Double Dipping

I have not one but two finishes to share :-D  But first the background story.

Quilts 15 and 16 for '17

Specifically the cream background. You see, the Wild Nectar fabrics with a cream background did not make the cut for Esmeralda, because they would not stand out against the white background.

Poor Contrast with White

But they are too pretty to ignore. Just need a better setting to highlight their beauty.
I also had some fabric left over from the border, binding and the backing.

4-patch blocks from backing, binding and border

And these leftover squares now beckoned to me - constantly. Come get me. Don't you want to make something with me. How do you deal with the siren song of the scraps?

I gave in.

Enjoying the contrast

See how much alive these cream fabrics are against the blue/teal/aqua 4-patch blocks.
But it still needed something - a pop.

The pop of orange

After a few iterations, addition of orange solid from my stash, sewing and trimming, I came up with this little beauty.

Charlie's Birds

The cream squares are in good company with teal/aqua/navy four-patch blocks.  The orange makes it pop and the tangerine binding makes it all come together. Ta da!!!

This Peanuts Easter themed fabric was perfect for backing and the tangerine binding complements the green beautifully.

Easter with Charlie Brown

Because of Charlie Brown on the backing and humming birds on the front, I have named this quilt - Charlie's Birds. Yes, I am smiling too.

Labelled

The finished quilt measures about 36" square and it makes me very happy :-)

Happiness

To be able to squeeze out a second quilt from these gorgeous fabrics feels like double-dipping :-D


Let's continue to double-dip. Shall we?

To make the corner triangles for Esmeralda, I had to trim the layer cake into 8" squares, leaving me with several 2" strips left over.

2" strips - Scraps from Esmeralda

Do you know the trouble with 2" strips that are 8" and 10" long?
They are SHORT!!! Meaning they are too big to throw away and too small to use.
I had just the perfect plan - a simple and free tutorial to use them up!!! Here you go.

1. Take three strips, 2" by 10", and stitch them along the length, using a scant 1/4" seam. You should have a unit measuring 5" by 10". Cross cut into five sections, measuring 2" by 5" each. Repeat the process for all 10" strips.

Three strips 2" by 8"

Cut into 2" sections

2. Similarly, take three strips, 2" by 8", and stitch them along the length, using a scant 1/4" seam. You should have a unit measuring 5" by 8". Cross cut into four sections, measuring 2" by 5" each. Repeat the process for all 8" strips.

Peach and Aqua = Loveliness

3. Cut background fabric into 2" strips. Sub-cut into 2" by 5" rectangles.

Background Strips 2"

4. Place the background strips one on either side of the strata strips and sew. You should have a block measuring 5".

Trimmed Block

Now make some more.

5" Blocks

Arrange the blocks alternating direction. Sew blocks into rows and rows into columns.  For a 41" square quilt, you will need 81 blocks, arranged 9 by 9.  Here is a handy little graphic for your use, showing finished sizes.

Using all of my leftover strips, I ended up with 90 blocks.

Finished Flimsy

Arranged 9 by 10 and added skinny borders.  Used this Nursery Rhymes Fabric for the backing.

Quilted simply with wavy lines using my walking foot.

The turquoise binding works perfectly with both the front and the back.

Finished

The finished quilt measures about 42" by 46".

Paul, the model

I am calling this one Nectar Drops.

Labelled

A second quilt (top) from Esmeralda's scraps is Double Dipping, but a third flimsy - now that is Triple Dipping.  Or Double Dipping - Twice!!!

Two finishes!!!

Bright and Joyful

Charlie's Birds and Nectar Drops

That completes my October OMG. Time to celebrate and set November goals.

Fabrics for Christmas Quilt

I am making a Christmas Quilt and hope to finish the flimsy in November.  I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties.

Hope you enjoyed the simple tutorial for Nectar Drops. What is on your mind and on your goals list? I'd love to hear from you.

Snowmen Express

After Esmeralda, which was a herculean effort, I wanted to do as little as possible.
Time to reward myself :-D

Fabric Shopping!!! 

The Nursery Rhymes fabric will make the backing of my October OMG quilt.

Windham Fabrics Nursery Rhymes

I knew I had to have this orange striped fabric.

Balloon Stripe Michael Miller Fabrics

I will most probably use it as backing and will use the diagonal lines to quilt from the back.

Jumping and Munching Sheep

I also got these sheep and look at those plump farm animals.

Plump Animals

I fell for these snowmen and ordered immediately.

Instant Attraction

When I received the package, I realized that it was not quilting cotton but flannel. Could not use them for patchwork, but definitely backing.

Lovely Plaid Joann Fabrics

Also found this lovely plaid at my local Joann Fabrics.

Combine this plaid with that snowmen flannel and you have an instant quilt. Honestly, I have not made a quilt more rapidly than this one.

Finished!!!

Cuddly

I quilted it in the morning, before going to work.

Can you see the Quilting?

Finished the binding the same day, after returning from work.

Binding in process

Since it was so simple to put this together,  I decided to add faux piped binding (my first) to add a bit of pizzaz to it.

Faux Piped Binding

The turquoise blue of the binding matches the plaid. And goes well with he snowmen too :-)

Loving it

The finished quilt measures about 37" by 42".  I think Snowmen Express is a perfect name.

So cute!!!

Labelled and ready to go. Where is a baby when you need one?

Playing with Scraps

October OMG

Still working on my October OMG, using scraps from Esmeralda.

Border, Backing & Binding Scraps from Esmeralda

Remember me??? I heard the HSTs (left over from Clay's quilt) call out to me.

For Snowballing Corners

I had a few ideas.

Leftover HSTs

Looked at Pinterest. Too many ideas. Put these away for now. You little distracting things.

Another HST idea

Closed Pinterest.
Open Facebook.

Saw Janine's blocks for KaHolly. Oh no, time to get into action.

Making Doggone Cute Blocks for KaHolly
I chose Dog #5. This was the easiest block in my opinion.

Cutting/Piecing

I made two large blocks - one each in orange and turquoise.

Puppy Face

Moving one unit makes such a difference. And could be a mistake. See the puppy looks more like a lion when I moved that unit. 

No, no, no, get back to work.

Doesn't that look like a lion?

It is such a well-written pattern. Love the clear instructions, numbering of the pieces and all the little diagrams. Thank you, Lorna.

All done and ready to go!!!

Thank you, KaHolly, for this effort to bring some measure of comfort and healing to those affected by  the horrible storm.

I still have to complete my October OMG. How did a month of taking it easy turn into a month of frenzy? Does this ever happen to you?  I look forward to your thoughts.

Esmeralda

Have you met the princess, Esmeralda?

Here she is.

Esmeralda!!!

I am in love with her.

Esmeralda...aah

Shines & Shimmers

Me: Look, look, these point meet so perfectly.
Paul: Uh Huh.

Me: Love when that happens.
Paul: These points seem a teensy bit off

Me: Who told you to look at that one? In any case, that is a reject.
Paul: Hmmm. So not all points are perfect.

Stacked

Cut

Shuffle

Me: They are better than before.
Paul: Before? You have made this before?
Me: Yes, it is the same design as Mom' Quilt that I made last year.
Paul: Oh the pink/orange one.
Me: Yes

Match

Pinned

Pure Joy of meeting points

Paul: You had a very royal name for it.
Me: Raanihaar, meaning The Queen's Necklace

Staying Organized

Paul: What is this one called?
Me: Esmeralda.
Paul: That is a mouthful
Me: This quilt has been a handful and then some

Square to 8.5"

Cutting Corners :-D

The magic happens here

Squared again

Paul: Handful? How?
Me: It is queen-size, and has a thousand pieces.
Paul: Wow, that is a lot. But still fit for a queen?
Me: Yes, but the colors are softer - not a queen, may be a princess.
Paul: A Princesses' Necklace?
Me: Yes, but that does not have the sound effect. I chose to call this one Esmeralda.

100Blocks!!!

Paul: How did you come up with that name?
Me: I was just thinking of impressive sounding royal names - Desdemona, Esmeralda, Ophelia, Arabella - that are not too common. I like Esmeralda the best. Further, the quilt has shades of emerald green, so Esmeralda.

Design Wall - What would I do without you?

Press Seams Open

Paul: May be you should have spent more effort on matching the points than naming the quilt.
Me: You are banished from Esmeralda's court.
Paul: Is that so?
Me: Till the time you are summoned to fulfill your duties as the quilt holder-upper.

Finished Flimsy!

The fabrics are from Moda's new fabric line - Wild Nectar by Crystal Manning.

I wanted fabrics with a good contrast against the white background. Otherwise it would have been difficult to see the intersecting circles. Therefore, I did not use the two prints with beige background.

Turquoise Border

(But they are already in the next project. Details coming later. Watch this space.)

As much as I love the peach, emerald and gold together, I am convinced that it is the Bella Turquoise border that brings the whole quilt together.  What do you think?

Moda Grunge Pool

The backing is 108" wide Moda Grunge Pool. It is absolutely lovely.

Turquoise, Pool and Admiral Blue - One Happy Family

The quilting is super-simple.
Quilted two inches apart, using my walking foot and one of the decorative stitches on my Janome.

Trimmed & Labelled

Binding in process

The binding is Bella Admiral Blue and I believe it works beautifully.

A pop of binding

I was a bit concerned, that some of the light peach fabrics may not stand out enough from the background, but my fears were unfounded.

So gorgeous!!!

Everyone (I mean everyone) has loved this quilt - quilters and muggles alike. So obviously, I have been showing it off :-)

The illusion circles

The 99 blocks are arranged 9 by 11. The border is about 3.5" .
The finished quilt measures about 80" by 96".

Esmeralda on the Green

Feeling Shy?

With sunlight filtering through...

Although I took over 200 pictures by myself, I wanted just one picture showing the whole quilt - top to bottom - and that proved to be challenging. Even with Paul's help, on a nearby playground with a dozen clothes pegs, Esmeralda struggled to break free. Here are some pictures from our breezy attempt.

Thank you, Paul!!!

Aah the Breeze

Almost still

Taking it down

And Rekha, my buddy at work, is a fabulous quilt model. Look how she owns it.

Thank you Rekha

Beauty

Getting close

Paul: So who gets to snuggle with Esmeralda?
Me: Whoever is worthy.  We shall see.

Now that I have completed this humongous beauty of a quilt, admired here, shown her off and taken 300 pictures, there is nothing more left to do.

Just kidding :-D

I am going to play with the scraps. What I do with them is the stuff of my October OMG. 

Here is a glimpse.

October OMG

I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties. I do look forward to your thoughts.

If you love Esmeralda, and want to make the quilt or a few blocks, please go to the Moda Bake Shop for the complete tutorial, fabric requirements and lots of process pictures.