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End of the Rainbow
75" x75"

Bonneyville Mills provided the setting for my latest finished quilt made from a pattern by Cluck Cluck Sew called Dottie.
I used Modern Neutrals by Amy Ellis for my fabric.

As I already have a quilt named Dottie and one named Hey Dot, I clearly  needed to think of a new name.

I first thought of the name Millstones, because don't they look somewhat like millstones? Okay, maybe only slightly...but they look good beside millstones.
However, not wanting to be burdened by the thought of a millstone hanging around my neck, I have chosen a different name.

This quilt will be called Water Wheels.

Water Wheels
61" x 69"

Last summer my friend and second cousin shared two sets of vintage appliqued blocks made by by her grandmothers.
"Could you please help?" she asked. "How would you finish these?"
I said immediately that I would help.

Why?
Hmmm.
I am connected to the same quilting tradition that she is.
And I also thought, "What quilt maker  begins a quilt that she never intends to finish? Of course these should be finished."

You may argue that vintage applique blocks should only be hand quilted.
Were they not appliqued way before computerized quilting machines were in use? During the last century the makers never imagined anything but hand quilting.

I am sure this is not even close to the original finished look her grandmothers intended.

However, it is 2017. I chose to finish these simply, and let the colors and motifs shine with no other fabric, sashing, or border distraction.
I also chose an overall machine-stitched stipple for the background... simple and in keeping with the vintage look.
They turned out beautifully. I hope the grandmothers would be pleased.
I have no doubt that they would be thrilled knowing their stitching is respected and loved by subsequent generations.

Butterflies
58" x 69"

Parasol Girls
65" x 79"

I had no clue when I pieced this quilt two years ago that I would be machine quilting it myself.

At 73" x 90" this is the biggest quilt I have finished on my Bernina.

I chose this Holly Tree Farm jelly roll by Sweetwater for the Fifth Grade quilt pattern in the book Precut Primer by Me and My Sister Designs.

I used the white on white text print for the setting fabric.
The text repeats the names of different conifers...much easier to read on the aqua, red, and green fabrics.

The trees are simple and sweet.

The vehicles are fun.
Check out that cute limo.

And then there are stripes.

Those stripes!

The layout of the quilt even looks like a tree farm with rows of conifers.
Perhaps those are truck tracks driving through the snow.

I'm putting it into the closet for now.
I'll happily rediscover it in December and put it on a guest bed.

Holly Tree Farm
73" x 90"

Today I share a gorgeous finish.

One of my nieces chose a quilt top I made, Zen Silver, and decided to get it quilted for herself. Because she wanted a larger quilt, I added borders with coordinating Flow fabric designed by Brigitte Heitland.

Trimmed from the edge of the Flow border fabric, this selvage certainly caught my attention.
I love how now you can find added thoughts to the edges of fabric.
Look for them!

After sewing on the border I was open to whatever would come next.
What would that be?

Eye candy.

Even the back turned out wonderfully with Modern Ripples stitched by Tammy of Three Sisters Fabric.

Here's how it looks in her home. Beautiful.

Zen Silver
96" x 96"

Snow Globe was pieced last December using a pattern called Fireworks. At that time the look reminded me more of Christmas and a snow globe than fireworks, hinting that a name change was imminent.
My older two sisters confirmed that I rename the quilt Snow Globe.
Good advice.
Most recently they suggested that quilting in the ditch would be the best way to finish it.
More good advice.

Even though it is autumn, I will stick with the name Snow Globe.

Snow Globe will be tucked away for now and brought out again at Christmas.

Last night at dusk the weather was perfect for my husband and I to drive to Defries Garden. Once again, a garden proved to be a gorgeous setting for a quilt. Here is an overload of pictures of my Pumpkins quilt, because we had way too many ideas and way too much fun.
I could show you at least thirty.

Pumpkins
58" x 72"

I whined and complained about fraying, lumps, bumps, and stretching.
When I wrote about piecing Photo Finish last November, I apparently wasn't thrilled with the fabric behavior.
I worried.

This past week my experience with Photo Finish was entirely the opposite as I brought this quilt to its completion.
I smiled.
I took lots of pictures.
I loved the denim-y look and softness.

"What better way than photos would describe this finish?"
I reasoned.

So here is the finish of Photo Finish in photos.

Photo Finish
approximately 585 pieces
58" x 58"

Behind the scenes a Bernina hums.
My third quilt finished by this Bernina will not be the last.

During the quilting process I may have doubted my design decision.

I stitched. I refilled the bobbin.
I stitched. I refilled the bobbin.
I stitched.
I stitched.

Lines. Lines. Lines.

In the end I achieved the look I envisioned.

The design is my own using a jellyroll of Behind the Scenes fabric by Jen Kingwell.

Behind the Scenes
336 pieces
53" x 55"

Immediately after I finished piecing my Pearls quilt, I used some of the scraps to make a Sun and Moon block. It hung unfinished in my sewing room for months before I decided to finish it as an official wall hanging. Unfortunately, after I quilted it and added binding, I didn't like it.
Back to the seam ripper I went, then the machine, and now it is a pillow.

Much much better.
Fits perfectly on the bed in our guest room.

Sun and Moon
16" x 16"

I did it! I managed to quilt my first quilt on my new Bernina!

Bernina and Hey Dot! cooperated well with each other.
 I stuck with simple "in the ditch" quilting, and I am pleased.

Hey Dot! is named after its fabric, a bright and cheerful collection by Brigette Heitland of Zen Chic.
The pattern uses a jellyroll and was created by Keepsake Quilting.



               Fun! I recommend it.

The bright orange back smiles with lots more dots.

Hey Dot!
56" x 56"

It's in the bag!

This bag contains Floret and is ready to be delivered.
As it is truly one of my top favorites, only a sister is allowed to adopt and love this quilt. I can't wait until she has it in her home!

Floret began with a pattern by Corey Yoder of Coriander Quilts.
I love changing an existing pattern and making the end result my own, as you can see from these two photos.
The fabric is by Vanessa Goertzen of Lella Boutique.
Tammy of Three Sisters Longarm Quilting  "frosted" it with Diagonal Plaid, which turned out to be perfect for this quilt.

Floret
87" x 87"

Ever since I made this quilt for my sister C  back in 2013,
I have wanted to make similar green and white one for myself.
I did it!

I found this kit for a quilt called Bamboo Forest from the Fat Quarter Shop using Cluck Cluck Sew's pattern Morning Glory.
As there are no naturally occurring bamboo forests in Northern Indiana, I am naming my quilt Morning Glory, after the pattern.

I will now have my own green and white quilt.

Morning Glory
68" x 78"

My End of the Rainbow quilt top is finished.
I genuinely enjoyed my first experience with purple fabrics,
and I totally fell in love with the scrap details.

The unexpected mix of different fabrics...

The discovery of text within the quilt...

The tiniest of pieces...
(the little green square is less than 1/4 inch)

And the coming together of colors at the main intersections.
(In this photo, the top right angle of the light aqua triangle points to a main intersection.)

These details you need to be up close to see.

But looking from a distance?
You see the rainbow.

End of the Rainbow
75" x 75"

Willy nilly scrappy quilts are usually awful, sometimes okay, but rarely wonderful. I always am on the lookout for those wonderful ones because I have fabric scraps that are too beautiful to throw away.
When Melissa Corry put this picture on the cover of her book Irish Chain Quilts: Contemporary Twists on a Classic Design, I marveled at the success she achieved using scraps, even the tiniest ones, into a controlled and beautiful design.

I took my time contemplating this End of the Rainbow quilt.
The joy of this quilt comes from not only using those beautiful scraps, but the memories I have of making the quilts that produced them.
The quilt indeed is the "end of the rainbow."

 Yet her process of what I call "sew and slice" made me wonder.
That wild? Really?
I decided to try out one block. It seemed to work.
I kept going. It seemed to worked.

Truly I have reduced my box of scraps, even the scraps of the low volume fabrics for the background.

But the purple! I knew this was going to be a problem every step of the way. You see, I have zero purple fabric in my scrap box.
Zero.
How obvious is it that I am not drawn to the color purple.
Perhaps I could make mine without purple by putting extra blocks of each color that I do have.
"No," my husband said, "That will not be a complete rainbow."
I decided he was right and went shopping.

Great finds! I love these purples!
How will I ever be able to cut into them so willy nilly?

Since these purples may look a little too perfect, I decided to add a  "borrowed"  lavender gingham scrap from a sister for what I think/hope will be a little sparkle.

I see the End of the Rainbow from here.