On the Fence

 Two years after it began, Juicy Fruit is finished. And she's a cheery darling!

 With excellent help from members of the Mid-Century Modern Bee, Juicy Fruit is made of 200 six-inch churn dash blocks, 5 twelve-inch blocks and one large 18-inch churn dash. I collected them on two different occasions when my month as queen of the bee rolled around in 2013 and, again, in 2014.

 Starting out with red, pink and orange, I'm super happy that I added yellow and white to the color combination in 2014. Square Elements, in black, made a great contrast for the binding on the queen size quilt.

 With all the seams making up the quilt top, I decided to go with a 108" wide backing this time. The neutral grey/white polka dot tones down the front a bit. (If that is even possible!). I top stitched some extra six-inch blocks and the signature blocks onto the backing before I quilted.

 The postman was kept busy delivering pretties from as far away as Australia and Canada, as well as Florida, Washington, Texas, California, Colorado, Minnesota, and Ohio. I'm so privileged to be a part of this group of excellent quilters! Thank you, ladies, for helping with this wonderful project.

 My quilting is never fancy. I call it utilitarian, actually. This time I free handed leaves and vines all over the top thinking that leaves went well with the "Juicy Fruit" name.

 As I quilted, I again admired all of the bright fabric combinations included in this scrappy style quilt... my favorite kind. Oh how I love it so!

 On a cold winter day, with not a green leaf in sight, it brought much sunshine to my soul as I snapped photos of this white fence near my home in the country.

 Now, I just hope that the bright color scheme doesn't actually glow in the dark and keep us awake at night!

It's Finally a Top!

Honestly, there were times when I wondered if I'd ever finish sewing blocks for this quilt! But, oh, I am so glad that I didn't quit!

 There are a lot of seams, let me tell you. Most are pressed open. Sigh. Enough said!

 For those who wonder, the quilt top is made up of 195 six inch-churn dash blocks, plus 5 twelve-inch blocks and one large eighteen-inch churn dash.

 The bright orange, pink, red, yellow and white scrappy fabrics look stunning and cheerful posing among the fall pumpkins, don't you think!

 Many of the blocks were made for me by my talented bee-mates in the Mid-Century Modern Bee. Begun in 2013, the gals tolerated making the churn dash blocks, not just once, but twice, when my month as the Queen Bee rolled around. I can never thank you enough ladies!

 I can already tell that this is going to be among my top favorite quilts of all time! 

Now, to choose a backing and get the quilting done. Winter is on the way!

Ode to Cheery Churn Dash

Over the last month, the mail man has been kindly adding to my growing pile of cheery churn dash blocks. It's been so exciting!

It all started with this darling! It was a year ago, in January, that my friends from the Mid-Century Modern Bee created blocks for me during my month as the Queen Bee. I posted a tutorial here with a quick way to make them.

I remember the excitement when the first few blocks began to arrive!

By the end of January 2013, I had a nice assortment of blocks in my chosen colors of pink, red, and orange. Juicy Fruit became it's name. I loved it so!

Often one to not leave well enough alone, I soon decided that my throw size quilt should really be bed size. Oh, and wouldn't it be fun to throw in a few large size blocks, I commented to Linda and Suz who each soon gifted me with a twelve inch beauty.

Over the last year, I've been making more 6 inch churn dash blocks every now and then. Last summer, I even spent one whole retreat day making them.

That's when I got the idea to begin adding some yellow and white into my bright pallet. 

When my turn to be the MCM Queen Bee rolled around again, I decided to get serious about finishing my Juicy Fruit quilt. I again asked the members to sew  up more churn dash blocks to add to my collection. No one complained, I hope!

I laid their additions all out together to admire. Who can't smile when you look at that!?

Just in case you are interested in the numbers up to this point I counted them all. There are 24 full size blocks each made up of 4 small churn dashes. Then, I also have 70 single six-inch churn dash blocks. Yes, that's right folks, that's 166 little churn dashes tucked away just waiting to come out and play!

Without my friends I would have never gotten to this point. (Isn't that how life is with just about everything?) I'm planning to finish up the remaining 34 six inch blocks that I need plus a few more larger churn dashes at a weekend retreat coming up in mid April. I'll finish this, I promise!

Balm Sewing

Today, I spent an enjoyable few hours making my April blocks for The Mid-Century Modern Bee.

My favorite radio station was playing in the background as I sewed. When news about the  tragic explosions at the Boston Marathon filled the waves, I was glad that I had already chosen to use a text print inscribed with the US Pledge of Allegiance.

This little pink churn dash is probably my favorite of the four that I completed as I love all of the prints included. Isn't that little sewing machine just so cute!

The four six-inch blocks will be going to Carla in Canada. If you aren't familiar with her blog, Grace and Favour, be sure to visit but be prepared to stay awhile looking at all of her pretty quilts!

I also ran my Ambrosia quilt through the washer and dryer to get that crinkly look. It turned out just as cuddly as I had hoped that it would!

 One downside of not pre-washing my fabrics is seeing more shrinkage in the finished product... unless, like me, you like that look. Here's a photo of the quilt before washing. You can see that the quilting design stands out more on the top of the quilt.

Working with colorful fabrics is balm to me, especially on gloomy days like today. Join me in praying for those in Boston.

Cherry Oh! Wordless Wednesday

OK. Just a few words.  The Cherry Churn Dash quilt is one that I made with my quilting friend, Jan Anderson, during one of our weekend sewing marathons. We each made two alike of six different blocks and then traded blocks with each other, putting them together for "friendship quilts". As you can see, cherry fabric was our theme.  My cherry tree supplied the cherries, Pillsbury, the crust, and I added the sugar and love! It was yummy!!