August Utility Mats and More

This is the set of five utility mats for August.

One for the cedar chest (16" x  38")

Two for the fireplace hearth (each 13" x 18")

Two for the end tables (16" x 16" each)

I bought this fabric in April 2015

when I stopped at Hancock's of Paducah

after delivering my book manuscript

and all of the book quilts to AQS.

(while originally intended to be a quilt back,

after this length of time I decided it was

more important to USE the fabric instead of 

continuing to wait for the "perfect" quilt top)

From the Cinco de Mayo line 

designed by Greta Lynn for Kanvas.

Quilted with Glide thread in Dijon

using rows of liberated fans.

Bound with Moda's Bella cheddar solid.

July's red-white-blue has been put away

and August's back-to-school has been put out.

(schools here start August 9th)

Center-right of the mantel

with a Curious George lunch box

just out of view.

Center-left of the mantel

with a colorful globe just out of view.

Left end of the hearth.

Right end of the hearth.

One end table's wood bowl.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T on one rocking chair.

Happy Happy Joy Joy (aka HHJJ) on the other rocker.

For the Birds on the back of my recliner

with The Spotted Winkel waiting 

to be put on the back of the couch.

The Eclectic Goose on one side chair 

with Scrappy Kites on the other.

* * *

vacation photo from one week ago

And last but certainly not least . . .

HAPPY FIFTH BIRTHDAY to our

getting-too-grown-up-way-too-fast Little Man!

Quiltdivajulie

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“You are all the colors in one, at full brightness.”

Theodore Finch

Weekend Recap

I took six of my recent quilts

and one from 2010

to this year's Davies Manor quilt show.

Rise and Roost . . . 

The Spotted Winkel . . . 

Epicenter . . . 

Scrappy Bow  Ties . . . 

(the heart quilt was made to hang

in a local cardiologist's office)

The Scrapbook Quilt . . . 

(with a king size quilt hanging

on either side of it)

Tea Party . . . 

(due to lack of entries, 

the Panel Mania challenge was cancelled)

and Asian Odyssey.

I spent all three days with the quilts 

from the 70273 Project.

SO many stories were shared.

Ms. Andrea comes every year with her hand crank machine.

She was such a help with our XX block drive.

Even those who sat at the admission desk

got in on the XX action.

There are now 80 completed blocks 

with more to be turned in on Wednesday

when people come to pick up their quilts.

That will be enough to piece TWO quilt tops!

(I will quilt one of them

and Chris volunteered to quilt the other)

And after seeing the quilts, several people 

expressed interest in hosting block drives,

including a visitor from New York state

who is taking information back to her quilt guild.

Little Man and his parents came to the show

and with Ms. Andrea's help, 

he made his very own marble bag.

(she said he's the youngest bag maker to date)

He also made his very own XX block.

He picked out two buttons

and then put the others 

back into the zipper bag

one button at a time.

Priceless.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Gratitude is a many-colored quality, reaching in all directions. 
It goes out for small things and for large . . . "
Faith Baldwin

The Spotted Winkel - A Finished Quilt

The Spotted Winkel is finished!

Created in response to 

a joint challenge with Lynne

that we each make a quilt inspired 

by our grandchild's Winkel toy

AND

in response to the current 

AHIQ challenge "Playing With Scale."

(you can see Lynne's Sparkling Winkel quilt HERE)

These photos were taken late one afternoon

when the heat index was over 100 degrees.

The bright sun was just too strong (and hot)

so these were taken in the deep shade of our large trees.

Here you can see all three of the background fabrics

along with one of the large liberated string pieced circles.

This large multi-segmented circle was created

using Sujata Shah's Pinwheel Peppermints block

(from her book Cultural Fusion Quilts)

but trimmed into this circle 

using a pizza pan for a template.

This block was pieced using the 

out-of-print Fickle Pickle block

minus the outer "shoulder" sections 

since I wanted a circular shape.

The giant wedge half-circles were created 

using instructions in Christina Cameli's 

recent Wedge Quilt Workshop book.

The large circle in the upper right of this photo

was pieced using another set of Sujata's

Peppermint Pinwheel pieces trimmed round 

using a dinner plate template.

(this photo also shows the three different 

background fabrics from a different angle)

I planned to bind the quilt with a black and white 

multi-sized stripe . . . but since the quilt's central idea

involved circles, that stripe felt all wrong.

Instead I used this orange with blue polka dots.

I fell in love with this backing fabric the moment I saw it.

The black and white dots mixed 

with the plentiful and colorful flowers

were just too good to pass by.

(Brooke from Studio 8 for Quilting Treasures)

I stitched one of my larger printed labels

onto the backing fabric BEFORE 

the layers were pin basted so

it would be quilted right into the quilt.

Quilted using my liberated 

free motion Woodgrain design

in Nickel (Glide) thread. 

And here is the finished quilt resting on the grass.

49" wide by 71" long

Truly a one-of-a-kind fun-filled quilt 

with plenty of personality!

* * *

If you want to read the previous posts for this project

just click on The Spotted Winkel label at the end of this post.

* * *

Sharing this finish on the new AHIQ group blog,

the Cultural Fusion Quilts group blog,

and The String Thing Along group blog.

Quiltdivajulie

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"When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Spotted Winkel Is a Flimsy

The Spotted Winkel,

my AHIQ project for the 

Playing With Scale challenge,

is now a flimsy.

This is the center portion of the quilt.

You  may notice that the two red circles

have been edited out and replaced with string circles.

I loved the scrappy reds but they 

read too much as a solid

in relation to all the other circles.

This is the upper left-hand corner.

You may notice that some of the circles are now smaller

than the previously-smallest 3" diameter circles.

I like the increase in variety of sizes.

This is the lower left-hand corner.

One of the removed red circles was cut down 

(2.5" diameter)

and at that smaller size it works just fine.

This is the lower right-hand corner.

Another 2.5" circle was cut from the edited-out red 

and used as a center for the four-part orange dotty circle.

I like it much more this way.

And this is the upper right-hand corner.

I slashed the large aqua circle and added a third

strip of the yellow spotted turquoise

so the two outer ones didn't look so odd.

To see previous posts for this quilt top,

please click on The Spotted Winkel label

that appears at the end of this post.

* * *

I'm elated to have this one off the design wall

and ready to be pin-basted.

It will wait in third position

of the three I hope to finish before July 1st.

I think I can . . .  I think I can!

* * *

Edited note added later:

Quilt top measures 49" wide x 70" long.

Quiltdivajulie

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p.s.  For those who want an autographed copy of BUILD A BARN,
my book's price has now been reduced to $15.00 plus shipping via USPS Priority padded mailer.  Just leave a comment letting me know you're interested (be sure to include a way to contact you since Blogger's system is not working the way it used to).

Focus ... Focus ...

Focus is my goal for June.

I need to get all of these circle shapes

appliqued onto the background

for The Spotted Winkel.

I know how I want to quilt it

and I have the backing ready to go.

Fingers crossed it is ready for the trip to St. Louis.

I also need to quilt Dumpster Diving 2.0

aka Good Morning Sunshine.

I'm delighted to have it pin basted 

and hanging over the balcony

ready for its turn with Max.

And Rainbow Charms is pin basted 

(shown here hanging over the balcony)

and waiting to be quilted.

Focus . . . 

Focus . . . 

One thing at a time . . . 

I CAN do this!

Quiltdivajulie

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"If you've lost focus, just sit down and be still. 
Take the idea and rock it to and fro. 
Keep some of it and throw some away, 
and it will renew itself. 
You need do no more."
Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Glorious Has Arrived!

It's here!!!

Glorious - a long-distance collaborative quilt

Designed by Lynne Tyler and Julie Sefton

Pieced by Lynne Tyler

Quilted by Janet-Lee Santeusanio

Binding and Labeling will be done by Julie

The day the quilt arrived was very busy so

I haven't had time to really explore the quilt yet --

but the parts I've looked at are totally awesome.

Hopefully by this weekend

I'll have found time to choose a binding fabric

and get it sewn in place.

I want to finish the binding by hand

so I have lots of bonding time with this quilt.

I'll share scenes from the photoshoot

once the quilt is fully finished.

For now you can see lots more photos

and read about the process

by visiting Lynne's blog.

Click HERE to see all the posts

she shared during the quilt's making.

* * *

And for those who asked yesterday

about a pattern for The Spotted Winkel --

no, there will not be a pattern.

This top is a one-of-a-kind original.

However - I will compile a list of links

from the making of the quilt top

and share those along with 

my list of inspiration resources

in an upcoming post

so you can follow my process and

combine your skill set with my insights 

to create your very own original design.

In the words of Gwen Marston:

"You all get up in the morning and dress yourselves 

and you look darling - you have the ability - 

all you need is the faith to make these quilts on your own.”

Quiltdivajulie

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"I like the idea of collaboration - it pushes you. 
It's a richer experience . . . "
Frank Gehry

AHIQ #33 - The Spotted Winkel Project Continues

The Spotted Winkel is off the design wall at last.

The polka dotted circles of all sizes

are securely pinned onto the background.

And all of the elements 

are slightly closer together

than they were last month 

in order to shorten the length 

to more evenly balance with the width.

This is the lower left corner of the WIP top.

This is the lower right hand corner of the WIP top.

This is the upper right hand corner.

And this is the upper left hand corner.

And then, because this is off the wall and onto the floor,

I was able to walk around to the other end and take this photo.

And I realized that I really didn't like 

the arrangement in the new lower left corner.

So I started shifting things around again.

This is how things ended up - more balanced than before.

And it also looks better from the original perspective.

The WIP top currently measures 50" wide x 71" long.

Machine appliqué of the circles will be the next step

and I won't be a bit surprised if some of the small circles

are repositioned before being permanently sewn in place.

* * *

Linking up with this month's AHIQ gathering

with Ann and Kaja.

Click on either of their names

to see how the others are 

meeting the current challenge

of Playing With Scale.

Quiltdivajulie

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"With experimentation comes surprise and discovery."
Kim Lee Kho