Friday, June 26, 2020

Another Baby Quilt Getting in the Way

Lots of stuff going on around here what with Father's Day, my moms birthday and now, a new little niece to admire. You know how it is with a big family, everyone tries to step up and help out the new parents! So very thankful we don't have to entertain the older munchkins every day though. Wowsers, I am totally, completely out of the habit of running herd on kids aged seven and under!
Sweet Tart Baskets
Regardless of all the distractions, hand quilting did get accomplished, and finally.... it was time to pin the next quilt for the hoop. This one {Sweet Tart}, definitely wasn't anywhere near the top of the queue, but it's basically the only one that I looked forward to working on, at least for this moment in time. How do you argue with that?
Getting ready to pin the quilt...
Mostly, I think the next-up-in-the-hoop needed to be happy, convey positive vibes or at the very least, trick me into thinking I am happy with my world! I'm so very weary with the roller coaster of emotions these days. But here we are and it's only June. I don't think I'm alone in wistfully looking forward to the year 2021? Which is so sad. Wishing away our days is rarely an uplifting feeling!
Never enough baskets in my quilts....
So I just keep pushing off the news of the day and end up making my world a little bit smaller. Though our quilting stores are now open {even if with limited hours}, it's become a habit to shop in the quilting room first. Antique Crows already has the first round of binding stitched down. Most of the it came from the binding scraps tote, which of course, is something that never fails to impress me. Whether or not it looks very good is probably open to interpretation, but somehow it's almost become a signature look around here! The fabrics that actually come straight out of the totes for binding purposes are rarely magnificent, hard-to-cut-into specimens either. I generally shoot for a certain color range and then settle on the fabric bits that seem most reluctant to incorporate themselves into any one of my quilts.
Binding ready for the hand stitching
The new niece warrants a new baby quilt being made. Absolutely! Can't leave the littlest sister feeling left out! Since mama likes the old fashioned look just fine, I went ahead and challenged myself to work with more of those 'So-Tired greens' I've been trying to get rid of all year. The stack is surprisingly getting much reduced, which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Love seeing a good plan come together!
Ohio Star blocks on the wall
A simple color palette, non-flashy fabrics and an easy, oldish style block all came together very fast with almost zero dithering about the details. I couldn't resist adding a floral sashing {cut-offs from the back of another quilt!}, and at the last moment when cutting out, I impulsively added an extra 1/2" to the width. It just seemed like the right thing to do. That skinny little sashing 'look'  didn't seem nearly as much fun after the flowers were cut down to nothing. The corner stones were potentially going to be a bolder green than used in the blocks, and then looked so tame and 'flat', I ended up going in an entirely different direction color-wise.
Getting ready to sew the rows together
In the event you are interested, the Ohio Star blocks are 9" finished and sashing strips a finished 1 1/2", all adding up to a 40 1/2" quilt. Should have been fine and dandy at that size, but no.... You know me, big fan of the border addition! So I played around with several different options including this floral in the picture below, a deep green and then various pinks etc. Blah, blah, blah. Quickly decided that pieced borders were a 'no-go', and then finally settled on a random fabric that caught the corner of my eye.
Auditioning border fabrics
It was a really pretty {though odd} yellow-green plaid hanging out in one of the simmering stacks of fabric. I don't know what it is about raiding the stacks of fabric lately, but sooner or later I'm bound to regret all this indiscriminate pillaging! It perfectly lightened up the whole quilt though and made me a happy camper as to overall look and vibe. These things are important even if this is just a baby quilt! It was sandwiched and pinned late last night after running an errand with my husband, and this afternoon I was able to machine stitch-in-the-ditch around the sashing. Now the plan is for it to receive a little bit of hand quilting in the star blocks areas. 
A little binding prep
Yep, after only one evening of stitching on Sweet Tarts, that quilt gets to be shoved out of the way for the new kid on the block. I wrestled mightily with myself while machine quilting, because the baby quilt could have been finished off so very quickly and then been done. Why do I do this to myself? I suppose it all boils down to being truly satisfied with the end results. That's probably just as important as 'gifting' the quilt, knowing we did our best work within the perimeters of what the project is and how important it is in our creative journey. If I gift a quilt that feels 'less than' and it's for my precious little niece, well.... How precious is that niece exactly? One or two nights of having it in a hoop in my lap is nothing in the long term! And we all know the limits of my machine stitching skills. They are most definitely 'less than'.....

While hunting through the binding tote, I went ahead and pulled pieces for Sweet Tart and also one other quilt that's quickly coming up in the queue. The baby quilt binding ended up being yet another of the 'So-Tired' green fabrics and the only thing that would have made me happier, is if that binding would have needed ALL of it. Wonderful to having these bindings prepped and ready to go. While it feels like I'm just spinning my wheels and getting nowhere really fast, in reality, there are two quilts here almost on the verge of being totally, completely finished! Ahh... you know I'm just itching to dive into another fun quilt start. Something a whole lot more open ended than making a baby quilt! Just have to tidy up the quilt room and decide which particular fabric stack is calling out to me the loudest....

Linking up to Wendy's Peacock Party. She's got some really great advice on how to write the little blurb that ends up hanging with your quilt in a show. Interesting to think about though I don't have to worry about it for at least another year. Maybe you're lucky and actually have some quilt shows to look forward to this year?

18 comments:

  1. I enjoyed reading the history of the baby quilt; your process is so interesting. The unwelcome greens work well with the beautiful pinks, and you've made me interested to see the finished quilt!

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  2. I think the baby quilt is charming and perfect for an old fashioned look. I just couldn't keep up with baby quilts for my extended family they were just popping them out to quickly - I seem to remember one where it was 5 and another 4!! I gave up and called it quits years ago

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  3. Love your basket piece--the two sizes are just charming...lots of prep work on that one...I especially like (crave enviously!) that pink strewn floral fabric--so vintage and shabby chic--just perfect...
    ~ ~ ~ still waving from afar Julierose

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  4. So much to admire in this post! The baskets are unusual (compared to traditional basket blocks) and the single flowers are fun. The sashing for the Ohio Stars (such a calming, soft colorway) is perfect.

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  5. I am all but out of these yellow-greens you are using. I seem to put them in everything, especially the applique leaves. I like this little quilt a lot. It glistens, it isn't dramatic needing a lot of attention, it just quietly wafts into your mind like a favorite poem.

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  6. So much to admire. Your tulips have convinced me to try one of my own soon and I always love any glimpse I get of the Crow quilt. I like getting binding strips from the leftover box. Binding is a perfect place for the loud purple and some of my wild stripes.
    Congratulations on a new niece. I laughed to see her quilt. It's the same colors as my Wheel but yours works much better. Because the pinks are stronger? I'm sure she will love it for years. Congratulations to your sister.

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  7. The new baby quilt is so charming in it's old fashioned simplicity, though we all know there is nothing simple about the thought process that goes into each decision during a quilt's creation. I'm curious about the plaid border you finally decided on, but we'll see that soon enough because I know how anxious you are to get back to your Sweet Tarts! Sometimes the only way we can keep our sanity is to withdraw from the world when the world becomes too insane.

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  8. The floral sashing on your 'Ohio Star' blocks is delightful! These days, I've become much more 'insular' on the Peninsula, thank goodness for a creative outlet 😉

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  9. It as great to catch up with your projects. I love love LOVE the basket quilt. So happy and deligtful.

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  10. Wow, You've been busy! The baskets are especially cute! And the tired greens look great with the pinks! And I want to see Antique crows laid out flat!

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  11. Your stories and explanations always interesting to follow your thought process and decision making. Your new little niece will love her new quilt. You made those "tired greens" quite perky.

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  12. Hi Audrey! I love all your quilts but the tulip quilt lifted me up! The colors are cheery and bright. It inspires me to start some kind of basket quilt.

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  13. I so enjoy seeing your posts come up Audrey, you always seem to have lots on the go! I don't recall seeing Sweet Tarts quilt before, but I do like it, very much and Ohio Stars is a beauty.

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  14. Love your basket quilt, wonderful color combination.

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  15. Love the Baskets, love the sherbet-y colors.

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  16. I'm pretty sure the only quilt show I'll be attending this year is my own at my house!!

    Love your projects! The simple baby quilt is perfect!

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  17. Love your colorways...and this is a nice post...

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