Happy Birthday America!

I love this country, Happy Birthday America!

Quilt Along

We are going to have a quilt along.  Do you want to join?  
I hope you do :)

The quilt along will be from the "Victory Garden"quilt pattern, by Busy Bee Quilt Designs.

Our version of this quilt, is "Baby Brit", sewing six union jack blocks.  The finished quilt will measure 56" X 62", big enough for a lap quilt or generous baby quilt or great wall hanging.

We are going to start on Monday, August 6.  That will give you plenty of time to choose your fabric.  

Here is the schedule:

August 6:  block #1

August 13:  block #2

August 20:  block #3

August 27:  block #4

September 3:  block #5

September 10:  block #6

September 17:  sashing and border

September 24:  machine quilt

October 1:  bind the quilt

My daughters Rebecca and Lindsay will be joining the quilt along.

I started a Flickr group where you can upload the photos of your blocks so we can all share and comment on each other's lovelies!!

The name of the Flickr group is Baby Brit, and my username is cynthiahorst.

Fabric requirements:

Blocks:  5/8 yd. each of six different fabrics.

Sashing:  1 yd.

Border:  l l/4 yd.

Backing:  3 l/2 yds.

Binding:  l/2 yd.

You will also need to purchase the pattern.

Here are the fabrics I have chosen for my quilt.

On August 6, I will post a full tutorial for the first Union Jack block, so that you will easily be able to follow along.  It is important that you purchase the pattern, because I won't be giving measurements in my tutorial.  

I sure hope you join my "Baby Brit" quilt along, it will be a lot of fun. 

It can be your way of celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee:)

You don't even have to use reds and blues.  Be creative in your color combination, think outside of the box!

Let me know if you want to join, I can hardly wait!

Slide Show

I have always liked Terry Atkinson's quilt patterns.  The cutting instructions are simple and easy to follow.  I have made the "Yellow Brick Road" pattern numerous times and have recommended it to beginner quilters.  I saw this "Slide Show" pattern at the quilt shop and envisioned lots of possibilities!  I wanted to make a quilt to match the colors in Lindsay's (my daughter) craft room.  She decorated her craft room in red and mint green.  I will have to blog about her craft room soon...

I added stars in the corner, because I love stars :)

It was a lot of fun choosing the fabrics fore this quilt.  Do you notice how pretty the machine quilting is?  Thank you Cindy Paulson :)

This is the time that I used white as a background in my quilt.

I was able to choose large prints for the squares, so I was really careful in choosing the fabrics.  The same prints were used in the little squares.

I bought the green floral for the back, but used leftover pieces of the prints I used on the back.  I always think it makes the quilt more interesting.  

I hope you have been inspired to think about making a Slide Show of your own :)

Mini Granny

I have been dying to make a granny quilt but haven't had the time.  Instead, I made a mini granny table topper.  I have a large Ikea box with small scraps and another large box with large scraps.  Not to mention all the other fabric I have, but right now I will concentrate on my scrap boxes....lol!  I rummaged through my box of small scraps and cut l l/2" squares of reds, pinks, blues, greens and yellows.  I wanted  an  orange block but unfortunately, I don't have many orange scraps.

It takes 26 squares of colored fabric for each block, and 25 squares of white.

I love my design boards, I really really love them!  I used the tutorial from Lori's blog.  I also made two large ones which I use a lot too.

I think I only had to duplicate one print, I have a lot of scraps!!!

There is something so satisfying about cutting pretty fabrics and sewing them up, especially in miniature!

Something else I find very satisfying while I'm cutting and sewing, is chocolate :)

.....and more chocolate, until.......

.....all the chocolate is gone!  Yes, this bag of m & m's was my friend while I constructed this mini granny.

Yeah, all of my blocks are done, little mini 6 " blocks.  They are so cute and I enjoy looking at each and every print and remembering what I used them for.  Kennedy's dress, Lindsay's bag, Comforts of Home quilt, Christmas table topper, rainbow charm pack swap, swoon quilt, Rebecca's quilt, the farmer's wife quilt, Bridger's baby wall hanging, and on and on and on......the journey of a quilter :)

It almost looks like lace, doesn't it?  Now I am going to trim the blocks, leaving a l/4" seam allowance on all four sides.

This is my larger design board.  I love it and I use it a lot!

Now the blocks are ready to be attached using l " sashing.

I see more memories in the squares :) 

The quilt is pinned and ready to quilt.  I am going to hand quilt it, so it may be a while before I finish it as I have so many projects going at the same time, and I keep adding new ones.  I will get everything finished, it makes life more interesting when there are so many things to work on :) 
I am going to hand quilt this little table topper (25" square) with colored embroidery thread to match each block, in an outline stitch.

I love it, it's really colorful and happy!
By the way, I didn't make a dent in my box of small scraps...lol

A change of color

Years ago I bought this wood shelf/quilt hanger.  It was unfinished, I painted it black and finished the edges with sandpaper to give it a distressed look.  

I was tired of the black shelf next to the black table, so I decided to repaint it.  I love the color of this little green shelf, so I took one of the drawers to Walmart for a color match.

Yes, the color looks just like the color on my little shelf.

I lay my trusty drop cloth "brown paper" on the driveway (don't want to risk getting paint on the floor) and am ready to get started.

The green paint is not covering the paint very well.....

I decided not to be lazy and spray the black shelf with white primer.

The green paint looks so much better on the white.

A cheap paintbrush does a great job with this project.

I'm not very pleased with the results after the first coat of paint.

The second coat of paint looks really good.

I like a distressed look, so I asked the man in the paint department to put some black paint in the glaze.  He said that he wouldn't be able to put much in, because the can is so full of glaze.  That would be perfect, just the look I want!

I lightly brush the glaze where I want it, and wipe it off with a damp cloth or sponge.  

It looks a little blotchy, but definately distressed.

This was the first project that I used a paintbrush to paint the wood.  I have always used spray paint in the past.  I think I will use spray paint from now on, it has an even coverage, no brush strokes and I love the results.  The only drawback is that your finger gets sore from holding the nozzle!

I really like the results.  The shelf is quite high up on the wall, so no one can see the little imperfections.  I hope I have inspired you to paint a piece of furniture in your home :)

Winner of the Zipper Pouch Giveaway!

The winner of the zipper pouch and 3 fat quarters, is Teresa!  Congratulations Teresa, I will send you an email and get your mailing address.

CladdaughquiltingJune 21, 2012 6:25 PM

I am a happy follower and love all the beautiful creations you share with us!

Thank you so much to all those who have signed up to follow my blog, I appreciate your support :)

I hope you will enter my next giveaway.