Two Good Finishes to Close Out the Summer

Here's the two latest finishes originally resulting from AHIQ prompts. One was deemed,  'Use Your Words' and the other was a later 'Coins' challenge. They were both started in the year 2017 and the quilt tops have been completed for quite some time now. 

Make Beautiful Things

As always, these prompts are open ended which is something that I appreciate very much. Having lots of room for creativity is something my brain seems to thrive on. Somehow I tend to merge most of the challenges with yet another one. The first quilt could also qualify for a response to the 'Two-Block' challenge or even 'Playing with Scale'.

Count Your Blessings

This Coins quilt has the 'Use Your Words' thing going on and also perhaps the 'Two-Block' challenge incorporated as well. Ann and Kaja are clever to take simple ideas and open up a whole new way of looking at them. Invariably, I end up with so many ideas that they predictably spill over into several other quilts! Of course I have written lots and lots more about these late summer finishes of mine if you're interested in reading anything extra....

Loving Contrast with Florals, Blocks and Borders.

Sweet little floral and friends.

Four Patch and sixteen patch units for new project.

Then there's the big floral in 'Alice in Blue 1' block.

Love this big, blue floral by Cotton & Steel.

Pinning on borders here.

Hello Quilt Friends! 

From Rancho Palos Verdes where the ocean breezes are keeping it relatively cool here.

 Leah Day always begins her YouTube videos with, 'Hello Quilt Friends!' I watch them once in a while for inspiration. She's so calm and has practical tips, refreshing.

Since the AHIQ challenge is florals, I wanted to share what's going on here in the way of florals. Nothing finished today, but I like florals and I'm liking pairing them up with contrasting fabrics.

The small sweet floral, in the top photos, looks good contrasted with the shirting plaids and the grey bird print, can't forget the Kona Cotton solids in the mix. These are units I'm piecing for a new project more on that later.

Then there's my Alice in Blue 1 block with the big floral contrasting the black and white stripe print both by Cotton & Steel. The contrast shakes things up. Soon I'll get Alice in Blue #2 pieced. I'll use the same big floral but the arrangement and contrast will be different. You will be able to tell they're related but not the same, kind of like sisters.

Also I'm pinning and sewing borders onto my Yankee Puzzle blocks, which can be seen in previous posts. I used prints and florals in the blocks and the first border is a Kona Cotton solid in navy! What will happen next, I'm wondering.

Then there's the move to Costa Mesa, hmmmmm.

That my friends is the quilt news from the rancho. 

Where I'm remembering to be thankful and enjoying florals, big and small.

I'll be by to visit!

inspi(RED) - the Flimsy

The idea for this quilt arrived in February of this year

as I trimmed the strip-pieced center panels for Luminous.

I've always wanted to make my version of

Amanda Jean Nyberg's Birch Trees design -

and this was the perfect opportunity.

I could combine the already-pieced skinny insert strips

with reds from the stash and count this project

 towards the AHIQ Red is a Neutral challenge

from earlier this year.

I've also always wanted to make a RED quilt -

so the collision of timing with all these elements

was absolutely perfect for me.

The finished top measures 48" wide x 60" long

and features 20 different red fabrics from my stash.

I even found a very red reproduction print 

in the stash  that will work beautifully for the back -- 

another bit of fortunate timing.

inspiRED makes me VERY happy!

(and I have another empty project box)

Quiltdivajulie