Thursday, April 21, 2011

THE FINAL ROUND ROBIN QUILT

This is Christina's Round Robin Quilt. She's my quilting buddy from Long Island, NY. Her quilt is as vibrant and beautiful as she is. I love the pinks and blues with that great gold, don't you? I think my favorite part is the flowers in the corner blocks. It makes the quilt really sing.


Since most of these quilts were going to go on a bed, we decided that the last addition would only be to the top and bottom to make them a tad more rectangular. For this quilt I tried to use all of the main colors and added squares in pink, gold and blue. I made the middle squares on each end a four-patch block.



I also included a picture of the back of the quilt as it was the prettiest of the bunch. I think this quilt could truly be called reversable as the back is just as interesting as the front.



This whole round robin project was a lot of work to be honest. But it was worth all the stress and frustration. The project challenged us to use our skills and our imagination to join together and make a true heirloom for each person. And I think it brought us a tad closer together. We may be separated by miles and miles, but we had a common goal and a love of quilting that brought these "quilting sisters" together. Maybe we should do this again? But not for a while.




Friday, April 15, 2011

ROUND ROBIN VI

Though picking a favorite quilt from our round robin project is almost impossible, this one would be near the top of the list. I love homespuns in quilts and this one has a huge variety of colors and styles. This super quilt belongs to Jen and I know she is so happy with it. When I got this one in the mail and saw the homespun, the first thought I had was denim. I love denim with homespun. So I dug out three partial bolts of homespun I was lucky enough to find when one of our local Walmarts closed out their fabric department. They were in shades of red, green and blue. Then I went to my precious stash of recycled denim and cut corner blocks for my addition. Of course I used my usual squares, alternating the different homespun fabrics. I don't have a picture of the quilt completed, but there was only one more person for it to go to after me so this is pretty close. It has such a homey feel to it, I know it will be treasured for years to come.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

ROUND ROBIN V

The next round robin in line is from another of my Texas buddies - Lee. Lee loves purple! But, then, who doesn't? Here's her quilt as I received it. There's a beautiful star block in the middle with lots of lovely purple fabric all around. Of course I tore thru my stash looking for purple fabric to add my part. Not being an experienced quilter, I again chose squares for my addition. I added two rows of assorted purple fabrics from light to dark. This was a really fun addition, trying to get the sizes and proportions right. Good workout for the brain, I guess.
Here's the finished product. I love the addition of greens to the mix - a good color with purple. And the cream bits just add to the punch. I know that Lee will treasure this quilt for a long, long time, just like I do mine.



Tuesday, April 5, 2011

ROUND ROBIN IV

Here we are at the halfway point with Round Robin quilt #4. this came from my friend, Suzanne. How she finds time to quilt I'll never know since she spends so much time taking care of her family and running the family farm with her hubby. Nevertheless, she does beautiful work. This quilt reflects her sunny outlook with a beautiful appliqued sunflower on pink and white blocks. The challenges increase as the quilts are now getting bigger with more additions from other participants. How to top the previous addition? Well, I decided to pick up the pink and add in some yellow to highlight the sunflower. I added two rows of squares in three shades of pink and one yellow. In the corners I added a fifth fabric in black with a small sunflower print to carry on the theme.
Here's the finished product being admired by Suzanne's darling dog, Chloe Rose. I just love the way it turned out. This quilt will be a great keepsake for years to come, not to mention a bright and sunny quilt to snuggle under on those cold Pennsylvania winter days and nights. Did you notice the sunflowers on the corners? So cute the way the stem extends down the side of the quilt. What a wonderful, creative group of women!!



Sunday, April 3, 2011

ROUND ROBIN III

Here's Round Robin Quilt number 3 as I received it. It is for my friend, Lynn, one of my Texas buddies. I think this quilt reflects her sweet personality perfectly. I just love all the pastel florals. Again, I love the pinwheel blocks, too! I'm going to have to work on mine so I can include them in future quilts. The original block is the pinwheel with the first row of squares. Next is how it looked after I added a row of squares in pastel florals in pink, blue and yellow. The hardest part of doing these round robin quilts is getting your addition to come out even when you're piecing it. Measuring and computing are not my strong suits, but this one came out pretty well. Here's a pic of Lynn's finished quilt. Isn't just precious? It looks so snuggly and pretty. The variety of prints is just astounding. I know that Lynn is very happy with her new quilt, too.