Saturday, August 8, 2015

Extreme Sports Quilt and needle holes in my fingers

...... a finish








It's been a lovely week, bright early mornings with golden pink sunrises, followed by warm sunny days that quickly burn off the frosts, then crisp, cold nights.  It's been a week of stitching and friends and then back to the stitching......so much so, I have needle holes in my finger tips. I had to finish the Extreme Sports quilt by today, it had to be ready to go to Adelaide with the granny of the 4 yr old birthday boy. And I did it...a few late nights and oh yes, those needle holes from stitching down the binding .....yes, I know about thimbles but find them awkward to use.

There's a back story to the Extreme Sports fabric.  I bought it to make my grandson a quilt, back when I'd never made a quilt before.  Probably why it never got made, I really had no idea what to do with all those different coloured squares. That grandson is now a 21 year old and a dad to his own little one....a wee girl, and when offered, he politely refused an Extreme Sport quilt for his little princess, and thought he was too grown up now for a kid's quilt...fair enough.

So when I came across that 20 year old fabric in a tidy-up, I knew it was time, and had just the recipient....a friend's grandson with a birthday coming up, and as she was travelling south for it, no postage required. And I had more of an idea what to do with those odd squares now, or more confident anyway about "trying something/anything".

As red and blue were most predominant in each square, I used both these colours to frame and sash - first a small border in solid blue, then the rows sashed in a subtle red check, with cornerstones for interest.  The finished quilt measured 46 x 66, is backed with a lovely soft thrifted cotton sheet in blue checks, and I chose a  black and white check to bind it, echoing the iconic chequered flag of motor racing. With it's bamboo/ cotton mix batting, and  minimal grid quilting, it's a soft and cuddly, snuggle -in -to - watch - tv, kid friendly quilt.  I think Lucas will like it, yes definitely.

Now that Extreme Sports is done and gone, next on my to-do list is to catch up with the rainbow scrap challenge at superscrappy.blogspot.com.au/.  I remember organising my green scraps for June I think, and that was as far as I got.  So scrappy blocks and  finishing my August  F2F blocks for Susan desertskyquilts.wordpress.com/ is on the agenda for tomorrow, along with some time in the garden.

so till next time....

9 comments:

  1. It's a fabulous quilt, Nanette! Love the story behind it too :-)

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    1. Thankyou Maria...but why aren't you out exploring Vancouver instead of visiting my bog:) (lovely to see you here though)

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  2. See this is exactly why we must always hold onto everything in our stash - eventually we learn how to use whatever it is and the right person comes along! :-) Brilliant story!

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    1. I agree Pauline.....and my cupboards, plastic tubs and out of the way drawers attest to that.....I hold onto lots of "stuff". It's good to look back and be able to see my quilting journey so clearly.

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  3. You've spent the time between buying the fabric and making the quilt honing your skills! It's a great quilt for a small boy, and dare I say it, for some girls. Lovely work!

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    1. Kate...you're being allowed to comment, great to see you here. I was surprised my extreme sport mad grandson didn't snap it up, I agree, it would be perfect for some girls.....I guess fatherhood has changed him somewhat. Thanks, too, for your kind words.

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    2. I know! It's good to be allowed back. I try every time, but this time it just worked...

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  4. Awesome designs.I loved it.these are very nice.Thanks for share

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  5. I must appreciate the way you have expressed your feelings through your blog!

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