Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Hey Grandma! The Perfect Summer Finish

I told you. It's been time for finishing around here. One more quilt crossed off the list and it's already been used just this past weekend! Nothing like my girls having a sleepover for getting these medium sized quilts broken in just a little bit more.
Hey Grandma! a Finish
This quilt is 'Hey Grandma!', one that was inspired by a quilt hanging up at a flea market I went to last summer. It really didn't end up looking much like the original {tho I don't know for sure as I never took a picture!}. Regardless, the strange mixture of colors and fabrics were a direct result of that image in my head. All the lighter blue just happened to slide into the quilt in a sneaky, use-up-fabric-I-already-have sort of way. Amazing how it lightens and brightens and even makes everything seem happier instead of the moody vibe it should have had. There's something happening to my quilting where all choices seem to lead to a 'lighter' rather than 'darker' look these days, no matter what the original fabric pull may indicate....
Loving the odd fabric choices
The design is all my own of course, just another quirky flower in a long series of odd looking flowers. As you can probably tell, I often lean toward the traditional look of making repeat blocks in lots of similar but different looking fabrics. The border is Sujata Shah 'Cultural Infusion Quilts' inspired piecing and is easy peasy, but does require more fabric than I initially intended to use. Really fun to see the wedge spiked border pieces that {now} kind of remind me of a short little flower garden fence. I am so happy with the scrappy, make-do look and feel of it too. A pieced border doesn't have to be meticulously formal looking to wonderfully frame and add to a quilt.
A mix of machine and hand quilting works wonders...
This quilt feels like a fast finish for me, somewhere around one year from start to finish. Sometimes I just have a craving to get a certain quilt in the hoop and this one happened to fall into that category. Or maybe I was strongly avoiding having to make decisions on other quilt tops? That happens around here too, much as I hate to admit to anything so cowardly.*wink
It makes me smile just a little
I have one more quilt ready for binding and then it will probably be awhile until the next true-blue completion. Considering the amount of company, traveling, and other non-quilty distractions, I'm always blown away to see any serious forward progress in the summer.
Just another quirky quilt...
Sometimes I think the time spent in the quilt room or with the hoop must pass in a sort of fog induced haze, of soaking up quilty goodness just as fast as possible! You know, because it never seems like there can be enough time for any of it this time of year. August already???? 

I fully intend to carefully go through all my projects and re prioritize all the quilty lists. Sometime very soon because it's definitely time. Maybe even do a post on the fabric stacks as one of my readers keeps requesting. We'll see. I've got labels to put on for all the quilts entered into the quilt show coming up around the corner {and thread picking and trimming} and guess what? The last of our long weekend of company just left today. In fact, I barely moved the barricade of totes from in front of the quilt room out of the way before I sat down and started typing this post. It looks like we have two weddings to go to between the next three Saturdays which requires {TWO} trips down south to Oregon, from here in Eastern Washington, and lots of efficiency here on the home front to make it all happen without something mucking up the works. Yay! Maybe I'll just go lay down on the floor in the quilt room and take a nap... Why do we bother quilting in the summer time? Maybe we should just try and absorb the colors and textures by osmosis....

18 comments:

  1. yes August - the summer is flying by - kids around here go back to school in a week! love that quilt and itsn't it nice to have them being used right away.

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  2. love this quilt ! And yes the bright blue makes it happy :-)

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  3. Another quilt completely finished ... how do you manage??? Lol! So happy for you that it was already loved on too. I peeked ahead and saw the next quilt in your hoop. Looks like another winner.

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  4. Love your flowers; they are so quirky and lovely...it has been just so hot and sultry here, napping has become my new activity--heat is so enervating!!
    Hugs and stay cool Julierose

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  5. That quirkiness is one of the many things we all enjoy about your quilts. I really like this one. Olive and mustard are some of my favorites. What a difference the light blue and hot pink make to the combination.
    Why did Sujata's border take more fabric for you? One of the things I like with this style is having no waste. I keep looking but can't see what you may have done differently that I did.
    Enjoy the weddings.

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  6. The bright blue brings a nice sparkle to the quilt!!
    I love summer and try to enjoy it as much as possible and not worry about quilting much.

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  7. I LOVE wonky color combos!! The blue makes this quilt all the more delightful! Love it!!

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  8. I love everything about this quilt from the color combination to the name! You seem to be doing a great job crossing quilts off the list. We could use just 1 or 2 more hours in the day couldn't we?

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  9. Just...beautiful! I love everything about this quilt. What I'm really in awe of is how productive you are amidst the busy, busy life you lead. I get so tired by the end of the day, quilting often just seems impossible. I know that technically I would be refreshed by quilting, but I can't seem to convince myself of that on most days. What's your secret?

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    1. Hi! Can't seem to find your email, so will replay here. Thank you for a lovely comment. I think the key to finding that precious time to quilt is to make time for prep time. If I have a couple days just before what I know will be a very busy time for me, then I try to do as much prep and organization as possible. Then, no matter what, I still have hand work or hand quilting to fit into little bites of time. It all adds up eventually and always feels good to have that bit of fabric and thread to play with.:)

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  10. I'm a grandma who loves Hey, Grandma! Quite honestly...if I saw those fabrics in a store I would quickly pass them by as too yucky. But you've made them sing. And the flowers look like they are applauding the song.

    Well done!

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  11. As usual, this post speaks to me. Yes to doing the easy, don't-have-to-think-about-it projects now while our lives are so busy with other things. Save the complications for life's slower moments, if there are any.

    I truly enjoyed taking this project apart with my eyes to see all the ways you made it work. Love the half and half triangles in the border, and make do feeling. You did well! It's a yummy quilt.

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  12. The name, Hey, Grandma, just makes me laugh. Your quilt is delightful, colorful and yes, as you say, a bit quirky. Maybe just like how we remember a grandma or two. Certainly not us. I always enjoy your stories. Your pieced borders are inspiration for me to try something new. But alas, my latest is plain straight borders. :0(

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  13. You're right about how futile it is to find much quilting time in the summer. Although, the first part of the summer is usually okay. . . it's the 2nd half that always demands more of my time than I want to give. The peaches have started ripening (4 wks. early - it's been so hot), the tomatoes, cucumbers and green beans are finding their way into the house and are waiting on the countertop. Hey, Grandma is a great finish. I'm glad it got used right away. I've got quilts that are years old and haven't found their way to a bed yet -ha!

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  14. " A pieced border doesn't have to be meticulously formal looking to wonderfully frame and add to a quilt." == AMEN!!! and a double AMEN for this thought "Maybe we should just try and absorb the colors and textures by osmosis...." -- Terrific post and gorgeous quilt!!!

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  15. Love it, Audrey! Your applique shapes are so charming, and so simple... I think I might even manage to handle it! Love the colors, too. You, my dear, are the master of contrast. You never cease to inspire and inform.

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  16. Wonderful, wonderful quilt Audrey!! Your flowers are definitely not odd, I love the quirkiness of them. This quilt sings!

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  17. I just love this one and it just looks like one of your original quilts in your trademark style. Great unexpected colors and folky shapes!

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