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| "...With My Little Eye..." ~ 47 X 54" |
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| Detail shots (above and below): "F,F, and a FD" It is quilted in the sashing and inner border with NiteLite thread. There's lots of fun things to search for and find on this quilt. |
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| I spent yesterday catching up on this month's block from the Bless This House class, block #8. I decided to personalize this one with a year and an initial, ditching the assigned flowers in the center. I agonized over the decision of which year to put in the heart... the year I began or the year I hope to finish! I've got my work cut out for me now, I've committed to a time frame! |
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| All eight blocks arranged on the design wall. Each block measures 16", the next block is a four blossom Christmas Rose; a long, triple, landscape panel spans the top before the final borders are added. Life is Good! |
I hope these puppies are patient, they're going to have to wait their place in line ("down-stay"!) before they get their date with Sundance. This flimsy measures 50" X 60" and is from the pattern Nickel Dogs by Me and My Sister Designs. My pups are stitched from some of the leftover charm squares that didn't make it into my Postage Stamp Basket quilt from this past summer. Even though I have had a few false starts on this one, (reading the written directions is always a good idea!) I loved every minute of working on this quilt. I'm going to need to ponder some quilting ideas, perhaps it will "speak" to me, at some point, in that regard! If anyone has any thoughts, I'm listening...
Our daughter called the other day, requesting a special favor. Mason loves his Picture Play quilt ("kilt"). It transforms frequently into a fort, covering his little play table and becoming his refuge for books and quiet play. He wanted it to accompany him for nap time recently; but his request was denied, based on it's sheer size. Our daughter feared he could become entangled in it while he slept in his crib. She confessed that it broke her heart to hear him plead: "kilt... p-e-e-e-ese?" Her request, for Mason, was another Picture Play quilt; a smaller one this time. One that he can hold and carry around easily, one with Elmo and a fringe animal embroidery... could I do that? "Could I... is she serious"?? I quilted this one with SunBurst thread, when he takes this one outside he'll delight in watching the white stitching turn blue, right before his eyes! Mason is coming to visit next weekend. Guess what will be waiting for him!
This was Mason's Christmas present from Nana, his very own Picture Play quilt. The pattern from Ami Simm's book of the same name is "Dots and Boxes", I dubbed it "Dots and Boxes, Frogs and Foxes" while I was working on it but now that it's Mason's quilt it could just as easily be titled: "Looky, A Cookie!", he delights in finding all of the cookies pictured, his new favorite word (and, most likely, his favorite food)! I had hoped that he would enjoy exploring the quilt's surface and discovering hidden objects contained; my daughter reports that he LOVES doing just that. Nothing could have made my heart happier than learning that he
attempted to drag his quilt to the table with him for snack time yesterday! "Maybe you need to make him another one, Mom; a smaller, carry-around, version" she laughed. I'll see what I can do.
This one is good sized, 66" X 86", too big for a toddler to pull throughout the house; but just perfect for playing on and snuggling under. Incorporated into the layout are a few photo transfers and some fun and furry fringe animals stitched on the embroidery machine. I quilted the inner border with my favorite NiteLite glow-in-the-dark thread and added some red piping alongside the binding to finish it off with pizazz. Enjoy, little one, Nana loves you! Looky, A "COOKIE"!
This is all the validation any quilt maker could ever hope to receive. You may recall an earlier post where I showed a photo of a recently completed Picture Play quilt, made especially for our great-niece in Illinois. I snapped this photo a week ago last Sunday evening of that very same little girl sleeping under her brand-new quilt. Her Mommy told me that she slowly fell asleep as she quietly ran her finger from patch to patch, naming each object one by one. Is there any greater joy than this? I can't think of a single one.
Meet "Leo and Friends", this little quilt has a lot of work to do; it is being sold next Saturday at our church's art sale. Along with the quilt there are paintings, a wall hanging and various other pieces of sculptural art done by members of our congregation. The purpose of the sale is to raise money to help send our youth to New Orleans in July where they will attend the National Lutheran Youth Gathering. My hope is that "Leo" can at least buy a seat on the bus! I decided, as I approached the finish on this one, to add piping to the binding; mainly because I'd purchased a cute stripe fabric to match the large
scale print and hadn't used it. The piped binding turned out just fine, but ultimately I feel it was a futile effort as it doesn't show up enough to make any real difference; oh, well, live and learn! I'm excited to think that maybe this quilt will end up in the home of a child who will love Leo (and his friends) just as much as I loved every step of putting this one together!
