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.
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| Candles |
Some height adjustments were made to create interest.
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| Tall and Short |
The next step was adding text. I marked the center and spaced the letters evenly.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Quilting Lines Marked |
And here is my completed Celebration quilt!!! Happy Diwali Mini Quilt finished at 14.5" by 20.5"
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| Happy Diwali Mini Quilt |
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| 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.
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| Koi Pond |
Let's get closer. Do you see the little swirls in the background fabric? These fish are creating some serious ripples :-D
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| 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.
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| 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!!!
