"Buttons and patches and the cold wind blowing,
The days pass quickly when I am sewing"
~Author Unknown

Friday, April 16, 2010

A finish is a joy forever!

Pollyanna's Pinwheels is finished! I just love this sweet little doll quilt created out of some fat eighths and a border fabric that my mother gave me.

It all started with a challenge from quilt designer Kathleen Tracy on her yahoo list. You were given the challenge to make a quilt no larger than 30 inches using a 4 inch double pinwheel block. I know as soon as I read the challenge that I wanted to use my new pink and brown fabrics. Yes, I cheated on my stash diet and bought 4 new fat eighths! But now I only have one of them in my stash as the other three were used in this quilt. *grins*

I named this quilt while I was still sewing the patchwork which you can read about here. I wanted to keep this quilt looking very old so when I ran out of one of the pinks, I pulled a fabric close to it instead of buying more. Make do is my motto this year.

I hand quilted this freehand. That means I did not mark my lines and giving the quilt an older look. The border fabric was used horizontally as the bias binding. The quilt measures 17 x 19 inches.

I love to hand quilt! It makes a piece of patchwork come to life. I quilt my quilts heavily in most cases which means I do not have a high production level but do have optimal enjoyment!

And my rule is always that my quilt is finished when I have the label sewn on. I was just showing a quilting friend my other doll quilts and it is great to go back through and look at the labels to know when I completed a quilt.

Back by request...here is Becky's Blocks. Many told me they wished I would put the photos back on the blog. This quilt as with Pollyanna's Pinwheels are doll's quilts with a vintage look. For those who create these traditional quilts, at times our quilts look similar, but in both cases, the quilts I created are my own work.

My mother sent me the little doll you see sitting on Becky's Blocks. She said after she read the story I created for my blog post, she had to send me this little doll. I tea dyed her to make her look older and work well with the quilt. I am thinking of giving her one more bath in tea. It is okay as she whispered in my ear that she enjoys a good tea bath. *wink*

Yesterday, my quilting friend Elly came over to spend the afternoon quilting and then have dinner. It was nice to sit and talk with needle and thread to hand. She spoiled me with a truly wonderful birthday gift.

She put some acorns in a little basket with a roll of beautiful vintage look fabrics and dark chocolate yummies. It was so nicely put together that I hated to take anything out of the basket but I just had to see those fabrics of course. She wrapped a piece of lace with a bow around them and I am sure that lace will show up in a project one day soon.

One very fortunate thing? I am currently hand quilting a quilt in autumn tones. Good thing as the chocolate is too delicious to resist. I won't have too much of a worry about chocolate fingers. *grins*

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh Heidi your doll quilts are simply beautiful. I have two of Kathleen's book and find great inspiration in the way she puts her fabrics/patterns together. One day soon I am going to make some doll quilts, they are just gorgeous, and I especially like the different fabric borders as that adds to the charm. Have a lovely day and hope the volcano dust is not bothering you. Ann ~ Australia

Jackie's Stitches said...

Gorgeous little pink and brown quilt...your fabric choices are gorgeous and definitely give the look you were looking for!

Carolien said...

Hi Heidi,

That little quilt is gorgeous! I also LOVE the borders and the back. That fabric really gives it 'an old touch' to it. Lovely!
The doll your mother sent you is so cute!!!!! She's just perfect with that little quilt (glad to see it again ;).
How nice Elly did spoil you :)))

Have a nice day & hugs, Carolien

Letty said...

Hi Heidi, your pinwheel quilt is gorgeous! And I love the little doll your mother made you, she is so cute!

Elizabethd said...

So so lovely, Heidi, you have such an eye for perfect colour combinations. And the quilt could be an antique one!

Roberta said...

Love the little doll quilts and the doll, have you ever tried doing a coffee bath??

Love the little acorn basket and the goodies that came with it.

Have a great weekend - good luck with your house selling - Roberta

staci said...

Beautiful treasures!!! I'm sure they give you much joy when seeing them :)

Christine said...

Both of the quilts are beautiful. I love the little acorn gift basket your friend gave you

Amy said...

I love the pink and browns. That is one of my most favorite combos.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Pondside said...

What a pretty quilt.
You made me smile at the thought of chocolatey fingers on an autumn quilt.

Barb said...

Love the quilts Heidi,I too have a finish but not a quilt if you want a look see at my blog.
The little doll your mother sent is just so sweet ,why can we not get that sort of thing in the UK. I drool over these lovely bits and pieces you have.
Hugs

Nancy said...

Ohhhh,Becky looks so happy on her quilt. You were too sad for awhile, so I had to send her to cheer you up. She didn't want to go into that envelope, but I promised her she was going to a very good home. I bet she will love another tea bath.
I love both quilts. They are super cute.
Elly did spoil you pretty good there.
Have a great day now and keep quilting YOUR ORIGINAL QUILTS.
Love you, Mom

Jenny said...

Hello my Friend,
Pollyanna's Pinwheels is simply beautiful. You have done a beautiful job creating that quilt and it looks just perfect! I am so happy to see Becky's Blocks back. I simply loved that quilt and story and the doll your mom sent is just right :). Your acorn basket was delightful, what a thoughtful gift. I hope you are having a happy day. Hugs!

Kaaren said...

Great finish, Heidi.

I'm happy to see that you brought Becky's Blocks back for all to see who missed it. And the little doll that your Mom sent completes the scene.

I just started on a mini today. Hopefully I'll have it done by the end of the weekend...unless life happens to get in the way as has been the case lately.

Enjoy your weekend.

Nanny Ree said...

Heidi those little doll quilts are simply beautiful!!!!! Enjoy your week-end ~Marie x

Jantine said...

I really love those doll quilts, both! You are lucky with a mom sending you such a lovely doll and she might indeed need another bath... ;-)

mainely stitching said...

Oh my gosh, Heidi - I absolutely LOVE your new quilt. I'm drooling over it!

Jeanne said...

I have always loved pink & brown quilts Heidi - yours turned out wonderful! Can I send some of my quilts over for you to hand-quilt? LOL! I used to make miniature quilts many years ago but it's been a long time since I did one. You are inspiring me.

DebbieSFL said...

I love the colors on this quilt--so sweet and so vintage. You do such lovely work.

Anonymous said...

OMG Heidi!!!! I love your little quilts!! It was fun coming over today for a visit and seeing such delightful little quilts!

onlymehere said...

I do love the colors and the pattern. You do such amazingly beautiful work Heidi! I love how you label them too. We labeled all of the cabinetry and furniture that we made and it's fun to remember when we see the date! I need to start labeling my quilts.

DonnaTN said...

I love your pinwheel quilt! Your gift basket was adorable and filled with great treats!

Susan in SC said...

Both little quilts are so pretty and beautiful! I am glad you posted both pictures.

Siobhán said...

I'm so glad that you brought back the other quilt for us to see. They are both wonderful quilts, just beautiful. I love the fabrics that you used in the pinwheel quilt. The doll is adorable, and I love the gift that you received!

AnitaA said...

Wat een leuk pinwheel quiltje heb je gemaakt, schattige kleuren heb je gebruikt ! Een leuk label ook, dat maakt het helemaal af.
Groetjes Anita.

Sonja said...

Beide quiltjes zijn zooo mooi! En kleine Becky past helemaal bij Becky's quilt. Zou een theebad ook iets voor ons zijn... mooi bruin worden....of zouden we er dan ouder uit gaan zien?LOL!