Baby Circles

Believe me, this quilt was a long time in the making!!  

I initially started it back in 2007, intending to make one of those reversible orange peel quilts.  After cutting out over 300 squares of 30's prints and over 300 squares of the solid Kona yellow, tracing around an old CD for a template for my stitching lines, stitching them together, and trimming each set with pinking shears, I decided the project was going to be way too time consuming once I got to the part where I had to turn the circles inside out and press them.  I loved the quilt idea, but I didn't care for the process or how they looked once I stitched them together!

So, I tucked all the supplies away in a plastic storage bin and stuck them in the closet.

After moving the bin every time I reorganized the closet in my quilt studio, I decided I needed to either do something with them or toss them out.  Of course, I couldn't bear to throw them away....

Thankfully I got an inspiration of what to do with them, based on Cluck Cluck Sew's Raw Edge Circle Quilt.  I trimmed off all the stitched lines I had painstakingly stitched and ended up with plain old circles.  They worked perfectly for the raw edge applique method outlined in Allison's tutorial.

This quilt ended up being 35x44", simply because that's how much Kona Aqua I had left over from making my Suburbs quilt.

I had basted it a while ago, then let it sit because I just wasn't sure how I wanted to quilt it other than stippling it.   But, stippling seems to be the best fit for this vintage-feeling baby quilt.

I've already started on a full-size version with a soft pink solid, and probably still have enough circles left for another one!

Quilt Stats:

Baby Circles

35x44"

Batting:  Warm & White

Thread:  Aurifil 50 wt, color #2311

On My Design Wall

Today

There's nothing better than basting a quilt in your jammies (sorry for the BAD picture quality, but it's so dark outside today) ....

I could take a bath in these colors (actually, I need one!) ....

... and these dots.

I never get tired of them!

Are you impressed with my seam matching abilities?

Happy Friday!

Bull's-eye Pillow

I stitched this "Baby Bull's-eye" pillow last evening; the circles are left over from the "Bull's-eye" quilt I stitched earlier in the year (pictured in this post) as well as referenced here, here, and here.  It was inspired by this photo on Allison Harris' Cluck Cluck Sew blog.  I love it!

The back is a Sunday Morning Quilts-inspired slab of patchwork in an attempt to use up all the scraps I have left from the original Bull's-eye quilt.  I have cut out blocks for two other quilts from these scraps, and still have quite a few small pieces left over!  This slab was going to be a runner for the hutch in my quilt studio, but it just felt too busy for the room.  However, it works fine as the back of this pillow!

The circles are simply machine stitched, using the raw-edge applique method.  I used Essex Linen for the background - the first I've tried using it.  I like it!  I like the texture it adds.

I took a few more pictures indoors attempting to get a decent shot of the pillow.  How in the world does one take pictures at this time of year??!!  Everything is white outside, and there's not enough light indoors these days!!

I still have lots more circles left over.....  I think I'll stitch a second pillow since I have enough patchwork to make another back like this one, then maybe do some wall art for my sewing room.