Cute :)

The quilt has been well-received in Finland.

If I keep getting smiles like that I might sign up to make even more of them.


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Edited to add:
Blogger ate a bunch of the lovely comments that I received on the last post.  

Be sure that I read each and every one of them and appreciate them.  

LindieLee, I did make the label myself.  I used a Micron pen to write on the fabric, then I pressed the edges under and hand stitched the label onto the quilt.

1 out of 4

I bookmarked a few "I Spy" quilts when Henry was tiny.  I loved the idea of sitting down with him and poring over the pictures in fabric and telling a story about them together.  Over the last year, I've been collecting bits of cute, modern prints for the quilt I'd make him.  Then, I found the I Spy fabric swap in January and was able to swap to get 200 different prints by trading fabric with other people.  I've also found personal swappers to exchange novelty prints with.

Well...somehow.... my original idea of one I Spy quilt has turned in to four.  

Henry's still isn't finished yet, but this first one is.  

It is for the son of my friend in Finland.  I usually like to send books as gifts for little ones, but the pictures in these fabrics are perfectly translatable. 

I chose to do solid white checkerboard pattern in between the other blocks so it would look more cohesive and brighter. I did diagonal straight line quilting through the white squares to add texture and interest to the solid and to leave the prints uninterrupted.

Henry was fascinated almost immediately. 

And here is the label. 

I hope you enjoy it Suvi and Jäppinen!

........

Also, can anybody tell me that I'm not the only one to take a simple idea and multiply it 

into something four times bigger?

What's happening...

I'm watching spring take over our yard,

teaching the boy how to hug trees,

and starting a project for the Pretty Little Pouch Swap.

So, what is happening with you?

Ten Glorious Laps

I went for a swim at the gym's pool tonight.  I love swimming on Friday nights.  I had all seven lanes to myself for ten glorious laps.  I watched the prairie sunset through the tall windows and the orange reflection on the still water in front of me.  I only heard the sound of my breath in my ears and the bubbles going by.  I looked at the lane lines, the square pool tiles, the plus sign design in the tiles, the glass panes of the windows and the ripples of the water and it all made me think of quilt designs.  Then I remembered this quilt and that single orange square....

After those ten laps,  another gentleman came to swim in the lane next to me.  I did the rest of my workout, but it wasn't quite the same.  By the time I left the sky was getting dark.  I'm already looking forward to next Friday....

My favorite bee block, ever.

This block was very hard to tuck in an envelope to send away. It is for Vicky in the Sew Buzzy Bee. Months ago, she asked all of us for our favorite children's book, fiction book, cookbook and crafting/quilting book. She then sorted that information into book "shelves" for her quilt. Vicky assigned me to craft books. I was given her favorite sewing book titles and those of other quilters in the two bees that are helping her make this quilt. I chose Patchwork Style as one of my favorites. You'll see a selvage and my initials at the bottom of the book spine. I hand embroidered some of the other titles, authors and initials and I freehand machine stitched the "i heart patchwork" piece.

I've never spent so much time on a bee block before (my embroidery is so slow) and I've never been so sad to see a block go. The fabrics she chose are impeccable. The concept is fantastic.  You might just see my interpretation of a bookshelf quilt sometime soon.

Modern Vintage Quilt

I made this quilt top in July of last year.  I designed it as a baby quilt, but I liked the colors and the fabric combination SO much that I was afraid to finish it.

(A quilt this pretty might make a girl want to have a second baby before she's ready!)

So, I left it as a lonely little quilt top for a l-o-n-g time.  Then in February, I practiced using a long arm quilting machine.  (By the way, I do not recommend a long arm machine for doing straight line quilting.  The axis locks do not coincide as closely as you want them to.  Trust me.
I should have asked for advice before attempting.)

Anyway, I chose to quilt lines on either side of the horizontal seams
and then diagonal quilt lines on every other row.

I pieced my binding from leftovers of the blues and aqua and turquoise.   

This quilt gets its name from the mix of fabrics used.  I adore the vintage sheets featured in this quilt.   I collected some of them for this picnic blanket, then I received one through the Vintage Swap (that print on the back) and lastly, I added some scraps given by a friend.  

The modern fabrics I chose are also some of my very favorites--solids, shot cotton, polka dots, stripes, a 30's reproduction and one print from Wild Thyme. 

Mixing the modern and the vintage blended the very best of both worlds to me. 

Not long ago, Ben and I decided that our family was just the right size as it is.  Almost immediately after that, I heard that a close friend was pregnant with her second.  I've been so excited to pass this quilt on to their new addition.  I didn't know if their baby would be a boy or a girl, but I knew that this quilt fit the personality of the baby's parents.  They are a special couple that I admire especially for how they live with old fashioned intentions in a modern world.

So, Grace Eliza, welcome to the world.  You are a lucky girl surrounded by much, much love.