Beach Boardwalk

Enjoy a summer of fun with my new quilt, Beach Boardwalk! 

It's perfectly showcased on the Santa Cruz Pier, with the ocean, beach, and the famous Santa Cruz Boardwalk in the background. Thankfully, I got these pictures Christmas day before all the storms came in making a mess of Santa Cruz, and especially Capitola.

My Beach Boardwalk quilt is big - 80" x 96" - queen size, as that's what was requested. Hubby did his best to hold it open while on a step ladder, as I snapped lots of pics through a slight breeze. Here's flatter, smoother picture of Beach Boardwalk we took closer to home, with no breeze though it has a couple of sags.

Beach Boardwalk has been in the works since the beginning of 2021. What started as an idea for the Salt and Sand Hop quickly grew to a large quilt. Realizing that time was not on my side for finishing numerous blocks to complete a queen size quilt, I opted for the Surfboards in the Sand block for the March 2021 hop. You can read how well that turned out on my Salt and Sand Hop post.

After making a few blocks and tweaking the quilt design here and there, life derailed my progress for at least a year. Finally, this last fall, I committed to making the blocks and writing the pattern for Beach Boardwalk. After all, this quilt is for my son, and long overdue.

You've probably followed my progress on Midweek Makers as I've posted blocks and rows, starting off with the redesigning of the palm trees in September. Love these!

With Christmas as my deadline, I cut it close, finishing Beach Boardwalk on Christmas Eve. My son, who resides in Santa Cruz, received his quilt the day after Christmas when we could all get together. I made it just in time! 

Now for some block closeups! Starting with the top row, here's the Ferris Wheel and Concession Stand, complete with cotton candy and drinks.

Next to these and to complete the first row, is the Roller Coaster, probably my favorite block!

Next up on the beach are the umbrellas and lounge chairs. This picture really shows off the quilting - incoming waves on the left; a circle/line motif to separate the ocean from the boardwalk; sand dunes; and a gentle breeze in the background.

Moving down the quilt, and closer to the shore, there's beach houses in a variety of colors. 

When my son saw these in the design stage, he asked that they be colorful, like the houses in Capitola. This was the first time I'd seen these houses, and colorful they are! If you've watched the news about our storms, these houses were damaged from the swells and debris. Very sad.

For the quilt though, it took me 2 days to decide the best color combos. And yes, I made a pink house, with teal trim and a blue roof, as both colors are seen in Capitola.

Row four, with its sailboat, windsurfer, surfboard, and hammock complete the summer fun vibe.

Here's a picture of the palm trees and hammock block cause I forgot to take one after quilting.

Overall, I kept the quilting simple, outlining all the applique and piecing, with added detail here and there. I mentioned above that the quilting involves waves in the outer border. Notice the outer border has ocean waves coming in at an angle, landing on the beach at the bottom corner where umbrellas are planted in the sand. 

The two areas of crashing wave foam (large white area) has the extra detail of circles in it to represent bubbles, while the inner border continues the bubble theme with randomly placed circles in two sizes. And the sand has dunes, at an angle to match the rest of the outer border.

For fun, I took a picture of all the thread colors I used in quilting this, though I think I'm missing the dark aquamarine used in the waves under the boat. If I include that one, that makes 14, and all do the job beautifully!

And there you have it - my summertime fun Beach Boardwalk quilt! Are you interested in making your own Beach Boardwalk quilt? The pattern is written for the Queen size of 80" x 96", as shown. Two files contain detailed written and visual instructions for constructing over 15 blocks. All Kona Solid colors are listed.

This is an Intermediate pattern level, requiring knowledge of applique, paper piecing, and the ability to enlarge pattern templates. By adjusting the borders, the Beach Boardwalk pattern also includes instructions for making a Twin size (68" x 86") and Lap size (60" x 78"). Find it in my Etsy shop for summertime fun!

Happy Quilting!

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My Favorite Patterns

More Swimming Silhouettes and a FREE Lap Quilt Design

We're revisiting the My Happy Place 2018 Rowalong today - I've got a row pattern update!

Did you know that preparation for the September launch of the Rowalong begins six to nine months in advance, with final 12" x 30" row designs and patterns due in June? When I designed my original freestyle row, 

it didn't occur to me to also design butterfly, backstroke, and breaststroke silhouettes. Only when the rowalong started, did the idea to make all four swim strokes come to me. Duh!

So, while finishing up the pattern for the Pumpkin Harvest lap quilt, I also pulled out some pictures and got to work on more swimming silhouettes for a complete set of  In the Swimming Pool rows.

Due to the very positive response to the freestyle row, as many of you swim or have relatives that swim, I'm happy to announce all four swim stroke silhouettes are now included in the row pattern at Etsy, for a whole pool's worth of swimmers!

Pick a favorite stroke or make all four - combine them together for a one-of-a-kind swimmers quilt. Each row measures 12" x 30", but can easily be made longer or shorter, however it fits in with your quilt design. 

Speaking of design, here's a FREE lap size idea to use:  add some nine-patch blocks around the rows, alternating with plain blocks.

Add in a few swim related words, a team logo, or even swim related t-shirts for an awesome, personalized swimming themed quilt for someone special! 

Happy Quilting!

The Road Home to Silicon Valley

Welcome to QuiltFabrication, and Silicon Valley, home to all things tech!

When first approached by Marian at Seams to be Sew about participating in the 2016 Road Home Row-along, I immediately said yes! Such an easy decision because the area I live in, Silicon Valley, is home to all of the great tech companies that we know and love.

My row depicts four large companies that are along major roads, and within close proximity to my humble home. We're talking a 15 mile radius, that's how close. Believe or not, 'tech tourism', the visiting of these companies as if they were tourist attractions, has sprung up. Today, I'll be your tour guide to these four companies.

Let's start at Facebook, where the 'thumbs up' sign greats us at the entrance.

Awesome quilt pattern in the background, huh? The buildings are nice, with lots of open sky and the bay on the backside.

Continuing down the freeway for a few miles sits Google, which in my opinion, has the best location. Perched on a small hill, surrounded by lots of trees and open space,

and, of course, plenty of parking for the famous green, yellow, and red bikes used by employees to get from building to building.

And just a half mile away, is it's friendly neighbor, LinkedIn, another favorite company.

Before hitting the freeway again, we could make a stop at the Computer History Museum, and check out just how far we've come in all things tech.

                           

But let's continue on, past my house, and move on to Apple, another favorite. Below are the current headquarters,

with the Apple Campus 2, (the Spaceship that's under construction) and future headquarters a mile away. 

Can you get a feel for how massive this building is? With the freeway to the south, retail west, residential north, and a hospital on the east, it's a huge campus in the middle of suburbia. 

Of course, the list of tech companies goes on and on. Sorry if I left out other favorites, but there's just so much room in a 12 1/2" x 42" row! 

I hope you've enjoyed a short tour of Silicon Valley, the birthplace of tech, and my home.

Rows Done--Now What?

The last three rows for the Row by Row Experience are now complete.

Row 6 has lots of components--a paper pieced truck, pinwheels, and dresden blade sunflowers.  First time making a dresden anything!

Row 7 is so cute!  The background is made from nickels I cut down to 3", and the rest is fused applique.  Adorable!

And my last row, composed of log cabins, a fused hive, and fused flowers was super quick to put together.

Now for the proposed layout.

Notice anything?  This quilt is really long, and narrow.  I think I'll be adding something to the sides to increase the width.  Off to the stash to see what I find!

Happy Quilting!