Two For One!

I have lots to share today. 

Let's start with Positivity Grows! Some of you may have seen this finish on Instagram but here it is for the first time on my blog - the Positivity 2023 Finished Quilt.  I have named her Vrinda, which is one of the names of the Holy Basil. 

Vrinda

Vrinda is green and glowing. 

The blocks are sometimes wonky, but you know that straight is overrated :-D

Happy Pride Month! 

Speaking of happiness, I like to celebrate every finish and Paul captured that emotion perfectly.

Happiness is a Quilt

Since I will be sending Vrinda to Mercyful Quilts, it is all the more important to document these happy pictures.  I will be sharing with the Positivity Linky Party on Bernie's blog on June 25, 2023.

Making me Happy

Did you see the pieced backing? Purple and Green, it works well with the front of the quilt.

Pieced Backing

Leaves Grow in Sunshine

The jelly roll strips leftover from making the leaf blocks were used to make the scrappy binding. 

Scrappy Binding

Labelled

Purple and Green = Winning Combination

This post won't be complete without the signature reflection-in-the-water shot.  So here it is - thanks to Paul!

Breezy Day

Although Vrinda will be heading west I will get to keep a piece of the Positivity with me.  That brings me to the Bonus Project.  If you have been wondering what happens to the leftover squares from making the Leaf Blocks, here is the  answer.

Four bonus squares = One New Block

And then there were two

A total of 64 bonus squares were combined (very simply) to make this fun baby quilt. I have named her Jade. The triangles come together like gemstones and she really does glow!

Basting

Using my walking foot I followed the horizontal/vertical seams and the diagonal folds to quilt a grid. 

Quilted

Bound

The binding is the same charcoal fabric as the backing. But there is a special twist. Since Jade finished at about 48" square, I needed to piece the backing. 

Smile for the Camera

The Pieced Backing is inspired by KellyYoung's new book Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs.

With 152 pages including a total of 30 pieced quilt backing designs, this must-have quilt book is an excellent source of inspiration for quilters of all skill levels. A bonus of 18 downloadable quilt front patterns are also included. You don't want to miss it.

My Pieced Backing

Love you so much!

You are mine!

Labelled

Hope you are participating the Positivity QAL. The first linky party is on Sunday, 6/25/23 to share our progress. I will also be sharing with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the sidebar.

This post also serves as my entry to the Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs Blog Tour.  Here is a list of the other bloggers that are posting today with their “Perfectly Pieced Backs.” Hope you will visit each blog and see what they made!

• Sandra @ mmm…quilts
• Rose @ Something Rosemade
• Diann @ Little Penguin Quilts
• Laura @ Slice of Pi Quilts
• Jayne @ Twiggy and Opal
• Anja @ Anja Quilts
• Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting
• Vasudha @ Storied Quilts
• Kris @ Sew Sunshine
• Leanne @ Devoted Quilter
• Rebecca @ Rebecca Grace Quilting
• Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts You are here!
• Susan @ Quilt Fabrication
• Kate @ Katie Mae Quilts
• Sarah @ Sarah Goer Quilts
• Linda @ Flourishing Palms
• Anne-Marie @ Stories From the Sewing Room
• Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty
• Gail @ Quilting Gail
• Kat @ Scrapbox Quilts
• Julie @ Julie’s Quilts and Costumes
• Jan @ The Colorful Fabriholic

Prizes, Prizes, Prizes!!!

Today, the Positivity QAL comes to an end with the announcement of the winners. 

Thanks to the unexpected generosity  of our sponsors - Art Gallery Fabrics, Benartex and Island Batik, we had enough prizes for everyone who completed a Positivity Quilt.

Here are the winners:

Mari, Lisa T, Katie May, Roseanne, Sue Hoover, Danielle, Cynthia, Sylvia, and Wendy F.

Emails have been sent to all winners. While I wait for your addresses, I am stuffing goodies in padded envelopes. So excited!!!

Sunday Update - Prizes have been sent to Katie May, Roseanne, Sylvia and Sue. Mari and Lisa have received their prizes. I drove north to meet with Mari and Lisa. Totally worth it!!!

Congratulations to all of you and thank you so much for making this QAL a success.

Thank you, Bernie. You are my partner in crime.

Thank you Mari. You keep me sane.

Ladies that Lunch - Lisa (hand only) and Mari

Hello Lisa. You are my new quilty friend. What else do I call you if you begin with cute fabrics and end with peach tart?  

From Lisa, for me!!!

Peach Tart +Vanilla Ice cream = Taste of Summer

We happily ate with vanilla ice-cream :-) A perfect way to celebrate summer and the end of a successful QAL.

In other news, Angela has announced the color for September and I just might complete my blocks before the end of the month. Here are my fabrics - at least a start.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge - September is Bright Blue

Island Batik has announced the Tool Talk Challenge and Blog Hop. Check the IB blog for the complete schedule and fabulous giveaways.  

I have completed the flimsy and will begin quilting soon. I am working with Honeycomb collection, an absolutely yummy collection designed by Kathy Engle for Jackie Kunkel of Canton Village Quiltworks, coming to a fabric store near you in September.

Gorgeous Fabrics!!!

Work in Progress

I will post on September 14. Will there be a giveaway of my own? Hmmm... only one way to find out :-)

Sharing with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the sidebar. 

Hope your long weekend is just as peachy and sweet.  

Catching up

It has been a very busy year for me. According to Paul, all the busy-ness is self-created and self-inflicted. He is mostly correct and even if he was not, I am not going to argue with him. He is the only quilt model I have in these pandemic times.  Cannot afford to irritate him. 

Paul: Really, how busy have you been?
Me: So busy that I have not made a single zippered bag this year.
Paul(in mock horror): NO. 
Me: Even before I finish this thing, I have the next one ready to go, with no time to play in between. 

Therefore the RSC blocks had fallen behind. But I am caught up now. 

Meet my June RSC blocks. 

Dark Blue for June

             

Paul: Neat!
Me: Thanks
Paul: How will you put these together?
Me: If I knew that, it wouldn't be called Improv Piecing. Would it?
Paul: So you don't know?
Me: Totally clueless. Pizza tonight?
Paul: Sure!!!

I really don't wish to dwell upon June. Cause you know that is old news (especially since Angela has already announced the color for August). 

So let me show the purple fabrics and blocks for July.

Starting Point

Chain Piecing

Strip Sets

Finally Blocks!!!

PHEW!!! I am caught up, finally. Sharing with Angela's Linky Party. Surprisingly, Angela too is "Catching up".  Wild coincidence!!!

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My pattern Topsy Turvy was published in the Make Modern magazine, Issue 47.

Published

And get the subscription. It is totally worth it.

It started here - just playing with scraps till something emerged.  The overwhelming response I received from you prompted me to formalize it into a pattern.  Here are a few more pictures. 

Floating!!!

Labelled

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There are a few other projects that I cannot show at this time.  Here is a glimpse of the backings, as they were stuffed into a bag to be mailed. 

Island Batik - Sunset, Bumblebee and Lemongrass

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Positivity 2022 Update

When Bernie and I decided to set up the Positivity QAL last year, we did not know what to expect. I had thought that if we got ten quilts that would be respectable. But we received more than 20. We were giddy with happiness.  Naturally, we decided to do it again this year. We even got more sponsors and more prizes. Similar to 2021, I set up a lazy schedule from Memorial Day to Labor Day. 

We had the Finished Flimsy Linky Party last Sunday and there were less than 10 link-ups in total. Thank you so much to all of you who are participating in the QAL. Honestly, I was expecting more and I am a bit saddened by the lack of response. On the upside, almost everyone who linked up with a completed flimsy will be getting a prize!!! Check out Bernie's blog on 7/24/22 for the prize announcement.

So if you have not yet participated but would like to win one of these awesome prizes (for the completed quilt reaching Mercyful Quilts), you can still join in. Although a free pattern/instructions have been provided, you can use any pattern of your choice. You still have four weeks to complete the quilt. See the detailed schedule.

I will baste my flimsy this weekend. Quilting next week.

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Of course there are other projects in the works. Here is what I can show you.

I will be using all colors of the rainbow to make the August project for Island Batik.  It is a mini quilt!

Fabrics for Island Batik's August Project

In September, we have the Island Batik challenge and bloghop, featuring the Spring 2021 collections and Tools provided by Studio 180 Designs. 

Ready to sew HSTs

Using Tucker Trimmer to square HSTs

If your summer is lazy and relaxed with lots of ice cream, I am happy for you.  If your summer is a rollercoaster of one thing after another, hold my hand tight. I am right there with you :-)

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

Checking in

Paul's Covid recovery has been much slower than we'd like. I noticed that the cough syrup was almost gone.

Me: I can fetch you more Nyquil, babe.
Paul: Nah, I'll just use Dayquil if I need.
Me: Oh Ok.
Paul: Or I'll mix the half dose of Nyquil in the Dayquil.
Me: What? You a pharmacist now?
Paul: Pharmacist? No. Bartender.

I burst out laughing.

Paul: It has alcohol.

Me: Yes, it does.

Picnic with Paul

Staying away from restaurants/enclosed spaces, we decided to go on a picnic. It was a beautiful day.

On the quilty front, there is a lot going on. Too much, actually. But I cannot show it till next year :-( UGH.

Just the Binding 

Hope I can complete 40 out of the 80 blocks.

Blocks in Process

Ready to cut!

But they go so fast that I managed to finish all 80. Yippee! 

Here they are on my design wall, very neatly organized. 80 Twisty Blocks of 20 different fabrics, four in each stack. 

Twisties - 20 times 4 = 80

Doing a happy dance now. 

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

This brings me to the end of quilty discussion today.  This being my personal blog, I will now share my thoughts on matters that concern me.  If you do not agree with my "politics", please stop reading now. 

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This is a distressing time in our country. The monumental decision to overturn the landmark ruling Roe v. Wade is the most controversial in American history. As most of the developed world moves ahead, America is certainly retrograde.

The partisan nature of the decision is particularly distressing. There is no concern for women's health or popular opinion, or any acknowledgement of changing times. When Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973 it was a 7-2 decision, with several Conservative judges siding with the majority opinion. Not today. The decision was split along party lines. Although the conservative justices could have chosen a less extreme version (decide the current case in favor of Mississippi without overturning Roe v. Wade), they chose the one that would be the most devastating and most consequential - destroy the constitutional freedoms women have enjoyed for 49 years.

According to the dissenting justices "young women today will come of age with fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers." Indeed, they said the court's opinion means that "from the very moment of fertilization, a woman has no rights to speak of. A state can force her to bring a pregnancy to term even at the steepest personal and familial costs." "With sorrow — for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection — we dissent," they wrote.

The following image (from the New Yorker magazine) showing the burden of an unwanted pregnancy that many will be forced to carry in a post-Roe America aptly captures what is difficult to put into words.

From the New Yorker Magazine

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the decision was "a loss for women everywhere". "Watching the removal of a woman's fundamental right to make decisions over their own body is incredibly upsetting," she said in a statement.

It may take another 50 years to restore women's rights, although hundreds of thousands of lives will be adversely impacted in the process. Now, more than ever before, our lives, our liberties and our livelihoods depend on our vote.

What did I miss?

Hello quiltmakers,

I am back from my trip to India. Mom's surgery went well and she is on the road to recovery. I appreciate your kind thoughts and warm wishes. 

Although my visit wasn't a vacation and I stayed home (near the A/C) due to the heat, my friends (Ruby and Savita) visited me. I felt spoiled with spicy food and sweet mangoes. 

Happy to see you :-)

Veggie Delight (Don't ask me the English name)

Vanilla icecream with fresh mangoes

The Indian street food that I loved would most certainly kill me now. So Meetu recreated it for me at home. Pizzas in India are tiny but loaded with tandoori flavors. 

Street Food, made at home :-)

Regular Phone, Tiny Pizza

My drive home

As much I enjoyed spending time with mom and being there for her, I am thrilled to return home. When I left on May 1, I was still smarting from the all the anti-LGBTQ legislations attacking already marginalized groups.  As soon as I landed in India, I heard the terrible news about the Supreme Court's stance on reproductive rights. While most of the world progresses, America slides into the dark ages. 

According to the current (conservative leaning) Supreme Court, reproductive rights are not included in the Constitution and therefore should be left up to the individual states.  Although this argument may seem simple and straightforward, it sets a chilling precedent. Do you know what else is NOT included in the Constitution? The right to privacy and therefore by extension the right to contraception, the right to same sex marriage and the right to interracial marriage.  Imagine a scenario where my marriage to Paul is deemed illegal.

"Undoing Roe v. Wade and eliminating the right to abortion access opens up the door to dismantling other rights that have previously been protected under that implied right to privacy. That can include the right to same-sex marriage and interracial marriage..." Jean Bae, visiting associate professor of public health policy and management at NYU School of Global Public Health.

Of course, these Supreme Court justices would assure us that this (overturning) is limited to Roe v. Wade but then these are the same people who said (in their confirmation hearings) that Roe v. Wade is the law of the land and that they respect the laws of the land. Their partisan slips are showing. I do not trust them.

If a Positivity QAL was a good idea in 2021, it is an absolute must in 2022. 

Positivity QAL begins May 29, 2022

Our reproductive rights are on the chopping block. America refuses to acknowledge her racist past and the growing threat of white supremacy threatens our communities, or peace and our sanity, while the Supreme Court has washed its hands of most responsibility. 

So we will do what we have always done - sew and quilt, support and vote, protest and march. With renewed fervor!!!

There is much to do after a long trip - unpacking, laundry, groceries etc.  But I am ignoring all those pesky tasks and working frantically to set up the Positivity 2022 Quilt Along. Bernie is spearheading the effort to get sponsors and prizes, while I write the tutorial and calculate fabric requirements.

To avoid confusion, I will take down the posts from last year's QAL, with one exception.  I will compile the 2021 block tutorials, layout options and fabric requirements into a PDF and make it available separately. 

Coming soon - Positivity QAL 2022 - Sponsors and Prizes and Positivity QAL 2022 - Complete Schedule.

In the mean time, please read this article https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/17/opinions/buffalo-shooting-letter-to-white-male-teens-magee/index.html

Also gathering my green scraps for the RSC color for May is Bright Green. 

May is Green!

I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties, including Angela's RSC Linky.