Scraps Squared!

This fantastic scrap quilt belongs to Patrice. It is a biggie and the front and the back use a wide variety of fabrics. The quilt has a great story too.

Patrice shared that this quilt was started 10+ years ago.  She and her daughter saw the idea on TV and her daughter wanted one just like it. Her daughter loved the idea of random colors in each block, but Patrice confessed that she suffers from "matchy-itis" and thought she would have a breakdown trying to follow that path, so most blocks have a theme.

Patrice used fabric leftovers from clothes she sewed for her daughters and herself as well as some quilting scraps from her sister.  There was cotton, linen, slippery things, denim and corduroy.  Her daughter has no idea that she pulled the project out and finished it, so it should be a wonderful surprise.

Patrice had a vision for the quilting and sifted through the hundreds of pantograph options available on one of my favorite sites - Urban Elementz.  She chose "Bauhaus Baby" and I was happy to add it to my collection.  It has a nice modern feel and is very different than anything I have used in the past.

Bauhaus Baby

And when ordering a new panto, I can't stop at just one, so here are the other new pantos in my collection:

Breath of the gods

Bayside

Ebb & Flow

Falling Leaves

Dazzle

The block of the month project belongs to Deanna.  She told me it was 17 years old - she knows as she remembers working on this when her now 17 year old son was a baby.  I love being able to help quilters get their projects out of the cupboard and completed.

Deanna prefers less dense quilting, so we decided on the "Dazzle" panto with Dream Puff batting.

Deanna wanted to use of fabric she had on hand so provided muslin for the backing.  I prefer to match my bobbin thread to the quilt back instead of using the same color as the top thread.  I was hoping that I would be able to get the tension just right to balance the charcoal thread on the top and the light cream on the back.  

 My Innova did not let me down! Beautiful tension giving the calm look I was hoping for on the back and allowing the texture of the panto to shine through.  It was a happy quilting day for sure!

Bev's Batik HST Quilt

This is Bev's stunning batik quilt.  It is made up of HST and no, there isn't a commercial pattern. Bev played around with the blocks to come up with this striking layout.  Again, I am impressed with the power of a HST!

We chose the Mimosa panto, Dream Blend Batting and a variegated Lava thread.

 I wish you all could have seen this one in person as the fabrics are just gorgeous, my pictures are not doing it justice!  

Fresh Diamonds

This pretty quilt belongs to Eileen.  It is called Fresh Diamonds and the tutorial can be found on the Samelia's Mum blog.

Eileen purchased one fabric to use for the white background and raided her scrap bins for all of the colors.  It really is amazing how great something as simple as HSTs can looked when put together in a creative way.

 Eileen chose the "Chinook" panto and a soft plum colored So Fine thread along with the Quilter's Dream blend batting.  This was the first time I had stitched out this particular panto and I really like the texture it added to the quilt.

Perfect 10 - Owls

The adorable quilt belongs to Sheri. She requested my "Hedwig the Owl" panto and I think it was the perfect choice.

The pattern is called "Perfect 10" by Swirly Girl Designs. Sheri made this as part of a paint chip challenge at her guild.  I think she did a great job working with the bold color combinations she was given.  I love the focus fabric - the owls are awesome!

You can see in the back of this photo that my garden owls have started to emerge from their winter snow fort, but we still have a long way to go before we see anything like green grass!