Kisses in Progress

I'm making progress on our anniversary quilt. These were some of the blocks yesterday. The blocks are 30" by 35''. By the end of the night I had the top together. It wasn't hard, there are only 9 of these giant blocks together to make up the king-sized quilt top.

The design for this top comes directly from Kananaskis. When Hubby saw it he said it was one of his favourite quilts I'd ever made. I knew I was going to do big blocks, but that pretty much sealed the deal.

So, I've got 6 weeks to finish it up. Once I work up the energy and flexibility to baste the thing. Did I mention it was king-sized?

Are Xs the hugs or kisses of Xs and Os? I routinely have this debate with my husband. I say Xs are the kisses and he argues the opposite. These are the things you talk about after almost 16 years together. What does it matter so long as there are still Xs and Os in your life?

Kananaskis

Kananaskis

Roughly 38'' by 50''

Inspired entirely by the rivers flowing through the Rocky Mountains near my home. And by the activities like camping and paddling that happen on or near those rivers.

This is a baby quilt for my still youngest nephew, the second son of my brother- and sister-in-law. He is a paddler and she is the driver for the paddlers. They've spent a big chunk of their adult lives by the Kananaskis. I was quite stuck on what to make for a baby quilt for this nephew, after the precedent I'd set with Your Parents Are Cool. Then we were all camping together this summer, on the shore of another river. Inspiration hit and this quilt was born.

Honestly, this was a pretty easy quilt to make - in my head. Put the strips together for the back, slice, and resew with the turquoise strips. Yeah, no. But I made it work in a way I'm really happy with. I added a contrasting back, quilted it with random straight lines in turquoise. Not too much quilting so it would stay soft and cuddly. Perfect for babies or a stuffed moose.

And then attempt to photograph it with four kids around...

Ah, that's better. With the recipient, my adorable nephew.

We Have a Winner!

Popping in to share the good news for our winner.

Blue Crab said:

I love grey with yellow. It works with so many other colors too. I've been trying to get enough grey to make an all grey quilt, but I'm sure I'd have to have some sore of other color as an accent.

It sounds like this fat quarter pack and pattern will be a great addition to her stash.

Thank-you everyone for entering. And thank-you to Jan and Cara for bringing about such a great giveaway.

Kinda, Sorta, Suns...

Ignore the fact that those aren't really circles. Or think of them as organic suns.

I'm so close to finishing up the quilting my To a T quilt. After taking the first machine quilting class from Ana Buzzalino I decided I needed to push myself a little. I doodled and doodled. Then I basted, hoping that process would force me to make a decision. I certainly had some time to think - basting took me a while with the belly in the way!

I was pinning on a block that has the gorgeous orange print, Moira, from Echo by Lotta Jansdotter when the inspiration hit. My sketch and my reality aren't actually all that close to the design on the print, but it is the idea. And Lotta's print doesn't have perfect circles either.

I'm using Aurifil 50wt thread to quilt this. A few weeks ago I won a pack of the Mark Lipinski Basics collection by Aurifil - lucky me! One of the beige threads was perfect. And it works fantastically with the purples I've put on the back.

Binding this week...