Celebrate Diwali

As the daylight hours decrease and the darkness envelops the northern hemisphere, Hindus all over the world celebrate Diwali - the festival of lights. You may have seen the newish British Prime Minister and his family celebrate Diwali at 10 Downing Street.

I have talked about my Diwali Memories and I made my first Diwali Quilt last year. 

This year when Island Batik gave us the choice to make a quilt project "celebrating" our favorite holiday, I knew instantly that I will be making a Diwali Quilt, using a fabric collection called Celebrate!!! Could there be a more appropriate fabric line to make this quilt? 

I started by making candles with two tone flames. All piecing was done using a 80/12 Schmetz Needle and 50 wt Aurifil Thread. 

Candles

Some height adjustments were made to create interest.

Tall and Short

The next step was adding text.  I marked the center and spaced the letters evenly. 

Marking the Center before placing the letters

I appliqued the letters and stitched them using a simple stitch without a break!  Check the picture below.

Applique

Once that was done, it was time to baste and quilt. I used Schmetz 90/14 Needle and Aurifil 40 wt thread for quilting. The batting is Thermore by Hobbs.

Quilting Lines Marked

And here is my completed Celebration quilt!!! Happy Diwali Mini Quilt finished at 14.5" by 20.5"

Happy Diwali Mini Quilt

Finished Mini Quilt - 20.5" by 14.5"

But wait there is more. Celebrations are always more than one thing and so is this post.  

I continued playing with these gorgeous fabrics and made this joyful quilt. I used my Accuquilt 8" GO QUBE to make the smaller half square triangles.  So. Many. Triangles!!! It is good to have an Accuquilt Cutter.

All piecing was done using a 80/12 Schmetz Needle and 50 wt Aurifil Thread. 

Koi Pond

Finishing at 60" square, I have named it Koi Pond.  Picture this - Colorful fish who ate lots of Diwali sweets (or Christmas cookies) and are now swimming in circles, chasing each other as they burn off their sugar high :-D

Let's get closer. Do you see the little swirls in the background fabric? These fish are creating some serious ripples :-D

Such happy fabrics

The background is Doughnut (Island Batik Neutrals) and the binding is Island Batik Solid Yellow.  I used Schmetz 90/14 Needle and Aurifil 40 wt thread for quilting. The batting is Thermore by Hobbs.

Kissing Fish

True Story - When I was arranging the quilt over the mailbox, prior to taking this picture, a woman stopped her car, rolled down her window and complemented me :-) I was so tickled. I smiled and thanked her. Then I continued smiling the whole day.

But enough about me. What is a celebration without sharing? So here is a free tutorial for you to make your own Scrappy Swirling Fish block. This may be a suitable block for Rainbow Scrap challenge next year. Let me know what you think.

May the holiday season bring you joy and peace that continues into the new year. I will treat every comment like a cherished holiday greeting. Big Squishy Hugs!!!