Thursday, March 10, 2011

Color Therapy Thursday

First, a note of clarification is in order. This quilt, which is already pretty spectacular, is for Levi, my nearly 3-year-old grandson, and was primarily put together by my daughter-in-law, Christa. I was merely "outsourced labor" and helped with maybe a third of the sewing. It took a tremendous amount of time on her part to cut all those 1" strips and then organize them in the proper color/size order, as the quilt was assembled in long horizontal strips the width of the twin-sized quilt, which were then sewn together into strip sets of ten rather than traditional pieced blocks. I have never constructed a quilt in this way before, and Christa actually had to color the black and white pattern with colored pencils so we could figure the whole thing out. I'm not sure I would make another quilt this way because of the time element, but it IS going to be stunning.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to give me advice on quilting strategies. I see these things on my weekend horizon: basting spray, khaki thread, 3.5 stitch length, walking foot, and lots of patience.

Next up, my blocks for the 3x6 sampler quilt bee went out in the mail on Tuesday (the pink and brown block is on its way to The Netherlands!)

And finally, I'm pretty sure if you have been in the online quilting community for any length of time, you have been on the receiving end of someone's extreme generosity. My good bloggy friend, Crystal, and I are in the same quilt-along, Bottled Rainbows. And while I'm still in the planning stages, Crystal is knocking those blocks out like crazy. In fact, I'm almost certain she is done! One of the first blocks she posted was her pumpkin block, with the cutest fishy fabric.
(Photo from Sonnet of the Moon--check out all of Crystals'a amazing blocks!)

I commented on how fun it would be to have a little scrap in my own orange block and she immediately let me know some of it was on its way to me.

When the package arrived a couple of days later, not only did I have a very generous scrap of the adorable fishy fabric, there was also a stack of Katie Jump Rope! And some Neptune selvages!

This has happened to me before and I'm always awed and overwhelmed at the generosity of women I have never met, yet who are friends in the truest sense of the word, not just because they willingly share their fabric but because they open up and share their lives as well. Thanks, Crystal!

9 comments:

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Kris said... #

Levi is going to love his quilt!!

Jen said... #

I <3 Crystal! She is a very generous person and I'm slightly jealous b/c those scraps are AWESOME!

Terriaw said... #

That orange block is awesome, but that fishy fabric is the bomb! What a wonderful package to receive, full of all those goodies.

Crystal said... #

Those fishies just kill me! I laugh every time I see their cute, surprised faces!

Sewhappy said... #

First let me say Levi's quilt is amazing, now I am even more amazed after hearing the construction method. Boy, you both did well. Crystal is a very lovely person she has given you some gorgeous fabrics. I love the fish too. Have fun quilting, you will be fine.

Amelia said... #

Levi's quilt is going to look amazing!! I love all the fabrics that you received too :)

Carla said... #

I thought that I saw some lines running through Levi's quit, but wasn't sure what they were. That is an impressive accomplishment, I'll say! I love that block that you made for the 3x6 Bee...and such great color combos! And wow, what a nice friend you have in Crystal!

Unknown said... #

what an amazing quilt has your DIL done... wow. That must have taken so much organising and cutting and sewing!

Stunning work.

Anonymous said... #

awesome fish fabric!