MY FAVORITE QUILTS # 4

 One of my favorite quilts hangs on the Living Room wall most of the year so I can enjoy it.

A-ROUND WITH MY FRIENDS: 67" X 67" 2011

For several years I made "Round Robin" quilts with two friends, Ellen and Sharon. In 2004 on a trip to Alaska I bought the same fabric in three colorways for one of those projects. The fabric is the one used as my outer border. Each of us made a center block of our choosing, then we passed that and our fabrics on to each other for the next border to be added. We could add fabric to the quilt, it just had to look like it belonged with the other fabrics.

I started with my beloved Feathered Star, a block I have used several times in medallion style quilts. I love the elegance and challenge of this block with many pieces. 

Ellen added the large poppies and border beyond the poppies. Sharon added the sawtooth border and the gold area. When I got it back I loved it so much and knew it deserved to be larger. 

Over the next 7 years I worked on the appplique border, inspired by a Nancy Pearson design. I drew all the flowers, cut all the templates, made miles of narrow bias stems, and hand appliqued for years to get it done.

Then I hand quilted it. Wool batt is lovely to hand quilt on and I enjoyed every stitch. But it's time consuming and life was busy then so it was 7 years before I finally finished this quilt. 

The timing was perfect. It was ready for my guild quilt show in 2011. It was awarded Best of Show that year. The following year it was juried into the American Quilt Society show in Paducah, KY. In 2014 it was selected as one of the 500 best Traditional Quilts featured in a book by that name. And it was included in the Special Exhibit of many of the quilts from that book at International Quilt Festival in Houston 2014. 

Here are some detail shots:

Not my usual colors, but this quilt just came together, one step at a time, and I love everything about it. 

I am not sure if I will ever hand quilt a bed size quilt again so that makes this one that much more special.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

Round Robin Quilts with the Sunday Sew & Sews

 Several months ago, eight of the Sunday Sew & Sews decided to do a Round Robin project. Each person made a center block, gathered fabrics they liked with it, and passed theirs on to another participant for her to add to. There were  two groups of four so the quilts wouldn't become king-size--which could have happened if all 8 had worked on each quilt.

I have written before about this process and given tips for success here:

How to Organize a Round Robin

Here are the tops as they were returned to their owners. Some will be declared "Done!" by the owner and some will be expanded--each person gets to decide. In no particular order: 

Pam E

Terri 

Donna

Jodie 

Cindy

Pam R with hers

Brenda

Mine--I want to expand this as I love it

This was a fun project. Everyone loved their quilt and each was surprised with what was done to theirs. All are so different. And each person had to figure out what to add and how to accomplish their chosen design. This is a great exercise for those who typically follow patterns. You get to make creative decisions on your own and stretch yourself as a a quiltmaker.

Let's quilt.

Barbara