Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Mermaids on Wings

It started with this fabric - cute and sweet. It is a complete escape from reality. Just perfect.

Cuteness

The concept was to frame the cute fabric and then alternate the resulting block with four-patch blocks. The four patch blocks were made from Lily and Loom charm squares.


Depressed :-(

I loved the mermaids and I loved the deep/rich 4-patch blocks but together they did not seem to work. It seemed dull and sad.

Something had to change.
I chose the colors from the mermaid fabric, cut up some 5" squares and put them up on the design wall.

Mock-up

Much better.  Completed 4-patch blocks were alternated with the framed mermaids and the flimsy came together quickly.

Finished Flimsy

Each block finished at 9". A layout of 5 by 5 resulted in a flimsy of about 45" square.  The possibility of a quick quilt is exciting, I thought.


Backing Fabric

But the backing at about 42" needed a little help. A dark blue border worked.


45" square

This backing fabric came from Sonja. On first glance the backing was fuchsia and turquoise. Once the blue borders were added, the little blue flowers popped up magically.

Hello Mermaid!!!

A yellow binding brightened the somber gray.  Here are a few more pictures - so that you can see the mermaids up close.

Flaming Orange & Pink Hair

Bright and Happy


2 Drink Umbrellas = Mermaid Bodice


Of course the Octopus is my friend


Simple Quilting

Labelled


Finished!!!

Ready to Snuggle

One last shot


Of course, the discarded 4-patch blocks needled me.  But I needed a break so I went out for a walk.

After a walk...

And I received a cute surprise :-)

Good Morning Bunny

Back to the task at hand - the discarded 4-patch blocks. How could I best showcase them?

I had bought a panel (Winged by Kim Shaefer) a few years ago and these birds and bugs was just the perfect solution.

Design Wall

Backing Fabric - Thank you Julie

This backing fabric came from Julie.  Once again the backing needed a little help and once again I used the dark blue fabric to frame the backing.


45" square


Multicolored Striped Binding

I love these birds and bugs :-)

Winged Delight

And here are a few more pictures because these little critters are adorable.


Yellow Bird

Pink Bird

Dancing Together

Bright and Joyful

Butterflies too!!!

Little Bird with Big Attitude


Labelled

And one last look...
Lovely!!!


What started as one simple idea resulted in two quilts. I will take that :-)


If you wish to use this idea here is a short recipe.

Block A - Use a 5.5" square of focus fabric, framed with 2.5" wide strips. Square to 9.5"
Block B - Use four 5" squares to make a 4-patch block. Square to 9.5"

25 blocks (5 by 5 layout) will make a baby quilt measuring about 45" by 45".
For a Mercyful quilt, you will need 63 blocks (7 by 9 layout), measuring about 63" by 81".

The quilt with orange stars (you saw a sneak peek last time) is all done and ready for a photshoot.
I promise to share soon.

I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the sidebar.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Hope you are staying safe.

38 comments:

  1. And then there were two! Nice to see how you went from making one quilt to making two. They are both so adorable. The mermaids and the winged friends are so cute.

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  2. such cute fussy cutting you did for those quilts - and you "glisten" after your walk

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  3. Overachiever! :) Two quilts at once, both lovely and colorful and sure to be appreciated. I hope to see them in person soon! I go walking before 8 am to avoid glowing like that, too!

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  4. Both of your quilts are adorable! I just love how the mermaids shine with the calmer squares and the bugs sparkle with the brighter squares. Great finishes!

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  5. Preeti, you were right on about rearranging the fabric combinations, and that resulted in two sweet quilts! That's a fun design, too!

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  6. That was a good call on changing out the mermaid four-patches. The brights really shine in their own right in the second quilt. Such cuteness overload!

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  7. Wow, well done! Two quilts finished really quickly. Your mermaid quilt is cute, but gosh I really love your second quilt.

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  8. I am always amazed what a "a few small changes" can achieve. Changing the blocks for the mermaids was just perfect and then I keep reading on and see you already found this beautiful solution for the discarded blocks?! You really have an eye for color. Great two finishes! xo Melanie

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  9. Well Preeti I thought the mermaid quilt looked wonderful until you swapped over the blocks and then it went WOW! Love both of the quilts, nothing better than birds and mermaids, well maybe only frogs! You do have a wonderful eye for colour and are very productive.

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  10. Both of your quilts are cute! I like the mermaids but those critters are my fav.

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  11. Oh gee these are two super fun but yet easy quilts to whip up. The birds and butterflies are my favorite! Definitely adding the lighter squares in the four patches was the way to go.

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  12. Oh Preeti, those are so cute. I love those mermaids. Great job on the backings.

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  13. I really like how you changed the 4 patches and it made such a different look! Both quilts are great!

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  14. Great choices in the changes you made. And two quilts instead of one! Perfect. Every time I see mermaids I think of my daughter who loved The Little Mermaid as a little girl...actually still loves mermaids as an adult.

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  15. I don't know which one I like better, there's so much to love! And I really love the backing on the first one. Thanks for the "recipe" - you knew I'd ask :D

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  16. Hooray that the map backing finally find its quilt! Looks wonderful - glad you lightened the mood of the mermaid quilt and the birds work so well with the leftover four patches. (cute bunny BTW)

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  17. Great job! I completely agree with the color choices you ended up with. The mermaids really shine and the original 4 patches look wonderful with their new focus fabric. Yay!

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  18. Great quilts and your changes were spot on! Are these for donation? Some lucky folks will get to cuddle with cheery and happy quilts.

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  19. Both of those quilts turned out great, Preeti! I am SEW glad that you switched out the 4-Patch units on the mermaid quilt. They seem happier with the lighter, brighter blocks!

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  20. I love the mermaid fabric. It's great when fabric speaks to you. Luckily, the mermaids were assertive enough to demand brighter fabrics for the 4 patch blocks. The darker four patches work beautifully with the cute little critter fabric.

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  21. Two great quilts. Those mermaids are adorable.

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  22. You have done a wonderful job on these two quilts. The change in the four patch for the mermaid quilt was just right. How great to start making one quilt and end up making two!

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  23. Great to see the transition from "nice" quilt to "great" quilt. And, then your addition to the rejected 4 patches really worked with those blocks. It's always nice to see your process. Hum, you must walk a whole lot faster than I do to come in "glowing".

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  24. Once again you perform magic turning an 'ugly duckling' into a princess! and i love the strip binding.

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  25. I love how one quilt became two. They are both so sweet and cheerful I love how they turned out.

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  26. Love those mermaids and the colors you found to make them pop! A cute design idea and two fun finishes.

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  27. Quick quilts once in awhile are just what we need to keep the creative juices flowing, these are both too adorable for words!

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  28. You definitely made the right call to add the white to the mermaid quilt, and now you have not one, but two adorable quilts. Impressive!

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  29. I absolutely love both of these! I have a leftover partial panel with wildflowers on it, it might benefit from a similar treatment! I also really like the border of blue on your backs, and it is amazing how it brought the blue in that floral to the forefront. Fun finishes!

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  30. What a huge difference it made to change out those four-patches. And I love the results in both quilts. This is a wonderful lesson in value and context! And now I have to go back and drool over that flower backing again. :)

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  31. Two quilts for the price of one. The first version was sad but, oh, the happiness the new version and its offspring make! I really love that spot of blue on both of the backs too! You did great!

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  32. Your mermaids are adorable. Very interesting how the 4-patches feel so different depending on which print they are paired with! But what I'm really marveling at is the way you managed to magically add borders to your quilt BACKING and have them look so straight, even, and amazing! I don't think I could pull that off on the long arm, because the layers tend to shift slightly as you quilt and roll up the completed portion to get to the next area. But I really love what your "make do" solution for the backing adds to both of those quilts.

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  33. A pair of darling little quilts! I too have that striped/dotted fabric that is so fun to put in and surprise folk.

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  34. Too adorably cute, Preeti!!! And a bonus quilt to boot! Love your backing fabrics, too. My thought was 4 X 4 = 16 blocks--just the right size for Jack's Basket!

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  35. Once it's done, it becomes so easy to see what was wrong. They both needed some white. Lovely. I recognize a couple of fabric in my stash, too. I really admire how you framed the back so beautifully AND got the frame square when you basted them both. Congrats.

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  36. Two fabulous quilts! The mermaids did need the lighter four patches and the deeper hued ones really look good with the brighter bugs and birds and butterflies! Well done!! Great finishes,

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  37. Very cute quilts! Congrats on two fun finishes (and for not leaving a bunch of orphan blocks hanging about).

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  38. Love, love, love your quilts! Very cute!

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