I'm Hosting TGIFF This Weekend! Let's Get This Finishing Party Started!

Hello, and happy (almost) Friday! I'm delighted to be hosting TGIFF (Thank Goodness It's Finally Finished) Friday linky party again this week. I feel like this is the Quilt Blogging Equivalent of hosting SNL (Saturday Night Live).  Just like the SNL guest hosts, I even have "musical guests" to announce, because both of my sons will be home from college for a 4-day "Fall Break" weekend and I've volunteered their bass voices up to my choir director.  At least I didn't volunteer them to be acolytes and crucifers at the early service...  Mwahahaha!!!  😇

However, unlike the guest hosts of SNL, I don't have a monologue full of witty political jokes and I'm not here to promote my newest film.  Lucky for all of you!  

Alright, so let's get on with it!  I have two beautiful client finishes plus one small personal finish to share with you today:

#1: Liz's Deco Baby Finish

46 x 52 Deco Baby Quilt with Orange Zest E2E Quilting

When Deco quilts (a new pattern from Lo & Behold Stitchery, available here) started popping up in my Instagram feed a month or two ago, I was instantly smitten with the unusual layout and dramatic impact of the Art Deco-inspired piecing design.  I am loving this quilt in EVERY colorway, EVERY rendition that I've seen so far.  So I was DELIGHTED when my client Liz (on Instagram as @lovelizziee) reached out to me to quilt her baby size Deco quilt for her.  

Orange Zest E2E Stitched in Glide Thread, Apricot Blush

The quilting design we chose is Orange Zest by Karlee Porter and I quilted it in Glide thread, Apricot Blush color.  The batting is Quilter's Dream Bamboo.  

"Heartbroken": A Valentine's Day Mini for the Scrappy Improv Quilting Blog Hop Tour

Woo-hoo!  It's finally my turn to share my project on the Scrappy Improv Quilting blog hop, hosted by Kelly Young of My Quilt Infatuation in conjunction with the release of her newest book!  When Kelly asked me to participate several months ago, I was thrilled to accept because: 1. I have never done ANY improv quilting before and it's something I've been wanting to try anyway, and 2. the "mini quilt" projects in Kelly's book are small and manageable, most finishing at 24" x 24" like the one I'm sharing today.  Great size for experimenting with new techniques when you're not sure you are ready to commit to a huge bed quilt.  

My 24 x 24 "Heartbroken" Improv Mini with Rose Texture B2B Quilting Design

The project I was assigned is called "Heartstruck" in Kelly's book, and it's the Valentine's Day project from her Seasonal Sensations chapter.  Most projects in this book finish at 24" x 24", by the way, which is awesome for your front door,  entryway, classroom, office  -- any space you're wanting to brighten up with a splash of quilty cheer that can be swapped out regularly so you never get tired of any one quilt.  Since many of my clients drop off and pick up their quilts from my home, I'm thinking of making a whole series of these mini quilts to display on my front door to welcome new clients -- and to reassure them that yes, this IS the right house where the quilter lives!

Kelly's 24 x 24 "Heartstrings" Improv Mini, As Featured In Her Book

Studying Kelly's "Heartstrings" mini, I love how her arrows direct your eye through the quilt in a back-and-forth motion and I was also excited about all of the empty "negative" background space because that's a great opportunity for dramatic quilting to make an impact. When Kelly invited me to participate in the blog hop, she encouraged me to "make the project my own" and have fun with it.  So, as much as I like Kelly's Heartstrings mini, I was looking for a way to change it up somehow to make it "mine."  I started thinking about the fact that there were three hearts rather than just two,  kind of like a Love Triangle.  And THAT reminded me of the late Princess Diana's remark in her 1995 BBC interview, about how there were three people in her marriage, making things "a bit crowded."  💔. Aha!  In my version, the top two hearts were going to be lucky lovers who get "struck by Cupid's arrow," but the third one was going to be a broken heart that Cupid passes by.