Army of Safety Pins: Quilt Basted

The Purple and Limelight Log Cabin Baby Quilt (bit of a long name) is now basted with a small army of 105 safety pins. I chose the backing fabric to be brighter than my first choice, as babies aren't big fans of neutral, from my experience. 

I used a new technique for securing the backing down and it worked wonders! Scotch Blue Painter's tape, the kind you use when you want a crisp line in painting, but leaves no residue on the walls, was used in increments all around the edges, securing a very flat backing to my tabletop. I then put down the batting, cut it to size, and then ran the edge of a long quilting ruler over it to remove the wrinkles and bubbles.  Then the top was centered and smoothed by hand, after which the army of safety pins was deployed. 

My fingers hurt now, so I'm going to rest them, and will continue on with the quilting later today. It is amazing  how much actual construction goes on with building a quilt. A very interesting part of the process, albeit the part to me that feels most like work. But good work, lovely work, and totally worth it in the end, sore fingertips and all. 

Update: Log Cabin Purple and Lime Baby Blanket

Just an update, I have finished all of the log cabin blocks for the baby blanket, joined them, and have sewn on the first 1 1/2" light purple sashing as of this morning. There will be a second border made of pale lime green to go around this, and then there will be a dark purple binding. I'm considering appliqueing a small bird in one of the corners. More to come on this, but I am very happy with the the way the stripes have turned out! Very cool, very old pattern! Hope your having a happy Sunday, perhaps with your own quilting projects unfolding! :)

Blue Daisy Crochet

Last week, my sister-in-law stayed with us for several days, as she is awaiting her visa clearance to travel to India, to lay her husband's ashes to rest in the bosom of the mighty Ganges River, as is their Hindu custom.
Her husband's death was sudden, a shock to everyone's system, and for her has left behind an ache that has not yet begun to lessen.

I could not find the right words, and my husband and I could only help her through the paperwork, stand by her while she grieved, and offer whatever condolences we could. She and I shared tears, and we also shared  tiny, shining bits of humor wherever we could find them as the days passed. One of the things I shared with her was a nudge of instruction on how to crochet. When I am stressed or depressed, or juggling both of these emotions, I find that tapping into my creative soul, and finding something for my hands to do so that my brain can work out the bigger stuff in the back of my mind, soothes me in ways that very few other things can do.

Well, she took off with crocheting like a spell had come over her! She picked it up quickly, as her mother- my dearly departed mother-in-law from several years back- used to crochet around her when she was a young girl, but never had the patience to teach her. Now she coiled the yarn around her finger like an old pro, understood immediately what I meant by 'yarn over in the back' or 'only put the hook through the front loop', and with very little effort on my part, her hooks began to fly.

She has since made a few blankets in the granny-square style after mastering single- and double-crochet on scarves. She even made my son a throw that he loves. When she came to stay with us, she saw my gift to my good friend, Kani, sitting there, waiting to be shipped, and was intensely interested in learning how to make the daisy granny-square block.

To make a long story, well...of a medium length... From teaching her this new block, she made me my own little throw pillow which will go up in my girly space in my bedroom.

Above is the front, and below is the back. As you can tell, the blues and greens are one of my favorite color palettes!

 I, in turn, created a smaller lined bag that she can take with her to India, to move her own crochet project from house to house as she re-visits her friends and family to share the grieving of her husband's passing.

Above is the front, below is the back and closeup of the button and loop closure.

I lined her bag as well, so that no hooks or small tools could fall out. She had already begun to stash some of her balls of yarn as pictured... 

From tragic ending, then, comes a glimmer of peace, and from one of her creations after another comes a semblance of hope, of future, to remind us all that the end may not be as final as it feels at first.

This post is dedicated to my 'Didi' (which means sister in Bengali), Sarmila. May the Gods and Goddesses bless you and look over you and your family on your journey to bring Partho back home. We love you.

Purple and Green Log Cabin Baby Quilt

Purple and green/chartreuse... colors I have long wanted to put together in one quilt, and now, I have begun!  I picked up some perfect colors in fat 1/8ths at the fabric store, added them to my existing stash, and came up with this color combination. 

I'll be 'stair stepping them in the above manner, working with 8X8 blocks, going three across and four down to make a sweet baby blanket. The blocks are moving along faster than I thought, as I am using my brand new toy...er, tool! ... designed by Jean Ann Wright called the 'Log Cabin Trim Tool'. It is working like a charm to keep my blocks centered. More to come soon! 

Crochet Lined Daisy Handbag

Okay, so I have taught someone else the joy of crocheting: my sister-in-law. And while teaching her, I was bit with the bug to work on something myself. She started, as I did, with granny squares, and here I have taken them to a sweet new level, having seen this square pattern on Pinterest. I did alter it, however, as my yarn is a bit thicker than the original, I think.

I started out making a pillow, but changed my mind as a friend's birthday loomed on the horizon. She had knitted me a couple of very sweet scarves, and has been regaling me with how she loves knitting with her group. I therefore set out to make her a tote that she can carry some yarn and knitting tools in. 

This is the back:

Here is a peek inside at the liner which I hand-sewed in place. 

I wanted the colors of the fabric to be fun, summery, and to echo the colors of the outside. The pockets were made to fit knitting needles, etc, while the rest is open for maximum yarn storage. 

I adored making this bag, and will be making more to sell on Etsy soon... 

Finished Triforce Quilt

Oh, yeah, baby!... And it was done ahead of time!

This is the backing, formed of strips to represent the levels of dungeons in the Ocarina of Time video game of the Legend of Zelda: Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow and Spirit (desert) temples. 

The binding is simply the edge piecework from the back flipped over onto itself and sewn into place. 

The quilting inside the Triforce triangles echoes the shape. 

I sketched several items from the game into the quilting using my free-motion BigFoot quilting foot, which worked very well. I was so excited about how well these turned out! Below is the Light Arrow on the right, and a Deku Nut down in the corner on the left. 

It's so good to have this sweet little quilt washed and on my son's bed. We both love it equally! <3