Hello, quilty friends! Today I'm sharing two small pieces that were actually finished a few weeks ago. They have already been mailed off to Joyful Stitchers, who will give them away this holiday season. Each is about 36"x48" which is a good lap size for someone in a wheelchair. The narrow width helps keep the fabric out of the wheels.
The first one is made from one of my RSC block projects, Scrap Crystals. This is a Bonnie Hunter pattern that I reverse engineered. I think this complicated block really wants to be joined with, like, 20, of its buddies to really get the sparkly feel of the pattern. But after making six, spread out over 8 months or so, I wasn't feeling the love anymore. It was either stop at six, or make nine or twelve. Hm. Six it is.
To compensate for giving up before the full rainbow was achieved, I backed it with this fun nautical print. I hope someone will enjoy having this piece on their lap. There are certainly plenty of interesting scraps to peek at.
When I mail quilts off to charities, I like to pack the box nice and full. One little wheelchair quilt seemed insufficient, so I finished up this Scrappy Trips, too. Another Bonnie Hunter pattern, this one also wants many more blocks. I think that's true of pretty much all of Bonnie's designs! But once again, I wasn't feeling the motivation to sew up any more blocks, so another small piece it is.
The backing is a chunk of this cat flannel, which picks up a lot of the colors in the front. Plus: fuzzy kitties! What's not to love? And they are non-allergenic, to boot.
Meanwhile, we are now in an industrial boatyard having our bottom paint touched up. This yard doesn't normally work on pleasure boats, but builds and services large tow boats. So their lifting crane is GIANT. Our boat looks like a toy in their slings! The eight tires on this beast are each 10 feet in diameter. Yowza! It's a filthy yard, so taking quilt pics here is going to be a challenge.
When they lift your boat like that do you crate the kitties and take them off?
ReplyDeleteI remember my parents taking their working boat into dry dock in Ventura (CA). They always took pictures too! Love your recent finishes - are your old UFOs (as opposed to new UFOs, LOL) dwindling?
ReplyDeleteYour quilts are lovely, I always love scrap quilts however big or small.... great pieces.
ReplyDeleteVery large tyres on the beast and I hope your boat gets a good bottom scrape!
Hugz
Love your finishes and thanks for the pics of your boat. How long will it take to get it back on the water? Where do you stay while it is being worked on? Just curious.
ReplyDeleteI can see why you didn't really want to make more of the scrap crystals, it looks challenging to get the pieces in the right place. So no sewing for you for a while during the boat painting, but you'll come back refreshing and ready to put pedal to the metal.
ReplyDeleteYour recent finishes are not only very pretty, but inspiring. I think we all have similar UFOs tucked away.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the fabulous finished quilts, Louise! Both of these patterns are on my list of quilts to make... Someday!
ReplyDeleteWell, at least your pretty quilts will bring some lovely looks to that boatyard :-) I can understand stopping at 6 blocks for those BH quilts. Love the look of her quilts, but I get too bored too fast, so I know I'd likely not make it through one of her QALs. Your quilts are so nice, and I'm sure will bring smiles to the recipients, as well as warmth and comfort. Hope you are cruising the waters again soon!
ReplyDeleteGreat quilts, Louise! Love those kitties! As for that crane, is there some way to get a quilt photo on it, I was thinking!?!
ReplyDeleteJoyful Stitchers thanks you for the lap quilts. I love the backings on both of them but especially the nautical print. Hope you enjoy your stay in Alabama.
ReplyDeleteThose wheelchair quilts are fabulous! They will brighten up any day for those who receive them. Love all the charity work you do. Hope you are back in the water soon.
ReplyDeleteThose are such great quilts, Louise! So perfect for a person in a wheelchair. I've never made a Bonnie Hunter quilt, although I'm tempted to give one a try. They seem a bit overwhelming for a person who likes to make smaller things! Hope you have a great Thanksgiving week exploring where you are while the boat gets its spa treatment!
ReplyDeleteAnother couple of wonderful quilts Louise. I can see that the first one would be great with more blocks to make it sparkle more but your smaller one is just lovely. Recently, I have been considering the size issue. In the pas,t I have made bigger blocks which generally result in larger quilts. Now I find I actually want to make smaller quilts and have thought I need to scale down the blocks in order to get more variety into the whole layout. We'll see what happens moving forward. Happy Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteI love Bonnie's patterns but have never made one of her mysteries, probably can't fit it in, and although small piecing doesn't faze me, the sheer volume of pieces in her quilts tends to! I love the stars one, and the almost a rainbow one too, and well, you KNOW how much I and Bella love that cat fabric! Hers isn't flannel though. Your boat does look wee in that sling! Where are you headed after she's done her spa treatment? And how long is she hung up in the 'chair' getting her toes done?!
ReplyDeleteSuper stars in the first quilt, I do like to see the quilts from Bonne but there are zillions of pieces in each block it seems. Now the Scrappy Trips is definitely an all time favourite of mine.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a happy Thanksgiving.
Super quilts. Hope your boat is finished at the paint shop. It's always fun to read what you are up to. And, I am amazed at how much you get done too.
ReplyDeleteSo impressed as usually! Love all you do and since I'm an armchair quarterback for the next several weeks I'm living vicariously through you!
ReplyDeleteBrendaLou