Friday, August 4, 2017

Making hay while the sun shines


Well, taking photos while the sun shines, anyway. I have two finishes to share today. First one is called Partly Cloudy. I pieced this little sample of dark and light strings a couple of months ago. After gathering, sorting into light to dark shades, and stitching together lots of 1.5" scraps, I ran out of steam when the top was about 36"x44".



Since coming to Charleston, I've learned about a charity called Quilted Embrace, which provides small lap quilts to wheelchair-bound seniors. One of the local guilds is collecting quilts for them, and I'm hoping to jump on that bandwagon if the guild allows me. Quilted Embrace requests 36"x48" quilts, so it was a simple matter to add a few inches in length to this piece and quilt it up.



The fabrics are quite busy, so a simple loop-de-loop motif inside parallel lines was a fast and easy way to free motion Partly Cloudy. I used a lighter neutral beige thread in the light sections, and a darker grey in the dark diagonal. It didn't actually make much difference, but it was a useful experiment. Black binding frames the riot of color and pattern.



The backing is a single piece of this pretty Asian-inspired blue and pink floral. As you know, working on smaller quilts is the best fit for my tiny sewing space, and I'm excited to be sewing up some pieces for adults. I'm still having fun with kid-friendly themed quilts, but have decided to concentrate on Embrace quilts while in Charleston. So excited, in fact, that I've already pieced and basted at least six quilts! I'll be sharing those with you one by one as I get them quilted.



If you read my guest post over at Kat's last week, you know how happy I am to donate this super-scrappy piece full of visual interest to a charity.


This next quilt is called Fiesta De Los Gatos. The cats are cut from a fun Makower UK panel, and it finishes at 50"x50". Sorry for the rather crooked and blurry photo; the sun was so bright that I could hardly see my phone screen, and the wind kept flipping up the lower right corner. I'll take more pics after washing because it's raining again now.


Each panel is surrounded by red, green, or blue sparkling fabrics. Between the fact that each cat is smiling and the festive metallics, I couldn't help thinking that the cats were at a party and the Fiesta name stuck. The thin, cream and gold inner borders are actually part of the panel, so they were easy peasy. I quilted a different filler motif in the background fabrics, and outlined each kitty.


Here you can see a cat outline. Sean was particularly amused by this moggy's toes. The backing fabric I used is fairly thin, so there was a bit of bearding. That's the white fuzz you see in this picture, which will wash away.


Here's a shot that shows some of the fillers I used: back and forth diagonal lines, meander, ribbons, and pointy arcs. I used coordinating red, green or blue thread on top so it was a bit hard to see what I was doing. It was a relief to see that the beige bobbin thread looked pretty good on the back.


The fillers are quite a bit denser than the cat panels, which might be an issue after washing. If the panels pucker too much after Fiesta De Los Gatos has its spa day, I'll go back and add more quilting. I haven't completely decided who to give this quilt to, but it reminds me a lot of one of my cousins. Perhaps I'll surprise her with it.

Linking up with Pets on Quilts at Lily Pad Quilting in the "pet themed" category.

26 comments:

  1. Lovely quilts! That scrappy "riot of color" is sure to brighten someone's day, so cheerful!

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  2. Beautiful! I especially love the string quilt.

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  3. both lovely quilts and it's fun to play a bit with the quilting.... I love the effect you got with Partly Cloudy....
    Hugz

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  4. Love Partly Cloudy!! The dark sections just look - to me anyway - like ripples moving down the quilt on the diagonal.
    You have lots of lovely quilting on the Moggy quilt so hopefully there shouldn't be a problem with shrinkage - it's a real cheerful quilt this one!

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  5. At first glance I thought Partly cloudy was a type of log cabin, then I zoomed in to see the detail, I love how you used colour to shade the blocks, simple with wonderful results. I'd like to see a larger quilt in this pattern, I really like it and it would make a great quilt if time was short too, no complicated piecing. I love your quilting on the cat quilt, you just get better and better.

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  6. Both stunning! I can see there is a lot of work in Partly Cloudy, glad you have found a great donation place for it. Keep up the good work:)

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  7. I can't imagine them turning you down! What a nice community project! Your quilts will put smiles on two happy faces no matter who receives them!

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  8. I love both of them! Partly Cloudy is very pretty; your use of color is really nice. Both quilts will make someone very happy!

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  9. The wheelchair quilt is wonderful, it will give someone a whole lot of fun fabrics to look at. I am sure the guild will let you participate!

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  10. I LOVE the riot of color. That is such a great looking quilt and sure to please someone.

    The cats are super cute too. Hope you're not get the heavy rains.

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  11. Love that ombre effect, Louise! Very nice! This would make a pretty piece of wall art too. It's a great study in color. :)

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  12. Both are great! Clever piecing to create the shading on the log cabin. Nice! And I noticed your fish or dolphin clips. Cute!

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  13. Oh they are lovely. I think you have immense patience using 1 and half inch strips! The effect is dazzling. And the quilting on the cats is just gorgeous. Both great.

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  14. That first photo in the sunshine is awesome. It shows off your string work so wonderfully. I'm going to be studying it because now that my fabrics are sorted and organized, I really need to make a string quilt. Making small quilts sounds like so much fun--you'll be able to try a lot of different designs quickly. They're good for making in small spaces and so much easier to handle when quilting. Thanks for sharing how you did the fillers on the Gatos quilt. I'll be interested in knowing how the quilt turned out after washing. Did you have to add any quilting? I'm hoping not because I like the distinction between the cats and the fillers.

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  15. I love how cutting the string blocks diagonally made it look like a go cabin. It's a fun quilt! The photos on the ship are so beautiful. Lovely quilting on the panel, too. Looks like you are having a great time with you quilts.

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  16. These are beautiful finishes. I love the scrappy one. It will make a wonderful lap quilt for someone in a wheelchair :)

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  17. Your riot of color looks great framed in black. Perfect charity, too. And I love the sparkles on the framing fabrics of your kitty quilt. You sure can get quilts done on a boat!!!

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  18. Very happy looking. love the cats!

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  19. So glad that you joined our party, neighbor! Well, at least for a little while, since you are at the Marina! Love the photos that show the quilting on the cat themed quilt. Thanks for sharing!
    Snoodles at Lilypadquilting

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  20. The quilting is beautiful, I love this quilt!

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  21. This is gorgeous- I love quilts that have bold bright colors!

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  22. Lovely! Your quilting is beautiful. Thanks for sharing a quilt that will go to a great cause.

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  23. Beautiful quilts on your beautiful boat :-)

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  24. Haha :D "Fiesta de los Gatos" is the best quilt name. Super cute.

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  25. Me encanta la Fiesta! And that may be the extent of Spanish I can remember from high school LOL! I really enjoy the faces of the cats on that panel.

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Please feel free to leave a comment and I'll reply as soon as I can.