Wake Up To Kona! Blog Hop

It's my day!

Thank you Madame Samm - Sew We Quilt 

and

Carol - Just Let Me Quilt

for this fabulous blog hop. You two are awesome!

Of course we can't forget the sponsors:

Amanda Murphy, author of Color Essentials

Robert Kaufman for those fabulous fabrics 

and

Aurfil, whose threads keeps us stitching

Thank you!!

Be sure to check out the rest of today's contributors. 

I think you'll be amazed!

Ridge Top Quilts

Marjorie’s Busy Corner

A Stitch In Time

Freemotion by the River

Everyone Deserves A Quilt (You are here!)

I was so excited for this hop! I knew exactly what I was going to make. Then reality set in and I knew that completing that BIG project (117" x 99") would be virtually impossible for me with my other commitments. So, on to Plan B I went.

Plan B was very realistic considering the time frame in which I would be working. I knew that a full quilt would be quite challenging so I decided to make a pillow to coordinate with a project I had started a while back. If there was still time, I would work on finishing that quilt. 

That was the plan...Here's what happened.

The pillow - I love how it turned out and the fact that it's big - 20"! All of these fabrics were leftovers from the original quilt. That means I used stash, which is ALWAYS a good thing.

I used the pattern Twinkle Twinkle by Me and My Sister Designs. If you've never made a quilt using one of their patterns, you really should try it. They are easy to follow, have great illustrations and are wonderfully set up in terms of graphics. I really love teaching from their patterns because my students like using them. I promise you that it'll be worth your while to browse their site.  :-)

And look. It fits the rocking chair perfectly!

After finishing the pillow, I pulled out the quilt that was my inspiration and got to work on that. All it needed was to be quilted and bound. I completed this quilt top way back in February of 2012, but never got around to quilting it. (Click HERE to see the original post about this quilt.) 

My quilt is patterned after Jodie Davis' quilt Strip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah which was featured in Fons and Porters' Easy Quilts. If I'm not mistaken, this is the first quilt I made using exclusively solids. I loved it and was hooked!

I don't know why it took so long to finish this. It quilted up very nicely and in not much time at all. No matter the reason, it's done now and has been used the last few days in these sub-zero temperatures.

It measures 62" x 70" and is perfect for snuggling

Don't they go well together? I love them!!

Well, since Plan B was done and it was only January 2nd, I decided to pull out the pattern from Plan A and start working on that. So what if I didn't finish it? I have another project that was made just for this hop AND I finished a UFO. I could still start this and show my progress. Besides the original plan was to use this hop as the swift kick in the "you know what" to get started on this project. 

So I took the plunge and got busy. Really, the worst case scenario is that I would have another UFO. It wouldn't be my first and I'm sure it wouldn't be my last. :-)

Well, I finished the top on January 4th! Click HERE, HERE, and HERE to see my progress as it was happening. 

The quilt is called Groove and it's by Emily Cier of Carolina Patchworks. 

This quilt looks daunting, but it really isn't difficult to make. The pattern is very well organized with great cutting charts and assembly diagrams. Also, it has really good instructions and diagrams on how to construct curves. Plus, the pattern includes the instructions for five (5) sizes! Yep, FIVE sizes!!

When I was choosing colors for this quilt, I saw a couple of flower bouquets that had colors that I loved. I took a picture and went on the search for just the right fabrics. Here's a picture of the original two pictures. (I think I deleted the original in my camera.) 

I'm very happy with my fabrics and my husband LOVES this quilt. Now I just have to figure out how to quilt it.

Speaking of my husband. He is such a great guy! On Sunday when I asked him if he thought it would be possible to get a picture of this quilt so I could show it for the hop, he knew exactly what I was asking and quickly translated that into: "Dear, would you please stand on the balcony while it's cold and snowy so I can take a picture of this quilt?" 

It's a good thing we didn't wait a day or this picture would not have happened. We ended up with even more snow, sub-zero temperatures and 30 mph winds.  :-)

I love the coffee can holding down the right side of the quilt and the weeds almost smack dab in the middle of the lower edge of the quilt. But hey, we have the picture! :-)

Thanks for stopping by. 

Enjoy the eye candy you'll see today and the rest of the hop.

Thanks again Madame Samm and Carol. 

This has been so much fun.