Under Construction

Cut away

This is how the top of the Gray, Mustard and Peacock Quilt looked right before I put it in a box and shipped it to Susan in Seattle last month. She got right back to me with snapshots and I've been remiss in not posting the results sooner.

Cool, right? I love how she chose to cut some and not others. Thanks so much for playing along, Susan! And the dog is a cutie too :)

This is the back. I realized at the last minute I didn't have a piece of fabric for the back so pulled out the fat quarters. It works.

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I'm trying to get back in some good grooves over here. School for Biscuit. School for Mr. H. Sleeping for Oscar (ya, right) Running for me. Routines for everyone. After a summer of vacations it's all taking some adjustment. But it's all good.

Gray, mustard, peacock

I haven't forgotten about it takes two. I just haven't been home much. And when I have been home I've been reading, not sewing.

Meanwhile the first quilt I started for it takes two was languishing, partially done, while others were already out the door and completed.

So two weeks ago a friend and I set up a little system of accountability. We gave oursevles deadlines for personal projects and lo and behold the quilt is done. Didn't turn out quite how I wanted but isn't that the nature of experimentation?

Now it's ready to mail to you.

The quilt colors are inspired by this dress from Project Runway and the completed quilt is a baby size (about 45x45"). The piece is machine quilted with hand stitched binding. All it needs is you!

A winner will be chosen from the comments and the winner will finish the quilt and then keep it.

By leaving a comment you agree that you:

• have a sense of adventure and desire to play along
• live in the U.S. so shipping is cheap(er) or you're willing to chip in to pay for shipping
• will follow the instructions provided to complete the quilt within one week of receipt (give or take)
• will share photos with Melissa (the photos are key otherwise this just isn't any fun at all--I have no idea what this is going to look like and really want to see it completed!)

Special requirements for this project:

To finish this quilt, the winner will need a pair of sharp fabric/sewing scissors. That's it!

Ready to go? Leave a comment on this post and make sure it includes your email address. Comments will be open for only a few days (closing at 6 pm on Thursday). I'll email the winner Thursday night and will need your address ASAP to ship the quilt Friday before I leave on yet another trip ;) Comments closed, Susan won!

In the comments I'd love to hear your current favorite color combo. I really can't get over the gray, mustard and peacock. Or you can just say, "pick me!"

Winner

The winner of the drawing for the Irresistable quilt was.....KrisFun! Navy Blue it is! Email me KrisFun--your email bounced! Thanks to everyone who entered and I loved reading your favorite colors. Lisa's was my absolute favorite with a link to a website and some numbers (what was that? CMYK?)

Can't wait to see how it works for KrisFun.

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Here's my baby looking very skeptical about boating. It was a beautiful evening on the lake.

Irresistable

I think it's time for another It Takes Two quilt project! I finished the sample of this "Irresistable" quilt the other day and I'm pretty excited about it.

The details of this project can be found here.

To enter you need to:

• have a washing machine (front loaders are fine)
• be willing to PHOTOGRAPH your finished quilt and EMAIL me photos within one week of receiving the quilt. (of course you can also post your results on your blog/flickr/whatever)

This quilt will be smallish--probably a wallhanging size. I'm still making as it as it will be partially made to order for the winner.

Contest over. Winner is: KrisFun!

All readers in the United States are encouraged to enter to win this quilt by leaving a comment below. Your comment must include your favorite color. Be specific! Not "blue" but "powder blue" or "navy blue" or "teal blue." I'll draw the winner this Friday night, May 18 so enter by 6 pm.

Good luck and thanks for playing along!

Picture windows--done!

I'm so excited! The first quilt of my It Takes Two project came out even better than I could have expected. My mom won the drawing (which totally sounds like a set up but it wasn't). These are the directions I sent her.

She employed her class full of preschoolers to get the quilt wet.

 

Teams of kids hit it with the spray bottle.

 

This is what it looked like all wet (before the colors bled over night)

After letting it set a bit my mom rinsed, washed and dried the quilt. The colors faded to what you saw in the first image but still pretty vibrant. I'm amazed you can actually tell what I was trying to make! (mountains in case you can't actually tell :)

I need to finish up the next two projects which are already in progress. So excited!

Who needs a random number generator anyway?

We had 10 entrants in the Picture Windows give away--the first in my It Takes Two textile experiment.

And the winner is......as selected from my handful of little slips of paper...Mark!

Who is actually my mom :) It was random, promise!

I'll get this in the mail and she and her preschool class will continue the experiment for us all. Can't wait to see the photos! And if you didn't win, stay tuned, a few more quilts coming and I think I like the next two better than the first....

Thanks for playing!

 

Picture windows

Drawing is now closed--winner was Mark!

First up in my little experiment--Picture Windows.

It may not look like much now but this quilt is full of color.

It's constructed of muslin with brown cotton sashing and printed binding. Flannel provides a lightweight batting.

The entire piece is machine quilted. The size is approximately 40x52 inches.

All this quilt needs is YOU.

A winner will be chosen from the comments and the winner will keep the finished quilt.

By leaving a comment you agree that you:

• have a sense of adventure and desire to play along
• live in the U.S. so shipping is cheap(er) or you're willing to chip in to pay for shipping
• will follow the instructions provided to complete the quilt within one week of receipt
• will share photos with Melissa (the photos are key otherwise this just isn't any fun at all--I have no idea what this is going to look like and really want to see it completed!)

Special requirements for this project (this will vary for every project):

To finish this quilt, the winner will need a flat surface that is larger than the quilt and unable to be stained or damaged by water. A grass lawn is pretty much the most ideal surface.

Ready to go? Leave a comment on this post and make sure it includes your email address. Comments will be open for one week (closing on Sunday April 22). I'll announce the winner and ship the quilt next Monday.

 

Textile experiments

With thanks to my friend for the perfect name I'm finally ready to introduce this idea on the blog. I've been thinking for months about a series of, for lack of a better term, "interactive" quilts and textiles. Basically I create a piece that is in some way incomplete and then someone else finishes it.

Sort of like those stories where one person writes a sentence and passes it to the next. But with a quilt.

Here's how "it takes two" is going to work:

• I create a piece (a small quilt, pillow cover or other project).
• I post a photo of that incomplete piece on the blog and open it up for comments.
• Anyone who in the United States who is interested in playing along leaves a comment (if you're outside the U.S. and willing to chip in for shipping please join in--I'll pay for domestic shipping)
• I'll select a winner (probably randomly but maybe not) from among all the comments
• I'll mail the piece to the winner
• Within one week of receipt the winner will complete the quilt following the instructions provided
• The winner will take a photo of the completed quilt and email it to me and/or post it on their own blog/flickr etc.
• The winner keeps the finished project good or bad as it may be.

I know it all sounds a bit odd but I'm really excited about this. I have at least 10 ideas in mind and 3 projects already complete or partially complete. I hope to post once a month or so until I run out of steam.

Want to play? I'll post the first quilt today!

Thanks so much for reading and hopefully for playing along.