Daisy Janie

quote | time to blossom.

how to | Mirror Patch Pillow

The second pillow project in the easy-peasy line-up is the Mirror Patch Pillow, and it was inspired by the Scrappy Tripalong quilts that were all abuzz in 2013. The assembly is like a bargello pattern, which holds a special place for me. [Side story: In 1996, we had a blizzard dump 4 feet of snow on the east coast. I had been away at a girls' weekend at the Jersey shore, and even though we left early, I didn't have enough time to drive back to my home in State College. I ended up staying with my parents until the roads were clear, and my mom and I sewed up a bargello quilt while we were trapped under winter's white blanket for 3 days! It was our first quilt project together, and I treasure that memory.]

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Pillow Project #2: Mirror Patch Pillow

My pillow is 16" square.

CUTTING

Cut 2 strips 2.5" w x 20" l from each of 4 fabrics that vary in value and hue.

In my sample are fabrics from Daisy Janie's Daisies 'N Such fabrics:
 - available at these fine retailers -

 Midsummer Dream
 Boxwood Coral
 Daisy Coral
 Climbing Vines

ASSEMBLY

1. Using 1 of each fabric, arrange 4 strips in an order that makes you happy. I opted for darkest to lightest. Sew the strips lengthwise to make a panel. Repeat with remaining 4 fabrics (in the same order) to make a 2nd panel.
2. Fold each panel in half, right sides together. Sew the open ends together, forming a tube.
3. Cut each tube into eight 2.5" strips. You will have 16 total.

4. Using a seamripper, open a seam on each one. Create 4 distinct strips by alternating which fabrics are on the newly opened ends. You will need 4 of each style, A thru D.
5. Arrange your strips in a mirrored layout, so that what's on the top reflects what's on the bottom, and what's on the left side reflects what's on the right side. Sew strips into blocks and then sew all blocks to make your pillow top.

Complete your pillow with your preferred method of fill and closure. To avoid pillows with pointy 'ears' taper your stitching on the corners. On a pillow this size, I tapered a full inch from each side's center to its corner.

I'm sure this pillow would look extra-extra-darling if it were quilted - go for it!

how to | 3 easy-peasy pillow projects, No.1

Three quick pillow projects coming up! These are from my Quilt Market booth, and they highlight the Daisies 'N Such fabrics so sweetly. Some were created in-the-moment, and some were thought-out and planned - but all are easy-peasy and allow for changes as you wish.

These how-to posts will provide the basic ideas for construction, but you'll need to figure out the exact sizes for your specific pillow. I will share my dimensions to help you determine what yours should be.

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Pillow Project #1: Midsummer Log Cabin

My pillow is 20" square.

You can adjust the following measurements to fit your pillow. Keep the sashing strips the same width, and determine how wide your primary fabrics should be based upon the difference between your overall pillow size less 2.25" for sashing, and divided by 4, plus seam allowances. Get that?

Example:

1. 20" pillow - 2.25" sashing = 17.75"
2. 17.75" divided by 4 = 4.4374 ~ rounded to 4.5" width for primary fabrics
3. Add .5" for seam allowances.

CUTTING

Cut 5" strips from the primary fabric, Midsummer Dream
- For a 20" pillow, you'll need approximately 80-84". Basically, two 5" strips the width of fabric.

Cut 1.25" strips from the sashing fabric, Diamondtop Fence
- For a 20" pillow, you'll need approximately 63-66".

ASSEMBLY
The pillow top is improv-pieced in the sense you don't need to measure the exact length of each piece before sewing it to the previous section. You can simply sew and even up the lengths by trimming as you go.

1. Start with a 5" square of your primary fabric. Sew a sashing strip to the bottom of it. Trim excess sash length.
2. Add another sashing strip to the right side of your block as shown. Trim excess length.
3. Add a primary fabric strip to the bottom. Trim excess length.
4. Add a primary fabric strip to the right side. Trim excess length.

5. Continue in this fashion until you have fully assembled your pillow top. Bodda-boom, bodda-bing, you're done!

Complete your pillow with your preferred method of fill and closure. To avoid pillows with pointy 'ears' taper your stitching on the corners. On a pillow this size, I tapered a full inch from each side's center to its corner.

looking back at Fall 2013 Quilt Market... way, way back!

You know when someone gives you a late birthday present, it stretches out your celebration a little longer? Well, this post is sort of the same thing: Fall Quilt Market has been and gone, but I'm sharing Daisy Janie's booth images with you today to rekindle the QM spark and give you a reason to enjoy a pretty fabric display all over again! A virtual gift you weren't even expecting! (As if any of us really needs an excuse to do enjoy fabric!)

So, Quilt Market.
I opted for a corner booth this year for maximum frontage and light (and one less wall to fill). My location was on the main aisle, just as attendees came out of the food court - absolutely primo! I mentioned that the Daisy Chain quilt was a show stopper, and this location was part of the reason why. It truly reeled people as they started down this aisle, which made for great conversations and a great show!

In addition to the Daisy Chain quilt, I also created...

• the pillows in the foreground (tutorials coming on those next week);
• the pleated stool covers using a tutorial from Sew4Home (Ikea Lack tables under there);
• an improv-pieced wall hanging (on the left), which features wonky log cabin frames of Daisy Janie's Selvedge Quotes. Scroll to see a a close-up of one of the frames. I will be sharing more on the quotes in a future post as well. Here's a process picture and a great one taken at QM by Sam Hunter of Hunter's Design Studio;
• the chevron quilt to mimic the Slate Path design in this collection - considering a tutorial for this, too - so easy;
• the fabric-wrapped balls above the flowy, hanging swaths on the right;
• and the entire birch panel booth!!!

I used antique details (tables, vase, large frames, wooden spools, crate) to add character to the natural, modern vibe of the birch panels and organic canvas backdrops. It turned out exactly as I envisioned, and I was so pleased and proud to be showcasing the Daisies 'N Such collection in such a charming, warm & inviting spot!

above & below: Selvedge Quote wall hanging.

above: pillows! The cherry blossom pillow is so cute! I will share the pattern pieces for this so you can make your own.
below: detail of the Daisy Chain quilt, available as a free project sheet

Thanks for taking this little tour of my booth! And Happy Belated Birthday! Keep the celebration going!

See Daisy Janie's Where to Buy page to find a retailer who stocks the Daisies 'N Such collection.

pdf project sheet | Daisy Chain Quilt

*** If you landed here because you saw the Daisy Chain quilt pattern on pinterest or another website, welcome! The pattern was free for the first 2 years. It is now available for $9 in the Daisy Janie retail shop. If you'd like to purchase this cute pattern, hop on over --> DAISY CHAIN QUILT PATTERN  Thank you!! ***

In this sweet, dare-I-say "girly" quilt, flowers are assembled as traditional Dresden Plates and affixed to the quilt top using fusible web and machine applique. The background is blocked, which gives you some freedom with using different fabrics for variety. If you don't want to make an entire quilt, use the leaf and flower templates to make a pillow, handbag or tea towel. Have fun with it!

All 8 fabrics from my Daisies 'N Such collection are featured. DNS is available now at many fine local quilt shops and online fabric retailers. See the full list on our Where to Buy page, and I think some of them will be offering kits for this. Please ask the proprietress if you don't see it.

This free pdf project sheet can be downloaded from the Projects & Patterns page from Daisy Janie.

TIP:
I made 3 copies of the flower petal template on cardstock. Once I cut them out, I stacked and taped them together to make a more rigid cutting template. I put double-sided tape on the bottom, placed it on my stack of petal fabrics and cut 8 at a time with my rotary cutter. Zip zang zoop!

I have been fussing with some sort of posy concept like this for a few fabric collections now, thinking it would be far too challenging. It is not at all! I consider myself a beginner / almost intermediate quilter. As trite as it is to say, if I can do it, you can do it!

new fabric collection | Daisies 'N Such

Well, how about that?! I never formally introduced you to Daisy Janie's latest collection of stunning organic fabrics, which began shipping last month. Sorry about that - please don't take it personally. :) It's not you; it's me... or so the line goes.

This is Daisies 'N Such, designed by Jan DiCintio. The inspiration for these Spring/Summer beauties came from my backyard. My office is on the 2nd floor of our home, which provides a primo view of our suburban oasis. Prone to daydreaming, I often gaze out my window and have a think (or 2 or 3). I love to garden and dig in the dirt, and almost all of the motifs that you see in this collection came from flowers, fences and slate paths I have put into place to add beauty to our most sacred space. I like to peek at them from my ivory tower when we turn the corner to Spring, taking a constant inventory of who's blooming. I would turn my whole backyard into gardens if the doggies didn't need it! More inspiration pictures of Daisies 'N Such here.

100% GOTS-certified organic cotton fabric - from planted seed to packaged bolt!

Shoppers/Quilters/Crafters: This organic collection is available now at many fine local quilt shops and online fabric retailers. See the full list on our Where to Buy page.

Retailers: If you would to stock Daisies 'N Such, please visit our Wholesale Ordering page to find out how. We ship fast!!

Fabrics left to right above:
- Boxwood Chartreuse
- Diamondtop Fence (which is what the fabrics are hanging from)
- Daisy Chartreuse
- Slate Path
- Midsummer Dream
- Daisy Coral
- Climbing Vines
- Boxwood Coral

Thank you to my alley neighbor Carol, who moved her car so I could take these pictures! She is a very kind lady in many ways! Dog lover and rescuer!

Celebrating 4000 FB fans with a fabric giveaway!

While I haven't been here on the Daisy Janie blog too much this year, I have been posting fairly often on Daisy Janie's facebook page. We recently reached a 4000-fan milestone, and I am celebrating by offering 4 FQ bundles to 4 random winners (1 per winner).

If you'd like a chance to win, go to THIS POST on my facebook page and follow the directions for entering. The contest ends Saturday, 11/9/13 at midnight EST.

Do NOT leave a comment here expecting to be entered.... won't getcha anywhere! (But you can always leave a comment to say howdy!)

 

quote | what to do? where to start?

You, too??

Kicked summer off with some White Mtn. hiking!

Happy Summer!!! I think it's finally, finally here in PA! Are you making plans, working on projects, having picnics, going on vacations? Would love to hear what you're up to!

Believe it or not, I've done some sewing and will have fabric news and projects to share in the coming weeks!

We kicked off our summer last week with a trip to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. We had beautiful weather and enjoyed 3 fantastic days of strenuous hiking, laughing like crazy and tracking down local and/or organic eateries! Success on all!

A couple of our favorite food stops in the White Mountains:
Thompson House Eatery
McKaella's Sweet Shop 
Chef's Market
The Local Grocer
Backcountry Bakery & Cafe
Moat Mountain Smoke House & Brewing Co.

Above: Hike up to summit of Mt. Jackson.
As we were going up this very section, a group of boys (probably about fifteen 12-year-olds) was coming down. They were starting to cluster near a ledge as they waited for us to get by, and their adult guide exasperatedly yelled out (clearly he had already said it 50 times on this trip), "Don't stack up! It's too wet and steep to stack up!" I almost peed myself laughing (in my head) - what a great line! Don't stack up. It's a good one to blurt randomly, too. So guess how many times I've told my husband and son 'don't stack up!' since we've been home? Too many to count! My son keeps asking why I love it so much.... no idea. Just do.

Above: Sign spotted on Crawford Path as we descended Mt. Jackson.
1819!!! Wowsers! If you hike, I'm sure it's crossed your mind how these mountain paths were created - and that some person or persons had to do a lot of hard, hard work to make them navigable. Freaking amazing. Last summer we learned that some of the trails in Acadia National Park in Maine were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps under Roosevelt, to give work to unmarried men 18-25.

Above & below: Vistas from our ascent up Mt. Washington, the highest point in the NE United States.
When M and I hiked this 19 years ago, we made it within 1/2 mile of the summit and had to turn around. We were woefully unprepared for the 40-degree drop in temperature, the wind chill and the misting fog. Mt. Washington has unique and extreme weather patterns, and it can change on a dime. Since we didn't make it to the top, it has been taunting me like snarky unfinished business tends to do. An ache to officially check it as 'done.' So we did! Experiencing this hike with my son was the icing on the cake. Double check. We got so, so lucky with this gorgeous day!

Above: The tippy top! Weather at the bottom was 75 degrees and calm as can be. The summit was 40 degrees with 40 mph wind gusts - I had to squat down a few times as we neared the top so as not to lose my footing. Visibility was 85 miles!

The most well-known and oft traveled trail to the top is Tuckerman's Ravine, which is where we hiked 19 years ago. This time, we took the Jewell Trail. It was 10 miles round trip - a longer, slightly more gradual climb. There aren't any truly easy ways to hike up Mt. W, but this was the easiest of the options. I tore my hamstring quite badly in May, and I was really worried I'd have to turn around if the ascent was too steep. M found this path b/c he knew how much getting to the top meant to me (and all of us). Love that lovebird 'o mine!!!

There were hordes of people waiting to trade cameras to get their pictures taken at this summit marker. It was the morning of the Mt. Washington Road Race, where runners make a 7.6-mile pure hillclimb to the top! They were coming in droves! Awesomeness. The guy we happened to trade cameras with recognized the name of our town on M's sweatshirt, and said his college roommate was from here! What are the chances?

Above: The road leading to the trailhead, with Mt. Washington in front of us. The little line in the trees is the cog railway track. See the smoke at the bottom from the train? The red X is just about where I stood to take the picture below.

Below: Standing atop the cog railway tracks. The trail passes right over. Insanely steep!!

p.s. Have a great summer! Don't stack up.

how to | create a basic design repeat on paper.

If you've ever wondered how fabric repeats work, this simple how-to will give you a basic understanding of the methodology. And it's fun! ANYONE can do this - you don't need to be an artist!

Case in point.
I used this activity with my son's 7th grade class 2 years ago as well as the ladies in the Berks Quilters Guild a few weeks ago. Two very, very different audiences, and both loved it and created some wonderful designs. In my son's class, some smart alecks thought they'd be funny by scribbling on the page instead of drawing. I made sure to tell those kids, "Wow - that is going to look incredible when you're done!" And those designs truly looked great. Those same kids did an about-face when they realized you can't outsmart art. A little evidence that it doesn't matter what you put down on the page!

Couple of notes before we get started:

• This method of creating repeats on paper is not my original idea. I saw it done first by Julia Rothman on Design Sponge a few years ago. Julia's is very cool!
• I created this random design on sleepy eyes way past midnight on a desk that was crammed with crap, including a coffee cup, a tea mug and a wine glass. Not ideal conditions as it was an after-afterthought. Point is: Just go for it! Don't overthink it. Don't hover over the page with nervous hesitation. Put something down. If you don't like it, try again.
• As I completed each step, I made a copy of it so that I could show each progression of this particular repeat at my Quilt Guild presentation. (Sort of like a cooking show.) Because my copier doesn't copy 100% of the page, you'll see little slivers of white borders on my pages.
• Once my paper repeat was done, I scanned it and used Illustrator to resize, color, and tile it (above).

Ready to get started?

Step 1 / Create a doodle of any sort in the center of your page. You can fill as much of the page as you like as long as you don't go over any of the edges.

Step 2 / Cut your paper in half lengthwise. Move the right side to the left so the design is now on the outsides and the center is blank. Neatly and precisely tape the two halves back together on the back.

Step 3 / Cut your paper in half widthwise this time. Move the top half to the bottom so the design is now in the four corners and the center is blank. Neatly and precisely tape the two halves back together on the back.

Step 4 / Add some design elements to the center of your page, staying away from the edges again. At any point after you have your original design element in the four corners, you can call your repeat done. If you want to add more, do so. If not, that's cool beans, too!

Step 5 / Add texture or other filler to any negative space, if you think your design needs it, but stay away from the edges. I added the criss-cross lines around the flowers.

Voila! You are done. If you were to make a bunch of copies of your page and tile them horizontally and vertically, the edges would match-up seamlessly and look like any surface or fabric design that is created in repeat.

When designing in Illustrator, I create a square or rectangle on my screen. I tend to focus my design across the top edge and down the left side first, dragging copies of those motifs to the opposing edges as I go. Then I'll go back and fill in the spaces in-between. Once the artwork is cropped to the size of the square or rectangle, all edges will tile seamlessly when it is printed onto fabric. These repeats can take a couple hours or a couple weeks - depends on a lot of variables!

To give you an idea where you can go with your repeat if you have access to Illustator (or Photoshop, I guess - I don't use PS so I don't know what its capabilities are). This is when you could scan your paper repeat drawing and vectorize it in Illustrator to create points and lines that can be manipulated and colored, as I have shown above and below. This is ridiculously fun to play around with - dropping colors in, resizing motifs, rotating stuff around, pulling bits out of bigger elements and plopping them around the background..... so. much. fun.

Below, you can see what it would look like if the motifs were smaller. This is also where you can see if you've created an unintentional pattern in the design (like the blank space in my texture), and you can correct these.

Hope this all makes sense! Have fun giving this repeat method a try! Let me know how it goes.

Speaking at the Berks Quilters Guild.

Life doesn't always happen in perfect clarity, does it? Literally or figuratively. Given that, I surely hope you'll overlook the blurry images in this post. Maybe you'll also grant me some latitude on my hair, which really should have been in a ponytail. I'd like to think the blurry pics made my hair look frizzy, but no, it was really a moppy frizzfest all on its own!  :)
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A few weeks ago, I had the distinct pleasure to guest speak at the meeting of a local group, the Berks Quilters Guild. They are a talented and large guild - I was excited & nervous. When I was introduced as the 'best kept secret in town,' I reeeealllly had to take a deep breath and calm my jitters before I reached the microphone. But, like all quilters I have come to know, they were incredibly warm & welcoming and eager to hear what I had to share about fabric, quilting and sewing! It just so happens those are things I like to chat about!

Also....
What a magnificent treat to stand before a group of 1oo or so women and not have a single, solitary blank stare when I desribed what I do: "I design and manufacture organic cotton fabrics for the quilting industry, which I sell to independent quilt shops on a worldwide basis."

Click. They got it and nodded along with complete understanding.

My presentation was entitled, "From Sketched Design to Printed Bolt." I covered a lot of territory!

• background on how I landed in the world of fabric design in the first place
• the transition from hobby-business to business-business, with a few key turning points and risks I took
• the mistakes I've made along the way - some funny, some expensive and not-so-funny
• what Quilt Market is like
• where my inspiration comes from
• how to turn a doodle into a design, and the tools and software used in the process
• how the fabric design I create eventually becomes a bolt of fabric
• what large-volume rotary printing entails and how I work with the mill

Once I made a dent in these topics, I showed about 15 examples of designs from my sketchbooks (above) and the fabric design they turned into (below) - abracadabra! Well, the process is not quite so instantaneous - but it sort of felt that way as I showed them back-to-back in quick succession. "This flower became this design... these lines became this texture... this snowflake became this Moroccan design...."

I took along some materials so they could create their own fabric repeats on paper. They weren't quite sure where we were headed, but once they completed the activity, I was able to tie it back to how I create a repeat in Illustrator.... explaining the seamless tiling aspect.... and I heard a lot of knowing, "oooohs! aaaaahs!" Just like everything else throughout the night:  Click. They got it. Quilters rock!

* * * * * Coming up Friday, I will share the activity here on the blog. * * * * *

I took along some door prizes, pattern handouts of my Garden Ladder Quilt and Fabric Produce Bag, magazines where my fabrics were featured and some MODERN quilting books (which they loved!). I know some of these women have heard of the Modern Quilt Guild, but not many. It was a lot of fun to share this with them. Quite a few wrote down the book titles (Sunday Morning Quilts, Quilting Modern, Modern Patchwork) and authors (Cheryl Arkison and Amanda Jean Nyberg, Jacquie Gering and Katie Pederson, Elizabeth Hartman) so they could find them later.

I also shared lotsa samples of sewn goodies: pillows, handbags, quilts (of course!) and even the skirt I had on that was finished only an hour prior (maybe I should spent more time on my hair than on the skirt!). It was really gratifying to talk about these items with such an appreciative audience!

It was also pretty cool to see so much of my work in one place. It's not very humble to say I was impressed, but it's also not very often that we allow ourselves the proper distance and time to reflect on our accomplishments. I strongly advise giving it a try!!! You'll be surprised what comes into sparkling clarity when you stop for a moment to do so.

Tutorial: Quad Leaf Pillow (strip piecing and applique)

Sticking with the leaf theme, I made this 16” quad leaf pillow from my New Leaf organic fabric collection, available now at these fine retailers.

This is a fairly simple project that includes strip piecing (improv or planned) and fusible applique. Follow my steps to make yours look similar or change the fabrics, the layout or leaf size to make your pillow different and unique! Adding a button to the center would be cute. This would also make a pretty block for a quilt!

MATERIALS:

• Leaf Template (download below)
• 36 strips of fabric, 12” long and cut into 1-1/2” widths. I used 8 different fabrics and cut 4-5 strips of each one.
• Lightweight, double-sided fusible adhesive (has paper backing)
• Base fabric for pillow front – four squares, 9” x 9”
• Fabric for pillow back using your favorite method
• Thread, of course. :)

Seam allowances are 3/8", but 1/4" will work, too.
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Download Leaf Template.

Print leaf template onto 8-1/2” x 11” paper or cardstock (cardstock will work better).

*Botony Lesson: This is an ovate leaf, which is an egg-shaped leaf where the base is broader than the tip, and the tip tapers to the end.

Above:
Strip piece 1-1/2” fabrics in random arrangements to make panels, using 9 fabric strips per panel (sample above shows only 8). Make 4 strip-pieced panels like this.

Above: Cut 2 panels into 3” strips, at a 45-degree angle from top left to bottom right.

Below: Cut 2 panels into 3” strips, at a 45-degree angle from top right to bottom left.

Above:

1. Rotate and pair strips so that the matched-up pair forms a straight seam running down the center, and the 45-degree angles of the pair form a “V”. Just like the veins on a leaf. Sew strips together at the center seam. Make 4 pairs – one for each leaf. (You will have extra, unmatched strips.) Double-check that your leaf template will fit each pair you put together BEFORE you sew the strips together. Also, try to avoid having 2 fabrics in the same print lining-up evenly on opposite sides of each pair. Adjust your strips up or down as needed or swap strips out with other pairs.
2. Trace the leaf template onto each of the 4 pairs of strips. Before you cut, double check the directionality of each leaf. Are all the "veins" going the same direction on each leaf? If not, turn the template around and re-trace.
3. Trace the leaf template onto double-sided fusible adhesive. Cut out 4 of these & iron fusible adhesive to the back of each fabric leaf. Follow manufacturer’s directions. Trim as needed.

Above:
Diagonally & accurately fold a fabric base square (for the front of the pillow), finger press. Lightly mark 1-1/2” from 1 corner, dot on the crease. This will be your inside corner.

Line-up the center seam of a leaf with the crease on the base fabric. The tapered edge of the leaf will be pointing toward the inside, with the tip of the leaf on the 1-1/2” mark you just made. Fuse into place.

Satin stitch (aka: zig-zag stitch) around the outside edge of your fused-leaf applique with a thread color that will work well with your fabrics. IMPORTANT: Test widths and lengths of your satin stitch on scrap fabrics first! I exaggerated the satin stitch in these images so you could see it; my stitches were much tighter than what is shown.

Repeat on the other 3 fabric squares.

Above:
Sew together the 2 top squares of fabric. Repeat with bottom squares. Then sew the top half to the bottom half to complete the quad front.

Keeping the center seams centered (say that 10 times fast), trim the edges of the pillow front down to 17” square.

The pillow front is complete! Complete your pillow using your favorite method. Maybe an envelope closure? Maybe a hidden zipper? Whatever you like!

A reminder for Earth Day.

And for every other day in our entire lives...

(love this daisy pic - taken on a bike ride in Bar Harbor, Maine last June)

quilted quilts.

Wow! That was fast! No sooner did I drop off these 2 quilts to be quilted when the quilter was calling me to tell me they were done! And impressively done at that! Hats off to Tracey, the long-arm quilter who is going to become my new best friend. She doesn’t know it yet!

The top quilt is the Bee Block quilt, and it has a swirly stitch in white. Looks great! Tracey explained her personal preference for choosing white thread, which is to let the background stay the background. It fades out and lets the blocks pop!

The bottom quilt is simply a 2-yard panel of the Festoon print – a cheater print when quilted like this. It has a meandering daisy stitch (love!) in a plum-raspberry. Certainly, I will share each of these in their entirety after I bind them.

I am speaking at a local quilt guild next week and plan to take these along to share…guess I best get busy with that binding and some other fun sewing!

When I find a hitch in my giddy-up that keeps me from doing something I should do and want to do, I want to figure out why. Take quilting, for example. I love making tops, and that doesn’t seem daunting at all. But the quilting part evokes stomach knots and sweaty palms. I just haven’t spent enough time doing it or learning the intricacies to make it look decent. It was holding me back from making quilts.

I completely stumbled upon this long-arm quilter, and now I am soooo stoked to make more, more, more quilts and let her work her magic!!! Relief!

Friends of ours just had a baby, and I found myself daydreaming about making them an organic baby quilt! Folks, that has never (ever) happened. Double excitement: doing something sweet for good friends and knowing I don’t have to quilt it!

 

Since I took such a long blog break during Feb & March, I’m loading you up on pics in these new posts to make up for lost time! :) Plus, it was an inordinately great day to take pics: lighting was perfecto!

Bee Block Quilt Top.

The beautiful, creative blocks from the New Leaf Bee Block Blog Hop came together so nicely in this quilt top! It is pure kismet* that some of these blocks are bordering on similar to one another as I gave no instructions to the block designers. The sameness of some and the uniqueness of others made the layout of the quilt pretty easy to fashion – like certain blocks should be in certain locations just because.

Each block started out at 12” x 12” (finished at 11.5”). I added a 2.5” white sash to frame out each block (a 2” sash when finished). I fussy cut a few of the flower strips in the Festoon fabric and added those between the white, vertical sashing pieces, primarily to add width to the quilt. The completed top as it is now is 51” x 68”.

*I love when a group shakes out like that, where certain patterns or looks trend seemingly out of nowhere. Maybe it’s the marketing researcher in me that delights in statistical trends in a quilting bee – patterns in patterns, if you will! It really isn’t out of nowhere, however, b/c our experiences, backgrounds, abilities, etc. will always propel us to behave and think in certain ways… so if our inputs are similar, our outputs will be, too. Then, there are always the outliers in a subsample…. those who are outside the bell curve so to speak. It’s all good to me – everyone has an important place in the whole!!

I played around with a few layouts, and this one seemed to have the most balanced look overall. For a few mock layouts, I tried to pretend the individual design of each block didn’t matter and that any random placement would magically flow. Truthfully, the unique aesthetic of each one is strong enough that I felt placement mattered – to bring out the best in each block and the look of the final quilt.

The top is off being quilted now at a long-arm machine quilter who lives blocks from me…. Blocks I tell you! What a joy to find her! She’s young, she’s hip, she’s talented and she’s close! I will certainly share this quilt with you when it’s 100% finished!