Sweet Dreams

In summer I dream of a chilly breeze. 
In winter I dream of a fire. 
At land I yearn for the stormy seas. 
Once there it is dry land that I desire.

It is no surprise that I made an Autumn Quilt in Spring :-) Meet Sweet Dreams.

Autumn in Spring

Island Batik's June Challenge Requirements/Guidelines are as follows:

• Project Type: Quilt for Quilts Across America
• Size: between 50” to 60” wide and 75” to 90” long. 
• Fabric: Any, in colors that appeal to children aged 2-17.
• Work with any size unit that you want, you can also use more than one unit size in the project.
• Must use at least 30 units total, made with the Studio 180 Design tool you received.

I received the Corner Beam Ruler.

Corner Beam Units

I used four colors - Orange, Green, Red and Purple - in light, medium, dark and very dark to make the Autumn Leaf Block.

10" Leaf Block

I love the gentle gradation of values going from light in the tip to very dark in the base of the leaf. 

In Orange

The leaf stem is made from Eucalyptus (now discontinued Island Batik Basic).  The background is Egg White. I used Schmetz Microtex 80/12 Needle for piecing.

I  made a total of 24 Leaf Blocks, arranged four across by six down.  

Design Wall

The sashing is 2" and the border finishes at 3".

Basting

The batting is Hobbs Premium Cotton. I used Schmetz Microtex 80/12 Needle for Quilting, using my walking foot in a 2" grid with my favorite squiggly stitch.

Quilting Detail

The Binding is a Green Vine fabric left over from the Wild Blooms collection. 

In the picture below, I am standing on a picnic table, with the Potomac in the background, while Paul took the perfect shot. Can you see the river to the right?

Finished Quilt - 52" by 76"

Since the quilt used only 24 Corner Beam units, when we were directed to make at least 30, I considered adding a fancy border.  But that would take away from the simple beauty of the quilt.

I wanted to follow the rules/guidelines but sometimes that is at loggerheads with design considerations. 

What could I do? The shape of the Corner Beam unit is similar to a candle/lamp flame.

So I made a Zippered Pouch. It used four Corner Beam units, bringing the number up to 28. I know it is not the required 30, but that is close enough!

Appliquéd Corner Beam and Semicircle Units

Instead of piecing the units, I appliquéd them using an invisible thread. I used Red, Green and Orange (for the lamps) but not Purple because it would not have a good contrast against the Solid Black background.

Diwali Themed Zippered Pouch

There are design decisions at every stage. Do you approve of mine? Please let me know. 

I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties, including Quilting Jetgirl's Favorite Finish. See full list on the sidebar.

In other news, Angela has announced that June will be Blue. Here are my Island Batik Blues ready to become Hexie Blocks. 

All the Blues - Light, Medium and Dark

We will be receiving our second Ambassador Boxes in July. 

I need to arrange, consolidate and make room for new supplies. Would you be interested in Island Batik fabric scraps? 

No pressure :-D But I'd love to know.

Accuquilt: Covering the World

Covering the World: One Quilt at a Time

Beginning in June 2023, AccuQuilt is partnering up with Island Batik in a pay-it-forward campaign called “Covering the World: One Quilt at a Time.” If you wish to participate in this effort, you can find the details here.

I chose to make two quilts - Sea Salt and Rainbow Kiss.

Sea Salt is a baby sized version based on my Masala Box pattern. I picked out bright blues and greens from the Island Batik Basics (these are available all year round) and paired them with Island Batik solid white background.

Sea Salt

Quilted using my walking foot, this cute baby quilt came together in just one weekend.  The binding is Island Batik Solid Light Grey.

Baby ready!

Sea Salt finished at 36" square and will join other quilts (from my quilt guild) going to the Inova Fair Oaks Hospital's Premie Graduation. These quilts accompany the premie babies when they "graduate" from NICU to go home.  

Brightness

I will be handing Sea Salt over to Jeanne in my quilt guild who takes them to the Fair Oaks Hospital.

I made Rainbow Kiss for GSAFE. GSAFE increases the capacity of LGBTQ youth and students, educational staff, and families to create school environments where all LGBTQ youth and students thrive.

Image Courtesy - GSAFE

Using Fabrics from Island Batiks Blenders (available all year round), I pieced the strips in a rainbow-ish order. 

Island Batik Blenders

Stitched Strips

Then I cross cut the strip set into strips and arranged and rearranged them till I was happy with it.

Design Wall

Everyone is welcome!

I quilted, following the seams with my walking foot.  The binding is Sprinkles (Island Batik Neutral). Rainbow Kiss finished at 42" by 46" and will join other quilts in Wisconsin for the annual GSAFE auction later this year. 

Here they are both - Sea Salt and Rainbow Kiss, my contribution to the Accuquilt's Cover the World event.

Off we go!

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

Caterpillar in My Curry

The fear of an unfinished object is real.  It is not that the UFO will physically attack me but the passive aggressive nature of the silent taunts can be pretty traumatic.

A new finish

Therefore the leftover strip sets from "Playing with Fire" had to be quickly repurposed.  

Repurposing Leftover Strips

Paul: Very Halloween
Me: I am calling it Caterpillar in my Curry
Paul: WHAT!!!

Me: If you can have a wasp in your hat then why can I not have a caterpillar in my curry?

Paul: You mean "a bee in your bonnet"?

Me: Yup, that's what I said.

Simple Rail Fence Blocks

Paul: But why is there a caterpillar in your curry?
Me: Because the orange curry has yellow/black caterpillar in it...
Paul: You make it sound yummy.
Me: Well, it is what it is.

Caterpillar in My Curry

Paul: What happens to this one?

Me: I can give it to Jeanne for her charity quilt drive or save it for Nancy's baby boy due in December. Plenty of babies in need of quilts.

Paul: Isn't it kinda dull for a baby quilt?

Backing

Me: It is. That is why I chose this Charlie Brown backing.
Paul: Now that is cute.

Labelled

Caterpillar in My Curry finished at 40" by 48".  A few more pictures.

Warm and Cool

Close-up Quilting

Cuteness!!!

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

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After months of waiting, it was finally time for sunshine - Sunny Papayas to Curried Bananas.

Sunshine!!!

Here are my Picket Star Quilt Blocks in gold, butter, honey, lemon, pineapple and butterscotch...or Yellow by any other name :-)

Corn and Curry

Sew Something Spicy

Light & Dark

Floral and Paisley

Butterscotch Juice Boxes

Floral & Geometric

And here are the blocks for RSC Project#2.  

Linking with Angela's RSC Linky Party.

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There were a total of 104 comments on the blogpost Diamond Star Quilts - Book Review & Giveaway.  Thank you so much - you are the best :-)

 The lucky winner of the giveaway is #5. Congratulations SandyPA.

A Warm Tribute

The Quilted Legacy Blog Hop is an effort to honor the legacy of Paula Budinger, who passed away earlier this year.  Paula blogged at http://paulabquilts.blogspot.com and later at https://paulabquilts.com. Many of us knew her through her blog and quilts. Paula loved colorful, scrappy quilts, and made kid quilts for Project Linus. Paula also studied quilt history, learned dating old quilts, and collected antique and doll quilts. 

To celebrate Paula's life and her love of quilting, some quilter-bloggers decided on a blog hop where each one of us shares a quilt we make for a charity or a cause close to our hearts. The quilts we share are as varied as each one of us. Hope you will take a few minutes to learn about Paula and visit other blogs to see the quilts made in her honor.

Paula Budinger

No blog hop can be complete without a giveaway. So let me get those rules out of the way.

Every comment (on any blogpost in the blog hop) is an entry to win one of the great prizes!  Yes, you can comment on multiple blogs. Janice will aggregate the comments and select the winners with a random number generator. The giveaway ends on May 15, 2020.

Here are the prizes: 

• Lorna, Sew Fresh Quilts, $50 gift certificate for her pattern shop.
• Yvonne Quilting Jetgirl, 2 PDF patterns of choice.
• Bernie Needle and Foot, $25 certificate for her shop.
• A fat quarter bundle from Figo Fabrics
• A set of quilty gift cards from Initial Thought by DMF  Note cards set 1
• A pattern of choice from Karen, Sugar Free Quilts
• A $30 gift certificate from Doris, Cactus Queen Quilt Co
• A PDF pattern of choice from Joanne, www.etsy.com/shop/CanuckQuilterDesigns

And here are the other blog hop participants.  


Wednesday, May 6  
Karen @ KaHolly
Kate @ Smiles From Kate
Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts of my Quilting Life
Bernie @ Needle and Foot
Linda @ My Sew-Called Quilts
Cathy @ Crazy By Design
Sue @ From the Magpie’s Nest

Thursday, May 7 
Kate @ Smiles From Kate
Diann @ Little Penguin Quilts
Rose @ Something Rose Made
Nann @ With Strings Attached
Mari @ The Academic Quilter
Louise @ My Quilt Odyssey
Susan @ Desert Sky Quilts

Friday, May 8
Janice @ Color, Creating and Quilting
Kate @ Smiles From Kate
Joy @ The Joyful Quilter
Susan @ Quilt Fabrication
Edi @ Edi’s Crafting Life
Carol @ Quilt Schmilt

Emily @ The Darling Dogwood
Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts - This is me

And this the quilt I made.

The Finish

The story follows:

The year was 2005. I was working in Fort Lauderdale as a junior planner, where Steve was a Senior Surveyor. We connected over our love of Indian food.  One day, I brought to work home-made green shrimp curry and uncooked rice. About 11:00 AM, I switched on the rice cooker. I still remember that lunch :-) Steve enjoyed the meal and I was happy to share it with him.

When the company lost the contract, I was let go.  In a few weeks I found another job but I had to move from Florida to Maryland.  When Steve found out, he came to my apartment with 20 packing boxes. Just like that. I did not ask. I wasn't even sure if I needed them, but he knew better.

I used them all.  More than once in my life, I have received exactly what I needed when I needed it.

The universe knows it all.

The concept

On the day I had to fly from Fort Lauderdale to Baltimore, Steve offered to drive me to the airport. I was carrying three large suitcases, while the rest of my stuff was on a truck headed north. When we arrived at the airport, Steve helped me with the luggage.  And then as I fumbled with my shoulder bag to check my ticket/boarding pass, an airport worker/porter materialized.

Fabrics 

I have a feeling Steve motioned to him. What happened next happened so quickly that I am still unsure of it. Steve tipped the guy a $20 bill (I think), which he pocketed, nodded to Steve and effortlessly moved my heavy suitcases to a cart.  I looked aghast at Steve and then at the porter and at Steve again. Steve smiled, wished me a safe trip, waved and left.

On the Design Wall

We did not see each other again but have stayed in touch through Christmas/Holiday cards.

We speak over the phone every couple of years or so.

Steve has a son, Eric, who is about my age. Eric is a fire-fighter, is happily married (to Amy) and rescues and fosters dogs.

81st Block - Puppies

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and related anxiety, I felt the need to reach out to Steve.  We chatted for over 35 minutes, talking about work, family and the uncertain times. When Steve mentioned that Eric was diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment, I knew I had to make a quilt.

Completed Flimsy

Twenty strips 6" by WOF in fall colors was the starting point.  Combined with solid jelly roll strips, I would get 80 blocks, 7" by 9" (finished size). I needed 81.  My solution for the 81st block was a puppy fabric - a nod to Eric's love of dogs.

Quilted

I used wool batting, faded chambray wide backing (from Connecting Threads) and orange binding.

Quilted sparingly to maintain softness and loft, using my walking foot.

70" by 90"

Labelled

I had a few fabric scraps left over. Added a few matching batik fabrics and made two zippered pouches.  One for Steve's wife Jeri and one for Amy.  

Scraps - Repurposed

The quilt is in the mail and USPS tells me that it will reach its destination today.

I am not going to ask but if Steve sends me pictures, I will update this post.

A Warm Tribute

This quilt was already in the works when Janice was setting up the blog hop.  The timing of the quilt just magically coincided with the blog hop. And here I am - once again - marveling at the miracles of the universe.  I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the sidebar.



Update - May 22, 2020

The quilt reached its destination and Steve sent me this picture.

Eric's Quilt

A few days later I received two cards - one from Eric and Amy and one from Jeri and Steve.

My heart is warm but my cheeks feel wet. Stay safe my friends.