Something Finished, Something New

Ahhh... fall is in the air.  A front moved through last night and left behind cool, crisp weather;  the kind of weather that makes me wish I could set up my sewing machine on my deck outside and just breathe it in.  Fall is my favorite season, and maybe it's because the cooler weather makes me think of snuggling up with a quilt, but I especially love sitting down at my machine when there is just a little nip in the air.  Yesterday, I was on a roll and finished up my red and aqua quilt, and I really love how the top turned out.

To me, the pattern looks like scrumptious little desserts piled on a plate, so I'm calling this one Truffles, and I can't wait to get it finished.  The colors are so fresh and happy, and I'm also feeling pretty good about the fact that these fabrics all came right out of my cabinet.  Hooray for stash busting!

The other thing that I have been madly working on lately is my Ball and Jacks pattern, and I am delighted to tell you that it is now available in my Craftsy and Etsy shops!  Hop over and take a look. This is one of those patterns that has a "big bang for your buck."  There is very little wasted fabric, and although the blocks are pretty simple to put together, the finished quilt looks much more complicated, so there is a big payoff.  It is written in lap, twin, and queen sizes, and has full color illustrations and cutting diagrams included.

It is perfect football weather, and perfect weather for my city's local festival, which happens to be going on this weekend.  I've been there all morning, working at my Sunday School class booth, and reveling in the gorgeous weather.  My husband actually runs the booth for our class, so he and wild thing will be there all weekend long from sunup to sundown.  Hmmm... I'm sure I can find something useful to do with my time!

Ball and Jacks...and thanks!

I've said it before but it certainly bears repeating.  When I name my quilts and patterns, either the name immediately pops into my brain, or else I can't think of anything at all.  Very rarely does it happen that I think and think, and then come up with a name I really love.  In those circumstances, I usually just go with the name I've chosen, but don't really love it.

Well, that is exactly what happened with this quilt pattern when a reader commented on my last post and said that the shape reminded her of jacks.  As much as I liked some of the other suggestions,  none of them really grabbed me like Ball and Jacks did, and I think I have figured out why.

Most of the name suggestions called attention to only the white space, with words like snowball, cotton ball, etc. and I really wanted to call attention to the print in the pattern as well.  Other suggestions had to do with the fabric in the quilt with ideas like tropical, or coral reef.  I always find that naming a pattern is harder than naming a quilt, because I feel like I have to make sure the name will fit the quilt, even if someone else chooses to use completely different fabrics.  I also feel like a pattern name has to be catchy and easy to say, not to mention short enough put on a pattern cover.

I feel like the name Ball and Jacks pays homage to the shape of both the prints and white space, and it is a name that focuses only on the shape, rather than the fabrics I used.  Naming this one was really tough for me, and I am so glad I chose to ask you for suggestions!  Thank you to all who gave input!

On the back of the quilt, this tonal blue fabric by Jennifer Paganelli blends just perfectly with the blues in the Violette line, and since this pattern yields virtually zero scrap fabric, I chose to add a bold orange stripe to add a little interest to the backing.

The binding is a great shade of green Kona, and I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't take note of the name of it on the bolt.  It isn't a perfect match for the gorgeous shade of jade green in the quilt, but it frames the quilt really well anyway.

Just FYI, Needle and Thread Thursday is on as usual this evening, and I'll be including the giveaway winners in that post.  I just felt like the name business was a little too wordy to piggyback onto an NTT post though.  So,  I'll see you later, where I'll also be giving a peek at the fabric pull for my next project!