Postcards from Sweden

Back to reality - whatever reality means these days! The girls and I went for our daily walks, and they were pretty excited. It was Monday sewing, and we had loads of laughs and so much fun to sew with others than to sew alone. Although I didn't get a whole lot done, that's OK. 

Here's the thing -- if you ask me to look for something, and then you decide you do NOT want it, then let me know, so I don't waste an entire morning trying to find something. However, I was looking for a second thing, so it wasn't all in vain. Sigh.................

Speaking of which, does anyone recognize this quilt?

Does anyone recognize this quilt pattern?

I swear I have the pattern or a book with this in it. I found something similar, down to the color, but it's not the same. 

OK -- so let's talk about the Postcards from Sweden quilt. One member of the Monday group finished her quilt top. 

Nancy's Postcards from Sweden

And this is Laura's version that she worked on at the retreat. 

Laura's Postcards from Sweden

So I dug out mine. Oh my -- I even have the pattern, and I did NOT remember that. 

The Postcards from Sweden pattern

I found some hourglass blocks in the same bag. What were they for?? Maybe I thought the quilt was made with hourglass blocks? I doubt that. Oh well -- there are some hourglass blocks in various stages of completion. Hey -- you could do a similar quilt using the hourglass blocks.

Hourglass blocks

But here are the squares that I cut to make the Postcards from Sweden quilt. The colors are NOT the same as the original, not even the same fabric line. Do I care? Nope! So I may add that to the UFO list for 2022. 

Squares to make Postcards from Sweden

Here's something else to consider. When I worked for a specific fabric company several years ago, they released a series of brightly colored fabrics called Colorwork Concepts. And this is one of the prints. 

A print from Northcott's Colorworks Concepts fabric line

Yep --- that looks very much like the Postcards from Sweden quilt. OK -- seriously -- it's just half-square triangles. Actually, you see very similar patterns on all kinds of products. 

I've used this fabric for several quilt backings, and I love it!!! I don't think I have much left, if any. 

The fabric used as a quilt backing

I needed to make a modern quilt using this fabric, and here's my quilt. I used the specific, solid colors from the original print, and I made THREE repeats and then used black to set them off. My repeat is significantly larger than the overall fabric, but that was the point. 

My "Can you repeat that?" quilt

This quilt is quite large  -- an oversized lap quilt, so those three sections are pretty big. But each one is a repeat of the print on the back! Yes -- I used that backing on this quilt. 

Here's one of the repeats up close. 

A close-up of one of the repeats

And quite frankly, I think that my quilt looks just as good as the Postcards from Sweden quilt. Yes -- I had to be careful to get those colors precisely like the original print, but when I make my own version with no rhyme and reason, I think the end result will be the same! It really doesn't matter - at least, I don't think so. 

I got to the long arm and got a customer quilt done. The next one is loaded and ready to go later this morning. 

Customer quilt - DONE

A quick trip to the grocery store (my afternoon walk) to pick up some supplies and I'm all set. DH left some leftovers in the fridge before he left, so no need to cook. Yes -- I'm fortunate as all I have to do is sew!!!  Well, not exactly, but I don't have to worry about cooking. 

I watched a few episodes of the baking shows, and I watched the finale of The Great Canadian Baking Show. Yeah -- I'm happy with the person who won! The cakes they created were spectacular, and I mean - I would have no idea how to even begin!

And I started season three of The Great British Baking Show. It's good entertainment while I remove the paper from my double wedding ring quilt, and I have 12 sections left, and then it's done. Now to make binding and find a backing!

Maybe that will happen later today as Studio B is a shambles, and I need to get it to get some sewing done. That's on the agenda for later today. 

I said goodbye to one group last night for my online presentations. There are four more to do this week, but there's a lot of paperwork to do. More on that tomorrow. Lots of e-mail to respond to, and now I see people are FORWARDING their original message because they think I didn't get the first one. I know everyone is anxious, but they have no clue how popular the signups have gone and how much work it is to get everyone on the proper distribution list. 

It did NOT help that I was away last week and ignored them all. 

If anyone wants to see what's in the Missouri Star Quilting Company advent calendar, here's a link to the videos so you can watch Jenny open the package each day. I love the idea of an advent calendar. I really do. It's the same thing with subscription boxes and clubs. And even exchanges. I love the whole concept of them. 

However, you end up with a TON of stuff that you don't like or will never use and becomes a dust collector. I'm past that point in my life - I won't even comment on how many exchanges I've done over the years. MANY and many of the projects I worked on have never been finished. I cannot justify adding more when I'm in the process of downsizing the sewing stuff. So I'll watch the videos and enjoy them vicariously!

And here's the link to the tea towel tutorial that I promised. It's great fun - I'm not sure I'll make any, but the others had loads of fun making them at the retreat. 

And now it's time to get the day going. There is a lot I want to accomplish today, and well -- it's going to be one thing at a time to try and get stuff done. Slow and steady wins the race!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!