Saturday, October 30, 2010

Blogger's Quilt Festival

Amy's Creative Side - Blogger's Quilt Festival
Hello, Festival Goers! Thanks for stopping by! This is my second time around participating in Amy's Blogger's Quilting Festival. My first entry was this spring, with my very first quilt, and the festival is what prompted me to start this blog. I have learned so much since then, and am excited that it is Festival time again, and have been working hard to finish my latest project.

Well, the best laid plans.....

Regular readers will know that I had 2 sets of good friends each have twin boys in September, a week apart. I had such fun making twin quilts using Riley Blake Wheels for the first set, blogged here.
I have been working away on the second set, which I intended to show for the Festival. BUT, due to an unscheduled date with my seam ripper, "Twin Quilts Take 2" and I are not on speaking terms at the moment. Don't worry, we'll make up in a day or two and I will likely be showing them to you in the next week or so, but for now, I have stuffed them in the closet and we are "on a break." But I WILL give you a sneak peek :-)
So, for the festival, I decided to revive and oldie but goodie. By "oldie", I mean from June....I am still new at this! But this quilt is special to me as it is THE ONE where I truly fell in love with quilting. It is simple, but sometimes simplicity can be striking.
I named this quilt the Mckinley quilt after its recipient, a sweet little girl adopted by friends following a long struggle with infertility. I wanted to give them something to mark and celebrate the creation of their new family.
I used a Hunky Dory charm pack, some white solid for sashing, and accented the quilt with hand embroidery and some shabby chic flowers. To learn more details about its construction, you can read the original post, here.
I had such a great response to this quilt, that I later posted the free pattern, here. I have had a few readers send me photos of their finished Mckinley quilts, and it makes me so proud that my simple design has inspired some other new quilters!

Speaking of inspiration, don't forget to go and check out the other amazing entries in the Quilt Festival...prepare to be awestruck!

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lovely quilt, - I loved how the fabric flowers contrasted with the rest of the design, yet fit right in with the flowery fabrics.
I loved your twin boys' quilt too, - a simple, strong design. I bet my grandsons would like something similar :-)

quiltmom anna said...

I love McKinley's quilt - the flowers are such a fun addition to your quilt- The twin quilts are very fun too-
Thanks for stopping by the blog to check out the paper weight quilt. I always enjoy the Blogger festival because I get to meet new quilters- I always enjoy meeting a fellow quilter from Western Canada( I am in Edmonton)
I hope you will come and visit again.
Regards,
Anna

Jocelyn said...

I love McKinley's quilt. Love the fabrics, colors and design. Great quilt.

Rachaeldaisy said...

What a beautiful, special quilt!! Those big flowers and the stitched name are so wonderful.

Little Island Quilting said...

Oh Lordy Me...this is well impressive ;-)

Kelli said...

These are gorgeous quilts lovely lady!
You know I am already on the I Love Kristie bandwagon! : )

Lisa said...

this is truly lovely and a very special gift!

Rachel at Stitched in Color said...

So completely unique!!! love it. P.S. I love your site background. Did you find that somewhere or make it yourself?

xoxo Rachel at Stitched in Color

{Leila}Where the Orchids Grow said...

what a sweet quilt :-)

Borderline Quilter said...

I love your quilt...what a beautiful and thoughtful gift!
You are right simple is sometimes just sew beautiful!

Best Wishes
Kay in Scotland

Denise said...

I love this quilt (well all of them really) I really like how you can show off a fabric collection really well with the big blocks. I will definately add this tute to my list of to-dos! Great creation and thanks for sharing!

Rene' said...

Your McKinley quilt is so sweet! I love the simplicity of the pattern and the lovely fabrics you chose. I'm sure it is well loved. It's nice seeing your twin boy's quilt again too....it's one of my favorites. Thanks for sharing!

Angie Padilla said...

Wow, friends with two sets of twins? Sounds like you're going to be having lots of fun - and keeping really busy - in order to provide quilts for them. About the featured quilt, I agree that a simple design like this one is great to be able to showcase beautiful fabrics. It sure is a pretty quilt.(:

Claudia said...

Lovely quilt! I love the flowers - they add a special touch.

Aunt Spicy said...

gosh, all the quilts you have shown are fabulous, I especially love the cars quilts, so fun!

Nadine said...

wow. your quilts are beautiful. thanks for sharing them with us.

Denise :) said...

This is a beautiful creation! :)

Kelly Irene said...

The McKinley quilt is beautiful! I love the Hunky Dory collection, and that quilt pattern is perfect for it.
I hate those unscheduled seam ripper dates. Not. Fun. Maybe you can watch a good show while you rip.

Cecily said...

Totally gorgeous and I can't wait to see the twin quilts!!

myBearpaw said...

Love the pretty fabrics and the flowers!

Miri said...

Terrific quilts! Love the twin quilts!

Paulette said...

These are all great quilts! The McKinley quilt is so fresh and pretty, perfect for a new baby girl.

Carol said...

All of your quilts are lovely.

Anorina @SameliasMum said...

It may be an oldie, but definitely a goodie. I love hunky dory and I think your quilt looks fabulous.