Tuesday Archives #151: Tableclothes

Welcome to the linky party that rejuvenates your old quilting/sewing posts! 

Please click here to read more about this linky party.  

This week's theme is: TABLECLOTHES

Two years ago I made this sunflower, pinwheel tablecloth to add a little pop to our summer dining. I used no batting and simply quilted the top and back. (Click HERE to see the original post.)

My Trunk Show of Pinwheel Quilts

When I saw that Soma of Whims and Fancies was once again hosting her annual Trunk Full of Quilts online show, I was inspired to look through my own archives to see what I could possibly have to share. Sooooo here it is:

I'm realizing my  obsession, okay um love, of pinwheels quilts began in 2012 with my very first pinwheel quilt: my Classroom Monster quilt.  I made this one for my second grade class. Look closely and you will see the fabric is full of googly eyes, polka dots and little critters! 

 Every year, my students LOVE this quilt!

As a beginning quilter, I loved this little pinwheel pattern for a few reasons. 1. It uses fat quarters. It seems as a new quilter, I was continuously purchasing them as I began my quilty journey. Every new quilt store I entered, they were like eye candy and I always left with a bagful! 2. It's an easy pattern as I learned to cut, match and sew seams. 3. It was fast. Nothing like the satisfaction of finishing a lap quilt in a weekend! (I was hooked)

To say the least, I did a lot of stash busting using this pattern! 

I made this cute Picnic Quilt:

Then this Spring Pinwheels, which I gifted to my sweet Aunt:

 And another for my our oldest daughter:

I also made a summer tablecloth using some happy sunflower fabric:

And I created this colorful Rainbow Pinwheel quilt:

I had soooo much creating this one!  Notice half of each pinwheel was created from "made-fabric":

 

Okay, okay, seriously just how many quilts can someone make from one pattern!?!?!?

Welllll....I did share this pattern with fellow blogging friend Jasmine. LOL! For a look at a few more different versions of this pinwheel pattern, click over to Jasmine's who blogs at Quilt Kisses. I mailed her a copy of this pattern and am so inspired at how she used the background color in the pinwheels and added cornerstones! I love her clean, fresh look.  

 Seriously though, back in December of 2014, I was inspired by our Tuesday Archives Layer Cake Linky, to try something new! So I set out to create a quilt from an Aneela Hoey Cherry Christmas layer cake for my December ALYofF goal. I chose a NEW to me Spinning Pinwheels pattern from Shannon at Modern Tradition Quilts:

 

We love this little Christmas Quilt:

(But it could feed into my desire to purchase wayyy tooo many layer cakes! lol!)

So there you have it, my trunk full of Pinwheel Quilts. Most of which, are being well used as they bring comfort to kids, aunts, daughters and pups alike. Ya gotta love that!

Thanks again to Soma for organizing this annual event and to you, for stopping by.

Click the picture below to see more Trunks full of  inspiring Quilts!

PS: Can you believe pinwheels has NOT been a Tuesday Archives theme!

It's certainly added to the list now...until then, check out this week's Mug Rugs.

Pets of Quilts: JACKSON!

At the beginning of 2015 I made this fun pinwheel quilt from my scraps. When we took off for our summer vacation this year, I threw it in the car, unknowing that it was going to become Jackson's quilt for the entire two weeks! 

I caught him using it day... 

...and night. I was actually beginning to fear he'd put a hole in it as I watched him "paw in circles and dig" each evening to make his little cocoon shown below.  But hey! His nose is warm and we all know with our pups, THAT'S what really matters. LOL!!

Quite honestly though, I'm so grateful for him. Many of you know, he's an enthusiastic regular on my blog and well, he's been my quilty, empty nest buddy now for seven years! He is the most loyal dog I have ever had and in review, I noticed he has shown up in 58 posts thus far. (For as many of you also know, he thinks when I'm taking quilt pictures that I'm really just setting up his photo op.) Seriously! Click here  to see Jackson's modeling moments gone by. I can say I've never loved a dog as much as I love him. With that said, he is welcome to make any quilt in the house his own. 

and 

Thank you to Lily Pad Quilting for this opportunity to highlight our pets!

This is truly one of the events I look forward to most as I love seeing all our pets gathered in one linky and reading how they too, touch your hearts and make your days better too. I hope you'll join us for this Annual Pets of Quilts event. Click here for the rules. Click here for the linky party.  Voting begins August 25th. I entered Jackson in the dog (pup) on quilt category...ya know, just in case you are looking for a cute pup to vote for. Smiles!!

Summer Tablecloth

Do you have a small quilt top that hasn't been quilted yet? 

Get it out and make yourself a quick summer tablecloth!

One of the things I enjoy about summer is eating breakfast and dinner outside. 

So being the quilty gal I am, I thought, what better way to make it more enjoyable than with a summer tablecloth. Especially one made from a pinwheel pattern and...

This measures 48"x48".

 ...sunflower fabric!

 I used NO batting and just put the pieced front and this checkered backing right sides together, sewed the perimeter and reversed pillowcase style. I then quilted it with a simple leaf pattern on the sashing and a fun sunflower on each pinwheel. I love it!

Hope your day is off to a wonderful start and that you are perhaps inspired 

to  finish a quilt top  into a summer tablecloth too. 

Stay-cation Day 7: My Rainbow Pinwheel Quilt is FINISHED!

My Rainbow Pinwheel Quilt is done!! YAH!!!!! There is so much I like about this quilt...yet, with that said, it's one I admittably wish I had a little girl to gift it to. As I finished the binding and flowers I found myself daydreaming of a future grand-daughter falling in love with it, begging me to take it home. (And of course, I'd say: " absolutely!") Until then, this quilt filled my love of polka-dots! It was so much fun to create....

This quilt measures 52"x72".

Like one reader previously commented, this quilt is like a bowl full of jellybeans!

I think she is right! So let me share some quilty treats with you. 

First, the flowers! I've always wanted to do this "flower technique" on a pinwheel quilt and it seemed perfected "fitted" for this quilt.The flowers are made using two layers of raw cut fabric rounds, then those are clipped along the edge every 1/2" or so. Finally, add a yoyo flower and button and you got it! This the what the flowers look like before they are washed: 

This is what the "flowers" look like after being washed...

Don't you just love how crinkly and a bit frayed they are!!

The next treat is the quilting.

I couldn't resist using my cupcake pantograph:

 Especially because this is what the back looks like:

I was disappointed to not have enough of the cupcake fabric for the backing. But this entire quilt was made from my stash, so I kept auditoning pieces from my stash until I found that white polka-dot fabric in the center. (Which corrdinates with the sprinkles on the cupcakes.)

The last treat is the "made fabric" that's in the pinwheels. The leftovers were used to create those fun circles I added to the back. I think both the front and back now have that  fun, whimsical "feel" that compliment eachother!

And if by chance you are wondering where Jackson was this whole "photo shot"...well, I geuss my being home has disrupted his nap schedule and he is not "into" morning photo shoots (As we usually take quilt pictures later in the day after school/work): (BTW, He is actually yawning and strethcing in this picture below. My husband thought he was barking...seriously, what a personality this guy has!!! )

 I can't wait to see what the future holds for it. Need less to say, my "stay-cation" has allowed for some great sewing time. Thanks so much for stopping by and seeing what I'm up to. (I still have three more days off!!) Hopefully I've inspired you to try some "out-of-the-box" techniques on your next quilt as well. Oh! And for a look at a completely different version of this pinwheel pattern, click over to Jasmine's who blogs at Quilt Kisses. I mailed her a copy of this pattern awhile back and am so inspired at how she used the background color in the pinwheels and added cornerstones! I love her clean, fresh look.

It's A Flimsy!

 From this pile of scraps to this colorful flimsy below...what fun I've had creating this quilt top! I took Jane's advice and auditioned all your recommendations for my sashing. I found out what Sharon meant when she said the blacks might muddy the colors. Ruth recommended some small dots and when I auditioned this bright white with its small black polka dots the pinwheels just popped! I loved it!

Karen I tried my text prints, but they weren't all a bright white. (Darn it!) And, Cynthia I did try the stripes but, they made me dizzy!! LOL!!

We are having unseasonable mild weather right now so I have to admit is was nice to be outside taking pictures today. (Thinking of all of you back East...especially in Massacusetts.) And as you can see by Jackson's stance the squirrels are out too!

I did find some black and white stripe in my stash like Vicki, Sandy and Karen recommended for the binding along with this adorable cupcake yardage for the back! (Now I just need to find a tutorial to learn how to cut the strips on the bias for that lovely spiral design you guys commented about.)

Thank you all for taking the time to comment. As you can see, your input really helped!

I can't wait to get this one on the longarm. 

Hmmmm....wonder if I can find a cupcake pantograph?

WIP: Making Progress!

Isn't it fun to see a pile of scraps be made into a quilt!

Any suggestions for the sashing? Black with colored polka-dots? White with colored polks-dots? or No dots and go with white text prints or a solid? THIS is what happens when you don't plan a quilt...it just unfolds! LOL!! And it has me constanting...thinking in wonderment! 

Polka-Dotted Goals this week!

Click here to find my GYB/Give-Away post.

Well, that pile of scraps is all gone and now these made-fabric fat quarters 

have been turned into..

  ...some pinwheels! Don't they look fun coordinated with the polka-dots! What I love just as much is all this fabric was from my stash!! I now have a dozen pinwheels all ready for some after school sewing this week. My first goal for the week is to get these sewn into a flimsy by Friday. (Oh I think I'm starting to feel better!!)

My other goal is to get this bundle of dots below cut into 70-2 1/2" x 20" strips for a class I'm taking on the 18th called Metro Rings. (And since we are off to see our kids and grandson next weekend, I need to get them cut and ready.) I've never done curved piecing so am really looking forward to this class. Plus, I'm going with a friend, so that always makes it fun!

I want to close by saying THANK YOU to everyone for your well wishes and support while I went through and continue to recover from my Gallbladder Surgery. (Gotta' love this virtual quilting guild blogging has created for us!!) I'm back to work today, but WILL be taking it slow. I tell ya, it sure feels good to be eating again and getting back into routine though. Phew!

I'm linking up with:

Cynthia has a cute heart tablerunner posted today!