How I conquered the Green Eyed Monster?

Let's call her Rose.  I first saw her at a Toastmasters meeting. Instantly, I noticed her beauty, bright smile and cheerful eyes, her perfect hair and makeup. And then she gave a speech. I was awestruck.

3.5" squares

Later we connected on LinkedIn and saw that Rose had an advanced degree and was a federal employee. When Rose won the District Championship, I could not take it any more.

Sewn into 9-patch blocks

Why does someone have to be so perfect and popular and then go on to win the contest too?
I was jealous, very jealous. She represented so many things that I had wanted and did not achieve.

Grey Sashing

I wanted, at one point of time in my life, to pursue a PhD. Did not happen.
When I became a citizen, I tried to get a job with the federal government. Did  not happen.
I had been a Toastmaster since 2005, participated in many contests, won many awards and made a lot of friends. But NEVER won the District contest.

Flimsy Finished

I was not, I am NOT unhappy with my life. I am thankful and blessed. However, whenever I saw Rose or thought about Rose, it became clear to me that I was being consumed by the Green Eyed Monster. I hated it. I hated being jealous. I hated feeling unaccomplished around her.

Fox, Owl & Bird

I could not carry on while I was burning with jealousy. I decided to change this.

I decided that I will try to know her better, may be even become friends with her. I was hopeful that if Rose and I became friends, her successes won't make me jealous. I will feel happy for her.

Puppies & Turtle

Joyce was aware of my feelings towards Rose. (Joyce knows everything about me). No one else knew.
Me: I want to invite Rose and her husband over for dinner.
Joyce: What for?
Me: To celebrate her contest win
Joyce: You aren't going to poison her?
Me: I am jealous of her. I don't want to be. May be if I got to know her better, my feelings would change.

Can you find the elephant?

Rose and her husband came over for dinner. They were lovely guests, made perfect dinnertime conversation and even complimented my cooking.  I got to know her and her husband. I have to admit that Rose is a beautiful person both inside and out. As we became friends, I realized that Rose had had some challenges in her life too.  My feelings towards Rose did change, gradually.

Found a giraffe!!!

When I started quilting, I began to ignore Toastmasters meeting. When I posted my quilt pictures on my blog, Rose was appreciative of my work. When I skipped a few meetings, she sent me a couple of quilting magazines with a sweet note. Rose's mom is a quilter too.

Dots & Stripes too

One day, Rose had to come to Sterling to meet her uncle. She asked if we could meet for lunch later. Of course. Over lunch, she told me that she and her husband had been trying for a while and now she was pregnant.

Bird, Blocks & Buntings

I cried, not because I was jealous. (Paul and I had been trying too.)  I cried because I was happy. Happy for Rose.

Obviously, I made a quilt for Rose's baby. I decided to call it Playschool. The blocks remind me of the cubes in Playschool, where there is a color, letter, animal, fruit etc. one on each side.
I used the multicolored owl fabric as the backing.

Owls - so cute!!!

I used a simple scallop stitch for the quilting pattern and the squiggly stitch on the sashing and the borders.

The bright green binding is my choice. It is symbolic of how I felt - JEALOUS, but I don't any more.
It is symbolic of how I conquered the green eyed monster and reduced it to a strip of fabric!!!

Bright Green Binding!!!

The finished quilt is about 42" square.

Cuteness, quilted and bound

When I gave the quilt to Rose on Saturday, her face beamed with delight.
Rose: It is so cute. I love it.
Me: I love you.
Rose: I love you too.

Labelled

Finally, the jealousy in my heart was replaced with love and joy!!! The baby is due in October and I am so looking forward to meeting her. Yes, it is a girl!!!

Playschool, modeled by Paul

If you want to make this quilt, it is a terrific, easy and very quick pattern. And a great scrap buster too. I used 3.5" squares, some of them were fussy cut, arranged into a 9-patch block. The sashing strips were 1.5" and the border strips were 2".

I will be linking with my favorite linky parties and hope to hear your thoughts.

Jewel Stars

A few months ago I saw a quilt on Pinterest.  It was a very happy, bright, starry quilt by Leslie Unfinished.  Naturally, I pinned it to my board of "To be Made" quilts.

Jewel Star

Once I finished Homeful, which was a production, I wanted a quilt that could go quickly from fabric selection to a finished quilt.  Meet Jewel Star.  This is just the kind of weekend project that can perk up any child's room.

I wanted bright colors. I purposely avoided blue. Why?
I am not sure. I just was thinking of a girl quilt.

I love the idea of the stars peeping out of the negative space. I decided to go with three stars, randomly distributed in the quilt.

Here is the problem with random - it needs to be planned otherwise there is a danger that it may look too uniform.  I know it sounds counter intuitive. In any case, I decided to sketch it out first.

Rough Sketch Layout

This way I could decide the size and the number of the blocks too, in addition their placement. This pattern is charm square friendly. Since I was cutting yardage and using scraps, I chose a 6" block.

Paul: Who is that for?
Me: Dunno. Just need to make something.
Paul: You are crazy.
Me: Yes. Crazy about you.
Paul: Nah, just plain crazy.
Me: And very busy. Leave me alone!!!

Design Wall

The blocks/squares are arranged 7 by 9 for a total of 63 squares.

Piecing, in process

Stars with starry (white on white) fabric

When the quilt top was complete, I admired it again and again.
And then received an invite for a staff meeting at work...followed by a Sprinkle for a co-worker. Let's call her Julie (not her real name).

A few phone calls later, I discovered the following:
1. It was Julie's third baby.
2. No, she is not registered anywhere...because she has most of the baby stuff already.
3. It is a girl.

Girl!!!
Very quickly, all the dots in my brain connected. Jewel Stars for Julie's baby girl. Perfect.

Here is the backing I chose. Birds and butterflies  - pink, purple and peach = perfect

Backing - Peach, Pink and Purple

I struggled with the backing. Since the top is so bright, I wanted something bright to match those jewel tones.  However, the muted colors in the backing left me stumped.

Finally, I chose a black with white wavy dots and I am so happy with it that I have decided to replenish that fabric so that I can make many more bindings out of that fabric!!!

Binding Success

Don't you just love it when the binding works for both sides of the quilt?
I took a few more pictures in the morning, before I left for the staff meeting/Sprinkle.

I am convinced that morning light is the best for taking pictures.  The colors look so saturated.

Happiness in a Quilt

The finished quilt measures 42 by 54, making it a generous baby quilt or a crib quilt.  Those babies - they grow up so fast. Here is hoping that the generous size would ensure that the quilt is usable for a bit longer.

Ooh, pretty!!!

And there is one more thing about this quilt that makes it a bit more special.  A label which is "oh so professional."  Do you like it?

I found them on Lorna's Sew Fresh Quilts blog. Here is the link. 

On the other side are care instructions.

When Julie pulled out the quilt from the gift bag, her face glowed.

"My girl has a lot of hand-me-downs and there is nothing wrong with that. But this will be her very own quilt. "

And that was the sweetest thing I heard.

It is ridiculous that the first baby is welcomed with a shower and the second and third ones just get a sprinkle. I am sure that by the time it is Baby # 5, the celebration would be reduced to a Raindrop!!!
I believe that every baby should be celebrated, whether they are first or not. I hope this quilt is that celebration for Julie's baby girl!

Happy Mom-to-be and Me

Others oohed and aahed, took pictures, and complimented me on my beautiful work and thoughtful gift.  Mission Accomplished.

Julie is due next month and I am looking forward to meeting her new bundle of joy.

This is my 12th finish of this year. A dozen quilts already???
Paul is right. I am crazy, just plain crazy!!!

Homeful!!!

If you know me you also know that I am a fan of Bollywood music. The poetry-rich meaningful songs don't quite make a splash as much as the peppy foot-tapping numbers.  And while the peppy songs make me smile, it is the poetic songs that will often hit me hard.

There is the title song from the Hindi movie Fiza, which has the following line...
Maine tinke uthaye hue hain paron par, aashiyana nahin hai mera.

Translation - I am carrying twigs on my wings, I do not have a nest.
It is a poetic way of saying, I am wandering. I have no home. It is not that she is homeless. It is symbolic of her yearning and her rootless state.

Fabric Audition

For many years I felt that way too.  And whenever I heard the song, it struck a chord with me, so much so that I felt tears streaming down my cheeks.
When I walked out of my troubled marriage many years ago, I felt uprooted.  I went to school here in the US and changed jobs a few times. Felt independent and free but there was no place to call Home. I did not belong.  I just longed...for home.

A few at a time...

Meeting and marrying Paul was one of the best things that happened to me. Yet, I felt that I was still carrying the twigs on my wings. Only after we bought a house, with our savings, with both our names on the deed, and our stuff/junk in every room, do I feel like I have come home...my home.

Pink and Purple Houses

The messier it is, the greater the sense of ownership. (Yes, that is why I don't clean...but that is another story). Now that I feel grounded (in a good way), I can listen to the song without tearing up.

To celebrate this feeling, I wanted to make a quilt with houses. And I did. A few blocks at a time.
Some purple and pink, some blue and yellow, and the neighborhood seemed to come together.  Then I thought, this neighborhood needs trees. A treeless neighborhood would be sad. So I made some trees.

Fabric Scraps - Transformed

Won't it be nice if someone was waiting for you when you returned home? And that special someone would also keep an eye on your neighborhood. That is when I made this block.

My favorite house

I created these blocks a few at a time, using scraps, fat quarters and bindings leftovers. Bit by bit I built my neighborhood. The blocks added up and they waited, and waited some more.

Lots of Trees

Larger Trees - Assembly Line

Just like your home (and your puppy) waits for you and is there for you when you return, so also these blocks waited for me to come around and make them into a quilt!!!

The quilt is entirely scrappy. The gingham fabrics came from my mother-in-law's stash. The tree fabrics were remnants. Some of them were in fabric basket won at a guild meeting.  And when I wanted a specific color, I bought a few fat quarters.

Finished Top

The making of this quilt has been a journey just like buying our house.  Among other things, I wanted a north-facing entrance to the house, because it is considered auspicious in Indian culture. Paul wanted a house with a yard and without any Home Owners Association (HOA). Fortunately, we found a house that met both our requirements.

We are homeowners

However, unlike the house that belongs to both of us, the quilt is all mine!!!

Puppies and Angels

My favorite house and the tall trees

It is mine for so many reasons. It is wonky. The roofs are made with HSTs, that were all cut on the bias (wonky), squaring was optional (wonkier), and the overall quilt is not square (wonkiest).

Dappled

Some houses had their rooftop points clipped in piecing.  I am sure no one will want that :-D
The backing is an old sheet bought from a Goodwill Store.

Wonky, mismatched fabrics, scrappy, crooked, tucks in quilting, haphazard, very colorful, eye-popping bright = Preeti's Quilt.

There are a total of 71 houses in 10 rows and about 46 trees. The finished quilt is about 70" by 90".

I am in love...

Paul: That house looks a bit crooked.
Preeti: Remember, there is no HOA.
Paul: Looks like there are no regulations.
Preeti: You are not invited to this neighborhood party.

Basting, in process

Used my favorite batting - Warm & Natural. I quilted it using curvy lines, after I used a decorative stitch to secure the rows together.

White Backing (Sheet from Goodwill)

Paul, the model :-)

The binding is leftover from a pillowcase I made for Divik, my nephew.
With the white backing and the very Christmas-y binding, I think I just gave myself a Christmas present.

Striped Binding

Christmas in July - how appropriate. Oh no, did I do something appropriate???
That is so unlike me, tch, tch, tch...

Here are few more pictures of the finished quilt.

Yes, Paul is on a chair!!!

Thank you, Paul

Close-Up

This block is for Jonesie, our cat

See the Angel?

Blue House and Yellow Dog

Here is the label.  I decided to call it "Homeful".  Yes, it is like Hopeful but it is also the opposite of Homeless. I have laid down roots...

Homeful!!!

Floral Door, Doors with Disco Lights - My Neighborhood, No HOA, No Rules!!!

Lots of Trees!

Did you miss me?

Lighting up my backyard

Puppy Love

Merry Christmas (in July) to Me!!!

Homeful is on my bed and this is the one I will be sleeping under every night.  I might even take it with me on car trips. Just like a favorite/familiar song that you want to hum on all trips, I want to make sure that I have my favorite comforting quilt with me at all times.

Right here, wagging for you!!!

Creating this quilt has made me so happy that I might just wag my tail!!!
If you were a puppy, what would make you wag your tail?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.