Sunday, September 2, 2012

Sunday in the studio

 
I decided to try this pattern again, only make it brighter.  As before, this is a 12" x 12" mini.  I designed it with the focus fabric in mind, but I didn't have quite enough of it left for this quilt.  The focus is the dark blue with the mini fruits.  Where I grew up, this time of year meant the annual Antelope Valley Fair and Alfalfa Festival.  It was just like any county fair with rides, carnival games, hot dogs on a stick, funnel cakes, 4-H, FFA, and Grange Exhibits.  I loved all of it, including the tractor pull, destruction derby, and the stock car races.  One of my favorite things to do was go look at the exhibits of food, hand-made things (including quilts), and grange exhibits where all the fruits and vegetables were arranged into a beautiful design.  I wanted this little quilt to reflect my memories of all sights and sounds of the fair.  I think this one does it better than the first one.
 
 
On a completely non-traditional path is my September AAQI mini.  I love the incongruity of the perfect peony against the imperfect background.  I still have some stitching to do on this one before I register it and send it in.  I just wanted to share because I have never got this far so early in the month before on my AAQI commitment.  There are some really beautiful quilts in the September auction.  Give it a look and help a fantastic cause.
 
 
The last thing for today is the first block in Barbara Brackman's newest block of the week, Grandmother's Choice.: Votes for Women.  The Flickr page has some really beautiful fabric combinations in this first block.  Very inspirational.  I followed the Civil War BOW, but didn't make the blocks.  I am going to try and keep up with this one.  I have a very nice collection of paisleys I want to use, so this one will be pretty scrappy.  Brackman is a wealth of knowledge about quilt history, and she does a great job of providing historical information for these BOWs.  I am looking forward to playing along with this one.
I hope you have all been enjoying this beautiful September weekend.  Joyful quilting, everyone.
 
 

5 comments:

Impera Magna said...

A wonderfully productive day for you, Ms Miki! A beautiful mini quilt, a gorgeous AAQI quilt... and your first BOW block... I love paisley and am looking forward to seeing more of your blocks!

Sharon said...

Miki, I cannot believe the piecing on that tiny star and fruit quilt! Very nice, and what great memories to go with it.

Nifty Quilts said...

Great little quilt! Some of those pieces must be so tiny. Thanks for mentioning the BOW. I had fun looking it up.

Sarah Craig said...

They're all beautiful, Miki, but my goodness, the pieces in that mini must be so small! You must have the patience of a saint!!

sheila 77 said...

Your AAQI quilt is just beautiful - lovely fabrics and a great design. Adding the peony was a touch of genius with the dark line through. I can't even think about how small your pieces must be in the mini.