july finish

Long time ago, there was a quilt-along hosted by Old Red Barn. Rail block from 2.5" strips.

I put them together into a top. And then put it away. For a long time...

The quilt top was quite busy, and I never got quite comfortable with it. Loving the colors and fabrics, this spring the top was rescued from the cupboard by adding 2" strips of Kona Snow.

Sommer i Bokn finished at 57" * 70", quilted with Quilters Dream Select cotton batting.

front

and back...

This quilt takes me back to summers with my grandmother at her little house on the small island of Bokn. Homebaked bread, selfmade jam, fresh vegetables from the garden along with grandfathers fresh fish. Running around in the garden, swimming in the sea, playing with my brother and cousins. Not a parent to be seen or heard. Closes there is to paradise, in a little girls world...

; )

garden of eva

We have the best neighbors. And I found a way to say thank you. It does include a quilt...

Eva has a lovely front garden full of flowers. Her requested colors were green and brown.

Looking through my stash I found some flowers from Anna Maria Horner's Garden party and Loulouthi lines.

Adding solids.

Fuzzy cutting and building some square in a square blocks of different sizes.

Filling up the 4 by 5 grid on the flimsy design wall (piece of cotton batting hanging in curtain clips).

Framing the blocks in Chocolate by Free Spirit Designers Solids.

And then, just waiting for the Apple Hugs and Kisses backing fabric that's been ordered...

It's like a box of chocolate, don't you think?

it's time ...

Although not in this seasons color, it was time to make some hourglass blocks!

A nice stack of perfectly cut 4" finished hourglass patches waiting to be pieced...

... all because of this nifty little tool. I was generously invited to try out the GO! Baby cutter by AccuQuilt. Friday afternoon it landed on my doorstep, and I just had to start playing with my new toy.

I chose the quarter square dies, aiming for the lovely old hourglass block. And then I just dived into my stash, looking for the right fabrics.

The process of using the cutter is quite simple. First I cut some fabrics into strips to fit the width of the dye. I ironed them, placed them on the dye with the cutting mat ontop and rolled them through the GO! Baby. Then I folded up some others, achieving up to six layers of fabric. I continued to iron the fabric before cutting it.

This quarter square dies has very little waste. The corners are nicely cut, so the block comes together without any dog ears. Easy peasy and instant joy!

The plan was to make a few patches, just testing the tool. But watching these perfectly cut shapes, I have to admit I got a bit carried away. Using my small (24" * 24") flannel design board, I put them into little stacks until my initial fabric selection was all cut up. Then I started looking for additional colors, bringing out the stash...

Could not resist sewing together a few blocks, and putting them up on the design wall...

This is what I have got so far. Limiting myself to only two colors, I am focusing on the contrast of light and dark. Starting out with a kit for a mini quilt in Jo Morton's beautiful reproductions, I have widened the selection to include other reproductions, woven fabric, some Thimbleberries and even cut up a few thrifted men's shirts. (Those cottons shirts cut like butter... ; ) would love to try that again.)

So now, I have the work cut out for me....

; )

friday finish

... what a difference two days make ... (a finished quilt top, that is...)

In a 10 by 14 layout this will be 40" * 56". I used most of the charms from the Sweet (Urban Chicks) and Hello Betty (Cloe's Closet)fabric lines, so I think I'll call "her" Sweet Betty.

This design just happened on the design wall, it was my first layout of the hst from my reclaimed box. Very heavily influenced by Katie. But still, like magic, there was exactly enough hst's to fill in this layout. I think it was meant to be ...

; )

On to more closet searching / ufo's and treasure hunting - what else will I find?

What do you think? Do you have a quilt or two waiting to happen as soon as you bring it out of hiding? A couple of years can be a big difference in what potential you see in a wip or ufo's.

So if you're up for it, go on and have some fun!

wip wednesday

... reclaiming some hst from a box in the closet

... pastels for summer

... easy sewing

; )

a taste of summer ...

... a bit of sunshine in the front garden...

... pretty peonies, inside and out ...

... time for some romance novels ...

... or climbing some trees ...

... smelling the wild roses ...

wish you all a taste of summer!