Lots of new goodies

I'm back from a long hiatus in which we had a lovely visit from the MN folks, followed by Passover, and now back from all that excitement.

String quilt:

I'm assembling the latest string quilt, this one done in autumnal colors.

I love, love, love making string quilts.  Mindless fun with all that color assemblage. 

Whirligig quilt:

It's slowly coming along.  I did assemble a couple of blocks with all the company, but it was much more fun chatting and doing field trips with them.

And then, because I need a new project like a hole in the head, I have forced myself to make another exploding block quilt.  I made one of these as an I Spy quilt for little Benjamin (who is now 4 and not so little and never stops talking).  I'm using 2 different layer cakes plus some odd and end charm squares, and I'm using Civil War-ish colors, not my usual at all.  I generally eschew reproduction prints; I like bright and lively, but last year I fell in love with some fabric lines and bought a few layer cakes (all on sale, of course).  I'm thinking this might be a perfect winter quilt.  At any rate, I'm enjoying stepping out of my usual fabric choices.

Here's Benjamin's quilt, made in 2014.

I'm out of the competition with Sock Madness:  company and Passover did me in, but it doesn't bother me.  I have so many projects in my head, and anyhow, I get all the patterns from SM, so I can make at my leisure and can fit the socks to my foot.  All good.

Good Grief!

I've been MIA for over 1 1/2 months!  All those grandkid visits and then the MN birthday visit, and the Hubz' business trip, etc, etc,  - I just didn't have time to blog.  I'm back now, at least for a little while. 

So, here's the I Spy quilt all tied and crinkled and already loved by the little guy.

I didn't want to quilt this one, so I tied in in all sorts of embroidery floss.  Tying takes almost no time at all, and I thought it would be fun for a little guy.

The little guy loves to sit on it, and his family is playing "where's the doggy, etc" with him.  His mom is impressed with all the work, but I told her that it was actually a very easy quilt to make.  I love picking out fabrics and deciding where they will go.  I do NOT like knowing what my quilt will look like before I make it.  I'm the same way with knitting.  I love the surprise of when it all comes together.

 

The Inept Quiltarian finishes the I Spy quilt

 

 I cannot tell you just how much fun this was to assemble.  I think my favorite part of quilting is selecting fabrics and then arranging the blocks.  I can play around with this for hours.  Each little block took 3 fabrics, 243 fabric moments.  I put fabrics together, changed my mind, did it again and again, and just loved the entire process.

Since I am an Inept Quiltarian,  my cutting was off, my seams were never uniform.  Didn't matter.  Bias is my friend, and these little guys came together reasonably well.  Most of my points match!  And where they didn't, eh, who cares.  It's cute and fun.

Now I need to find some cute kid fabric for the back and the binding.  I might have to force myself to do another one of these in batiks.  It's tough having to pick out fabrics, but someone's got to do it.

I Spy a Design Floor Quilt

Whew.  81 blocks all made.  9 rows of 9 blocks to be sewn together.  That should keep me occupied for a year or two.  Here are some pics of the thing all laid out on my flannel sheets.

 Some more (some of which are upside down since that was the only way I could photograph them)

 And some more.

Is that enough?  Are they not the goofiest, silliest, most adorable I Spy blocks?  Now to sew the darn things together!

I Spy even more blocks.

Such silly fun.  Everyone needs to do an I Spy quilt just for the fun of it.  And if you can't use it, then donate it.  Some kid will love it.

My 2 faves in this batch are the froggie and the chicken, of course.

I Spy - more blocks

Here are some completed blocks.

And some more.

More

I love these little blocks. 

I Spy - the latest blocks

Are these cute, or what?  Blurry, but so it goes.

I Spy

I decided to make an I Spy quilt for Benjamin, our toddling grand.  It is such fun!  I'm using the Missouri Star Quilt Co. youtube on the exploding block, and it is easy peasy.

This is the prototype block.  I love it because the corners are deliberately not pointy.  Yay, not having to match that!

Just playing around here.  The blocks need that last bit to make the final block.  Before sewing together, each block is approx 6", and I figure a 50"-ish quilt for the kiddle.

Here are my favorites so far.  They will square up with the second block, so they won't look diagonal.

I love the llama and the doggie on the first row.  The lion and the doggie on the 3rd row.  All the chickens, of course.  We love dopey chicken jokes.  I have another chicken fabric, and a yoke fabric, too.  Plus lots of other fun fabrics to fussy cut.