Ice Cream Social

It only took 18 months  . . .  but all three of the Ice Cream quilts are done!  

Back in May, I shared the finish photos for Ice Cream and Roses.

These photos show Ice Cream Social (reveal photos of the top were shared here during a March snowstorm).

Chris used the Waterworld panto to quilt this liberated Yellow Brick Road on point quilt (68" x 80") made with fabrics from the Moda Posh group.

Here is the top hanging over the fence  . . .

. . . and here it is on my favorite wicker rocker.

Friday I'll share photos of Sweet Cream Roses.

I guess it is  more than fitting that these last finishes have come during July ~ after all, July is National  Ice Cream month!

Quiltdivajulie

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31 Delicious Ways to Make a Sundae:  Celebrate July Is Ice Cream Month with a "month of sundaes." Here are 31 ideas from the California Milk Advisory Board for how to deliciously top ice cream and make every day a sundae!

• July 1 A brownie topped with rocky road ice cream, warm chocolate sauce and a sprinkle of chocolate chips.
  
• July 2 French vanilla ice cream topped with seasonal fruit, such as plums and apricots.
  
• July 3 Coconut ice cream topped with fresh shredded coconut and savory pineapple sauce.
  
• July 4 Vanilla ice cream topped with blueberry sauce and fresh sliced strawberries.
  
• July 5 Mint chocolate chip ice cream with a combination of marshmallow sauce and hot fudge sauce.
  
• July 6 Pistachio ice cream topped with fresh chopped pistachio nuts and chocolate syrup.
  
• July 7 Butter pecan ice cram with warm caramel sauce.
  
• July 8 Peach ice cream garnished with mango slices.
  
• July 9 Chocolate ice cream with crumbled chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate sauce.
  
• July 10 Strawberry ice cream with fresh sliced strawberries and marshmallow sauce.
  
• July 11 Vanilla ice cream dressed with espresso and slivered almonds.
  
• July 12 Rocky road ice cream with marshmallow sauce, chocolate chips and nuts.
  
• July 13 Chocolate ice cream topped with crushed peppermint patties.
  
• July 14 A scoop each of chocolate and coffee ice cream topped with warm carmel sauce.
  
• July 15 Mint chocolate chip ice cream with hot fudge.
  
• July 16 Strawberry ice cream with fresh sliced strawberries and granola topping.
  
• July 17 Vanilla ice cram with crushed chocolate cookies and chocolate sauce.
  
• July 18 Peach ice cream with raspberry puree and slivered pecans.
  
• July 19 Vanilla ice cream with dried fruit topping.
  
• July 20 Coffee ice cream with malt powder and chocolate sauce.
  
• July 21 Chocolate ice cream topped with peanut butter and sliced bananas.
  
• July 22 Coconut ice cream with hot fudge.
  
• July 23 Pistachio ice cream topped with hot fudge and chopped walnuts.
  
• July 24 Vanilla ice cream with fresh cherry puree.
  
• July 25 Peppermint ice cream with chocolate sauce.
  
• July 26 Chocolate chip ice cream with hot fudge, marshmallow sauce and crushed chocolate cookies.
  
• July 27 One scoop each of vanilla and chocolate ice cream topped with pineapple and chocolate sauce.
  
• July 28 Coffee ice cream dressed with espresso and crumbled biscotti cookie.
  
• July 29 One scoop each of peach and strawberry ice cream topped with fresh sliced peaches and strawberries.
  
• July 30 One scoop each of strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice cream topped with sliced banana and hot fudge or strawberry sauce.
  
• July 31 French vanilla ice cream with yogurt-or chocolate-covered peanuts.

Strippy Quilt Number Two

Hey, Diddle Diddle ... the cat and the fiddle ... the cow jumped over the moon ...

The little dog laughed ... to see such sport ... and the dish ran away with the spoon!

I couldn't resist this fabric on the sale table ~ the top made up beautifully with the other colors from my stash.

If K & B have a boy, this quilt will be for him.  If they have a girl, the first strippy quilt (shown here) will be for her.  Whichever one isn't given as a gift will go to the Mountain Baby Blanket project along with the other three stash strippy quilts that are cut out but not yet stitched.

We had a major network server transfer/installation at work last weekend and now we're all coping with a million after-the-fact issues.  I'm one of the more technically savvy folks on the payroll, so I've spent the week going from desk to desk helping to fight the fires that keep burning (dear pity our office manager ~ she's about to tear her hair out or simply run away).

Spending evenings with my fabric is especially wonderful after the extra computer-generated stress at work!  [big news at the staff meeting Monday was 'no raises this year' ~ it could have been worse...]

Quiltdivajulie

Feverish

I first posted about Feverish on May 2nd ~ and now it is done!


Here you can see the binding (not at all what I originally planned ~ I really like this choice).


Crumpled and rumpled in the rocking chair . . . Chris did some MARVELOUS free motion work on this quilt!


Another rumpled view ~ I love it all jumbled together, but I also love it folded neatly . . .


Hanging on the fence . . . (when the heat index was 110 degrees)

Quiltdivajulie
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"If you can't take the heat, don't tickle the dragon."  (unknown)

" . . . the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever trees. . . ” (Rudyard Kipling)

Laurel Meets Freddy & Ruth

This colorful quilt is finished ~ these close ups show the happy free motion swirls Chris quilted.

Here's another view of the quilt on our front porch wicker rocker ~ yes, I used scrappy binding.


Karen ~ this picture is for you (quilt draped over front porch railing) . . . I tried several times over the last couple of days to find a spot where I could take a photo of the whole quilt, but none of them turned out (this one is meant to be used and enjoyed not hung flat anywhere).


Here's a link to the earlier post on this quilt ~ explaining the name and how the quilt came to be.

p.s. Ice Cream Roses was gifted over the weekend ~ the kids had spent the afternoon at a local orchard picking peaches and black raspberries, so they were hot and tired when they stopped to share some of the fruit with us. I didn't grab the camera but there was a priceless moment when Lauren wrapped the quilt around her shoulders and stood quietly gazing out the window as Eric came up behind and wrapped his arms around her . . .

As Mrs. Goodneedle says, Life is Good!

Quiltdivajulie

Sunday Afternoon Picnic

Here is the second of the two Super Bowl Twist quilts that I made ~ Sunday Afternoon Picnic.

As with Cotton Candy, I pulled yardage from my stash for the pieced back.  This is one of the corners ~ not quite sure why this Moda floral was purchased.

Here is another corner ~ this Moda floral was used on the back of Sweet Dreams, the oversize queen charm quilt now living at Chris's house.

Third of the three fabrics ~ this one was first used in a now worn-out quilt for our younger son (undergraduate dorm).

And one last "crumpled" photo showing the back with one corner of the outer border showing.  The binding used on this quilt was my alternate for Dandelion Detour.  Again, Chris did her wonderful meandering on this utility quilt that will be donated to a local senior come December.

Not much time for sewing this weekend ~ lots of government inspired/required paperwork, house cleaning, yard work, errand running, etc.  But, the sun is out and it is GORGEOUS outside.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"” (Robin Williams)

Cotton Candy ~ Completed

Photo 1 (above) shows the back flipped forward over onto the front. It's been a while since Chris has meandered one of my quilts ~ but for this utility quilt, it was the perfect choice.

Photo 2 shows the inner and outer borders plus binding against part of the back.

Photo 3 shows the quilt crumpled in the wicker rocking chair early this morning (just as the sun was coming up). This quilt (and the second Strip Twist ~ binding just underway) were major stash reducers.

Photo 4 shows the scrappy, pieced back fabrics (more stash reduction). Come December, both of the Strip Twist quilts will be donated/gifted to homebound seniors through the Silver Bells program. [pattern: Strip Twist by Bonnie Hunter ~ I participated in her 2009 Super Bowl Twist online quilting 'retreat']


The shredding truck is coming to the office on Friday ~ this morning, there were 12 boxes of old files and papers stacked at my desk (one of my attorneys started cleaning out last night). Combined with the 4 boxes that have already gone, we can actually begin to see the floor near my desk again. Lots more to go through and no firm date on carpet installation yet, but the sooner we can clear the decks, the better (knowing full well there will be multiple last minute messes to deal with). One day at a time. . .

The sun is out and it is supposed to go into the 70s today ~ WOO HOO!

Quiltdivajulie

Friday Flimsies to Share

Cotton Candy's top is finished ~ shown here looking up at it hanging over our balcony. Turned out I didn't have enough of either of the border fabrics I'd originally chosen, so it was "back to the stash" for alternates. The binding will be the same rich royal blue as the outer border. . . really like the way this turned out and I know it will be even better once it is quilted (start pondering, Chris!).

And here is Sunday Afternoon Picnic, also waiting to go to Chris for quilting. The binding for this one is a yellow/green diagonal stripe.

Your eyes are not playing tricks on you ~ I changed up the border widths between the two quilts (pattern dimensions were used for Sunday Afternoon Picnic but I modified them for Cotton Candy based on available yardage for borders).

These quilts were created in response to Bonnie's Super Bowl Twist weekend challenge ~ and will be gifted to our adopted seniors in December as part of the local Silver Bells program.

It's Friday ~ the busiest day of the week where I work (even with two of my three attorneys out of town, the inbox is overflowing). The countdown to 5pm is underway . .

Quiltdivajulie
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"My choice of colors does not rest on any scientific theory; it is based on observation, on feeling, on the experience of my sensibility. Inspired by certain pages of Delacroix, an artist like Signac is preoccupied with complementary colors, and the theoretical knowledge of them will lead him to use a certain tone in a certain place. But I simply try to put down colors which render my sensation." (Henri Matisse)

First Finish of 2009 - Your Thoughts??

This is my first official finish for 2009 - a collaborative Priority Quilt that still needs a name. Suggestions?? [each of the photos will enlarge when clicked upon]

I've posted photos of it turned all four ways ~ I can't decide which one I like the best... do you have a preference (top is 1, then 2, then 3, and the bottom one is 4).



Truly a collaborative effort, Wanda pieced an oversize batik block and sent it to me to turn into a PQ for AAQI and Chris added the quilting using the Shiva panto.

So now you have the opportunity to add your suggestions for its orientation and its name. It's an awesome little quilt!

Quiltdivajulie

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"One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. Which road do I take? she asked. Where do you want to go? was his response. I don't know, Alice answered. Then, said the cat, it doesn't matter.” (Lewis Carroll)