It's been at least 3 years....probably more. At least 3 years since I started this quilt for Samantha. It was a class being taught by my good friend and quilt mentor, Lola M. I was blessed to have first met Lola when I transfered jobs so I was working in town. She was not only a great worker but ended up being a great friend. On top of it all, Lola quilts. She doesn't just quilt, she "speaks" quilt. Yessiree...quilts talk to her! And when she's completed a quilt, it's BEAUTIFUL!
Anyway, I signed up to take a quilt class featuring a house block. Basically, the design of the quilt is many little houses. Each block is 2-colored. Half the blocks feature dark-colored houses on light backgrounds; the other half are light-colored houses on dark ground. When I started to shop for the fabric, Samantha asked if she could have this quilt for her room. "Sure, honey!" So we picked 2 shades of pink for the blocks. Then I found a fun pansy-print for the border, in pinks and purples. I took the class then took the project with me on a quilt retreat. Got 24 little houses put together and thought I was done. When I got home, I realized it really needed 16 more houses to properly fit the top of her bed. So, I cut more pieces, started to put together roof lines...then stopped.
For three-plus years, I've kept telling Samantha I'd finish that quilt. And for three-plus years, I've failed miserably. Well, last July, Mat and I worked to re-do Samantha's room (refer to my post from July 17). It turned out great! And the color palette? You guessed it...pulled from the unfinished quilt. So, isn't it about time she had the quilt to go with the room? Yea, too much time as passed. So this weekend, I quilted! Yes! And it was refreshing to get back to it again. I've almost got all 16 of the house blocks done. Just need to add the final border around the edge to the light-colored houses (the dark ones are DONE!), then I can finish sewing the house blocks together. A purple inner border (around all the houses) plus the pansy outer border, then I can take the quilt top to be quilted. I'd love to have Lola to it for me (she quilted the baby quilt I made for Nicholas), but Lola is out of the state, taking care of family (you're all in my thoughts, Lola!).
And you know what's even better about this weekend's quilting experience? Samantha asked if she could learn! YES! So I taught my little girl (who isn't so little anymore) how to quilt. We worked on the basics. She now knows how to use a rotary cutter, ruler, and self-healing mat. She knows about quarter-inch seams. She knows how to rip out a seam when you've made a mistake (obiously gets THAT from me). And she can build a mean four-patch!
Guess what else? I even had a chance to scrap this past week. Doing my best to stick to my resolution. So, here's Elsie's next challenge.
#3: CREATE A RIBBON BORDER. Actually, I was in the midst of quilting when I got a great idea for a layout. I had to stop so I could pull this one together. Didn't take more than 30 minutes from start to finish. Perhaps the creative juices flowing as a result of the quilting aided the scrapping creativity. Regardless of how, I'm happy with how it turned out.
Anyway, I signed up to take a quilt class featuring a house block. Basically, the design of the quilt is many little houses. Each block is 2-colored. Half the blocks feature dark-colored houses on light backgrounds; the other half are light-colored houses on dark ground. When I started to shop for the fabric, Samantha asked if she could have this quilt for her room. "Sure, honey!" So we picked 2 shades of pink for the blocks. Then I found a fun pansy-print for the border, in pinks and purples. I took the class then took the project with me on a quilt retreat. Got 24 little houses put together and thought I was done. When I got home, I realized it really needed 16 more houses to properly fit the top of her bed. So, I cut more pieces, started to put together roof lines...then stopped.
For three-plus years, I've kept telling Samantha I'd finish that quilt. And for three-plus years, I've failed miserably. Well, last July, Mat and I worked to re-do Samantha's room (refer to my post from July 17). It turned out great! And the color palette? You guessed it...pulled from the unfinished quilt. So, isn't it about time she had the quilt to go with the room? Yea, too much time as passed. So this weekend, I quilted! Yes! And it was refreshing to get back to it again. I've almost got all 16 of the house blocks done. Just need to add the final border around the edge to the light-colored houses (the dark ones are DONE!), then I can finish sewing the house blocks together. A purple inner border (around all the houses) plus the pansy outer border, then I can take the quilt top to be quilted. I'd love to have Lola to it for me (she quilted the baby quilt I made for Nicholas), but Lola is out of the state, taking care of family (you're all in my thoughts, Lola!).
And you know what's even better about this weekend's quilting experience? Samantha asked if she could learn! YES! So I taught my little girl (who isn't so little anymore) how to quilt. We worked on the basics. She now knows how to use a rotary cutter, ruler, and self-healing mat. She knows about quarter-inch seams. She knows how to rip out a seam when you've made a mistake (obiously gets THAT from me). And she can build a mean four-patch!
Guess what else? I even had a chance to scrap this past week. Doing my best to stick to my resolution. So, here's Elsie's next challenge.#3: CREATE A RIBBON BORDER. Actually, I was in the midst of quilting when I got a great idea for a layout. I had to stop so I could pull this one together. Didn't take more than 30 minutes from start to finish. Perhaps the creative juices flowing as a result of the quilting aided the scrapping creativity. Regardless of how, I'm happy with how it turned out.
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