Fun With Bricks

 Fun With Bricks is a memory quilt I made for my niece.

The idea started with a collection of bandana handkerchiefs that were her father's "trademark" of sorts.  His passion in life was the outdoors.  His occupation was landscaper.  The bandanas were a necessity because all his life he suffered from a myriad of allergies.  She sent along a few other pieces she had collected (6 total elements) and asked "will you make me a quilt."

 The pattern "Fun With Bricks" from Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville fit the bill in a number of ways.  It allowed me to use a large variety of fabrics so I could make this "mish mash" blend together, it presented a constant diagonal pattern to showcase the Disney print containing Tigger (my nieces nickname given to her by her father as a baby) that represents a thread common to her life.  (and Roo, a nickname she has given her partner)  And last but not least, it represents an aspect of her father's life.  He had a knack for taking discarded sidewalk bricks and turning them into works of art in patios and other garden features.  The smaller photos below are my attempt to show the elements provided and the back of the quilt. 

The kindergarden numbers I inserted with MSPaint point out the pieces in the box she sent. 
1.  fishing related fabrics
2.  Disney fabric
3. Bandanas in red, blue, and orange
4.  A heart motif
5.  A baby onsie with a phrase she liked
and 6. a frog (he didn't seem to fit on the front so I put him on the back) the backing fabric is a piece I bought just for Tigger.  This was the perfect time to give it to her.

A celebration of life in 6 quilts

Memory Quilts are often made from a loved ones clothing.  These 6 quilts contain the work clothes, dress clothes, and play clothes of a dear friend of ours.  Each has some special memories for the recipient making each one original.  One for his wife and each of their children.  It has been a special journey for me to make these.  I trust they will be treasured by all who remember him. 

Easy Street

My first mystery quilt and the largest quilt I've ever put together (not quilted yet) also the most pieces I ever put into one quilt.  2377 pieces according to another Easy Street maker (I didn't count them as I went along and I'll take her word for it).  Pattern can be found on Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville.com

My first spiral on a quilt

My first experiment in spirals was this black and yellow.  I drafted it on a spiral graph paper I found online.  It wasn't quite what I had in mind but now that it has evolved into this joyful little quilt, I'm head of heels in love with it.  The bright happy background almost steals the show. These triangles are much easier than the flying geese of the previous quilt.  

Flying the Archimedean Spiral

Flying the Archimedean Spiral

For “Taking Flight” AAC Quilt Challenge

Challenge Fabric and Rules

Here is my quilt for the Appalachian Art Center's 2012 Quilt Challenge.  To the right is the packet I purchased for their fundraiser.  I wasn't immediatly inspired to use these 3 fabrics, but carried them to my stash of fabric to look for something to go with these pretty batiks.  I was sure I did not want to make a pastel quilt with these pink and purple batiks but decided to challenge myself further by deciding not to buy any new fabric for this.  I decided upon the spiral, stole the sunset-ish fabric from my landscape bin and started designing.  Credit to Mrs. Haddock (my math expert and daughter) for giving me a name to google to find this geometric wonder.  Also credit to quilter Barbara Olson who did an HGTV program that started the spiral investigation.  This is the second spiral design I've done, I'm still facinated by them so there will probably be more.