Blogger's Quilt Festival: Charmed

I had such lovely feedback on both of my quilts in the Blogger's Quilt Festival last time, that I thought I'd show 2 quilts this time as well.

The second quilt, I call "Charmed".

I made this for my dear friend, Megan.  She and I have been friends for 39 years.  I don't know how that's possible, since neither one of us is over 29!  

I call this "Charmed" because it's similar to the old charm quilts.

"Charm quilts are quilts that are made using a different fabric for each piece of the pattern." 

- antiquequilthistory.com

Mine isn't quite that scrappy.  Since I used a four-patch, I did duplicate each fabric - once.  Each four-patch has 2 fabrics, one pair of each fabric.  However, the fabric pairs in each four-patch are not repeated in the quilt.  I also used just one black and one white fabric for all the sashing, cornerstones, and borders.

I think I need to make her a new one though.  Last time I saw this quilt, it was well-loved and quite faded.  Hmm, I've always wanted to make a French Braid quilt, maybe I'll do a purple one for her.

Edited to add:  I don't know if Megan even knows I have a blog so no idea if she'll see this or not.  We do talk and "see" each other on FB.

Happy Stitching!

Stacy

Blogger's Quilt Festival: Bull's Eye!

The Blogger's Quilt Festival was so much fun last time, I thought I'd join in again!

This is one of my favorite quilts that I've made...well of the finished ones, anyway!

The blocks in this quilt were part of an internet exchange.  Everyone made one 11" unfinished block, then whacked it into quarters, kept one of their quarters, and sent the other 3 to the exchange hostess.  That means that at least 1/4 of the block in this were mine.

I played with different layouts before I chose the one above.  Here are some of my other options:

This one was fine, but it didn't really "speak" to me.

I liked this one a lot even though I didn't use it.  I'm planning on making another one just so I can do this layout!

I did end up hand-quilting it.  Here's a photo of it on my Grace frame:

...and here's a close-up of the actual quilting:

I used Essential Threads, primary colors (red, yellow, blue).  The black border has an oak leaf stipple, the white border is a simple chain, and the body of the quilt is a rose stipple.

For anyone interested, I do have a tutorial for the block here.  Here's what one complete block looks like before and after "whacking" it.  Seeing it like this, helps explain the Bull's Eye name:

 

I hope you like my quilt as much as I do.  It was so much fun to make and it's definitely one of the cheerier quilts I've done!

Happy Stitching!

Stacy

God Speed progress

Hello Everyone!

Yesterday, I finished page 12 on God Speed from HAED!.  This girl has some really long hair and, boy, is she a carrot top!  ;-)

You can also see some of the other knights that are just outside the portcullis.  When I was stitching them, they just looked like dark blobs.  It's amazing how a few lighter stitches around the edges can bring something into focus!

Next project chosen by my randomizer app:  Sistine Chapel.  It's been awhile since I've worked on this one.  I will be working on page 7.

Happy Stitching!

Stacy