Beach Retreat and a Popsicle Party!

Whoop Whoop!  It's time to highlight the next quilt on the Stash Statement blog hop.  I'm super excited because I've made two very different versions, and in today's post, I get to reveal both of them.  First up, take a look at the Beach Retreat quilt pictured in the book.

As the name suggests, this quilt was inspired by boardwalks, crashing waves, hot sand, and gentle ocean breezes.  The palette is so soothing;  it's really no wonder that so many people choose it for their homes.

The background of this quilt is Kona Prepared for Dyeing, and the creamy white looks right at home with these softer colors.  The Kona Chocolate Brown contrasting strips give the quilt depth and add to the woven effect in the pattern.  Gentle wave quilting continues the beachy theme, and the Aurifil 50 wt. #5006 (Light Turquoise) adds an extra little touch of color and texture.

I don't use a ton of tan and taupe in my quilting, so once I started sewing, I discovered that I needed to supplement my scraps a bit.  Luckily, Stash Statement includes simple tips for doing that, just in case you find yourself running short on a specific color.  On the back, I made a chunky, scrappy background, keeping the colors together in bold stripes.

The scrappy binding used many of the soft blue/aqua strips from my scrap jar and makes a great frame for this quilt.  If you've never made a scrappy binding, a scrap quilt is the perfect place to give it a try, and Stash Statement has instructions for this as well!

If you saw my NTT post last week, you might already have a clue to my second version of this pattern.  I'm calling this rainbow version Popsicle Party.  Something about the shape of the blocks makes me think of the icy, brightly colored treats.

The background of this version is crisp Kona White, and instead of solid contrasting strips, I chose a black and white polkadot, which is so much fun against the rainbow of color.

Instead of an allover free motion design, on this quilt I opted for figure eight loops in the black and white polkadot strips and matchstick quilting in each of the colored blocks, using matching thread.  A dense stipple in the white background finishes it off!

The thread lineup, all Aurifil 50 wt.-

#2625, Arctic Ice (polkadot strips)
#2024, White (background)
#2260, Wine
#1133, Bright Orange
#2135, Yellow
#1231, Spring Green
#5006, Light Turquoise
#2720, Light Delft Blue
#4225, Eggplant
#2530, Blossom Pink

I love the texture added with the quilting, and it shows up really well on the back of the quilt.  This is my first attempt at figure eight loops, and even though some of them are a little lopsided, I'm pretty happy with the result.

Instead of using a single consistent thread on the back of the quilt, I carried the colored threads onto the back as well, giving just the slightest hint of a rainbow against the Kona Ash and polkadot fabrics.  I wish it showed up better in the photo, but in person, the effect is so neat.

The Beach Retreat quilt looks awesome whether you love modern, bright fabrics, or you have a stash full of softer tones.  It can easily be made to match any decor, and the design is quick to put together.  Liz at Savor Every Stitch and Sarah of Sarah Goer Quilts each made their own versions of the Beach Retreat quilt, and their chosen color palettes are so much fun.  Head over there to check them out!

After you've checked out the other quilts for today's stops on the blog tour, pop over to my Etsy shop HERE to get your very own signed copy of Stash Statement.  It is also available from Amazon, Connecting Threads, or you can ask about it at your local quilt shop.  

Don't forget to keep up with the blog tour each week.  Next week, we're moving into the second section of the book, and this lineup is filled with awesomeness that you won't want to miss!

4/16- Grand Bazaar    Shelley @ Cora's Quilts

                                      Connie @ Freemotion by the River

4/23- Louvered  Lindsey @ Primrose Cottage Quilts 

                            Diann @ Little Penguin Quilts

4/30- Precarious  Jess @ Quilty Habit                       

                              Myra @ Busy Hands Quilts

                                                            

5/7- Beach Retreat  Sarah @ Sarah Goer Quilts                               

                                  Liz @ Savor Every Stitch 

                                                           

5/14- Fire Pit   Alison @ Little Bunny Quilts                                          

                         Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts

                                                            

5/21- Detour    Laura @ Slice of Pi Quilts                         

                         Shelley @ The Carpenter's Daughter Who Quilts

                                                            

5/28- Murrina    Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl             

                            Leanne @ Devoted Quilter

                                                            

6/4- Scattered    Jayne @ Twiggy and Opal                      

                           Christine @ Triangles and Squares 

                                                            

6/11- Bloom Chicka Boom   Chris @ made by ChrissieD            

                                               Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty

                                                            

6/18- Regatta   Susan @ Quilt Fabrication                             

                          Debbie @ A Quilter's Table    

                                                            

6/25- Catch a Falling Star  Cynthia @ Quilting is More Fun Than Housework        

                                              Anja @ Anja Quilts

                                                            

7/2- College Prep   Hilary @ by Hilary Jordan                 

                                Lori @ Crossquilt

                                                            

7/9- Take Flight (free bonus pattern)  Kelli @ Seriously, I Think It Needs Stitches 

                                                             Paula @ The Sassy Quilter

 

Sewing Comfort

In its earliest days, quilting was an art form born of necessity.  Today though, I would venture to say that there are very few quilters that make quilts from salvaged fabric, for the primary purpose of warmth.  There is no doubt that quilting takes me on a never-ending journey of creativity that is rewarding and fulfilling.  I find such joy in seeing my vision take shape right before my eyes.  Though the primary purpose and methods of quilting have changed over time, one thing remains steadfast.  Quilts can be a great expression of love, whether given in celebration, or to bring comfort to those who are hurting.

This quilt is going to friends of my cousin who lost everything in the recent Louisiana floods.  The wife had a stroke a few years ago, and is wheelchair bound, and they had over five feet of water in their home.  When my cousin told me their story, and asked for a quilt to bring them a smile, I put everything else on hold to get it done.

My cousin specifically wanted soft, soothing colors with a spa-like feel, but with small pops of sunshine yellow.  She also mentioned that she loved my Sunny Skies quilt, which was made with my Purse Strings block tutorial.

This quilt will be finished before the day is out, and I am planning to ship it out tomorrow morning.    I wish I could wrap a quilt around every single person I know that is experiencing loss and hurt in my hometown right now, but I know that's impossible.  I just hope that this quilt can offer some measure of comfort for this particular family.

Toes in the Sand

This is a very busy weekend at our house!  My birthday is today and our wild thing will be ten tomorrow, so with everything going on, I knew that I needed to go ahead and finish up this quilt and post about it!

Oh, how I wish we lived closer to the ocean so that the photos could really show off this quilt.  This quilt just belongs among the sand and crashing blue waves of the beach!  Since Tennessee is decidedly inland, backyard photos will have to suffice.

This quilt is a monster queen size- 80x100" and as quilts of that size go, it was a beast to get it quilted.  Part of the issue is that most of the fabrics are so light in color that the quilting thread blends right into them.  I ended up with two crossovers in my stippling, which I hate.  Thankfully, the cause of them also makes those crossovers practically invisible.

I do love the wide stripes on the backing.  I think it's a great way to break up such a big quilt back, and makes it seem more manageable.

One of my favorite parts of this quilt is the scrappy binding.  I think it keeps the fabrics from getting framed in.  The beach is such a beautiful and expansive sight, and I think the lack of framing keeps the quilt feeling like the beach.

I decided to name this one Toes in the Sand, and although creating it wasn't without its challenges, it certainly makes me want to hit the beach and do just that!

Sand and Sea Glass Finished!

Wild thing had a baseball tournament this weekend in a town over an hour away (I really would like to know who schedules these things).  In these tournaments, it's best to just plan to hang around the ball field all day long since the schedule is determined by whether you win or lose.  That poses a problem for us because of our (seriously cute, but extremely neurotic) dog (see his picture HERE).  He can't be left alone all day long (possibly longer than a full work day), and pets aren't allowed at these tournaments.

Unfortunately, that means that I miss wild thing's baseball games in these circumstances, which I really hate.  I never miss his games if I can help it.  As much as I wish I could have been at his baseball games, it meant I had the day at home...all by myself... to spend however I wished.  hmmmm...

I stared at my house in disarray and thought of all the things I should do, and then made the decision to quilt and bind my latest quilt.  Was there ever really a question?

I opted to quilt with stippling for a few reasons.  I love the soft, crinkly texture it gives the quilt and it doesn't look too harsh.  Also, since the Double Slice pattern is random-ish, I thought the stippling fit nicely.  It is my favorite kind of quilting, and since I've done straight line quilting in my last two quilts, I've really missed it!  I still don't consider my stippling to be perfect, but I'm getting a lot better at keeping my spacing even- and no crossovers or puckers either.  Yay!

I did do a solid backing instead of a pieced backing though, because I found the darkest taupe fabric in a 90 inch width.  That happens so infrequently, so I figured I might as well use it!

I think the scrappy binding works with the feel of the quilt and keeps it looking like sea glass scattered out on the beach, without "framing" it too much.  The blog post HERE has more details about my inspiration for this quilt.

The finished quilt measures 72 x 72 and I've named it Sand and Sea Glass.  I think it fits perfectly.  I just love this aqua fabric in the label, and I think it really fits with the sea glass theme of the quilt.

All in all, the more I worked on this quilt, the more it grew on me.  Although it really isn't a quilt I would have thought to make without the specific request of a friend, I'm pleased with the way it turned out.  I'll give it to him when we head to Baton Rouge at the end of July, and I hope he likes it as well!

Beach Inspiration

I'm working on a quilt for a friend, who is pretty special to both my husband and to me.  He was my husband's youth choir director throughout high school, and then moved (across the state) to my church and was my youth choir director in the following years.  During that time, he encouraged each of us to pursue music in college, and as it happened, my husband and I ended up attending the same college (a tiny, private school in Shreveport, LA- I later transferred to LSU).  It happened to be Sidney's alma mater.  Of course, this is where we met.  Fast forward almost three years, and Sidney ended up marrying us.  

So, when he asked for a specific kind of quilt, I certainly wanted to accommodate his request.  He asked for a quilt in shades of taupe, cream and white, with sort of a spa feeling- very soft and clean.  After some looking around, here is the picture that I used for inspiration (picture from aboutseaglass.com)-

Now, let's be clear about something.  There is a huge difference between selling your quilts and taking orders for quilts- and it has nothing to do with your quilting skills.  It has everything to do with second guessing your choices, and hoping that the person who has placed the order will like it.

My biggest concern was that all of the shades of beige and cream would just blend together and be really boring, or that I would put in too much aqua for his taste.  Here's the finished top (I just love looking at quilt tops in the sunshine!)-

Although this is a huge departure from the kinds of quilts I usually make, I think that I captured the essence of the pictures and the soothing feel he wanted in the colors.  I still worry that the creams and taupes blend together too much, but it does look a bit like sea glass scattered out on the beach.  What do you think?