. The rest of the patterns were my own paper pieced designs.The wedding quilt  was gifted as a house-warming quilt. I still have the other quilt for now.

During the first part of the year, I participated in the Quilter's Color Quest online workshop by Rachel Hauser to follow her book the Quilter's Field Guide to Color. Each month we made Bear Paw blocks according to some aspect of color. One month we were to base our blocks on an inspiration piece of our own choosing. 

Mine was a photo of coleus plants I had potted in the spring. Before I knew it, my Bear Paw blocks became a squirrel, and I just had to make a wall quilt for my stairway. By the end of September, I had a new Bear Paw Coleus quilt. I like it so much that I still have it displayed (in a different part of my home, now that coleus season is past).

October I try to always have some kind of hand work around to work on. I pieced an old-fashioned hollyhock quilt in 2017 using a pattern from Ruth B. McDowell's Pieced Flowers, and then took it with me to hand quilt whenever I went out of town. 

This quilt has seen a lot of vacations. But not this year. So I made a goal to finish it during our unlimited at-home time. Most of the quilting is visible only as stippled texture. It was a relaxing project. I plan to hang it in my living room in the summer, but for now it is in my quilting room just because I like looking at it, and it didn't seem right to put it in storage after finally completing it.  

November Ah, the month of the wild Jelly Roll Stroll quilt.  

This quilt was a blast to make. I used gifted ombre fabric from Louise who quilts at My Quilt Odyssey and made a variation of the Nines in the Middle pattern by Doris Rice. It was just the infusion of colorful brightness needed near the end of the year no one expected. Due to my wayward disregard for pattern directions, this quilt also gave me just the amount of challenge I needed to keep me enthusiastic about sewing a jelly roll. This quilt is in the donation pile, waiting for a few more companion quilts before it goes on its way. 

December I thought I was done for the year, but a piece of fabric I bought on vacation a few years ago kept calling to me, and this afternoon it became a quilt finish! I'll just include one picture in this post, and give it its own post next week. I love this fabric!!

So, to sum up, 8 quilts finished in 2020. Not bad in a year we'd rather forget for so many reasons.There were other projects: a fun fleece pillow with my granddaughter before the year went all haywire, masks (ugh), a sail-making project for a family-made model sailboat, oodles of Bear Paw blocks during the Quilters Color Quest workshop, and Christmas stocking stuffer ornaments and pillowcases for my Grands. The two most important projects to keep me quilting during the first half of the year when I had little desire or energy for creative projects were the workshop and the two Colorado quilts. As it turned out, creative projects were just what I needed. 

If there's a silver lining to quilting during a pandemic (besides the therapeutic benefits), I did learn some new things. For example, I know now that I can order fabric online and be fairly certain it will look the way I envision it. (Many quilters are already experienced at online shopping, but I have a hard time buying fabric that I can't see and feel, so this was a time-consuming skill for me to learn.) I can also carefully shop online for fabrics that are available at the local big box store and make do even if they aren't exactly what I was looking for, so that I can pick them up curbside and not wait for a mail delivery. I can go into a fabric store, and instead of dithering for an hour or more, I can make up my mind in the 15 minutes I give myself to mix in with other shoppers (in masks). And, of course, I can always make use of what I have on hand. 

This bedroom here: this is what happens when no one sleeps in the guest/quilting room for a whole year. 

The punch bowl is my garbage bowl for tearing foundation papers out.

But there are lots of potential projects here. Some new fabrics acquired over the year, including a bunch of low volumes with perky prints; many, many more Bear Paws to coordinate with all the ones I made this year for scrap quilts; some patterns I've been mulling over. I do need to come up with a hand work project. (Right now I'm trying to knit slippers, but that will fizzle in its attractiveness if I can't make them fit.) I will probably need to make a quilt top to hand quilt at some point so I'll have something to work on if/when we feel safer to vacation again. I'll keep working with these to stay creative no matter what 2021 throws at us. Beyond that, my plans are mushy as usual.  

This was a lighthearted look-back, but really 2020 was heavy in so many ways. It was hard for the whole world, but in my very limited experience, I can only speak from my perspective in my country, which faced unimaginable health, political, social and economic devastation. I fear that we will not learn the right lessons from this year. I look ahead to 2021 with hope, but I think, given the circumstances, we may need to just press on. Things aren't going to be magically rosy simply because the calendar changes. So that's what I intend to do: press on, remembering that quilting is therapeutic, fulfilling and joyful and will make the pressing on doable. I hope you will be able to do the same. Blessings to you in the new year.

 (Just a reminder: I'm not affiliated with any company, so when I mention products, services, or stores, I'm just documenting what I used or liked.) 

Jelly Roll Stroll

You know how people make those quilts from pre-cut strips and call them Jelly Roll Race? Those quilts that they make in a day or maybe a few hours? Yeah, well this is a post about one of those quilts. Except that this was a Jelly Roll Stroll, not a race. I started this quilt by playing with strips on September 19, then picked away at it little by little, and finished it on Election night (November 3) around midnight or maybe a bit after while nervously watching the returns on TV. As of this writing I have no idea who won our presidential election, and that's okay, as I will probably be too emotional to write at all by then, either celebrating or crying in my soup, and either way still very concerned for my country. So...here's a nice little story in the meantime.

This quilt started with a blog hop honoring the late Paula Budinger. who passed away in February. She was a delightful quilter/blogger who loved bright colors, learning new quilting techniques/styles, and donating quilts. Quilter friends Janice of Color, Creating and Quilting and Kate from Smiles from Kate quickly organized a Blog Hop to honor Paula's quilting legacy. Quilters who participated made quilts for their favorite charities.The hop happened from May 6 (Paula's birthday) to May 8. (I don't have a link to the actual hop here, but you can check their websites if you would like to see the quilts and posts of the quilters who participated.) I was not able to participate in the hop, but one of the quilters who did was Louise from My Quilt Odyssey. She made a fun Jelly Roll Race Quilt, and as part of her participation, she had a Boundless Fabrics Ombre Sunset Jelly Roll to give away. I was the giftee!!

Beautiful sunshine, persistent breeze

I have to admit these are not colors I usually gravitate to. Also, I have not worked with ombres before, and I was really uncertain how they would look in strip form for a quilt. But, remembering that Paula liked to learn new things, I jumped in to see what would happen. 

First I searched the internet for quilts that others have made using pre-cut strips. One that caught my eye was a pattern designed by Doris Rice for Moda a few years ago. She called it Nines in the Middle. The pattern makes a twin sized quilt and is really detailed, showing how long to cut strips and place them. I did not want to make a quilt that large, so I decided to wing it, using the general idea of the pattern but cutting my strips randomly and placing them for maximum use of my strips. 

I especially liked the nine-patches to break up the strips, and because I was just a bit intimidated by the bright colors, I decided to find a color from the opposite side of the color wheel to calm things down just a bit. I masked up and purchased a bit of turquoise fabric at my little local fabric store. It had a mottled look to it that I thought fit nicely with the ombres. I also purchased the remaining Kona Snow on a bolt for the nine-patches and "borders." The sales associate told me that they had been having a really hard time getting some basic solids (specifically, black, navy and white) in stock because everyone was using them for masks, so I was fortunate to get that bolt remainder (plus the bolt-end discount).

I was so happy with my purchases that I made my nine-patches first. Here's where following the pattern might have helped. After randomly cutting lengths of the strips and fitting them around the nine-patches, I realized that by not sewing the nine-patches into the quilt as part of the strips, I had to do partial seams throughout the construction. I don't have photos of the process. I was too into sewing for that. It took a lot of planning as I went, making sections of strips, partially joining them and then completing the seam after adding more strips or joining to a nine-patch. The great thing about this is that I think I would have quickly grown bored just sewing long strips together over and over. This took a lot of thought, which was a fun challenge and kept me interested. 

After I finished the top, I had a lot of strips left over. I did not want to make another quilt and there were more than I could use in a scrappy binding, so I decided to make a pieced back to complement the front. I first made some strip sets with the turquoise and white leftovers, making just the middle row of nine-patches. Then I laid all the leftover strips around and made as big a section as I could to cover a portion of the quilt. When I was finished, I found that if I bought one length of fabric the same measurement of width of the quilt, I could split it to cover the top and bottom of the back. This time, masking up and going to the store took a little more courage, as by that time the number of Covid cases was beginning to rise again. I chose to go to a larger quilt store, ensuring a wide selection of fabric. I also had about 30 dollars on a rewards card that I had earned just before the lockdown that I wanted to use up. I am usually a very slow fabric shopper, but I challenged myself to find a fabric as quickly as possible. I wasn't seeing what I had envisioned, but did find this watery fabric. I wasn't convinced, but grabbed it along with some basics, a pack of needles, and a few fat quarters to use up my rewards and was out of there in about 15 or 20 minutes. My, how this virus has changed my shopping habits!! And you know what? That watery fabric grew on me, and now I think it is just right for the backing.

Long before the quilt was finished I had an idea for a quilting pattern. 

I quickly sketched it, and after basting the quilt, drew the main lines with a flexible curve. (That is a scary tool for me, because I think there is lead inside of it. It stinks!! I store it in a heavy plastic bag deep in a drawer so I don't need to be near it. Weird, I know, but it does come in handy occasionally.) Then I used my walking foot to quilt each of the four sections. The result was nothing like my sketch. I tried following each line 3/4 inch away, but instead of graceful curves flowing across each section I ended up with (wonky, but that's a given for me) lines that flattened as I went. Luckily, it happened pretty much the same in each quarter of the quilt, so it looks like maybe I planned it that way? I'm sure it has something to do with the geometry of using a pattern like this in a not quite square shape. Plus user inexactness. Who knows? Luckily, I don't mind. I am a weird mix of precision-ish piecer and lackadaisical quilter. And, yes, finished is better than perfect, and all that.

initials/date with washable marker guide

initials/date after washing

I am thrilled with how the top turned out. The ombre created a lot of movement, and the bright colors are, as my husband described the quilt, joyful. And one other thing I have to note: I have not worked with pinked fabric strips before, and I had heard that sometimes widths are varied and difficult to work with. I did not find that to be the case with these strips. They measured 2 1/2 inches wide at the points and as long as I aligned those with my seam guide, everything fit together well. 

Selfie!

 

This quilt has been a blast, and a very good occupation during a challenging year and stressful time in my country for so many reasons.This was me on election night. 

I'm not sure I've ever completed binding on a lap quilt in one evening before. I was hoping that it would relieve stress. I'm not sure it did, but the quilt finish did result in happiness and satisfaction. I think Paula would approve of the result. I sewed with bright colors, tried a new technique, and I intend to donate this quilt (to be determined after I have a small batch of quilts finished). There was some talk after the blog hop in May that there would be another on Paula's birthday next year. If so, I think I might link this post up as this is my quilt to honor her legacy. I could not have done it without all the people who I mentioned at the beginning of this post, so many thanks to all of you. 

Here are the stats: 

Pattern: Variation of Nines in the Middle by Doris Rice for Moda. (Interestingly, the pattern had pink in the nine-patches in the photo, but I have since found a version of it with turquoise, so my quilt is definitely not unique even though I did not strictly follow the pattern.
Fabrics:  Boundless Fabrics Ombre Sunset Jelly Roll (Gift from Louise); Shabby by Lori Holt of Bee in my Bonnet for Riley Blake Designs (not sure of the color name); Robert Kaufman Kona Snow. Backing is a digitally printed fabric, Horizon in Dawn by Grant Haffner for Windham Fabrics.

Batting: Hobbs Premium 80/20

Thread: Superior Masterpiece in Granite for piecing; Superior King Tut in Temple for quilting; Superior Treasure Hand Quilting thread in Little Prince (variegated blue) to sew down binding.

Binding: 2 1/2 inches cut, double layer, machine sewn to front and hand stitched on back. 
Size: 53 1/2 by 61 inches before quilting; 52 1/2 by 60 1/4 after quilting; 49 1/2 by 56 5/8 after washing on cold and machine drying on low.

Machines: Singer Featherweight for piecing; Singer Treadle 115 for  quilting and the machine work on the binding.

I'm linking up this week with Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday, Michelle at From Bolt to Beauty for Beauties Pageant, Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop and Wendy at Wendy's Quilts and More for Peacock Party. 

Have a lovely weekend, and if you live in my country, take a deep breath, with patience and  hope for the future.

(Just a reminder: I'm not affiliated with any company, so when I mention products, services, or stores I'm just documenting what I used or liked.) 

Hollyhocks Finish

It's been a year since our last proper vacation. Sigh. I realized this yesterday because I have a long-awaited finish to share--my Hollyhocks quilt! 

I tried straight-on photos on the garage, but the breeze kept blowing the quilt, so the driveway will have to do.

I started this quilt back at the end of July in 2017. It took me a month to piece, and then I set it aside as my vacation hand quilting project. And my daycare trip quilting project. By March this year, we realized that it would probably be a long time before we would be traveling again, so I decided to try to finish this quilt in the evenings over the summer. Last night I went through my old blog posts about my progress and had a sweet armchair vacation as most of the posts show scenes of our vacations as well as some fun bike rides. If you feel the need of an armchair vacation (or want to see how this quilt came to be), just click on the Hollyhocks label on the right side bar or at the bottom of this post. For today, let's just enjoy the finish.

Work over the summer went slowly. For some reason, I had trouble getting my needle eye to pull through the batting. I don't remember that problem before. I tried all the types of needles I had on hand and ended up using a rubber band to pull it. In recent years, I had been using polyester batting for hand quilting, but I think this batting is cotton. Maybe that was my problem. It was annoying, but I kept at it. I also started to get tired of quilting on the busy fabrics on the front and discovered that quilting from the back side was much more satisfying. In fact, I love the modern back of this quilt in contrast to the cottage-y vintage look of the front.

I had some bright blue Grunge fabric that I wanted to use for the binding to represent a summer sky, but I didn't have enough. I found two cottage-y print blues in the drawer that fit nicely with the Grunge for a subtle scrappy binding. You can see them in some of my close ups.

Sorry about that loose thread. 

Okay, back to the front, and some stats:

Pattern: Hollyhocks blocks from Ruth B. McDowell's Pieced Flowers. Freezer Paper Piecing technique (like puzzle piecing).
Fabrics:  Scraps from my supply for the leaves, flower centers, scrappy border strip, and binding; 3 purchased Grunge fabrics for the flower petals; purchased background fabrics, and 6 fat quarters purchased from a sidewalk sale for the backing (one, a Kaffe Fassett, yes?). 

Batting: I'm pretty sure it's Quilter's Dream Cotton Select.

Thread: Superior Masterpiece in Granite for piecing. Several different threads to match the flowers, leaves and border. I used a hot pink Aurifil for the stipple quilting in the interior of the background, and a variegated blue Superior Treasure hand quilting thread for the border and hand stitching the binding. You really can't tell the difference in those colors unless your nose is a foot away from the quilt, but it was fun to use both. The overall quilting was meant to add texture without detracting from the flowers. 

Binding: 2 1/2 inches cut, double layer, machine sewn to front and hand stitched on back. 
Finished Size: 22 5/8 by 55 5/8 inches. Not washed.

Machines: Singer Featherweight for piecing; Singer Treadle 115 for the machine work on the binding.

The wind did that.

I don't grow hollyhocks. The impatiens will have to do.

This project went on way longer than I meant it to, but I am so happy it's finished. I plan to hang it in my living room in the summer, but I think it just might hang in my quilting room the rest of the year along with the floral theme in there and the antiques. Its cottage vibe will fit right in. When I complete a hand quilting project, I'm always a bit lost because I need more hand work for something to just pick up, but to get to that I need to think up and prepare another project. I'm toying with the idea of some hand piecing. We'll see...

This week I'm linking up with Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday, Michelle at From Bolt to Beauty for Beauties Pageant, Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop and Wendy at Wendy's Quilts and More for Peacock Party. 

Have a good quilting week, and I hope you get a chance to do some handwork, too!

(Just a reminder: I'm not affiliated with any company, so when I mention products, services, or stores I'm just documenting what I used or liked.)