Sharing is Caring

While I absolutely agree with this sentiment, I suspect we have all had a child use it to their advantage when we had something they want.  The fun part of that is turning the table on occasion.

But, I've had a chance to share Lola with one of the most important people in my life:  my-niece-the-quilter.

I actually love this quilt -- not necessarily for the fabric choices -- but for what it represents. She has a friend who will be moving to Pennsylvania in the next month or so and wanted to make a quilt from the group of friends. So -- everyone (including kids) were instructed to pick out a FQ of a fabric that had some meaning for them with the departing couple. That is brave -- these are not quilters and one never knows what they will get.

She got hippos that "may" represent when they were pregnant together. She got the logo of a pie restaurant where the two guys were on a first name basis. She got turkeys because two families always spent Thanksgiving Day together. She got pumpkins because they met in a pumpkin patch. She got Harry Potter because one of the children adores it. She got cowboy boots because they bought the first pair of cowboy boots for one of the kids. She used fabric for the border that was the same fabric she had made luncheon napkins for a maternity shower. What a conglomeration. The upside was that most of the fabric were Spoonflower and not cheap see-through material!

I think this is the perfect pattern (don't know the name) for so much variation and the use of Kona gray sashing to help tie everything together -- along with a black inner border -- resulted in a special special quilt.

Add to that, my-niece-the-quilter had only longarmed one quilt years ago. She chose to stipple and did a great job. Learning to stipple and keep it even is not easy but she did it.  

I am so proud of her and love the finished product!

I hope you are getting to share your love of quilting with someone you love!

Jan

Quilt Math – an anomaly

Is it me or are there times when “quilt math” is inconsistent?

When I am making 76 blocks for a quilt and I get to #38, I am on the home stretch.  If I’m making 120 four-patches and hit #60, it’s a piece of cake!  I’m currently working on 7.5” log cabin blocks and have to make 64.  I completed #20 yesterday and felt like I am on a roll and this is going to be done in no time.

And then, there is this quilt.  I love it.  But this is block #8 of 16 total large blocks and I am overwhelmed at the amount of work that lies ahead to finish all the applique.  What gives?  Seriously, I feel like I just got started and many of you know this journey started in January, 2011 with a false start on a black background block and I couldn’t stand the lint and show through.  So that block will someday be a practice piece for quilting and become a linty pillow.

I was sure that halfway would motivate me to keep stitching.  As it is, I think I’ll give my fingers a rest and watch the World Cup, do a little long arming, and make log cabins. Maybe when I hit #9 I’ll be “on a roll”!

I hope your quilt math is working out and you are motivated to finish projects you love!

Jan

And then there were 7

....but that means there are 9 more to go.  This is like the never-ending-story!

I hope you are finishing up a project you love -- or still in love with a project that never ends!

Jan