A Quilt for John

My entry for the Bloggers Quilt Festival - big thanks to Amy for hosting this fantastic festival again!

I am very pleased to be sharing this special quilt for the quilt festival. Thank you for stopping at my small little part of the web.

I pulled it from the dryer this morning, in all it's crinkly goodness. This quilt is definitely an all time favourite. In fact I think it rates in my top 2 favourite quilts of all time.

This quilt was made with love for my Father in Law John. Tomorrow is his 70th birthday. While I made this quilt I thought about all the wonderful things John has done for our little family and for me. He is the loveliest person you could ever hope to meet. Patient. Kind. Selfless. Generous. Humble. Gentle. Always there to listen. Always there to care and help.

John's become such an important person in our life and for such a special birthday I wanted to make him something special.

This quilt is made with an Arcadia Layer Cake and Kona PFD white. The binding is a gorgeous solid aqua I bought from my LQS. I think it's a linen blend by Moda?

A quick trial run on our bed... Needless to say I am tickled with how this quilt has come together.

A close up of the quilting ...

Arcadia. Yum. The perfect manly line.

Blowing away in the wind.

I chose a very simple pattern, 9 patch blocks sashed in white. The patterns in Arcadia are so striking that I thought they didn't need a fussy quilt pattern. I'll be giving this to John tomorrow. I hope he will love this quilt.

An oldie but a goodie. John sneaking in some early morning cuddles with Oliver before work.

Wishing you the happiest birthday and many happy returns John. Here's to many more opportunities to celebrate!

I am also linking in with Finish it Up Friday even though it's Saturday. This quilt was finished up last night.

Thanks again for stopping to have a look at my wee entry this year. And many thanks to Amy!

Finish it up Friday, Week 1 (On Saturday)

The production line continues this week. I have finished the binding on my Strawberry Fields quilt! This quilt is for my MIL for Christmas. That's one ticked off the list!

Of course just as I was heading outside to take some pictures, it started to rain again!

Love the colours in Strawberry Fields.

So romantic and soft. I had originally hoped to back the quilt in this print in the slate, but I couldn't find it anywhere! I love this backing in pond too - I think it looks lovely. And who could go past a lovely gingham binding?

Gorgeous all over stipple quilting by the talented Viv of Highway Cottage.

So this is my big finish for Friday! Washed and dried and simply delicious. Even if I do say so myself. We've got some strawberries on our plants growing. They're green for now but I can't wait for them to  ripen :)

Have a wonderful weekend! If you need inspiration for the weekend, Amanda Jean is hosting a party! So I am joining in!

It's Wednesday!

And I actually remembered! Granted, it only did dawn upon me a few moments ago, but that's an improvement on the last few weeks!

 

 

So... I am joining in with another WIP Wednesday! This week I even have some sewing to share ;)

 

This week I am working on finishing up this quilt here...

 

 

 

(Apologies for the crappy photos. These were taken on my blackberry as our camera battery is flat again thanks to small fingers. Note to self... iron quilt top before photographing too!)

 

This quilt is for my FIL who celebrates his 70th birthday at the end of the month. We're making sure he is well celebrated with a family weekend away up to Taupo and a big birthday bash here the following weekend. I just need to add some nice wide white borders, piece the backing (white with the remaining squares) and ship this off to be quilted. I'd like to give it to him on our weekend away, but I think I might be biting off more than I can chew!

 

I am also sewing down the binding on my Strawberry Fields HST quilt... it's starting to look really good and I am so pleased that it will be finished well before Christmas for my MIL.

 

 

 

And... once these two are finished, then I'll be back to finishing up my Swoon quilt for Gus!

I also managed to finish up this little doll's quilt a few weekends ago now for my DH's youngest cousin Lee Lee who is 8 days younger than our Ollie. My DH is from a large family. He is the oldest of 20 grandchildren.

So... a quick wrap up:

On the go:

* Arcadia quilt for John (borders, backing and quilting!)
* Strawberry Fields (binding)
* Children at Play Swoon (5 blocks to go!)
* Bliss in Patches (sashing)

I also need to make another couple of dolls quilts for more birthday parties coming up over the next few weeks!

On hold for a little while longer:

* Hexagon quilt
* Wee Play DNP Super Size Me
* Dance with Me
(and possibly a few other's I've forgotten!)

Here's hoping I manage to find some more sewing time this week! Hope you're having a productive week too. Don't forget to check out what other clever people are up to at the moment here.