Timeless and Lesstime

Some quilts are timeless, like the one in the picture below.  This apple core quilt is displayed in the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery.  Hand quilted with Baptist fans, it is definitely beautiful and impressive.

Display from the Portrait Gallery, Washington DC 

Someone must have used a cardboard template and a ball point pen to trace and cut each piece. That sure took a lot of time. The fact that it is displayed in a museum qualifies it as a timeless piece.

Of course, I was there!

I, on the other hand, make lesstime quilts. Here is the story of a lesstime quilt.

Paul: I saw our neighbor with a baby.
Me: Suzie (not her real name)???
Paul: Yea.
Me: How old was the baby?
Paul: a couple of months, I guess

Now, this house has three occupants. An elderly father and his two grown children. No spouses. I have chatted with Suzie on a few occasions. I have seen the father once or twice. The brother is shy, rarely makes eye contact, and he may have nodded to me when he was out walking the dog.
So a baby was a big news and an unexpected one.
There was only one way to find out. I called Suzie. Yes, direct approach is the best approach.

Me: Paul tells me there is a new baby in the house. Are you baby-sitting for someone?
Suzie: No, it is my brother's baby boy.
Me: I did not know he was married. I have never seen his wife.
Suzie: When we travelled to (home country), he got married. His wife just got the visa and came last week.
Me: Oh, that is wonderful news. What is the boy's name?
Suzie: Michael (not his real name)
Me: Let me know when I can see the baby. I have a quilt for him.
Suzie: Oh that is so sweet. How is Saturday?
Me: Perfect.


I recounted our conversation to Paul. Then went looking for the quilt - Snowmen Express (plaid front, flannel snowmen on the back) would be perfect.

Oh no, I exclaimed aloud in shock and horror.
Paul: What happened?
Me: I gave the quilt to Jeanne in the quilt guild.
Paul: Huh?
Me: Jeanne had been asking for baby quilts for her charity for single mothers. So I gave her two quilts - the Charlie's Birds and the Snowmen Express.
Paul: Don't you have any other quilts?
Me: Yes, I do, but they are not fit for a baby.
Paul gave up and walked away to read the news or play his games.

For the baby next door

It was Thursday night and I needed a quilt by Saturday. Friday was a working day (I do have a day job). It was time to figure out a lesstime quilt.

Cheater Fabric

An hour of rummaging in my fabric room, I found a cheater fabric and the ubercute and kid-friendly farm animal backing.

Labelled

A few furious hours of layering, basting, quilting, trimming, binding and labeling stretched into Saturday morning, resulting in a lesstime quilt. PHEW!!!

When I met the baby, he had just woken up from a nap. He was in no mood to be social. Fortunately, the pink pigs and cute cows seemed interesting to him. He reached out his tiny fingers to touch the animals.

Pink Pigs & Cute Cows

My job was done.
Moral of the Story - it is a good idea to have a few cheater fabrics to make lesstime quilts.


May be some of my quilts will eventually become timeless - Esmerlada or the Queen's Necklace. These are the quilts I will make painstakingly, over several weeks, even months, choosing fabrics carefully, cutting diligently, measuring and re-measuring, sewing slowly, matching points meticulously and agonizing over every detail.

Drop Everything and Make a Lesstime Quilt

And in between, the lesstime quilts will just squeeze their way in...whether I like it or not. What has been occupying your attention? I'd love to hear from you. I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties (see full list on the sidebar).

This quilt for Michael also became my Dreami (Drop everything and make it) and therefore I will be linking with Sandra's Dreami Linky party.


For now, let's get back to the Fire Pit Quilt from Stash Statement. The blog hop has already begun and my turn is May 14, 2018 and there is much to do before that.

Blocks in the works

And one last thing. 

Captiva from Connecting Threads

Do you remember that I had been drooling over the Captiva line at Connecting Threads? So I went ahead and bought a few of those yummy fabrics. Look, don't you love these sunny and beachy hues.

These colors are so droolworthy

And today, they went on sale. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Yes, they are 30% off. It is too late for me, but you can get these fab fabrics at a discount, but hurry the flash sale closes on 4/26/18.

Wide Backing under $9 per yard

I also got the Captiva wide backing. All wide backing is 25% off till 4/30/18.

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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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