Little Penguin Quilts Through the Year

Little Penguin Quilts Through the Year

Friday, August 21, 2020

Progress in Purple

As I was working on sewing up the purple HSTs into a row for my zigzag quilt, I decided to also see if I could add sashing and cornerstones to the color gradient blocks I made in 2019.


I shared this photo of the blocks earlier this week, laid out on the Kona Aloha I decided on for sashing and borders.


After cutting 2.5 inch sashing strips, and deciding on a darker turquoise solid for the four cornerstones I planned on, you'd think it be a quick project to sew everything together into a small quilt top, right?!

Except that I kept making mistakes, sewing blocks and rows upside down and backwards, and who knows what!  I think I wasted about a half of a spool of thread...

Here's how I left the final row of blocks on Thursday afternoon, with the seam ripper, so I'd remember that the first thing I needed to do on Friday was rip that seam out and start over again!


Finally, Friday afternoon, the center of the quilt was completed correctly and strips cut for the borders.  Here's how it is looking now.

The borders are just laid out here, not sewn yet, but 
that should be easy to accomplish, right?!  (wink!)

This will be a small quilt, about 42.5 inches square, but I have an idea for how I'll use it.  More on that later!

Friday morning, my family surprised my mom with a Zoom birthday party for her 89th birthday!  That was so much fun!  All three of my siblings and 5 out of her 6 grandkids were able to join in, and I think she was pretty surprised.  I attempted a screen shot, and of course you can never get one where everyone looks good all at the same time, lol!

Just noticed my brother isn't in this one - he was at work 
and joined in a little later.

I was so happy we could all do this for her.   Usually Mom is here at our house for her birthday (she lives in Arizona), but you know how this year has gone!  Not a good idea for a person of her age to travel right now.  Fortunately, my sister who also lives down there was able to be with her today. 

Happy Saturday!  Sharing at SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and at 








26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your turquoise quilt is absolutely fabulous! Pinning!

Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com

Vicki in MN said...

I am sure your mom thought that was a great substitute for a birthday party! Love how the turquoise sashing looks with your scrappy blocks.

Libby in TN said...

You must be my sister from another mister! I am especially dislexic with HSTs. Leaving the seam ripper on top was brilliant. When I changed the needle in the machine this week, I wrote on the fabric under the needle, "check needle" to make sure next morning that I had put it in correctly.

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

what a great way to do your mom's birthday. love all your pieces you show and it reminds me once again that I have waiting until close to the end of the month to get my purple blocks done - I need to get the bin out and get fabric picked out

Deb A said...

What a fun way to celebrate Mom! Hope she had a great Birthday. Sorry the top gave you such fits.... it was worth it as it is just lovely.

maggie fellow said...

love the color you have chosen for the sashings.sometimes the simplest things can get all wonky. 89 is a big deal - congrats on having her so long

The Joyful Quilter said...

Happy birthday, Mom, and awesom looking RSC quilt, Diann!!

grammajudyb said...

Oh! I knew that Kona Aloha was going to be great! And the darker cornerstones, perfection! I have to do the same kind of little hints...ripper on top of project,
It’s great your sister was able to be there so your mom could Zoom! We do family zoom every week. Sometimes we are all there, sometimes not! Wish I could add my sister! Since her brain radiation she can’t figure out how to add zoom to her iPad. I wish I lived closer so I could help,
Have a happy and safe week!

Angie said...

That Kona fabric looks great for sashing and cornerstones!
A Zoom birthday party sounds like a great idea. My mom has been resistant to any type of online video meetings - I wish I could convince her to give it a try!

MissPat said...

How wonderful that you could get almost everyone in on the zoom birthday event. At 89, every year deserves a great celebration. The gradient block quilt looks terrific, despite the hiccups on the way. I like the darker corner stones.
Pat

Cathy said...

Happy Birthday to Mom!! The Zoom party looks like fun, and I bet your mom really appreciated it. I love the sashing color you chose for the gradient blocks. And the darker cornerstones really add a bit of sophistication. I can’t wait to see this one finished and learn your plans for this little beauty!!

Sherrie said...

Hi,
Beautiful quilt...love the turquoise fabric...have a great day!

Caffeine Girl said...

In my world, there is no such thing as a quick sewing project. It makes me feel better that even a quilter like you sews things together wrong.
It will be a beautiful quilt when it's done!

Laura said...

Happy, happy birthday to your Mom!

Love the bold turquoise choice! I should be so bold...it looks terrific! :)

Jenny said...

I bet your mother was thrilled with her birthday zoom meeting!

PaintedThread said...

What a fun thing to do for your mom. My sister and I are considering doing the same for my mother's birthday.

I like the addition of the cornerstones to your quilt.

Louise said...

I love the subtly darker turquoise for the cornerstones; it really helps the rainbow gradient blocks to be the stars of the show! Definitely worth all the extra work to rip and re-sew :)

LA Paylor said...

awe happy to you to your mom...
I have days like that,where all the things go in wrong, the tension messes up, the row is backwards...

Cathy said...

I rarely add sashings but when I do I seem to always end up with a seam ripper in my hand multiple times during the process. So maybe there's a reason I avoid them. You would think something so simple...

What a great idea for a birthday party!

Janis said...

Diann your Color Gradient quilt is so attractive, I really like the sashing, corner stones and border around the colored blocks, it shows them off so nicely.

Jayne said...

I know exactly what you went through with your seam ripper! Sometimes something simple to piece causes me so much grief! You made it to the other side in a big way. I really love the darker corner stones with these blocks!

Sylvia@Treadlestitches said...

What a pretty rainbow quilt! And the turquoise was the perfect sashing. I don't know why sometimes the pieces of a quilt just won't cooperate and get in line. When this happens to me, I yell "Ack!" (or something similar), leave the room, and get a fresh cup of tea. Good luck, it's going to be worth it!

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

Lovely blue with those gradient blocks. Great color choice. Thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap! And Happy birthday "Mom"!

gayle said...

Your gradient quilt is gorgeous! Good for you for sticking with the stubborn thing and making it behave! (I would have put it in timeout for a very long think about what it had done)

Katie Z. said...

Your blocks look fabulous together!

Kate said...

Love the turquoise with the RSC blocks. Very unique and very striking. Happy belated birthday to your Mom.