Seagreen Clamshell and Octopus and Auction time!

My latest in the clamshell series is Mr. Octopus. I shifted to a sea-green color scheme for this one and again worked all from stash. I think I could make nautical quilts for the next 3 years and not run out of fabrics!

I'm also really perfecting my wavy free motion quilting! I might use it on everything going forward! There is a whole mixture of fabrics in here from Tula Pink's Neptune, to Heather Rosas Under The Sea as well as some fabrics with texture like prints.

The back is more of the Grunge print that I used as the 'sky' on the front and more of the green ocean color with my label pieced in.

And it's time again for the Circle of Life Auction at my work, Doylestown Health. The proceeds from this auction go to support our Cancer and Hospice programs. I've donated this quilt to the auction and bidding is held online. So if you've wanted one of my quilts and want to support a good cause at the same time, this is your opportunity! The link is here to view and bid.

Quilt stats:

Quilt name: Clamshells and Octopus

Pattern: original design

Fabrics: stash
Finished size: didn't get final measurements. approx 50"x60"

Finished: September 2016

My christmas quilt - a bee quilt with lessons

Last year I joined the Bee Hive quilting bee run by Blossom Heart Quilts and got put in a wonderful hive of women. We got along so great last year we decided to keep going this year!  More about that later though. My month to bee queen was August and I decided to make a Christmas quilt since I still don't have one. I chose the Ripples Block in red, green and black.  And I'm so thrilled with how this came out! Though it wasn't without drama.

I decided since this was a quilt I would bring out once a year that I wanted to so some special quilting on it. I have also been taking  Amy Johnson's Craftsy class "Quilting With Rulers on a Home Machine" and wanted to try out my new skills. By the way, the class is wonderful! I loved it so much I'm taking her 2nd class. And here are the results!

I even used a sparkly thread for those stars. It was very finicky to work with, but the sparkle it adds was totally worth it. It was very hard to photograph and capture it, but I tried...

The drama came in when I washed it. When the quilt came out, it had bled ALL over. This was despite having about 6 Color Catchers in the wash with it.

 This is one small area, but the entire thing looked like this. I literally stood in my laundry room and cried! All the work my bee mates and put into it and all the work I had done quilting and it was a MESS! Then I hit up the internet.  People recommended a product called Synthropol which is apparently sold in quilt shops. However, it was Sunday evening so that wasn't going to happen.  A friend from my guild told me that Blue Dawn has the same chemical make up as Synthropol and what it does is keep the dies in the water from adhering to your fabric.  So I got out a big plastic bin and filled it with water, Dawn, my quilt and a bunch of color catchers. I let it soak overnight and in the morning, dumped out the pink water and pulled out the color catchers which were dark pink.   I soaked it again all day and this time the water ran clear.  I let the quilt line dry and to my immense relief it looks SO much better!

There are a couple of small spots, but for the most part, you'd have to be looking for them to see them.  And the lesson I've learned going forward... add 1 cup of white vinegar to your wash load with a fresh quilt. It will also keep the dyes from sticking to your quilt!

So back to the photos. Here are some more close ups of my quilting...

 The back still needs its label (i have it ready!)

And the binding is a fun polka dot.

Many thanks to the ladies in my bee hive. They did tremendous work! I almost hate to put it away until Christmas!!

Quilt stats:

Quilt name: Christmas Ripple

Pattern: Ripple Block

Fabrics: scrappy
Finished size: 48" x 60"

Finished: April 2016