Quilt Tops on the Move

 A few days ago Nancy Near Philadelphia mentioned

that she could use some help with her

Sanctuary Village quilt project.

I pulled out my Grassy Creek Geese quilt top,

(my 2020 NOT a Mystery Quilt project)

added three borders all around,

and now this 72.5" x 86" quilt top

is on its way to Near Philadelphia.

and . . . 

When I shared the quilt top for Pizzazz last week,

I mentioned that I might add one additional row.

I did and I think it made the top even better.

Now Pizzazz is on its way to Lynne in New Hampshire

where she will be able to choose her own backing

before she has Janet-Lee quilt it for her.

(Lynne is pretty excited about this one)

* * *

It feels good to share.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Man needs colour to live; it’s just as necessary an element as fire and water.”

Fernand Leger

Pizzazz - the Flimsy

Pizzazz is a quilt top!

It will finish at approximately 51" x 60"

(Since I have extra strata /light background strips

I'm considering adding another row

which will make the top 51" x 70" - we'll see)

Made during a Diamond Stairsteps online Zoom class 

with Sarah Bond (Philly MQG) during a

virtual  Mancuso Quilt Show.

(she is very active on Instagram)

Here is the top from another angle 

with the backing fabric in the background.

And just for giggles, I turned the photo upside down . . . 

* * *

My biggest takeaway note -

When cutting background fabrics

cut an extra WOF strip  in order to be able to 

trim off the selvages and still get enough strips.

You can see how the selvages distort the outer edges.

They'll be trimmed away after the top is quilted,

but in the meantime they'll allow for

less stress when squaring edges and preserving points.

And I have NO clue how I'll quilt this.

Quiltdivajulie

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“For me, the summer will be pure gray – mother-of-pearl gray, very pale gray.  To me, this is the big statement for summer.  Then we have light blue, light turquoise, lots of pink.”

Gianni Versace

Introducing Pizzazz

My class with Sarah Bond happened on Wednesday.

(photo taken during our lunch break)

By the end of the day

I had completed all eight of my strip sets

and learned the remaining steps needed to

 transform them into a Diamond Stairsteps top.

This photo shows my two background fabrics

with a strip set laid in between

and the backing fabric along the left edge.

On Thursday, I sewed the first horizontal row together

and laid it out with the background for what will be 

the adjacent row as one final double-check.

I'm winging it in terms of how large my quilt top will be -

Sarah's has more color strips per width (10 or 11 to my 8)

but I don't want a quilt that is 60+ inches wide.

My quilt will be named Pizzazz - 

"an attractive combination of vitality and glamour"

(term said to have been invented by Diana Vreeland, 

fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar in the 1930s)

AND . . . DH's birthday is Sunday

with our 46th anniversary on Monday

(hence the flowers)

Because our reserves in the freezer were getting low,

DH baked a double batch of Vienna bread

to go with the double batch of sandwich bread

he had baked earlier in the week.

It is all SO good.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Color is all.  When color is right, form is right.  Color is everything, color is vibration like music; everything is vibration.”

Marc Chagall