Festival Friends Block Swap...the Reveal

So in my last post, I may have mentioned that I was a wee bit stumped with how I was going to make these eleven blocks and the panel I had chosen, into a quilt.   And not just any quilt...I wanted my quilt to tell a story...or more importantly...my story.

So for several weeks, my blocks were pinned on my design wall...and then they began to speak to me.  Come on now...don't tell me your blocks or fabrics don't speak to you....you know they do.  Inspired by my friend, Victoria Findlay Wolfe, and her book 15 Minutes of Play, I decided to use some of the blocks I'd received, as fabric, to create new blocks.  I also decided to combine some blocks to show how our lives become "intertwined" with those we meet.

Remember Nikki's block?

And Carol's?

 

I combined those two blocks to create this one.

 

And then the Palmer's block...

was joined with Pam's block...

 

And became this.

 

Cecille's Block....are you read?

 

Became this...because quite frankly... my quilt needed a castle.

 

Peggy's embroidered initials were cut into a heart shape and added to the tree as if they'd been carved there by very special friends.

 

The heart from Dana's block was added to the root of my healing tree...because true healing begins in the heart...and the pains of life run deep into our roots.

 

And my Festival Friends Quilt....(somebody play a drum roll please)

 

 

 

I am so incredibly proud of my creation.

 

a few close ups of some of the quilting....

 

  

 

 

 

And there you have it!  My first ever quilt created from a block exchange!  I'm thinking I might like to do this again sometime....

Got Blocks?

 

Festival Friends Block Swap

You might remember that this time last year I traveled to Ireland for a tour and a quilt festival.  I fell head over heels in love with Ireland and made some very special friendships while I was there, as well as a few seeds of friendship that were planted...and have continued to grow since my return. My trip to Ireland was also such a healing experience for me.  After losing my Dad just a few months prior to my trip, my heart still felt extremely heavy....and I was going to be there on the anniversary of my Mother's death.  Some of you, who know what it's like...when you lose that second parent...you not only grieve their loss...but you feel the loss of the first one all over again.  I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't focus on sad things while I was there.  And then, on the night of the anniversary of my Mom's death...I met this wonderful woman named Holly and her husband Jim.  Holly and I were having a lovely conversation about quilts when she asked "Who taught you to quilt, your Mother?"  One simple sentence and I had no control over the tears that followed and slid down my cheek.  When I shared with her the significance of the day, she took my hand in hers and said "You realize your Mother is here with you, right?  She's here and she's shining through you tonight."  In that very moment....I knew that I was exactly where I was supposed to be...hearing exactly what I was supposed to be hearing....and my heart was beginning to heal.

Holly and I

About a month after returning home, I received an invitation to participate in a "Block Swap" with a group of quilters who each had a connection to the quilt festival.  Nervous...as I had never participated in one before...I still said yes.  In the beginning, there were 12 of us, each receiving the same one yard cuts of three different fabrics.  Tweedy, by P&B Textiles were chosen in a shade of blue, green and gray.

There rules were simple.  Using at least two of the three fabrics chosen, we were to create a block twelve times over so that we each ended up with one of every one's blocks.  Of course, I wanted to create something that would represent my experience in Ireland.  So I chose a "heart" block.  I decided on using the small Twister template and drew out my pattern.

I used 2.5" squares and created the heart using different shades of green (P = Print) and surrounded my heart in the blue "Tweedy" to represent the sea.  After much deliberation...I decided to add one more little touch of a black and white striped border.

I titled my block "Ireland Captured My Heart" 

 

By the end of December I had received all of my other blocks for the project....now eleven in total including mine, as someone had to drop out due to time constraints.  These were the blocks I received.

 

created by Pam Hotle of Wisconsin

 

created by Kim Caskey of Canada

 

created by Nikki Foley of Ireland

 

created by Carol Moellers of Iowa

 

created by Karen Farrell of Ireland

 

created by Cecille Flagg of Ireland

 

created by Michelle Banton of Massachusetts

 

created by Dana Lynch of Mississippi

 

created by Chris and Rebecca Palmer of Ireland

 

created by Peggy Bass of Kansas

 

A few of us were fortunate enough to meet up in Houston during Quilt Festival to "swap" our blocks.

 

So now to create a quilt using these eleven blocks.  I will admit freely...I felt stumped.  These blocks were pinned on my design wall for quite awhile.  I kept waiting for that "light bulb" moment to happen.  Occasionally I would move them around a bit in hopes that act would spark some idea. Then one day I was looking through some photos from another quilting event and saw a quilt made with a panel that caught my eye.  I did a search and discovered it was called The Healing Tree by Melissa Marie Collins at Frond Designs...and I knew that somehow this panel had to be a part of my quilt.

 

So now, you've seen all the of the "pieces" that I would be working with to create my quilt.  Later this week I will be sharing my creation with you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finished Projects!

So excited to finally finish up two of my own projects this week! After searching awhile for a good backing for this quilt, I finally found the sweetest lavender minky with white polka dots.  It looks so great with this line of fabric called Snap Pop by Moda designer, Sandy Gervais.  The solid purple is a Kona Cotton  in the color Crocus. 

With the leftover pieces from the quilt, I had made this little string pieced gem.  Originally thinking I would use it as the center of a pieced backing for the quilt, but I had several friends who said "You can't put that on the back of a quilt...it's too cute for the back".  So, instead I turned it into a great big pillow! (using a 27" pillow form)

 

 

 When I started quilting, my first plan of action was to echo the diamonds and then decide on a fill for the rest of the blocks.  After about one row of echoing diamonds, I thought maybe this big flower design would be fun.  I was so very pleased with how it looked so kept right on going.  The only problem was, as I got closer to the bottom of the quilt, I realized that I started making these big flowers in the wrong spot, which then left me with a half a block at the top and at the bottom.   No ripping though...Because of the block layout, there's a "half flower" that begins and ends each row...and now, because of my error.. there are "half flowers" all the way around the outside of the quilt...one would think I had planned it that way. 

 I did some little flowers in the purple border...and recreated the flowers from the diamond blocks on a smaller scale in my four corner squares.  One of these days I need to remember to quilt inside the 1/4" mark so my bindings don't cover up my design...but gosh, I was making these happy little flowers and just got excited and kept going.  Live and learn.

 not the best photos at night...

 

 Both sides of this quilt make me happy!

and here they are together! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Scarf is Born

Look at this beautiful one yard piece of Madras plaid I found this past weekend!  Somebody special in my life has a significant Birthday coming up this week...and LOVES the color orange....so I decided to whip up a scarf for her as a gift....shhhhhh, don't tell.

First thing I did was trim up the cut edges of my fabric to get them nice and even.

Then I cut the piece into two half yard cuts.

I sewed the pieces together on one short end, then folded the entire piece in half lengthwise, RST and sewed about a half inch seam.  I thought about trying to line up the plaid lines...for about thirty seconds and then thought better of that and it actually turned about pretty well.

Then turned the piece right side out and matched up the ends.  Before sewing that seam, I pinned the ends together and put the scarf around my neck to make sure of the length. (Note to self and others reading...next time use a safety pin...not a stick pin)   I thought the scarf would be too long so I cut equal amounts off of each end before continuing.  Again, with RST I matched the ends and stitched as far as I could all the way around, leaving an small opening.

Stuck a pin there to hold it together while I whip stitched the opening closed....AND....TaDA!

An Infinity Scarf is Born...in like 15 minutes!

Ruffled skirt...in 30 minutes!

So when I was in Houston for Quilt Market....I spent a little time...and money in the Ruffle Fabric  booth.   The fabrics are so much fun and the samples in their booth were so adorable. They also have so many colors and widths of elastic to use with their fabrics.   Be sure to check out their web page...there are also several links for tutorials in using their fabrics as well!

 

One of the pieces I purchased (I may or may not have brought home several) was this large gray ruffle.

I folded it in half length-wise and cut it in half.

Then I put right sides together and pinned each side...making sure the ruffles were facing the same direction.  I sewed each seam with 1/2" seam allowance and tapered in when I got to the waist.

 

With a quick try on to make sure all was well, I moved on to the elastic waistband.  I cut a length of elastic that circled my waistline comfortably, then cut that piece in half again and sewed the side seams together.

 

I noticed that the elastic was fraying slightly so I did add a zig-zag stitch on each end before adding the waistband to the skirt.  I put the right side of the elastic waistband to the right side of the top of the skirt, matching the side seams.  Then was careful to only stretch the elastic as I sewed the two pieces together.

 

 

Easiest waistband ever!  And I love this wide elastic...very comfortable.

 

Next I tried on the skirt to check length.  I felt it was approximately 5 ruffles too long, so just trimmed off that length...and Done!

 

Easy Peasy...done in just about 30 minutes!