Friday Finish - Rainbow Scrappy Happiness

Another wee Friday Finish! I've been working away at filling this basket with my own little rainbow!

DT are growing like weeds and one of their favourite things is to eat at the big table. And they love to mess with Mommy and Daddy's placemats. Time for their own!

Into the scrap bin I went. Sometimes I wonder why I bother buying more fabric. It seems like all I ever manage to use are scraps! 2½ inch squares are my go-to. For a simple bit of patchwork, a 25 patch seemed  right. I even worked in some fussy cuts... I think I might be addicted to fussy cutting. And there's no 12 step plan for that.

I added a 3 inch strip down the side to bring the placemats up to the size I wanted. 9½ by 12 inches is just right for little plates and little hands!

The quilting isn't fancy - diagonal straight lines. If I were to do it over again, I might consider spacing the stitching a little further apart. Once washed, things got very crinkly!

 The kiddos first colour requests were green for BT and purple for GT

On the second round, GT asked for pink. BT for blue. So much for raising them with attention to gender stereotyping!

Round 3 features an orange placemat that Anja @ Anja Quilts thinks is for her to use when she visits. I don't think GT will give it up that easily! I still owe BT a red mat. I've had to mooch some squares to make it happen. So little red in my stash. Dena @ No Frickin' Blog Yet would be horrified.

  BT's not exactly a wee lad. Here's hoping he doesn't outgrow these mats too soon!

I love having little things that I have sewn as part of our lives. I just don't get it when people say that handmade items are too good to use. If they're not used, all that extra love that's sewn in just languishes on a shelf.  Use it, wear it out. We'll make more!

This sunshine-y basket makes me want to make one in every possible colour! Or maybe I'll use my time a little more wisely and get to sewing those Easter projects I have in mind!

I'm linking up today with Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts, as well as TGIFF @ The Carpenter's Daughter Who Quilts. Pop on over and check out some inspirational finishes!

J

Summer's End...

It's almost time... those pesky leaves are starting to turn orange-y red and the back to school sales are on. As much as I love a new package of coloured pencils, it's tough to switch into work mode after the summer off. On the glass half full side of things, it also means back to my quilt guild and more consistent gatherings of the two bee's that I belong to. Though there may be less time for quilting, there's no shortage of inspiration!

I've been working away on finishing up some project while the summer's still here!





I've posted this one before, but now it's all quilted. Happily, I found one of the fabrics at my local fabric store, so the back matches the top. I'm really pleased with the quilting... my flowers often turn           out more like amoebas than daisies! It doesn't have a home or a purpose, but that's fine by me!

The inspiration for this version of the wonky log cabin came from Block Party--The Modern Quilting Bee: The Journey of 12 Women, 1 Blog, & 12 Improvisational Projects a book by Alissa Carlton & Kristen Lejnieks. In keeping with my resolution, I rode the waiting list at the library for months... such a cool book! I just love the colours of this one! If they seem familiar, it's because it's made from the scraps of a recent baby quilt. Often when I'm making a gift for someone, I fall so in love with fabrics and colours that I don't want to part with it... terribly selfish! Making something else from the scraps or leftover blocks eases that a bit!

Speaking of gifts, I finally sent two special quilts on to their new homes... for two special sisters who camp with my family each summer. I covertly pumped them for info on their favourite colours last summer and worked on these over the fall. They were actually finished last winter (as you can tell from the pics), they just didn't make it there.

Miss E's quilt is in teal and Miss O's is in purple and pink, just as they described their favs. I intentionally chose fabrics that were not kiddy or girl-y. I like the idea that the fabric will age gracefully with them... in ways that ballerinas or cartoon-y flowers just can't. If you look closely, you might see a little secret that I worked in. Each quilt has one block from the other... so each sister always has a piece of the other with them. I wonder when they'll notice?

You might see these colours and blocks again... I misjudged the number of blocks needed and have a pile of orphans left... possibly enough for another (large like these) twin!

Thanks for reading... more to come soon!

J