Isn’t this one of the cutest quilts ever? Brenda isn’t just a fantastic quilter, she also has a talent for finding the most charming patterns. This one is an Amy Bradley design, and there is so much going on! The birds and butterflies, the flowers and gardening tools, those adorable polka dot gumboots! I think you can tell how thrilled I was when I got to custom quilt this beauty. This is one of my favourite quilts ever. Be sure to click on the gallery pictures below for a better view.
Paige made this pretty Log Cabin quilt and chose “Paisley Curls” as the quilting design. Neither of us spotted the block with the wrong orientation until I sent her pictures of the finished quilt. Oh well, I am sure you have all heard the myth that Amish quilters always make a mistake in their quilts to show their humility, so Paige is in good company. And I think we all make plenty of mistakes without even trying, so there is no need to do it on purpose 😉 Nevertheless, it is a beautiful quilt, something to be proud of.
Fern Grotto was made by Brenda and is one of those quilts that I can look at for hours, watching the secondary patterns emerge. Clever colour and value placement add so much interest to quilts. For this one, you might even have to take a step back. Looking at the thumbnails of the pictures, the diagonal pattern emerges even more clearly. Those are my favourite kind of quilts! Brenda chose “Wild Wind”, a simple swirly pattern to finish her project.
It is October already, and we are going into the last quarter of the year and this year’s Monkey Business BOM. While I am not a big fan of winter, I am not too unhappy that this super hot and dry summer is over and I don’t have to spend so much time watering my vegetables anymore. Next year it will be drip irrigation for sure! I am still harvesting my second crop of broccoli, it was so worth the effort to install the cover for the brassicas. And my cherry tomatoes are still going strong, I can’t take off new suckers as fast as they are regrowing. I have decided to pull them this weekend though. I topped all tomato plants in mid-August, and the remaining green ones will ripen indoors. I just want to clean up as much as possible before the weather gets really ugly.
Our monkey friends are still on summer vacation and don’t have to worry about bad weather. I was trying to create a surfing monkey but all my attempts looked too much like the snowboarding penguin from last year’s Penguin Promenade. Then I realized that there is another kind of surfing, and now our little monkey is happily windsurfing across the water. Please make sure to double check that the pattern prints at 100% size, otherwise the design will be cut off in the middle of the block. (Ask me how I know… I have been printing my placement guides for years with the same settings, and I don’t always check, and Adobe Reader decided to switch from “Actual Size” to one of the other options, and I didn’t notice until I couldn’t make the block fit.) As always, the pattern will be available for free download until the end of the month and move to the pattern store in November.
EDIT: October is over, and the block has moved to the pattern store where it is now available for purchase if you missed the free download. If you just need the finishing instructions, they are still available for free download.
Für die deutsche(n) Version(en) mit metrischen Maßen bitte dem/den Kauflink(s) unten für die englische(n) Version(en) folgen und beim Checkout angeben, dass die deutsche Version gewünscht ist. Ich verschicke dann per email die Anleitung(en) in der gewünschten Sprache.
Wer nur die Anleitung zur Fertigstellung sucht, kann diese nun auch auf Deutsch kostenlos herunterladen.
These cute quilts were made by friends Dorothy and Gerry. They purchased the patterns together some time ago and finished their quilts almost at the same time. Dorothy’s version came to me first, and I was delighted that she chose the design “Wedding Vine” for her quilt, it works so well with the appliqued leaves. Gerry agreed, and when her quilt was ready we didn’t have to think twice which panto to use. These quilts are just too cute!
It’s almost October, so definitely not too early to start thinking about Christmas. Once again Carol of Just Let Me Quilt will host her Virtual Cookie Exchange in early December, and that’s a blog hop I don’t want to miss. I actually started working on my project in July, and it’s almost done. I am very proud of myself for not procrastinating until the last minute. Of course it all depends on the right idea coming along, and I ended up with enough inspiration for two designs. It was indeed Christmas in July!
What a crazy year it has been! Normally I would have written a few more posts about this year’s Row Along but with my constant health struggles I just didn’t have the time. Many of you are probably aware that Marian of Seams To Be Sew – who came up with the Row Along concept and organized the event every year – unexpectly passed away in March. We had just started the preparations and voted on the theme when we heard the news, and we decided to continue with the Row Along in Marian’s memory. Melissa of The Quilting Room With Mel kindly volunteered to take over as chairperson and put a lot of time and effort into making it happen.
One Fish, Two Fish – EQ Design
Inspiration for my row hit me when I was browsing the Northcott Fabrics website. They generously offered their fabrics to all the designers again this year, and we could choose anything from their current collections for our projects. I have always loved the look of ombré fabrics but I usually don’t really know what to do with them. When I saw the Stonehenge Gradations Ombré collection, the colorway Indigo jumped out at me right away. I could almost swear it was called “Ocean” at the time but I might be wrong. In any case, I suddenly had a vision of colorful fish swimming on this blue background, with the color getting darker towards the ocean floor and lighter towards the surface. The other fabric I chose was a light blue for the bubbles. Thank you once again, Northcott, for your beautiful fabrics.
DP39420-45 Stonehenge Gradations Ombre Indigo
9020-42 Toscana Escape
For the fish, I used leftover batik scraps. The bright colors shine on the blue background, and batiks often have interesting patterns that I thought were perfect for tropical fish. The bubbles were scattered randomly across the background. The instructions are for fusible machine applique (the only kind I do), and I used a machine blanket stitch to applique the pieces.
Once again, I added borders and turned my row into a wall hanging. I would have entered it in this year’s quilt show but unfortunately Covid is still around, and we won’t be able to have one. I am keeping my fingers crossed for 2022.
The pattern for the row will be available for free download for a week. Afterwards the pattern for the complete wall hanging will be available for purchase.
EDIT: A week has come and gone, and the full pattern for the One Fish, Two Fish wall hanging is now available in the pattern store, if you missed the free row download.
Für die deutsche Version mit metrischen Maßen bitte dem Kauflink unten für die englische Version folgen und beim Checkout angeben, dass die deutsche Version gewünscht ist. Ich verschicke dann per email die Anleitung in der gewünschten Sprache.
And before you leave, don’t forget to check out the other two rows that are being published today. Visit Kris at Scrapdash and Althea at Blue Heron Quilting for two more fabulous free patterns. They are only free for a week, so be sure to visit right away. New rows will be posted every Monday until the end of October. For the full schedule please check The Quilting Room With Mel.
Every time I think I am mostly back on track, life throws me another curve ball. I am struggling with health issues right now, and I completely forgot to schedule today’s BOM post. Luckily the blocks are all sewn, and the patterns are all written, so there won’t be much of a delay, now that I finally realized that today is September 1.
This month, we are going back to the beach where our little monkey has built a wonderful sand castle, decorated with shells and a little flag. As always, the pattern will be available for free download until the end of the month and move to the pattern store when the October block is released.
EDIT: September is over, and the block has moved to the pattern store where it is now available for purchase if you missed the free download. If you just need the finishing instructions, they are still available for free download.
Für die deutsche(n) Version(en) mit metrischen Maßen bitte dem/den Kauflink(s) unten für die englische(n) Version(en) folgen und beim Checkout angeben, dass die deutsche Version gewünscht ist. Ich verschicke dann per email die Anleitung(en) in der gewünschten Sprache.
Wer nur die Anleitung zur Fertigstellung sucht, kann diese nun auch auf Deutsch kostenlos herunterladen.
This modern quilt called “Yama to Kawa” was made by Jean. The pattern is by Lorna Shapiro, if you are local you have probably heard of her. She specializes in Japanese fabrics and silk. A few years ago she came to our guild for a trunk show, and her work is amazing. You can find out more about her on her website “Quilter’s Dream Fabrics”. Jean wasn’t sure how she wanted her project quilted and was undecided between custom quilting and a pantograph. I had to admit that this quilt didn’t immediately speak to me, it is a tough one to custom quilt. Looking through my pantograph collection, we found this one called “Time Warp”, and Jean liked it for her quilt. It picks up the rhomboid shapes of the quilt pattern and adds great texture.
“Binding Tool Star” is a very popular Missouri Star Quilt Co. pattern, and this is Sharon’s version. She put the star pieces together pointing outwards instead of inwards, quite an interesting variation of the original pattern. The “Binding Tool Star” is also very versatile when it comes to choosing a pantograph, almost anything goes. Sharon chose “Butterfly Tango” to complement the lovely spring colours in her quilt.
