Indigo Blue Cross Quilts with a Facing Finish

Here are the two little cross quilts that I made from Candy's hand dyed indigo blue fabrics...

Indigo Blue Cross Quilt No. 1

15" x 15"

Indigo Blue Cross Quilt No. 2

16" x 17"

As you can see, there is no visible binding on either quilt.

That's because each was finished using a facing method, which basically is where you sew a binding on, but roll it all the way to the backside, so no binding is visible on the front.

This allows the quilting to go all the way to the perimeter and creates a nice smooth edge. I feel that it can give a small quilt a more professional, artful look and presentation. 

There are various ways to face a quilt and you can find lots of tutorials on-line, some more complicated then others. In my next post I will show you how I like to do it, 

which is super-duper easy! 

See you then!

Parcheesi Inspired Cross Quilts

Well, the winds changed direction again, and blew me back to where I had been a few weeks ago... wanting to work in nine patch, exploring cross designs.

This time inspiration sprang from looking at images of vintage and often hand-painted Parcheesi boards. (Have a look at my Pinterest board here to see some great examples).

Folk Art Cross Quilt No.1

Keep in mind, I had no interest in making an actual duplicate of these vintage Parcheesi boards, as the interest for me always lays in the unexpected and the not knowing. 

But it was wonderful to just have the images of those old game boards dancing in my head as I hand-cut the fabric pieces and sewed them together.

Folk Art Cross Quilt No.2

 I also sewed two others from the lovely hand-dyed indigo fabrics gifted to me last week and I will share them in my next post. 

PS. I am happy to report that youngest daughter is all settled in at college, and seems to be loving it. And while I miss her, the adjustment on my end has been much easier then anticipated... truth be told it's liberating not to be on parental duty 24/7!

Indigo Blues

I received a lovely gift in the mail today...

A pack of beautifully, hand-dyed indigo blues from my friend Candy, of Candied Fabrics.

The package contained 5 delicious fat quarters,

and one gorgeous scarf!

Indigo-dyed blues are my favorite of all fabrics, and I have a tendency to horde them instead of cut into them... but I am itching to get my scissors out and start!

Check out Candy's website where you can commission her to make fabric just for you, or where you can sign up for her on-line classes and learn how to dye your own fabric! The classes are all self-paced, with no end date to the availability to the information... so you can go back time and again to refresh and learn. I can tell you first hand that Candy is a whiz-bang of a teacher, (she's actually a biology teacher at the University of Redlands) and her on-line classes are extremely thorough, packed-to-the-gills with info and videos, as well as a question and answer forum. And her wonderful enthusiasm is ever present and a true delight. Truthfully, I think she's superwoman, because I don't know where she finds the time to do everything she does, and I am pretty much in awe of her!

A Stitch a Day Keeps the Blues at Bay

Pink Flower, Blue Butterfly

I have continued taking all of that low energy and soon-to-be empty nest blues...

Blue Butterfly

and placed every bit of it into stitching...

Butterfly No. 2

and with every stitch I have taken, my energy has increased... 

SunFlower

and my mood has lifted...

Home Sweet Home

and everything's good!

PS. You may wonder why I am not spending every single minute with youngest daughter... soaking her in until she leaves for college next week. I would if I could, but she's hardly ever here! Work and friends keep her busy, and when she is home, chances are she is in her room playing guitar or painting... and now packing. Apparently, all summer long she's been thoughtfully breaking me in and preparing me for when she leaves for college so it doesn't hit me too hard... but I am still going to miss her!

Happy Little Pieces

Happy Weeds

Many thanks to each of you who took the time to leave such great comments on my last post. From reading everyone's words, I see that these feelings are something that a lot of us are going through, have gone through, or know that we will be going through in the not too distant future. It was both uplifting and comforting to know that I am not alone!

Flower With A Green Leaf

I decided that the best medicine for me was just to allow myself some time to get out of my own head and simply have fun creating some little, happy pieces.

With that thought in my mind, I took a drink of inspiration from Janet Bolton, (a long time favorite of mine) and decided to stitch up these tiny textile pictures.

There is something very relaxing and meditative about working on a small scale... Tiny bits of fabric get to shine, and each little stitch gets to be placed thoughtfully and just so. Because the work is small, nothing gets lost or crowded out... every element gets to have its day in the sun.

For these two pieces, I used a facing technique, (as opposed to a traditional binding) to finish the edges, and then stitched on small square panel to cover up the stitches on the backside. This keeps everything nice and neat, along with adding a little bit of extra stability. I also like how the color of the facing fabric slightly peaks out a bit on some of the edges, adding just a wisp of extra color and line. I hand stitched a small and sturdy decorative loop for instant hanging... but kept it thin so that it wouldn't add any bulk should someone wish to mat and frame the work. 

I think for now, I will stitch up a few more of these, as they truly are good medicine... 

As are all of you... again, thanks for everything. xo