Friday, May 8, 2020

Butterscotch and Blue

Butterscotch and Blue - I Love You.
It is 51" x 70"

A back view.  By the way, I'm waiting for 4 queen sized batts so I can start quilting these.
 At first I used this small tone on tone cheddar print, but.....
"STOP THE PRESSES!!" I found about half yard of this beloved toile'.  Totally worth piecing it to make it work.
The blue prints aren't as interesting as the neutrals but there some good oldies in there.
Nutmeg seemed to really love them, ha ha
I thought about adding a blue header and footer strip, but edited it out.  This is why I always audition ideas.  Because they aren't always good and that is okay.
 Here is my method on making borders so my quilts are straight.  I lay my top border across the middle of my quilt and put a pin at the left and right edge. 
 I do not cut it until it is sewn on, just in case!  You can see here that I did have to piece the border to be wide enough.
Then I move it to the top and and pin the edges first then smooth and ease it to fit.  It works perfectly every time.
I have to give photo assistant credit to my boy, Andrew.   Here he is getting ready to stand on a rock for the shoot. :)
 What a good sport,  he was very patient about me getting a shot of the quilt and bleeding heart garden.  I'm so lucky to have such a supportive family.
Hooray it's May!   Although it is very chilly.
This year I had my hummingbird feeders ready for the first scout visits.  Welcome back Hummers!
Coco and took a stroll in town the other day.  As you can see people are really staying home here on the shoreline in Connecticut.
 The flower boxes and containers are very cheery and I thank the small business.
Comfort food this week was German Potato Salad as a side dish for BBQ Chicken on a Thursday!  There is no reason to wait for the next potluck or get together and everyone loved it
Click this link for the quick and easy recipe.  (not my photo)  I used gold and red little potatoes.  I'm a rebel that way.

Here is a sneak peak of a Community Service quilt that I'm working on.  There is a need for teen boy quilts for Habitat for Humanity.
Have a good weekend.  Please be safe as we are beginning to move around more.
xo

28 comments:

Frog Quilter said...

Love your blue string top. The cheddar fabric is yummy!!!!

Barbara Black said...

Love your cheddar and indigo top! I better get started!

Rose Marie said...

Oh be still my heart .... love those cheddar and blues!

Pinkadot Quilts said...

Love your method of doing borders. The cheddar and blues together are terrific!

Barb said...

test - these are still not coming to my email :(

Chantal said...

Oh! This is a winner! Love it! My gosh! what lovely blue fabric hiding in there. Just love it. Thanks for the tip for the border. I'll have to try this.
Flowers everywhere! So beautiful! We are going back to single digit degrees today. :^( Enjoy it for those who can't. ;^)

Quiltdivajulie said...

LOVE your cheddar and blue -- I really, really need to shop for some cheddar (any great online sources you'd suggest?). And thanks for the link to the warm potato salad - DH's grandmother made that when we were newly married and I'm constantly looking for a better recipe than the last one I found since she never wrote hers down.

CecileD said...

Oh oh oh.... what a beautiful quilt ! And this cheddar Toile is fabulous !!
Great choice Barb as always !
Thank you for sharing your method to make borders ! Sooo clever !
On Monday, we are going to move around too but I have decided to stay at home a little bit !!
Be safe too !

OTquilter said...

Oh, that cheddar toile! You certainly have quite the fabric collection! And I love the fabrics in your service quilt, too! Not much sewing going on here, but lots of sourdough feeding and baking instead! Hugs all around!

Karen in Breezy Point said...

What a fun quilt--my kind of colors for sure! I had to smile as I saw some familiar fabrics from the quilt I am currently working on and that toile is awesome. I have my hummingbird feeders ready to put out, but there are freezing temps predicted so I may wait a few days. I love seeing them returning!

Quilting Babcia said...

That cheddar toile next to the blues, how perfect!

Janet said...

Cheddar and blue is such a great combination! The potato salad looks delicious - I’ll have to try it this weekend 😋

Sandy said...

Another great string quilt! You've been making good use of all your strings. I like your border method, especially "don't cut yet, just in case" ! The sidewalk view of your town looks so Springy and inviting. Your boy quilt is very cool!

Loris said...

Oh that toile is wonderful! What a great find and place for it!
Yay for the people in your town staying safe and healthy!
Your new quilt for the teenager is looking good!

Lori said...

I had that email/comment problem a few weeks ago! I hope yours is working now.
That color combination is a sure winner. That toile is to die for!!
Your little sidewalk in your town is lovely. Is this your local town?
Love your charity quilt start. Take care.

Randy D. said...

That gold toile is amazing. Wherever did you find that? I LOVE it; and I love how it added to the blue strips.
I'm definitely going to do one--you and Wendy can't do those without ME>
Tell me about the quilts for Habitat...
Love your flowers, too!
xxx,

cityquilter grace said...

blue and cheddar...nothing better! and oh i love that donation quilt...those australian fabrics make for wonderful male quilts...

The Joyful Quilter said...

Love, love, LOVE your new quilt top!!!

Sharon said...

Love those indigoes and that cheddar!! Those were my high school colors too. Ha! That cheddar is beautiful fabric. It adds so much more interest to the quilt than the other fabric.

And thanks for the great tips on how to add the border pieces! I usually lay it down like you do and then cut it off. It's probably smarter the way you do it!

Kitties love quilts, even before they're quilts!

Barb said...

I enjoyed seeing your work in progress and your thoughts as you went along. Going to be a fabulous quilt.

Janet O. said...

Great name for your wonderful quilt. What a lucky find to come across the cheddar toile! It adds an extra spark to an already interesting quilt.
Oh, it looks like Nutmeg is feeling a little blue (couldn't resist--sorry).
I wish our streets were that empty. Our valley hasn't been hit terribly hard, so people are getting too comfortable now that a few restrictions have been lifted. It only takes a few careless contacts to start up a hot spot, but that seems to have been forgotten.
Gold AND red potatoes?!? My, you are a rebel, aren't you? LOL
I like what I see so far on your Habitat quilt.

Cynthia@wabi-sabi-quilts said...

It's a great quilt and the cheddar toile really adds something special. Nice that your son could help with the photo shoot! Cute street scene... will be cuter still when things open up. I am contemplating my own "soft quilt for a hard time" - I really like that phrase. And you are continuing that good work with your Habitat quilt.

QuiltGranma said...

Love that cheddar toile, 'course I love just about ANY toile! I really helps to make the quilt. Beautiful!

Karen said...

So many interesting blue prints. The strips are narrow and make you come closer to see the variety of designs within the strips.

Angie said...

LOVE that cheddar toile - just yummy!
Thanks for the border fitting tip, I will definitely give your method a try.

Barbara said...

Cheddar and Blue looks so nice in your bleeding heart garden! I love that toile--it was a great choice! Thanks for sharing your method of adding borders. I'm definitely going to give that a try! What a lovely walk through town where the flowers are so pretty. I sure can't wait for the weather to warm up! So sweet that you are making a Habitat quilt. Some teenage boy will love it :)

Ruth said...

You must have been joined with the sewing machine to get all those strips sewn together! I love the cheddar toile! And the method of using the border strip to do the measuring rather than measuring and cutting by inches, sounds a lot easier. I will try that and tell my friend too as she has trouble with this. I also have a very supportive family. My DH and GS had to stand on step stools to get my large barn quilt high enough - they could have even been a little higher, but picture was ok.

pandchintz said...

Such a great quilt, Barb and a great scrap buster!