Mediterranean Rose in Progress

Mediterranean Rose, a quilt started over 6 years ago, is on the design wall today.

It's slow going at the moment, what with Thanksgiving and all, but at least it's sewn into rows. Just need to add the side triangles, then it will be a top. 

Working on this quilt, at this time, was meant to be - here's why:  I started this quilt as a hand applique project while on a cruise to the Mediterranean in 2012. This past Sunday, as I trimmed and sewed, Rick Steve's travel program came on PBS. And he was travelling to the Greek islands of Santorini, Mykonos, and Rhodes, all places we visited on that cruise. How wild is that coincidence???

My blocks are based on a design found in Vol 1 of Quiltmakers 100 Blocks, 

#30, Full Bloom.

The instructions for that block used wool felt, but I wanted to do mine in traditional cotton. And I just wanted to applique the flowers and stems, not the big leaf parts in the center.

So, redesigning this block in EQ to suit my vision of it, I instead pieced those big leaf parts by stitching set in triangles.

Thank goodness for freezer paper and glue to make this possible!

set in triangle back side

set in triangle front side

So my block looks like this,

my redesigned block

with more points to the center leaf area, and also slightly different flowers.

original block

Maybe I didn't finish it because I was tired of it? Or didn't know how to quilt it? Who knows why I didn't finish it long ago. At least it's getting attention now, and should be done next week. It will be a lovely addition to red and green of Christmas decorating around the house!

Happy Quilting!

Pond Ripples

Yeah! The guest bed now has a quilt to call it's own, which I'm calling Pond Ripples.

Sorry I have no outside, full on, hanging pictures of this, due to the incredibly poor air quality we've had due to the Camp fire. An on the bed shot will have to do!

As larger version of the Becharmed baby quilt,

I'm pleased with how it turned out, given what I had to work with.

Turns out, my awesome background fabric was not enough to make the full 8 1/2" second side borders. Thankfully, though, I was able to squeeze out two borders that are 4 1/4" - it's that narrow third background border visible on the edge of the bed.

And I'm really ok with that, because I was going for some overhang on the edges, but not a lot. When quilts are really big, it's a lot to manage!

I've also discovered that this quilt is a brighter blue than what's in the room, and really makes the picture look dull. The blue we pulled out for the paint was in the bird's wings, and not the picture background. Oh well.

But, on an upside, this quilt is terrific for stash busting - I'm thrilled it used up at least 9 yards of fabric from my stash! And 5 yards of that was one piece I had for the backing - the quilt gods were definitely smiling down on me!

Overall, I'm glad I tried a larger size of the Becharmed quilt, but in reality, the pattern looks better as a baby quilt, and is written as such. Not only is it a great stash busting quilt, but also a perfect pattern for the beginner quilter.

The Becharmed pattern includes written directions for quickly making those 4 1/2" 4-patch units from 5" charm squares without sewing a single 2 1/2" square using my Charming 4-Patch Fast, Fun, and Fabulous tutorial. What could be easier???

Almost forgot! I decided on the Jester pantograph for this quilt and no straight-line quilting or feathers as for the baby quilt version.

And here's a picture of the back (plus that Seminole style minky blanket I'm trying to hide!). Both sides were quilted with a dark grey thread.

If you're in need of a fast, scrappy baby quilt, or just want to use up your stash, check out the Becharmed pattern.

Happy Quilting!

A Larger Becharmed Quilt in the Works

I've started another charm (5") square project, this time a bigger version of the Becharmed quilt.

Since having guests last week, I've decided it's high time I make a quilt for the guest bed. Normally, one of my kid's crashes there for the occasional stay, and the bed is usually covered with minky blankets. Both blankets have a Seminole style design on them, with one beige, the other red. Let's just say they don't fit the decor of the room.

I've been wanting a quilt for this bed for a long time, but couldn't decide on a pattern. I did know I wanted it to be subtle and fit with the room, not be the focus of the room.

The room is painted in a greyed beige and a purple-ish deep blue, colors that were pulled from the very large picture on the wall. Yes, we've had it for many, many years, and hubby likes it there. 

So, my first fabric pull was non-yellow/gold beiges, and purple-y blues, with some that had a bit of aqua in them.

All fine and good, but the level of contrast is sky high! I want this quilt subtle, not screaming "Look at me!"

Pulling out the super dark blues and replacing them with blues that where lighter and brighter was better, but still too much contrast existed.

How about lighter blues instead of the beiges?? And staring me in the face in the bin was a large piece with circles on it:

Now we're talking! The contrast is down, the colors blend into the room, and I'm going to see if I can make this work!

It will be tricky, as the circle fabric has a chunk missing, but I'm going to try anyway. Maybe the quilt won't be as big as I want, but at least it will look better than those minky blankets!

And in case your wondering, that tree on the wall is a vinyl tree decal (affiliate link), and one of six. They are taupe in color, and on this wall, the tree looks beige, while the other five on the opposite beige wall, look grey. Super simple to decorate with!