Icecream with Sprinkles

Sex is like food, but different.

Beauty and the Beach

You imagine it to be sweet and smooth like ice-cream.
In reality it is like barbeque ribs - sticky and messy.

Ice-cream with Sprinkles

You picture it will be a neat little cup with a small spoon.  You daintily take a bite, close your eyes and enjoy the gentle melting of the ice-cream on your tongue. You take a deep breath of extreme satisfaction as the coolness travels down your throat, while the sweetness lingers in your mouth. Pure bliss.

Barbecue Ribs

In reality, the barbeque ribs are rather large and unwieldy. You go to pick it up and it is hot and it slips out of your fingers and as you try to catch it, the sauce splatters all over you. You manage to catch it but you are up to your elbows in brown goopy mess. It is spicy and smoky. It is sweet and salty. It is juicy but also burns. Pure disaster, but worth it.

Finished!!!

Such is this quilt. It looks innocent - like a cup of ice-cream (with sprinkles) but making it has been a long drawn out process - like smoky ribs.

Kaffe Fassett

There were some scraps leftover from Clay's quilt other than the HSTs (that became Parikrama and the squares that went to the Little One).  Some were really skinny slivers.  I devised a simple plan to use up those skinny slivers.

Slivers - Composite and Simple

Make composite slivers!!!  Sew them along the length and cross cut into slivers, resulting in a mix of simple and composite slivers.
Are you still reading? Oh my goodness, thank you for your support and patience.

Cut and Insert

To give maximum focus to these slivers , I stitched background fabric on either sides to make a 6" square block.  Once I had 64 blocks, I would sew them in a layout of 8 by 8 and call it a flimsy.

Changed orientation to avoid bulky seams

Just when I got close to 60 blocks, I found a ziplock bag with slivers left over from Angel's Midnight Garden.  (Does that ever happen to you?)
Oh my goodness, more Kaffe Fassett fabrics. Was that a sign?
Of course it was a sign. More background fabric was cut, slivers were inserted and more 6" squares were churned out.

Contrast Borders

I was now up to 144 blocks.  Some slivers were still left over. What if I make the second cut/insert?
Some squares were inserted with sliver #2.

Flimsy

Light YellowBacking

Green Binding

144 blocks. Arranged 12 by 12 would yield a square lap size quilt of 66" sides.
I was already dreaming of snuggling with it, when I spoke aloud.

Sun shining through...

Me: Lap size goodness infused with magnificent slivers of Kaffe. So snuggly!!!
Paul: Lap size? Who is it for?
Me: Me, myself and I
Paul: What if someone else wants to snuggle with you?
Me: Who would that be (I asked innocently)
Paul: Brat, who else?
Me: Oh you?
Paul: Yes, me. Such a pretty quilt and none for me.
Me: So you really want to snuggle with the quilt, not me.
Paul: It can be both, you know.

Time for design modifications. At current layout, the quilt would be 66" square. I needed it to be 66" by 88". Meaning I needed a layout of 12 blocks by 16 blocks. That is a total of 192 blocks. I needed 48 more blocks. And all slivers were gone.
AAA...........RRRRR....................GHHHH.

Brightness = Happiness

Finished at 72" by 94"

I cannot possibly put into words the mental calisthenics, the scribblings and scrawls that led to the final design and layout.

Hello Beautiful!

In the end, I decided on a layout of 165 blocks, arranged 11 by 15. Plus 5.5" borders.

Labelled

I am calling this one Moonbeams. Because those colorful slivers - simple and composite - beam against the white/off-white/silvery moon-like background.
Slivers on Silver - say that five times fast :-D

Moonbeams

Celebrating Color

My love affair with Kaffe continues...

Ready to Snuggle

I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties, see full list on the sidebar.
How is your summer - like ice-cream or smoky ribs? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Say Hello to the Little One!

I am listening to Eragon by Christopher Paolini.
The dragon is Saphira, the rider is Eragon. Saphira's name for Eragon - Little One.

Finished Flimsy

I have a finish to share. Finishing at just 37.5" square, it is one of the smaller baby quilts I have made.  Hence the name - The Little One.

3" squares of Kaffe Fassett fabric

Made with 3" Kaffe Fassett Squares, some left over from Clay's Quilt and others cut up from 6" Design Strips.

Irish Chain Layout

There is no story in the flimsy. At least, not yet.  The backing on the other hand...

I started this quilt sometime in October last year, after Esmeralda was completed. The flimsy was finished a few months ago but there was no rush to complete the quilt.

The Little One

When Jake mentioned that she was destashing, I agreed to buy some of her fabric. I chose a few solids, some dark prints with vines, and a few polka dot fabrics.  Jake stuffed the box with fabric tighter than a pregnant woman's stretched belly.  When I opened the box, this gorgeous, bright, beautiful fabric just jumped out at me.

Celestial Bodies

The colors are so rich and bright that they shimmer on a black/navy background.
As I noticed the deep red and emerald green, it became clear that these bright colors matched perfectly with the Kaffe Fassett squares in the top. Seems like a miracle for a backing that I did not choose.

Bright Sunny Binding

Now I had to finish it. How could I not? The richness of the fabric beckoned to me. I chose a bright sunny fabric for the binding.

Finished!!!

A small quilt in an infinite universe.

On the banks of Lake Ontario, Canada

The quilt and the lake - shine and shimmer

A backing that depicts the infinite universe for a small baby quilt may seem like a paradox.
But a baby is just that - a universe of possibilities in a little bundle. Say hello to the little one!!!

Niagara by the Lake, Ontario, Canada

Thank you, Sandra (she took the picture)

Who gets that, you may ask.
Well, just as the top and backing found each other, I am sure the quilt will find its home.
The universe is listening.

Labelled

I think it was Albert Einstein who said "There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. "

The Little One

It is obvious that I belong to the second category.  Did anything take you by surprise lately?
I'd love to hear from you. I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties; see full list on the sidebar.

Kaffe goes to the Temple

I have a finish!!!

Finished!!!

Yes, I am finishing with a BANG!!!

But let's start at the beginning. The mission was simple - Use up 124 HSTs left over from making Clay's Quilt.

Clay's Quilt in progress

I turned to Pinterest for ideas. There were a few that appealed to me.
Arrange 120 HSTs 10 by 12, sew and call it a flimsy.  Some design is bound to emerge. Right?

Leftover HSTs

I liked the idea of simple. I wanted to get it done.
Bernie and Mari had warned me that if I let them sit too long they would become a UFO.

Meh!

Quick and Simple. Who does not want that?
But it does not have that spice, that lure, that attention-grabbing, passionate tugging at my heartstrings effect.
Have you had that moment when you are so consumed by it that you forget almost everything else.
I was not getting THAT feeling.

Blah!

One Saturday morning, Paul asked me to accompany him to Chick-Fil-A. No, not exactly a date but he had a coupon for a free breakfast sandwich. Oh well.
Me: I want to sit near the window
Paul: It is too bright
Me: There is no such thing.
Paul: Are you a sunflower?
Me: Am I not?
Paul: Hmmm.
Me: You must be a vampire, seeking the darkest corner.
Chick-Fil-A employee - We do not serve blood.
Laughter

I also got something to eat. Did not care for it. Can you believe a breakfast place that does not serve hot tea? I mean it is just hot water. It is less work than coffee. I was feeling trapped and restless while Paul lovingly lingered over his potatoes.

Boredom can be a beautiful thing. My mind drifted back to the 124 HSTs waiting for me at the ironing board while I was trying to eat bland eggs.
Here is some salsa, Paul offered. I glared at him but accepted the salsa.
My thoughts drifted again. This time to a beautiful pink/orange quilt I had seen at allpeoplequilt.com a while ago. Composed of HSTs, what was its name - Ships something.

Found it.

What if?
I have a lot of little HSTs. So if I made a few larger ones (one large for every five small ones), I could make this block.

And then what?
Let's sketch.

Sketch

And then that feeling came - like a thief that is so close to the treasure that his fingers begin to tingle.
Now, I had to drop everything and make it.

Large HSTs, using Kaffe Fassett Solids

The first blocks

The first quadrant

Coming together!!!

I still had leftover HSTs. A border of HSTs? Maybe. But they have to fit right.  This required an internal border.

Gold Border and 4-patch blocks

And cornerstones, and tiny 4-patch blocks in the middle of the borders to make sure that everything falls in the right place.

Cornerstones

Almost There

The flimsy was complete. Well, almost. I added a skinny background border to make sure that the binding did not eat up the points of the HSTs.

Starting from that one block (1 large+5 small HSTs), the rest of the quilt came together, almost effortlessly, in a round robin fashion.  It is as if the quilt just made itself.

I chose a this green print for backing. And the binding contrasts beautifully.

Backing and Binding

Here it is!!! My 20th finish of 2017.

Hello Beautiful!

Can you see the sliver of background  between the binding and the points of the HSTs? 

I am in love!!!

A little dusting of snow made for a perfect backdrop.  But I had to take a break in the middle of the photo-shoot. I came inside to regain sensation in my fingers before venturing out a second time.

Ooh love the binding!!!

This quilt reminds me of the bright tents (shamiyana) at a traditional Indian wedding.
The colors are so much like my traditional jewelry set - green, gold and red.  These colors are also reminiscent of India's Temple Silk sarees.

Temple Silk and Jewelry

Going to the Pooja

The pattern is like a Rangoli, made at Diwali to welcome the Goddess Lakshmi.

Rangoli

The flying geese units are circling around the larger HST clusters.

Parikrama

Distilling all these thoughts and ideas, I have chosen to call it Parikrama.  Parikrama is the path that devotees follow, going around the temple to mark the end of the worship.

Labelled

Binding & Backing - Perfect Together

Parikrama finished at 46" square.

Scrappy and Spicy

Gold is Bold

It seems fitting that I end the year with this quilt, just as a devotee would end the worship with the parikrama of the temple.  As usual, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties, listed on the sidebar. Also linking with Sandra's Dreami.

Hope you stay warm and I wish you all a very happy new year.