Blogger's Quilt Festival- Fall 2012

I didn't have a moment's hesitation in selecting this quilt for my entry in the Blogger's Quilt Festival. It incorporates everything I love about quilting- bright colors, polka dots, whimsy and chickens!

This are Carol's Crazy Chickens - my way of having chickens in a suburban neighborhood whose homeowner association prohibits poultry. Every chicken is dotty and has personality. The design of this quilt evolved from a Country Threads pattern titled "Chickens in the Cornfield". The border of "fried eggs" is my creation. They are little snowball blocks with yolks - simple and fun.

Each chicken has a name and a personality -- this is Agnes - she's very mellow and laid back.

And this is Bertha - she's a bit skittish but I'm sure she'll be settle in.

And here is Cher - pronounced "chair" - it is short for Chernobyl. I think she may have some issues as I'm not sure how she got that third eye.

No matter I still love her and perhaps she can use that third eye to keep track of this little chick.

Now all the phenomenal quilting on this piece is the work of my local long-arm quilter Cass Plott of Pink Flamingo Quilting. She is incredibly talented and her input really takes this quilt to another level. When I gave her this quilt she asked what ideas I had for the quilting and all I could come up with is "bacon" -- I love bacon with my eggs. She laughed and said no one had ever asked her for bacon quilting.

I like the addition of cutlery with this serving.

And we have toast and jam...

and a cup of coffee to round out this complete breakfast.

This quilt hangs in the hallway of my breakfast nook (which explains the awkward angle of the first picture). It measures 54" X 68" and is easy to see from anywhere in my kitchen. I hope you enjoyed looking at my entry. My philosophy of quilting is that it should be fun and this quilt was fun at every stage.

Now go enjoy more great quilts at the Blogger's Quilt Festival. I'm going to plop myself in my happy chair, fortify myself with a large diet soda and read, read, read.

Happy stitching-
carol fun

Bloggers' Quilt Festival :: Spring 2012

I'm so glad you stopped by to view my entry for the Spring 2012 edition of Bloggers' Quilt Festival. I've been thinking for a week about which quilt I wanted to show and I decided on this one since it encompasses so many of the things I love about quilting.

This is "A tisket, a tasket, a LOT of yellow baskets" which I made in 2007 as an entry for the NQA show in Columbus, Ohio. It is big - about 96" square and there are 113 different yellow baskets. Yes, that is a lot of yellow and it the product of 25 years of collecting yellow fabrics.

The scallop-y inside border is the combination of applying a wide yellow rickrack over the edge of the narrow inside yellow border and being incredibly lucky that the yellow are almost identical. (you can click on the pictures to get a closer look)

The button stack in the corners was my creation. There are 3 buttons - a big black one, a medium white one, and tiny yellow one. I painted the white button to look like the flowers in the black and white sashing strips and thought I was exceeding clever - LOL!

Now along with lots of tone-on-tone and printed yellow fabrics I have a healthy (cough -ok maybe a tad obsessive) love of novelty prints which I was able to use in abundance in this quilt. Up first...

a pizza man, a nod to my Italian heritage. Next...

a bright orange cat, who looked like our beloved Khat (the h is silent, and yes we aren't very creative with pet names) who went over the rainbow bridge a couple of years ago. Then...

some of my favorite flowers, tulips. And a patriotic salute...

Uncle Sam who also happens to be a Debbie Mumm fabric - one of my favorite designers. And last but certainly not least...

a polka dot chicken!! This was years before I started this blog so you can see that my affection for polka dot poultry has a long history.

I love everything about this quilt. The bright red dotty border reminds me of Minnie Mouse - which makes me smile. All those lovely yellow baskets bring back memories of the great little quilt shops I bought them in and the friends I was shopping with. Fabric and friends is a combination that can't be beat!

So I hope you've enjoyed my quilt. I'd love for you to stop back anytime. You'll find me indulging in all types of crafty stuff - knitting, quilting, cross stitching- that involves a needle and thread. And there will be chickens...lots of polka dot chickens - LOL!

Thank you Amy for hosting this wonderful event. I find so much inspiration in the Bloggers' Quilt Festival and now,...I'm off to look at every single entry!

Happy stitching-
carol fun