September Quilt Finishes

 

"Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves.

We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves." 

Humbert Wolfe

We're having a clear storm today, hot and sunny. The ocean is sparkling like sequins. By mid-afternoon the winds should reach 50 mph or more. 

Oddly despite annual hurricanes I don't really associate  Fall with wind storms, but all week I've been trying to clean up the pervasive sand that coated everything last week during that unexpected wind event. Scary! My heavy wooden Flag blew away.

I finished two quilts this past September: one small---fast and fun; one fun but long term. I love them both. This is my project round up, for my personal record, so forgive if a bit repetitious or overly photo heavy, please.

First Starry Eyed Jack, a pattern by Jan Patek. He is so cute and happy! Approx. 18" x 18".

I mean[t] him to hang on my entry door,  but so far he is in the bedroom; he makes me smile each morning when I wake up. 

I used rather loud, exuberant prints. Jack wanted to be a pink and orange warty pumpkin! And while the borders could have been sedately high contrast, since this was a just for fun for me project, I went ahead and used goofy Halloween prints, plus some traditionals for color. No rules in Happy Jack Land, right?

I did part machine quilting and part hand quilting.

The pumpkin body is  a bit puffy after washing. Not sure if I should go back and quilt it more or leave well enough alone?

I added wool circles to the corner stones. I love the antique gameboard effect. 

Appliques were needle turn or raw edge, using black quilting thread. I like the accent of the black thread.

For the backing I used  this funny text print. 

Normally I do not use death images on my quilts, but since this is a wall hanger not a sleep under quilt, I went ahead and used this print. [I had ordered the print online thinking it was ravens and crows for my Blackbird quilt; I should look more closely. I like it anyway, no need to be rigid about  images for Halloween, especially.]

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And a final finish on Year in the Country, a vintage pattern by Sarah Sporrer, sent to me from South Africa by blog friend Penny. It dates from the late 1990s, a time when I didn't quilt or buy patterns, but was always a fan of S Sporrer. This quilt was a joy to make and now finished, it gives me so much happiness to see it, temporarily hanging on my  living room wall unit.

Yes, as usual for me, it is awfully bright!  

Maybe someday , a hundred years from now, a collector will enjoy seeing all the different sashing prints, each set of four chosen to represent the the month of the central block. No attempt made to coordinate month to month.

I love when an embellished quilt is all done and the creatures have their eyes and faces, and little treasures added. They really come to life.

hollyhock centers, a beady eye for the Rooster, 

plus a plastic pig I found on the beach as I was making this block.

a winter moon button for the Crow.

The backing is a brilliant yellow Provencal-ish? print I found on FB Marketplace.

My quilter, Lori C, did a wonderful job, using a spaced Star pattern. We always discuss and choose each quilt pattern together, but it is always a surprise, to see how her work finishes the project and gives it dimension and life.

The binding is all saved scraps of binding leftover from other quilts. You know I'm not a scrap quilt person but for some reason I have always carefully hoarded these cutaways for years, wrapped around or folded into Smuckers jelly jars with blue gingham lids.[omg! clutter!]

The final quilt is about 40" x 52". I reduced the pattern to 75% of the original size. I wish I had a place to display it. The bright colors and extremely prim, almost cutesy, images do not work in my cottage. Can it just hang on the jelly cupboard? Or Corner cupboard?

Or can I toss it over the sofa for a few weeks?

As I was mulling this over, I was thinking that if it was done in much more muted tones, brown, grey, blue, entirely, it would be very primitive and actually useful in my home. You can tell how much I loved making this quilt, because here I am two years later, considering making another version. Very uplifting, in our currently nightmare filled world.

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Mo is hiding today. He knows it is too windy to sit out to sew Baby Pineapples' binding---but maybe? 

love

lizzy

gone to the beach.....

instead of all beach pics, today I will sign off with blog readers' darling kitties.

From Kelley. [Kel].

And from Penny:

I think Mo needs a little friend!