Tuesday, August 14, 2018

And the painted ponies go up and down


Greetings from Nantucket Island! This quilt is made from a panel called "Painted Ponies," and it's a finish for Wrap a Smile.


I wanted to try a panel bordering technique that I saw on a free Benartex pattern called "Cool Cats." The octagon purple border is made of eight half rectangle triangles, and makes a neat frame for the floral horses. Everything inside that purple is part of the panel.


To round out the rest of the quilt, I pieced up four big hearts using Cluck Cluck Sew's free block pattern. So fast and easy. I used some fun novelty prints for the hearts, including balloons, rainbow trees and feathers. So I'm calling this one Horse Feathers.


I didn't manage to get a photo of the feather fabric heart, but here it is in one of the little border squares. You can also see the binding fabric, a multi colored butterfly print with a purple background. I usually cut my bindings 2.5" wide, but tried 2.25" this time for a tighter finish.


The back is pieced from a chunk of dark yellow and a groovy psychedelic star print.


Here's a closeup of the stars. Aren't they fun? And I was able to put one of the Wrap A Smile labels on this quilt myself. Now I'm an official "International Quilter," I guess!


The quilting is an all over stipple for cuddly softness. The lighting in Nantucket Harbor was briefly good enough to show the texture. We were anchored a loooooong way from shore, as you can see by all the tiny boats in the background. Mostly it was drizzly and foggy during our visit this week. I call that "Quiltin' Weather."


The HRT bordering technique was pretty straightforward and should be easy to adapt to other panel sizes, so I'm glad to have this in my tool kit. These ponies are 10" finished, so the HRTs were 5" finished. The only slightly tricky part was wrapping my head around how the panel borders and heart blocks lined up with the cornerstones.


I also wanted to share this lovely box of goodies that I received from a quilty friend. A bright stack of fat quarters, tons of scraps including dogs, owls, and bears, oh my! Plus a fat eighth bundle of sea critters, so cute! And can you see the little styluses next to the bears? Rose makes those herself and they are so clever. One is a black cat and the other is a funny lady with wild hair. For my non-quilting readers, a stylus is used to guide fabric under the needle so your fingers don't have to get too close. Very useful. Thank you so much, Rose!


And finally, it's the annual parade of Pets on Quilts over at Lily Pad Quilting. Angel has been enjoying her hexagon quilt lately, after snubbing it for many months. Who knows why these preferences come and go with cats? I'm just glad that she's been feeling better. You can see where they shaved her tummy for the ultrasound. Her fur is growing back slowly but surely, and her appetite is good. We bought her one of those pet drinking fountains and she really likes it, so I think she's also drinking more water for better kidney health. Be sure to drop by Lily Pad to see lots more cute animals on quilts!

26 comments:

  1. Love the Painted Horses quilt! It will surely make the recipient smile! I always enjoy the photos taken on the boat too.

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  2. Love the painted horses quilt! I just realized...we both have tiny chocolate colored cats! Angel is only the second one I have seen. Hopefully, she is sweeter than my Caroline...she's quite the little warrior, but a lover to quilts.

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  3. Nantucket! Just never know where you’ll pop up next! Your painted horses quilt is precious. Stay safe!

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  4. That purple border around the horses is really cool and you did such a great job of lining everything up. It's a very nice quilt....and a lovely pet as well.

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  5. Horses on a boat, who knows what you'll get up to next, great job again. That border is a very useful one, well done.

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  6. Louise~that border technique is new to me and I am so glad you tried it and it worked, but also thanks for sharing it!Your quilt is awesome, I love your creativeness:)

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  7. Your little ponies are looking good on that quilt, and the heart block is great along with them. Someone is going to love this quilt! Cool border technique; I haven't tried that either, so fun to see it. Yippee on your goodies from Rose (love her stilettos)! Glad Angel is doing well. Fun to see her cuddled up on her quilt.

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  8. Very cool horse quilt! I just love your photos. It's interesting to see the quilts AND see your surroundings.

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  9. The horse blocks seem very tricky, but you did a great job. The purple really shows off the frames. I spent two memorable week-long visits to Nantucket. I have a map of the island on my wall. Wish the weather had been better for you. Happy sailing!

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  10. What an adorable horse quilt! Happy sailing!

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  11. I’ve been staring and staring at your ponies to figure out how you did that. That is such an interesting way to frame/sash them. It makes a whole new layout. That bundle of fabrics sounds fun—and so “you.” I figured the kitty stylus was in honor of Angel, but who is the wild haired woman, you? Or Rose? Too much fun. I’m glad to hear Angel is feeling better. Wanting to be with the quilt is a good sign. Somehow I had missed that she was unwell. Have fun on Nantucket!

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  12. I love the octagonal setting for the Painted Ponies, it gives the notion of carousel quite nicely.

    So glad Angel is feeling better! We are still in mourning here but it hurts a little less each week.

    Have you caught sight of the viking ship that is sailing down the east coast? we are going to see it on Friday while it's docked briefly on Long Island.

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  13. What a great quilt, Louise! You came up with a fun way to use the horse panel - I love the HRT borders and the hearts, too!

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  14. A very fun and colorful finish. Those horses are so cool, some little girl is going to really love that quilt. Glad to see that Angel is doing much better.

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  15. Well, that sure turned out cute! I guess I need to check out how to make HRTs. I bet that could come on handy.

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  16. The horses are lovely! Hugs and head scratches to sweet Angel. :-)

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  17. The Painted Pony quilt is beautiful. Nice that you were able to find directions for making the cool border around each panel piece. This quilt will surely make a sweet child smile. How fun it must be to get a box of supplies from friends. Angel looks very content on her quilt & I'm glad to hear that she's feeling better.

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  18. Your painted horses quilt is lovely.

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  19. Happy to see that Angel has such a comfortable spot to rest up for a while! Love your Horse Feathers quilt, it looks to be a good size. Are you able to get along and have some time on land?

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  20. The quilt is so sweet. You have a wonderful friend.

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  21. Beautiful quilt! Loved how you framed each horse too!

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  22. Your rainbow ponies are so cute! And your kitty is too!

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  23. I hope Angel is feeling much better--looks like she is enjoying her quilt!

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  24. These ponies are fantastic and I love the way you've set them into the 'background' piecing. This is a gorgeous quilt :)

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  25. Totally random comment I know...but I want to sit on your deck and enjoy a glass of wine with you and talk quilts! LOL!! Love the kitty picture.

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