Captivated by Love

Sometimes there comes a project which will completely captivate you. Such was this project.

I had four quilts (Esmeralda, Parikrama, Shadow of Light and Animal House) to get show-ready - hand stitch the sleeves, labels, pillowcases and all. And I put that aside. Such was this project.

First Fabric Strips

When the on/off switch on my dear darling Janome broke last week, I dusted off the very basic, no frills, no walking foot, Kenmore machine and powered through. Such was this project.

Basic Kenmore

And today I am happy to share with you my finishes.  Let's meet Mira, Sia, Bella, Becca, Jaya, and Mohan.

Finishes!!!

Mira - Measures 24" square.
One of the many projects on my must-try-someday list is the Scrappy Trip Around the World. So, when Bernie announced this lovely project, I knew immediately that at least one quilt would serve as a practice for scrappy trip around the world blocks.

First Block - Trip Around the World

Mira

Mira taught me that an exact 1/4" seam is sacred for this block. Not a scant 1/4", not a generous 1/4", but absolutely exact 1/4". Mira was the perfect opportunity to practice and I love how she turned out. For backing I chose this princess/castle fabric.

Mira's Backing (I forgot the label)

The name Mira is meaningful in various cultures. In Indian culture, Mira is the name of a devotee to Lord Krishna.

Happy & Lovely

Sia - measures 20.5" square
Scraps left over from Mira turned into Sia. Four simple rail fence blocks, sashing and a skinny border.

Sia

 For the backing I chose this adorable and plump farm animals fabric.

Sia's Backing

Two strips - 2.5" by WOF are sufficient for binding this doll quilt.

Labelled

Sia is the name of Goddess Sita, wife of Lord Rama.

I showed Mira and Sia to my friend Cynthia.
Cynthia: Mira is beautiful.
Me: I have been meaning to try that block for a while now. I am so glad I did.
Cynthia - And I love the simplicity of Sia.  
Me: What do you mean?
Cynthia - I would have overthought it.
Me: Hmmm. But I am not sure of the princess backing for Mira.
Cynthia: Why?
Me: It may not be relatable to the kid.
Cynthia: Now you are overthinking it.
Point taken :-)

Let's meet the twins - Becca and Bella.  I had Chinese coin strips leftover from a long time ago.

Thanks to this project, they became something meaningful.

Becca - Flower beds separated by grassy rows. Becca measures 19" by 21".

Becca

I have had this bird fabric for a while, about 12" of it. It did not seem to go with anything else. I cut it in half to make this pieced backing.

Becca's Birdie Backing

Labelled

Bella - Bella resembles Becca because of the flower beds. But instead of grassy rows, she has bees and a leafy green border. Bella measures 19.5" by 20".

And here is the fun backing - plump animals, from the farm.

Backing & Label

A pink/grey houndstooth biding completes the quilt.

So cute!!!

Jaya - Jaya is made up of scrappy 4-patch blocks.  I am not sure when or why I made these blocks. But I am glad they were there.

Jaya

This little quilt came together so quickly because I already had the 4-patch blocks. A leafy green border completed the top.

4-patch blocks - revived

I wanted an orange binding and this backing with turtles, giraffes, elephants and birds matched perfectly.

Cute Backing 

 Jaya means victory, but is also the name of a goddess.  Love the sunny and cheerful Jaya.

Labelled

Amy mentioned that she does a boy doll about every third one. Fortunately, there were plenty of blue green 4-patch blocks. That brings us to Mohan.

Mohan - The word Mohan means attractive or captivating but is also one of the many names of Lord Krishna.

I love that the quilt Mohan is bright with a boyish charm.  A muted purple border completed the top.

Mohan

For backing I chose this owl fabric - it is definitely boyish, I think.

Owl Backing for Mohan

 A teal/aqua backing matches both sides perfectly.

Labelled

The universe works in mysterious ways. Can you see the pattern?

• Mira led to Sia.
• Becca and Bella came from the same leftover flower beds strips.
• Jaya and Mohan are both made scrappy 4-patch blocks.

I was only going to make two, but two became four and four became six. Who am I to set goals if the quilts are just going to make themselves?

This became my Drop Everything and Make it project. I will be linking with Sandra's Dreami Party, and all my favorite linky parties. Won't you Share the Love?

My Janome may take more than a couple of weeks to be fully functional again.  Till then, I will be hand sewing the quilt labels and the sleeves to make the quilts show ready.  That will keep me grounded :-(

On the upside, three quilter friends (including Cynthia and Mari) have offered their spare machines to me so that I can continue sewing.  So much love - my cup runneth over.

On the down side, I am lusting for the new fabric collection from Connecting Threads. Speaking of things/ideas that captivate me, take a look at Captiva? It is crisp and modern and completely drool-worthy.

Captiva by Connecting Threads

Should I give in?

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