We made a Baby!!!

We all made babies - from play dough.

Play Dough Babies

It was one of the fun games at the baby shower on Saturday.

The Invitation

The mom-to-be chose the winners.

The Parents-to-be

Harry and Sally (not their real names) got married in July 2014 at the gurudwara (Sikh temple) in Washington DC, followed by the Quaker wedding ceremony in a church. Harry is a Sikh and Sally is a Quaker. And they made such a lovely couple. 

Wedding in the Gurudwara

Paul and I were fortunate to attend the ceremony. And I had so much fun - dressing up for the occasion, dancing in the baraat (wedding procession), enjoying the sumptuous food and wishing all the best to the couple.
When they announced that they were going to have a baby, I immediately dived into my stash to pick out fabrics to make a baby quilt. The theme was animals and a special request from the baby's aunt (my friend Manveen) - to incorporate Snoopy. Snoopy was the favorite cartoon character of the father-to-be.

For Harry & Sally's baby

Step 1 - Choose Fabrics

I wanted to make sure that the quilt was gender-neutral, since Harry and Sally chose to not find out the sex of the baby. The colorful turtle fabric was an obvious choice, just as the tossed owls and the fire-breathing dragons. The cat fabric is rather dull and grey and not my usual style. But I chose to incorporate it because of Flower - Harry and Sally's beloved cat who passed away a few years ago.

Owls and Turtles

Monkeys are my favorite. Swinging from the branches - they sure know how to have fun.  Can you find the giraffe?

I heart monkeys

Birds and Bees too.  The sole light purple square came from the scraps leftover from an outfit of Harry's mom.  I like to think that includes grandma's blessings in the baby quilt.

Birds and the Bees

Step 2 - Choose the pattern

Since the fabric was the major attraction, I did not want to cut the squares smaller than five inches.
Therefore, I chose a simple 9-patch layout with bright green sashing.

Smiling Fish, Lounging Puppies

I made nine 9-batch blocks. Some with colorful hearts on a black background and others with a cream background with the birds/red haired girl. Since Sally has red hair, it seems to work.

Green sashing

Step 3 - Piece

This part does require some playing around on the design wall, making sure that two similar squares are not adjacent to each other.  More importantly, there should be enough contrast between adjacent squares.

Yoga Cats

Yoga cats, orange puppies and bright colors make my day.  The yellow fabric with animal frames was gift from my quilty buddy - Sylvia.

Bright Turtles

Step 4 - Layer, Quilt, Bind and Enjoy

I used the same green for sashing and binding.

A finish!!!

The backing is this adorable Snoopy fabric. 

Charlie Brown with Snoopy

I had been looking for Snoopy fabric and it came to me when I least expected it. I found it in Georgia (visiting Paul's parents), the day after Thanksgiving when I chose to go for some Black Friday shopping. And there it was :-D happily waiting for me.

No, I did not forget to label it.

Labelled

So the final step is to enjoy the compliments, take pictures of happy parents and pose for pictures with dear friends.

Harry & Sally

Love the smiles!!!

So glad they loved it!

This is my first finish of 2017 and I am very happy with it.

with Manveen 

Manveen was the gracious hostess, as usual. We had a great time and we wish Harry and Sally all the very best of luck as they welcome the new bundle of joy into their lives.

Thank you for inviting us!!!

So, we did not make that kind of a baby.  But I am glad someone did - and that gave me a reason to make another baby quilt!!!

I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties and as usual, I'd love to hear from you.

Have a Minty Day & Pre-K Quilts

Serendipity is one of my most popular posts/tutorials.  Therefore, it is a crying shame that I have not used those blocks in any quilt.

That changes right now. Meet "Have a Minty Day"

Have a Minty Day!

I wanted to use some of the blocks from the original tutorial in a quilt. How do I pick which ones to use and which ones to save?  Eventually, I decided to pick out the non-blues. Just so the quilt was gender-neutral.

On the Design Wall

I used some of the fat quarters from the Horizons FQ bundle to add prints/interest.
It is amazing how closely these colors match.

Pieced!!!

The Serendipity blocks are on the bias and that was a bit of a challenge. Starch helped and squaring helped some more. But there are no seams to match!!! And that is why this pattern is a winner!!!

In the end, I love how these colors, prints and solids, all play so beautifully with each other.  It had a very summery feel to it but I was at a loss for a name. Paul came to the rescue.  He said that it looked like mints. Hence, I chose the name - "Have a Minty Day"

Quilted and Bound

The fall fabric was leftover from Curry Favor and I have been very protective of it.  With summer on the front, I was ready to put fall on the back.

For quilting, I used a serpentine stitch over the seams.  Since the blocks were about 6", I added some diagonal lines that also emphasized the Serendipity blocks.

Summer & Fall - Together

The black/white dotty binding works well with both the front and the back.  The finished quilt is about 42" square.

Labelled

Have a Minty Day is Quilt#12 from the Sugarland Series, and it is still available.  If you want it, please send me an email - sewpreetiquilts@gmail.com.


Remember Playschool?
This was just such a simple concept (random 9-patch blocks) that had amazing possibilities. I wanted to replicate that concept with a little more pizzaz.

Meet Pre-K.

Pre-K

More animals, objects, themes etc. Scraps from themed/novelty fabrics was the perfect choice. Some were cut from yardage and some from FQs.  Some came from remnants, but all from my stash.

Bees, Puppies and Monsters!

Giraffe, Pumpkins and a Hot Air Balloon

 The blocks finish at 9" and the sashing is 1".

Kites, Stripes and Swirls!

When I was putting together the 9-patch blocks, I made sure that all fabrics in the 9-patch were different. In the quilt layout, I agonized over distributing the blocks, so that same fabrics were not adjacent to each other.

Rich, Dark and Bright!!!

The borders are 1.5".  Yes, the borders are on the skinny side.  Because I did not want the quilt to be wider than 42". Any wider than 42" would require a pieced backing.

Pieced backings add interest but they also add time. I was still trying to make 14 quilts in 4 weeks.

Look at this Owls backing fabric.  Isn't it cute?

In my opinion, the pretty fabric makes a gorgeous quilt and I take all the credit :-D

I chose two orange fabrics for the scrappy binding. There is definitely a Halloween touch to it!!!

Orange Binding

And here is the label!!!  You can see the second orange fabric in the binding below.

Labelled!!!

Pre-K can definitely be an I-Spy quilt. Making Pre-K was a lot of fun and I could keep it. 

And yet, the best part was giving it to Nancy for she is going to be a grandma in March!!! YAY!!!

When I get pictures of the baby + quilt, I will surely come back and update this post!!!  For now, here is one more picture.

I will be linking with all of my favorite linky parties.  

Pretty Fabric+Simple Patterns = Gorgeous Quilts. That is my mantra.

What is yours?  I'd love to hear from you!!!

How I conquered the Green Eyed Monster?

Let's call her Rose.  I first saw her at a Toastmasters meeting. Instantly, I noticed her beauty, bright smile and cheerful eyes, her perfect hair and makeup. And then she gave a speech. I was awestruck.

3.5" squares

Later we connected on LinkedIn and saw that Rose had an advanced degree and was a federal employee. When Rose won the District Championship, I could not take it any more.

Sewn into 9-patch blocks

Why does someone have to be so perfect and popular and then go on to win the contest too?
I was jealous, very jealous. She represented so many things that I had wanted and did not achieve.

Grey Sashing

I wanted, at one point of time in my life, to pursue a PhD. Did not happen.
When I became a citizen, I tried to get a job with the federal government. Did  not happen.
I had been a Toastmaster since 2005, participated in many contests, won many awards and made a lot of friends. But NEVER won the District contest.

Flimsy Finished

I was not, I am NOT unhappy with my life. I am thankful and blessed. However, whenever I saw Rose or thought about Rose, it became clear to me that I was being consumed by the Green Eyed Monster. I hated it. I hated being jealous. I hated feeling unaccomplished around her.

Fox, Owl & Bird

I could not carry on while I was burning with jealousy. I decided to change this.

I decided that I will try to know her better, may be even become friends with her. I was hopeful that if Rose and I became friends, her successes won't make me jealous. I will feel happy for her.

Puppies & Turtle

Joyce was aware of my feelings towards Rose. (Joyce knows everything about me). No one else knew.
Me: I want to invite Rose and her husband over for dinner.
Joyce: What for?
Me: To celebrate her contest win
Joyce: You aren't going to poison her?
Me: I am jealous of her. I don't want to be. May be if I got to know her better, my feelings would change.

Can you find the elephant?

Rose and her husband came over for dinner. They were lovely guests, made perfect dinnertime conversation and even complimented my cooking.  I got to know her and her husband. I have to admit that Rose is a beautiful person both inside and out. As we became friends, I realized that Rose had had some challenges in her life too.  My feelings towards Rose did change, gradually.

Found a giraffe!!!

When I started quilting, I began to ignore Toastmasters meeting. When I posted my quilt pictures on my blog, Rose was appreciative of my work. When I skipped a few meetings, she sent me a couple of quilting magazines with a sweet note. Rose's mom is a quilter too.

Dots & Stripes too

One day, Rose had to come to Sterling to meet her uncle. She asked if we could meet for lunch later. Of course. Over lunch, she told me that she and her husband had been trying for a while and now she was pregnant.

Bird, Blocks & Buntings

I cried, not because I was jealous. (Paul and I had been trying too.)  I cried because I was happy. Happy for Rose.

Obviously, I made a quilt for Rose's baby. I decided to call it Playschool. The blocks remind me of the cubes in Playschool, where there is a color, letter, animal, fruit etc. one on each side.
I used the multicolored owl fabric as the backing.

Owls - so cute!!!

I used a simple scallop stitch for the quilting pattern and the squiggly stitch on the sashing and the borders.

The bright green binding is my choice. It is symbolic of how I felt - JEALOUS, but I don't any more.
It is symbolic of how I conquered the green eyed monster and reduced it to a strip of fabric!!!

Bright Green Binding!!!

The finished quilt is about 42" square.

Cuteness, quilted and bound

When I gave the quilt to Rose on Saturday, her face beamed with delight.
Rose: It is so cute. I love it.
Me: I love you.
Rose: I love you too.

Labelled

Finally, the jealousy in my heart was replaced with love and joy!!! The baby is due in October and I am so looking forward to meeting her. Yes, it is a girl!!!

Playschool, modeled by Paul

If you want to make this quilt, it is a terrific, easy and very quick pattern. And a great scrap buster too. I used 3.5" squares, some of them were fussy cut, arranged into a 9-patch block. The sashing strips were 1.5" and the border strips were 2".

I will be linking with my favorite linky parties and hope to hear your thoughts.