I've Got The Blues

I am amazed when I look back at the quilts I've made and see how many are either dominated by blue or at least contain some striking blue aspects.  When shopping for fabrics, it's the blues that often attract my attention first (although I manage to find the time to look at ALL the colors before leaving any quilt shop).


Besides the 2 or 3 (or maybe 4) blue ones in earlier posts, here are a few of my bluer quilts:


Cowgirl Blues (2003?) [for Karen]

Through Time and Space (2000) [Anniversary Gift for Jim]

Dorothy's 80th Birthday Quilt (1997)

Sunflower Wallhanging (20??) [with lots of Swarovski crystals]

Walk In The Woods (2008) [for Lawson because of Alaska!]

Blue Mountains and Meteors (2002?) [for David]  

This is just a small detail.  I can't find a bigger picture of this one.  But it's BLUE!

So, do you think I'm in a rut?  Old habits must die hard, because I recently purchase MORE blue fabric.  Maybe the best thing to do is go out, hit all my favorite quilt shops and buy anything and everything except blue.  Yeah, that's a plan I like!

I'll leave you with this lap quilt, although it's only partly blue.  When I put this one together I wasn't particularly interested in patriotic designs but I had the right fabric and it seemed like the right time.  I finished it on Flag Day 2001.  Not many weeks later we experienced the devastating losses on 9/11/2001 and the quilt took on a deeper meaning for me.  Since then I've made a couple things for Quilts of Valor; more on that great organization in a later post.

2012 Quilt Block Lotto

I'm having so much fun right now with a short term project!  I volunteered to manage the GardenWeb Quilt Forum's block lottery this year.  We post a block or a color theme each month and anyone on the forum can enter 1, 2 or 3 blocks for 1, 2 or 3 chances to win.  At the end of the month we hold a drawing.  Winner takes all!  

I discovered it was more difficult than I expected it to be to choose blocks and colors that I thought might have the most appeal.  They need to be complex enough to be interesting and to make a pretty quilt, but simple enough not to scare off the beginners.  This is a great way to learn new blocks so it's wonderful for beginning quilters.  But it's also a fun way to try new things and use up some stash, so it's great for experienced quilters as well.   Even a small winning of just 12 blocks can make a lap quilt, a donation project or be the basis for a larger quilt.  Some months there can be well over 20 blocks in the pot!  A couple years ago I won a navy blue & white lotto; I turned it into one of my favorite quilts with yellow sashing and a yellow Minky backing.  And of course it reminds me of all my quilter friends on the forum.  Can you tell that I love the lotto?!? 

To get the process started this year I have pledged to the group that I'll make 3 blocks each month.  And to help get them all interested and excited about it, I've already made everything through July and posted the pictures on GardenWeb.  Industrious, aren't I?  Really, I'm having so much fun with it I can't stop!

January (any block, in red & white)

February ("Contrary Wife" in rich jewel tones)

    

March ("Amish Diamond")

April ("Bento Box" in black/white and a bright)

May ("Next Door Neighbor" in red, blue and beige)

 June ("Log Cabin" in warm neutrals)

  

July (any star in blues & yellows)

The Wedding Quilt

My very wonderful niece Lisa found an equally wonderful man Michael and they were married in August 2010.  I was so happy for them and was proud to be able to make this quilt.  It's large enough to easily fit a king bed and done in neutral shades that I thought she would prefer.


I am normally drawn to saturated colors - jewel tones in particular - so working with creamy neutrals was a challenge!  But the more I looked at them the more I loved them.  The original inspiration for this quilt is one I saw long ago called White Chocolate; this is a much simpler design but I kept those shades in mind while picking out the fabric.


Long arm quilt artist Mary Beth quilted this one for me; as always, she did a beautiful job.
 

I had DH Jim with me when looking for the backing fabric and he pulled this one off the shelf:  perfect!  I need to take him fabric shopping more often!

This Jinny Beyer border print nicely complimented the fabrics and her borders are so much fun to miter! 

Polar Fleece?

I know polar fleece may seem too thick for quilting, but I think it works.  It is thick but it's lightweight while still being very warm and cozy.  Probably NOT a good quilt for Florida, but fine for Wisconsin or snowy New York.  


I haven't tried it often, although the quilt I made with it became one of my favorites.  I used it not only as the backing, but also in the pieced top.  This one went to my brother-in-law Tom and if I remember right, it was for his 50th birthday.  This year he said he turned 12 on his birthday so I must be wrong about the 50th!  Regression isn't a bad thing and I do believe you should get to be any age you choose.


A quilting friend just asked about using flannel as a backing and I'm sure that's why I was thinking about the polar fleece.  I loved the feel of it and the distinct detail of the quilting.  No batting was used.  I only tried flannel once (Tavern quilt); I like the results and will probably do another.  I've never used wool although I've always planned to.  Plaid woolens in a simple, classic pattern like Ohio Star would be nice.  Old flannel shirts, cut into 4" squares with a lightweight denim backing would be interesting too.  Ah...  so many quilt ideas!

Older Quilts

Today I'm going to share some more of my older quilts.  After moving back to Orlando in 1998 (or was it '99?) I had more time to sew and more room too.  I had the passion to quilt, after my early Jinny Beyer success, but few of the skills and none of the knowledge.  Deciding to make something for our queen size bed, I decided to try a mariner's compass.  Here's the crazy part:  I didn't know where to look for a pattern so worked it out on graph paper myself.  At the time that seemed like a logical thing to do; now I know it was unnecessarily difficult and there were lots of places I could have turned for help!  I was so pleased with the top, but then it all went wrong...  I used a horrible spray basting adhesive that resulted in a tragically wrinkled back, my first try at machine free motion quilting was startlingly bad,  I should never have used inexpensive muslin for the beige parts, I didn't know anything about choosing batting, etc.  The list could go on and on.  Of course we used it regularly for years and I still use it once in a while.  If you did a drive-by, looked through the window and saw it, you might think it looks nice.  But once you got within 20 feet you would see how pitiful it really is.  But I know how hard I worked on it and how proud I was to work out the compass angles, so I'll never get rid of it!

Here it is: Mariners' Blues.  I called it that because we had to sell our boat when we left
Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay.

In the couple years after Mariners' Blues, I made a few more for family.

This is a simple but pretty quilt for my brother and his wife.  I called this one Biltmore Rose after a fun trip we all made to Asheville NC.

This next one is GrayC's Garden, made for my mother around 2002 I think.  Mom was a fabulous gardener and her beloved cat GrayC was out there with her most of the time although she was and is a confirmed house cat the rest of the time.  Mother chose most of the fabric and encouraged me to use a Stack-n-Whack pattern I had recently found.  We had a blast working on this; it was an important time for both of us.  After Mom passed, I just couldn't keep this one around and was thrilled when my sister in law wanted it.  She and my mother felt great affection for each other so it was the perfect home for the quilt.

I don't have a picture of the back but it's wide alternating stripes of the light gray and the deep maroon-ish purple.   

I've got lots more quilts to categorize and post, but I'll save them for another day.  Here, instead, are a few GrayC pictures then and now:

And now:  22 pounds and the queen bee of the household!

Almost my First Quilt

Many years ago - not even sure how many but probably over 25 - I made a very simple quilt with 4" squares for my friend Margaret's first child.  As I look back on it, the colors were nothing you would pick for a baby quilt but I don't recall if I was trying to be different or if I just didn't know enough to make a good choice!  I don't have a photo of that first quilt and it's probably a good thing.


In 1992 or 93 I was pretty new at exploring the internet but somehow came across Jinny Beyer's website.  I had never seen such beautiful fabrics!  Stunned, I decided I had to try my hand at quilting again and found a shop in town (Baltimore) that carried her designs.  Here's that quilt, which I really consider it to be the beginning of my quilting life.

It's a smallish wallhanging, about 2.5'x3', more heavily beaded than you can tell from the picture; I called it Executive Wing because at the time I was working in the corporate offices of a large manufacturing company.  I was involved in many projects at work that took months and even years to see completed, so quilting gave me a dose of almost instant gratification.  It was also a way to express my more creative side and that was fun too.  This quilt hung in my office at work for several years.

Later, I gave a similar quilt to my niece, but this one hangs in my sewing room.  I still like it and I'm still attracted to Jinny Beyer's fabrics and her great borders.  I've always wanted to take one of her classes but the closest I've gotten is visiting her shop near DC.

Minky Minky Minky

I don't know why it's more fun to say it three times, but it is.  Minky Minky Minky.  I love this stuff.  So do my cats.  Minky is an outrageously soft synthetic fabric, with a fluffy feel.  People touch it and say "ooooooh", then rub it on their face.  Men, women, babies, cats, everybody.  It's irresistible.  This isn't heirloom stuff, but it has it's place.  I like using it as a backing for quilts that will be used for comfort, whether the quilt is meant for kids or adults. I've used it as a backing on 4 quilts and I'm sure I'll use it again.
The first was a baby quilt, made in lime greens and bright blues.  

I liked it so much I decided to put it on the back of a quilt I was making for myself!  I won these lovely blocks in a quilt forum lotto in 2010; because they were made by my quilting friends it is a comfort for me.  No matter how stressed out I may be, I can relax and nap with this Minky-backed quilt around my shoulders.  It's a nice size at 6'x3.5' and the bright yellow always lifts my spirits.  

A small lap quilt, backed with blue Minky, was made for a friend who was facing several trips to a hospital with her ill daughter.  I included a large tote, big enough to hold the quilt, her Kindle, snacks, etc. - whatever she may need to carry with her while her daughter was in treatment.  Unfortunately, I can't find a picture of that one. 

On the Oct 13, 2011 posting I showed a recent quilt, made for my nephew when he started his first year at college.  I used the same deep blue Minky on this one that I used on the lap quilt.  Once I had the body of this quilt done it didn't seem long enough, so I had to get a little creative with a top and bottom border.  Similar to a 'sidelights' style, I used bright squares and rectangles to extend it.  I like the addition and will do that again!

Minky, Minky, Minky!