Summertime - Free Pattern

Summertime and the living is easy.  Warm days, sunny skies, picnics, and ice-cold watermelon.  And not an ant in sight... at least not on my "Summertime" table runner, that is.  "Summertime" is a Web Extra for Quilters Newsletter's August/September 2013 issue.  Click here for the free pattern.

I used patchwork in cream and two shades of red to create the gingham picnic cloth center of my quilt. The watermelon border is comprised of a cream print and a red print with little black flowers that mimic watermelon seeds.  To achieve the watermelon slice effect, I first sewed a narrow cream piping to the scalloped edge and then used a green print for the binding and voilà... a watermelon rind.  Here's a close-up of the edge:

This was my first time using a scalloped edge and even with the cream piping, it wasn't too tricky.  But you could always use the cream piping/green binding on a squared off outer edge and still end up with a watermelon-y vibe.

I quilted this table runner by hand using a big stitch and perle cotton.  I love how the big stitch looks - kind of casual and homespun - but let's be honest, I use it because it's fast!

So there you have it.  My ode to summer.  And remember...

Happy quilting!

Vermont Quilt Festival Loot

On Saturday I cashed in a year's worth of change and my credit card reward points and met my mom at the Vermont Quilt Festival.  The contest quilts were beautiful and the antique quilts lovely.  There was a Dear Jane exhibit and we got to see the amazing work of quilt artist Jo Diggs.  But lets be honest, we were there to shop... and shop we did.

In the past, my mom and I lived close enough to each other that we would ride to the festival together and spend the entire 2 hour trip home fondling our fabric; oohing and ahhing over our purchases and discussing the possibilities.  That ride home was almost as much fun as the shopping itself.  But now that my parents have retired to New Hampshire's Great North Woods, my mom and I had to drive in separate cars -- sigh.

Since I couldn't share the fabric shopping afterglow with my mom, I've decided to have a little show and tell.



First of all, the fabric...

Fall colors, yummy.  That's navy blue with the orange in the homespun pack.  Love that combination.  

Is July 2nd too early to start thinking about pumpkin pie?

 I can never walk away from a good red fabric.  I LOVE red.  

And the blue and green fabrics just went so well with the red.

The top two fabrics are from Lynette Anderson's Hollyhock Cottage fabric line.

Her fabrics are so whimsical and the colors so pretty!

Now on to the wool...

There was so much beautiful wool at the festival this year.  I bought the Primitive Gatherings charm pack on top for inspiration because the colors were great.  I must have been channeling Christmas with the rest.  I know, I know, July 2nd is definitely too early to start thinking about Christmas cookies.

And finally, the patterns...

Actually really only one pattern.  I love handwork and miniatures and couldn't resist this little Bareroots pattern.  The other two projects came from Pinwheels and have sayings printed on Daiwabo fabric.  After you stitch them up, you soak the fabric and the blue disappears.  Very cute as a pillow or in a frame.

That's it!  I wish there was more, but as usual, I was like a deer in the headlights for the first couple hours of shopping.  So much loveliness, so little decisiveness.  But all in all, I managed to acquire a pretty good pile of loot AND I came home with enough leftover cash to make a nice start on next year's VQF mad money.  Can't wait!!