Ready, Set, Puppy! / Beauties Pageant 134

Love Boldly by Betsy and Narda

I have been a busy, busy sewist and quilter lately—well, as busy as I can be without actually touching my sewing machine. I’ve been drafting a new pattern (fun!), collating and bagging freshly printed patterns for wholesale (fun! fun!), and plotting new windows treatments for my first floor (not fun, but necessary!). 

This may sound as if I have a bunch of free time on my hands when, actually, the exact opposite is true: My boys’ summer is in full swing and I spend a good part of my days getting them to where they need to be. That’s me, crafter-cum-chauffeur. All this quilty activity is instead me trying to get as much done as possible because we’re getting a puppy next week!

Love Boldly by Barbara

Love Boldly by Simone

We’ve been trying to get a little floof for over a year, and there are some puppers in Rhode Island who will be ready for their new homes over the Fourth of July weekend. My husband, kids, and I are over-the-moon excited. And Rose, our current furry family member? Well, Rose is about to have her world turned upside down by a little sister named Gracie. (For posts on Rose, see Quilting with a Golden Retriever; Rose, the Reluctant Quilt Model; and Rose, Textile Enemy No. 1.)

As you can tell from the accompanying pics, we don’t have any yet of sweet Gracie. (I promise to remedy that.) This post is instead peppered with pics from the recent Love Boldly quilt-along that I hosted on Instagram. I can’t tell you how thrilling it is to see what others create with my patterns. These are beauties for sure. : )

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Seven Quilts Lighter / Beauties Pageant 133

Scrappy Granny Squares

With two school-age boys in my house, I’ve come to accept that the only thing I have control over during the summer is my expectations. That is to say, it’s in my best interest to expect to accomplish little on the quilting front once the school year ends. This makes May and the first half of June all sorts of crazy as I try to check item after item off my quilty to-do list. Among this year’s goals was gifting lap-size quilts to my younger son’s team of educators, paraprofessionals, and therapists. He’s moving on to middle school next year, so it was important to me to mark the occasion with a special sign of my family’s appreciation.

I decided I’d use the opportunity to prune my stash and produce a wide variety of quilts in different palettes and designs. (This is not to say I didn’t buy some new fabric, ha ha!) I started plotting and sewing back in 2020. I made eight quilts and then asked the seven recipients to view the finished projects online, picking out a few of their favorites. I knew I couldn’t give everyone her first choice, but I wanted to give each a quilt she’d like and use.

I was surprised by their comments! I was sure that the most recent finish, my Scrappy Granny Squares, was going to be everyone’s favorite, but it only made the lists of a person or two. The preferred quilt by far was my Ridiculously Easy Jelly Roll Quilt. The corresponding tutorial had been the most popular page on my site for years, and since I rewrote the design as a full pattern, it’s been the most popular PDF on Quilt Pattern Mart. (What is it about that pattern? I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to replicate its success!)

Ridiculously Easy Jell Roll Quilt

My little guy handed out the presents this week, and by all accounts, there were smiles—and at times, tears—from the recipients. That’s a big win in my book!

How do you go about making a quilt that you plan on gifting? Have you ever given people their choice of a selection as I did here?

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• Post your finish in the linky tool. (No links to your own giveaway or linky, please!)
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Transforming Kids' Art into Quilts / Beauties Pageant 132

Bob (48" x 67") by Patti Hyden Coppock. Used with permission.

 

A few years ago, when my older son was still in elementary school, his school invited Jeff Kinney, the author of Wimpy Kid fame, to speak to the students. This experience sparked a cartooning phase for my son. He doodled in notebooks and on scrap paper. He invested in a rather extensive collection of high-end markers. He even penned “The Adventures of Super Mom” (see my synopsis on Instagram here) about his quilt-making mom. But a phase this was, and I was a little sad when it came to an end.

I’ve been thinking, however ... I already designed and made a quilt about my younger son, and I started one in tribute to my husband. Perhaps I could use one of my older son’s drawings as a basis for a quilt. 

When I consider this endeavor, Bob, pictured at the top of the post, immediately comes to mind. He is the creation or Patti Hyden Coppock—or more accurately, a creation of Patti’s grandson, which she then rendered in fabric. Bob showed at QuiltCon 2020 as part of the two-color challenge and won the people’s choice award. It’s easy to see why. 

Patti recently posted a new quilt, based on a drawing from her granddaughter. This one is called Jessica Big Skirt. It’s possible that I love Jessica even more than I do Bob ...

Jessica Big Skirt (56" x 79") by Patti Hyden Coppock. Used with permission.

So that brings me back to the subject of my son’s own artwork. My favorite illustration of his is the masterpiece below. I adore the crying creatures, the dude giving folks the side eye, and the sun signing “love” to everyone.

Is there a quilt in there? I think there may be. What I love about Patti’s quilts, however, is the simplicity and impact of a single character. I’m not sure how I’d transform this artwork, one that’s more complicated, into a quilt, but I am toying around with some ideas. I could sew the foundation of the quilt by hand—although it pains me just to think of that!—along the lines of Annabel Lowe Wrigley’s process. Other details could be appliqued on that base, and I could mimic the black strokes between elements with a thin strip of black bias tape. In any event, consider this project on the back burner, simmering away while I mull over the details.

If you have any experience transforming kids’ artwork into quilts or have seen others do so successfully, I would love to hear about it in the comments. Thank you in advance!

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The pageant rules are simple:

• Post your finish in the linky tool. (No links to your own giveaway or linky, please!)
• Point your readers back here with a text link or use the button above.
• Visit and comment on other participants’ finishes.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter