Bluegrass & Candyland

As promised, here are the first two (of the total 14) quilts that I made for the Sugarland Fall Festival.

This was the Charm Box free tutorial from the Fat Quarter Shop and it is a great pattern for using charm squares.
I watched the tutorial and said - Huh, that is wasteful!!!

So, I made my own sketch - yes, it is very sketchy.  The finished quilt would measure 36" by 41".

Sketchy Sketch

I needed 24 charms for the main quilt and 30 charms for the borders. So I grabbed a few blue-green charms, a few 2.5" white strips and went to town.

For the sake of simplicity and speed (mostly speed), I followed these steps.

Step1. Choose two charm squares that go together well. Cut one charm in half and place the second in between and stitch along the two sides. Do this 12 times, using 24 charms.

Keeping the rows numbered

Step 2. Add the vertical strips in between the charm blocks.

Step 3. Add the horizontal strips.

Horizontal Strips Added

The vertical strips in between the blocks were 2" finished, so the use of jelly roll strips was perfect. But the horizontal strips and the outer vertical strips had to finish at 1.5". So, after I sewed the jelly roll strips, I carefully trimmed them down to size.

Step 4. Add the outer strips

Step 5. Add the borders - 6 charms on top and bottom, 9 each on the sides.

Completed!!!

I chose my usual Warm & Natural batting and this cute alphabet/animal print for the backing.

Baby Friendly Backing

Quilting had to be super simple too. I quilted using gentle curves, in one direction only.
The binding is a turquoise blue/green near solid that matches the front and the back perfectly.

Super Simple Speedy Quilting

Labelled, yeah!!!

Matched Binding!!!

You make me happy

Bluegrass

Since this was a successful completion, I was pumped.  Therefore, I decided to use my energies to make another quilt but this time in more girly colors.  

Meet Candyland.

Bright & Happy

It is extremely rare that I will like all the fabrics in a charm pack or a layer cake. Lili-Fied is an exception.  I bought Lili-fied layer cake on Craftsy when it was on super sale and I fell in love with it.

For Candyland, I cut up the layer cake into charms and followed the same procedure as Bluegrass.

In love with Lili-fied

Backing - Yummy!

Not only the backing colors matched the Lili-fied line, they also decided the name of the quilt - Candyland.

Pink and Orange

Labelled

The quilting is simple curvy lines, one direction only. No turning and super speedy.  Here are few more pictures, because there is no such thing as too much eye candy.

Hot Pink Binding

Binding matches both sides!!!

My sunshine...

Candyland

As I write this blogpost, Bluegrass is sold. But Candyland is yet to find a loving home.  One day, I am sure, it will make a little girl drool, just like I am doing right now.

If you are reading, please write to me. I love to hear from you.

Sugarland Fall Festival - The (Not Grand) Finale

It was 3:00PM and 85 degrees, which is particularly unpleasant when you are on hot asphalt of a parking lot and have 90 minutes to kill.  Cee was still busy setting up her table and wares.

Other vendors were setting up their tables. Some of them had tents.  Most were just modest tables and had large plastic bins.  There was free water and lemonade.  I had a little lemonade with a lot of water and then I walked around to see what other vendors were doing.  At least four jewellery vendors, one hair accessories, one mascara/eyelashes, one gaming etc., one Halloween outfits, one cupcakes, one self-defense for women.

My first impression - Where are the others? Woodworking, Homemade Soaps, Handmade Bags, Lotions/Creams etc. Birdhouses, Gardenware?
It was a very small festival with few vendors.

Tentless Booth & Me

And that is Paul's towel rack in the foreground.

I went and sat in the shade of a tree at the edge of the parking lot from where I could keep an eye on my wares. I began listening to a TED talk on my iPhone and imagined interested people oohing and aahing over my quilts.  That is when I saw Paul return to the parking lot.

What happened?
Why did he come back?

He had returned with a tent, a bag of chips, and a cooler full of ice and water bottles.  I was dumbfounded.
After I rolled my eyes at him for spending money unnecessarily, I helped him set up the tent over my table.

Paul: I could not let you wilt in the sun, my delicate flower.
Me: Thank you. I love you.

With the tent!!!

Paul's sweet gesture that provided cool shade also warmed my heart.  I am such a lucky duck!!!
Honestly, that was the high point of the day.

Yes, it was.

Quilts - Arranged and Rearranged

No, I did not sell anything. Nobody said that they were interested but did not have the cash.
Because I would take checks.

There were a few people mildly interested, three moderately interested, one asked if I made t-shirt quilts, and only one who wanted to see every quilt that I had on display.
"Are those crib quilts", one woman asked.
"No, these are smaller; baby quilts", I answered.

I gave away about a dozen of my business cards.  I still have all the grocery bags.

I sat on my plastic chair, under the brand new tent and doodled on my sketchbook.
A dear friend Mauna stopped by and that definitely lifted my spirits.

At 6:35, I texted Paul - please come get me.  He showed up just before 7:00 and we were packed and ready to leave shortly thereafter.

Me: Let's go to Olive Garden for dinner.
Paul: Sure.

Paul was very supportive and offered comforting words.  I understood that the size of the event was not conducive to selling quilts.  May be this whole setting up a booth etc. was not for me. Atleast not yet.

Me: I am sorry. I could not recover the cost of the tent.
Paul: I had been meaning to buy something like that for some time now.  Set up in the backyard for a  barbeque etc.
Me: I am glad, I provided an excuse for you to buy a tent.
Paul: Yes, you did. Can I have my towel rack back now?

When we got home after dinner, we brought in the quilts.  But left the cooler, the folding table and the chairs in the car for the next day. They were just too heavy to move right then.

I had spent the first part of September frantically working for the festival.
After the festival, I was so disappointed that I did not touch my sewing machine for a whole week.  I am such a "All or Nothing" kinda gal...
I organized my scraps, arranged and rearranged fabric, doodled a few designs but was unable to get into a mood to sew...till I saw this post on M* forum.

... established a group in 2013, for providing a remembrance quilt for grieving families experiencing a loss of a newborn, (or too young to be born). 
Your response and generosity was overwhelming.
I can't BEGIN to tell you what it means to parents, to have a tangible remembrance! 
And for nurses, to offer up any kind of remembrance, in the moment is PRICELESS!
Since then, our hospital has grown. Another building going up, offices being shuffled around. 
Somewhere along the line, my quilt cupboard was displaced. I have PLENTY of minis, mediums, etc...I'm REALLY low on the 32X32, (Newborn sized). 


32 inches square? That is tiny. I can do that. This is just what I needed. A quick project to lift me out of my funk because there are others in the world with bigger problems.

Get over it, Preeti.
Life (piecing, quilting, and binding) must go on.

I gathered my scraps and got back to work.

Purple + Green = Magic

Purple (looks bluish) backing

These purple/cream scraps belonged to Sylvia. Remember Sylvia?  She was probably working on a rail fence quilt and she gave me these slivers left over from her rail fence blocks. I added some green strips and it began to look like a quilt top.  Paul approves of the purple-green pairing. I agree.

When I pulled out the greens strips, I noticed that were other colored strips. Hmmmm who said that I cannot make more than one.  So off I went sewing, cutting, squaring, matching, trimming and arranging.

8" blocks, arranged 4 by 4 = 32" quilt!!!

This is the same pattern as Life's Embrace, but uses white strips.  Life's Embrace for Stillborn Bereavement Group - yes it is bittersweet.  

I do believe that it is life that we celebrate, however short it may be...

No, I do not work on one quilt at a time. I am not capable of it.  So, here are three quilts in process.

Three quilts in process

Orange Backing, Paisley Binding

Completed tops - Ready to be quilted

I will complete these three little ones and send them to their destination before the end of the month.  Thank you Sue. I needed this.

Some of you asked about the quilts I made for the Festival. Yes, I will share them. Each one of them.
Out of the 15 that went to the Festival, I have 14 (already blogged about Whispering Window) quilts that are waiting their turn to be shared with the blogland. And that is exactly what I will do. In the coming weeks, I will discuss two-three quilts per week.  I am sure that each one of them will find their way to the right recepient in due course of time.  Actually, five out of 14 have already gone, but those details belong in following blogposts.

Waiting to be blogged...

I apologize to all of you - my dear readers, for this anti-climactic end to the Sugarland Fall Festival.  Forgive me for raising your hopes and then crashing them.  Please let me know if you ever lost your sewing mojo and please please please tell me how you got it back.

Sugarland Fall Festival - The Build-Up

My dear friend Cee is a jewelry artist. She often participates in art/craft fairs and is pretty successful too.  Her designs always bring a smile to my face. One time we were shopping together at an arts store and I (in my usual hyper-excited state) exclaimed - "Oh those peacocks are lovely"
This is what Cee did.

Peacock Earrings from Cee

Naturally, when Cee mentioned an upcoming fall festival in her neighborhood, I was intrigued.  But when she asked me to join her, I was over the moon.
Cee: I have a free table and you are welcome to join me.
Me: Wow! yes, I will.

Heartfully Cute

And then I had the following internal dialogue
I have exactly four weeks.  How many quilts could I make in four weeks?
Wrong question.
How many quilts do I need to set up shop? 10?
At least.  20 would be better.
Is 15 acceptable?
Oh fine.

Mushroomy Cuteness

I needed a game plan. That I am a planner in my day job often comes in handy.
1.  I already have 3 quilts made.  Need to make only 12.
2.  That means about 3 per week.
3.  All quilts will be baby quilts.
4.  All quilts will use simple designs.
5.  Incorporate existing WIPs/audition blocks, if possible.
6.  Since the designs will be simple, make sure that the fabric is super adorable.

Monstrously Adorable

For the next four weeks, I was a piecing/quilting/binding machine.  I ignored all my chores. I exercised only when I felt too stiff from being on the sewing machine.

I pieced two quilts at a time, alternating the blocks for one with the other and I made bindings using the one fabric for two quilts.

Bindings - Oh so Neat!!!

I basted three quilts at a time. It was a lot like assembly line.
I had to be very careful that the quality of my work did not decline. The simple designs were definitely helpful.
I can guarantee that binding 12 quilts in one month period definitely improved the neatness of my bindings.

Yummy Cuteness

My friends on the M* forum cheered me on.
"I am sure you will sell them all"
"Oh, I wish you all the very best"
"You work is so beautiful, you will have every grandma drooling over your quilts"

Sell each one of them???
I needed bags. So I went to the grocery store and bought 15 reusable grocery bags.
How green of you, Preeti!
And I patted myself on the back.

15 Reusable Grocery Bags

My friend at Curves, Pat asked me - Do you have a business card?  
Make sure you put your business card in every bag.
I ordered 250 cards from Vistaprint.

ahem...

Paul gave me this box to hold my 250 cards.

Neat!!!

The Fall Festival was on Saturday, 9/19.  The fact that Labor Day was a holiday was definitely very helpful. I took Thursday, 9/17 off and managed to complete all the 12 quilts.
I did not have the time to do a happy dance because I had to photograph each one of them.

I photographed some on Friday and others on Saturday morning.

Paul's Towel Rack

On the morning of the festival, I prepared a PowerPoint presentation, with two slides for each quilt. Each quilt had a name. One slide had quilt stats, a picture, and the suggested price.  The second slide had more pictures.

Paul placed the PowerPoint presentation on his laptop to run in a loop.

My iPad mini had the back-up.

Sample Slide

Suggested price? 
Of course, I would be open to negotiation.
I imagined myself saying - "Since you love it so much, I will knock off $20 for you. Enjoy!!!"

Wait a minute. If you did that, won't you need change???
Aaaaa...rghhhhh.
The internal dialogue never ceased.

Quickly, I made a trip to the bank and withdrew $200 in $10 and $5 bills to make change.

There were times when this internal dialogue was not very internal.  At such times, I was talking to myself - out loud.  Paul was quietly supportive through this super-crazed, frenzied Preeti period.

I placed a few basic supplies - scissors, thread, seam-ripper, and cheater needles in a cute little box.  Just in case there was a loose thread that needed mending.

I also carried a lint-roller.  I imagined myself using the lint-roller to quickly remove loose thread bits before putting the quilt in the reusable grocery bag (with my business card) and handing it to the buyer with a big smile!!!

I had the laptop, the iPad, the business cards, the grocery bags, the water bottles, my sketch book just in case someone asked me to design something for them on the fly!!!

Paul kept the folding table, the chairs and the table cloth in the car.  He watched amusedly and patiently, as his frenzied wife got in the car with all her craziness before driving us to the venue.

Cee and I were the first ones to arrive.  I displayed nine quilts on the quilt rack, three on the towel rack and the last three on another quilt rack that was Cee's gift to me.

Once my set up was done, which took all of 20 minutes, Paul left. Cee's took much longer with all the little jewelry items that needed to be displayed just right.
Do you need my help, Cee?
Nah, I got it, she said.

Waiting...

Can you see the grocery bags, the lint-roller, the laptop case and the business cards on the table?

Yes, I was READY!!!  All I had to do was wait... for 90 minutes till the Fall Festival officially started.
What happened in the next 90 minutes and during the festival is my next blogpost.

Principal & Interest

My dad was a banker. One of the many things he taught me was the power of compound interest. Of course, there can be no interest if there is no principal. Therefore, saving is a big part of our culture.

Rainbow

In 1988, dad was posted in Bareilly, a mid-size town in northern India. He was the bank manager and living accommodations came as a perk. I was in12th grade and my sister was in the 10th. At this time, a bank officer from another town got transferred to Bareilly and reported to dad's branch. He came with his wife and two daughters. Being new in town, dad and mom took it upon themselves to make them comfortable. Fortunately, they rented a place a short walk from our house. We saw them often and became friends. The elder girl's name was Pallavi and the younger Priyanka. Since they were both younger than us, they called me (and my sister) Didi, a term of respect for elder sister. However, they did not just call me Didi, they gave me all the love, respect and admiration that an elder sister can dream of, specially Pallavi.

Vibrant Colors

One day, Pallavi asked her mom if she could get them a big sister. The mom laughed and said that if they had asked for a younger sibling, she may have considered it. To this day, that story warms my heart.

Warm Ones

Cool Ones

Time passed. The girls grew up went to college, and we drifted apart in pre-email days. And then we reconnected a few years ago with the magic of Facebook and LinkedIn. In 2012, when Paul and I visited India, we stopped in London to see Pallavi and her husband. Unfortunately, her husband was busy at work and we could not meet. But Pallavi, my sweet little sister, was there. She looked the same to me, but prettier, all grown-up and so chic. It is as if the years just melted away.

With Pallavi, in London

I love Pallavi but she idolizes me. I don't know what I did to have that effect on Pallavi. I believe it was just her age when we met. She was so impressionable at that age that if I showed her how to make noodles, it seemed completely awesome!!!

Cool Pattern

Bright Colors

Back to today - When I learned that Pallavi was pregnant, I was so happy for her. In fact, there was a whole range of emotions. There was joy, of course. I was also feeling sadness - I wish we were closer. There was a bit of elder sister concern - hope she is taking her folate regularly.

Paul, the model!

Thank you, Paul

And encompassing all these feelings I chose to make a rainbow quilt for her new baby. The pattern is Strip and Flip. I used 27 colors in the top. The batting is Warm & Natural, as usual. I chose this fabric for the backing. When I saw this fabric, it looked like giraffe heads, first. Isn't that cute?

Backing Fabric

But look again, and it may appear like a dancing man atop the Eiffel Tower. I don't know what you think but it is very chic and modern to me, very Pallavi-like. The binding is a pale green to match one of the colors in the backing. The finished quilt is 40" by 60".

Green Binding

Pallavi's boy was born on April 22. His name is Anay, which is one of the many names of Lord Vishnu.

Labelled with Love

When Paul saw me with the new quilt, he asked.

Paul: Who gets this one?
Me: There is a new baby boy in London. I love him very much.
Paul: Love him? Have you met him?
Me: No.
Paul: How can you love someone you have never met?
Me: I love his mom. She is the Principal. Her boy is the Interest.
I love the Principal. And, the interest is even dearer than the Principal.

Of course, Paul was confused. It is not easy being married to an "exotic" wife from another culture!!!

Love & Blessings for Anay

When grandparents dote on their grand babies, it is often said (in Indian culture) that the interest is dearer than the principal, meaning we love our kids but we adore our grandkids!!!
Now, Anay is not my grandchild but you get the feeling.

I also included in the package two baby blankets. Off to London!!!

Completed this in April but could not blog about it until the quilt reached its destination in London. As always, I look forward to your thoughts.