Cake Anyone?

See this yummy pile? Betty is stitching up another beauty, this time one that will use up many of her scraps. It's The Farmer's Wife and it is going to be spectacular. All of the blocks are finished and when piled together they look like a fabulous layer cake, don't they?

She's pretty pumped about it, as is her little sidekick, Lena, who I am convinced is a quilter-in-waiting. Lena spends every Thursday with Nanny and it's apparent that some of that creativity is rubbing off on her.

I mean, is that not the face of a quilter lucky enough to play in someone else's stash??? 

There's lots of time spent planning the final layout. So. Many. Possibilities! She's a natural.

Betty's collection of scraps, regardless of how tiny, are being worked into a real masterpiece and, as usual, it is all hand pieced.

There's a few sentimental blocks included too, like this one. A number of years ago, our friend Ann brought both of us terrific little Liberty scrap bags from a trip to England and several have found their way into this block. I believe the pieces finish off at 1" in size. It's part of the charm of this gentle art that we can weave in those little messages, isn't it? 

The dreamy rose taupe floral that you see bordering two sides of the block will be the sashing, keeping everything wonderfully muted. 

So how about a little block parade?

This is my favourite. I shared it with you when I posted about winning the book and am still determined to find a way to work it into a quilt. Such a beauty!

This one is almost lacey.

Another pretty basket. The combinations are beautiful - it is going to feel like a tapestry.

A little zig zag...

Makes your head spin, doesn't it? 

When Betty showed it to our friend Linda a few months back, Linda methodically worked through the stack of blocks one by one, just wanting to take it all in. So looking forward to seeing everything together!....M

Bold and Beautiful

A few years ago Jane gifted me the flimsy for this gorgeous quilt to celebrate a milestone birthday. It's bold, it's beautiful and I can't believe that it's mine! Since then, it has hung in the laundry room waiting for the perfect backing. Yup, for almost three years. I'm going to blame it on the pandemic. 

I was aiming for a gold and, despite having a healthy supply of yellows, there was nothing in my stash to suit; the few online purchases that I made just missed the mark so I decided that I needed to take it with me to a shop to be able to better gauge what would work. And so it sat, until a few weeks ago. 

I headed to the lake for a bit of R&R and Jane had suggested that she might have a gold that would work. She wasn't wrong. It was perfect! Those tiny birds and butterflies set amongst the vines seemed a lovely fit for the bright pinks and oranges.

The frothy Hyacinth Grande panto that Roberta suggested works beautifully (this pic is a little on the dark side; the colours in the photo above are truer).

It is a wonderful riot of seemingly randomly placed saturated pinks, oranges and corals...

...and the odd hit of fuchsia and purple. I think that these dots might be my favourite; sadly, I cannot find any to purchase.

Many of the prints are Kaffe's, as is the pattern. I'm not sure what it is called but it is from one of his older books. I'll have to check my books to see if I can find it.

So, what to do for a binding? I landed on a muddy green - it is a nice foil to the heat of the colours and works well with the backing too. Surprisingly, I had two greens to choose from but there wasn't enough of the second option. In the end, I think that this was the better choice - the first one was brighter. It was a real treat to spend some time hand stitching the binding on this one.

We are enjoying it as a throw in the living room so I get to see it all the time.

To say that I absolutely love it is an understatement. Thank you again Jane - this is a real treasure (BTW, it's perfect to enjoy a snooze under!).....M

Puss In The Corner Is Finished Too

The binding bonanza continues with this little Puss In The Corner finish. 

This quilt started out as a way to use up the green floral and a few additional bits and bobs. It's about 43" x 58", so large enough for a child's quilt or a throw.

Adding lots of different yellows into the mix made it very scrappy and they worked terrifically well with that red polka dot and the posies that run through it. I really love that polka dot - I'll have to give some thought to another quilt pattern that I can use it in. If memory serves me correctly, I also have it in blue.

I love trimming up a quilt after it's quilted to get it ready for binding; there's something about getting rid of all of the surplus fabric and batting that just works for me.

That sweet blue for the setting triangles was another longtime resident in my stash which finally found its purpose. It's a VIP print, which gives you an idea of how old it is. I think that it may have actually come from mom's stash originally.

There was enough blue to bind it with as well, which was nice because it doesn't break up the look of the setting triangles. 

And I really like the way it looks against the buttery yellow backing. 

This one will be a charity quilt; many thanks to Roberta for helping me out with the quilting. The sweet panto that it's quilted with is called Keryn's Bellflower and plays up the blossoms in all of the floral prints very nicely. 

I feel like I'm knocking one quilt after the other off the list lately but yet the list of WIPs doesn't appear to be shrinking that much. Who started all these quilts anyway 😉?....M

Am I Really Early or Really, Really Late?

I've got another pair of finishes to share with you. These two Stars All Round Christmas runners were started in 2013 and finished in early 2014 and have been steeping under my sewing room since then just waiting to be quilted. And now that they are bound I don't know if I'm to congratulate myself for being so early for the holidays or be embarrassed that it took me so long to get them to the finish line.

What in heaven's name was I waiting for?

From the moment I started them I loved them so you would think that I would have been anxious to be able to use them on a holiday table. Ah well, they are finished now and will be enjoyed.

The pattern is designed for the scrap lover, basically 2" squares in lots of different greens combined with red/cream or white four patches, all surrounded with 4" red stars. 

I believe that between the two of them I made 50 stars - lots of scrappy goodness here too!

The Jingle Bells panto is fast becoming a holiday favourite and it worked beautifully for quilting them. When I was trimming them up I literally gasped when I turned them over and saw the design in taupe against that red backing. It's a show stopper and made my job of binding that much more enjoyable.

And I love the binding too - it's a variation on my theme of a bias gingham and it's a beautiful finish. As I mentioned, there are two runners, one about 6" longer than other, so one will be for me and the second will either be a gift or possibly for the Holly Bazaar Silent Auction in the fall. Such a happy finish, even if it's taken so long to get there....M