Peachy

For FAITH Circle's  July quilt assignment I chose Rachel/Wooden Spoon Quilts' Raspberry Kiss block, upsized to 12 1/2" unfinished. The coral and yellow palette was an unusual one for me, but it was definitely cheery. I asked for backgrounds that were black and white or gray and white low-volume prints, white on white prints, or a very pale gray solid.

I kind of forgot my original plan once the blocks started coming in, and when I put them all on the design wall, I arranged them 'square'. A friend happened to stop by and saw them and mentioned how she thought they'd look good set on point, and lightbulb! I remembered that was what I had meant to do. So I rearranged them, made a couple more blocks to fill in gaps, and set to work cutting setting triangles. I referred to this resource for the calculations needed.

 

For backing I was pleased to find Thomas Knauer's Frippery in my stash to use as the main fabric, and paired it with some yellow Michael Miller Ta Dots to bring it to size.

 

Quilting was done with  Aurifil 50wt #2021 (Natural White) in a serpentine stitch cross-hatch, leaving the quilt very soft and cuddly. Binding was most more of those Michael Miller Ta Dots, accented with just a bit of Carolyn Friedlander's Architextures crosshatch print.



 

Seeing as this sweet finish will be heading soon to Restore Innocence, Faith Circle's chosen charity, I washed it right up, and had it in the car throughout our busy weekend, just in case we found a setting for a quick photo shoot. Finally, heading home after our last commitment, I noticed a neighborhood park with a charming trellis which suited our needs perfectly. The end.

 

This project was on my 2015 Finish-A-Long Q3 List. Linking up with Fabric Tuesday,  Sew Cute Tuesday, and Finish It Up Friday.

More Kisses

There's always a quandary when it's my turn to be a bee mama and choose a quilt plan for the group. At least it is for me. And it was no different as I mulled over options for FAITH Circle for July. The palette was the easiest - inspired by a flower bed at the airport as we were coming home from a recent trip to visit our son and daughter-in-law. Coral and yellow - totally not my norm, but something about the mix seemed just right.

Though I expect my bee-mates to use mostly prints in these colors, I did check my Kona card to give them a closer idea of the colors I'm looking for: Corn Yellow, Canary, Buttercup, Coral, Nectarine, Mango. And for the record, I'm fine if they use these actual solids too.

After much hemming and hawing, I chose a current favorite around the interweb, Rachel/Wooden Spoon Quilts' Raspberry Kiss block. Below is the quilt that pushed me over the edge. It's by Brittney/bselbyquilting on Instagram, and I appreciate her consent in letting me post it to share with FAITH Circle.

photo courtesy of Brittney Selby

Rachel's tutorial makes a 4 1/4" block, so I asked her if she'd mind if I up-sized it for my bee's use, and she kindly gave permission.

So I'm asking my bee mates to make three blocks following Rachel's tutorial, except with these adjusted cutting directions:
4 - 2 1/2" squares + 2 - 6" squares (cut diagonally) for background
2 - 2 1/2" squares + 1 - 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangle for cross
Note that I stitched my blocks with a scant quarter inch and they finished at 9 1/8".

As you can see in my sample blocks, for the backgrounds, I've also chosen black and white or gray and white low-volume prints, white on white prints, or a very pale gray, such as Kona Ash (not shown). A mix of these is fine in each block.

It's always fun to see the blocks start coming in and here's another quilt to add to the 'to-do' list for next month!