Argyle Robot Quilt from Don't Tell Quilts

Amanda from Don't Tell Quilts submitted her darling quilt a couple weeks ago.  Amanda is just like Heather and I....she doesn't like to make the same quilt twice!  That is exactly our problem.  Often we get asked why we don't sell more of our quilts or other sewing projects, and there are a few reasons but one major one is I don't enjoy making the same thing over and over.  Back to Amanda, she started her blog when she was making a quilt for her brother and named it "Don't Tell Nathan Lindsey!" as in specifically telling them not to tell her brother.  And things have just taken off from there!   She just opened her shop, so check it out!

Here's my very appropiately named Argyle Robot.

 What is there to say about this?  It's argyle, it's got a robot.  That about covers it really.

 My husband commented that this combination was very me.  Apparently argyle and robots aren't an obvious combination to most people.  But really, they so work!  What is more geeky sophisticated than argyle?  Nothing, that's what!  And robots are equally geeky sophisticated.  Especially this one, he has a bow tie.

 I backed it in fleece, which caused a whole right side wrong side internal debate while I was laying it out.  And, Holy Lint Roller, Batman, my floor is now devoid of stray threads.

 (also, I used the June Taylor fusible batting; it was on a major clearance.  My opinion: weird.  It worked well enough on the solid piece sides, but beneath my piecing, not so hot.  I still used pins.  Who am I to tell June, but I don't expect I'll be fusing it again.  I did get a queen sized batting for six bucks though, so not a total bust.)

 This was also my first time quilting with embroidery floss.  And I loved it!  It is the perfect look for this.  It had to be something as visible as floss or a whole element would have been missing.  Argyle isn't argyle with out the crosshatch.

This little bit of me is headed to my etsy shop.  We'll see if there are any other geeky sophisticates out there.

I also finished my Princess and the Pea quilt pattern.  That request took some brain power; I made a quilt pattern but I've never used one myself!  Got a few of those in my shop as well.

Bellgirl's Avalon Quilt

We met Bellgirl not long ago when she was the winner of one of our pattern giveaways!  Since then we've spent time perusing her blog and found many adorable projects!!  Just check out this cute giraffe t-shirt tutorial.  She's also a big gardener and has a list of what's growing in her garden on her sidebar.  Raise your hand if you'll mock me for not knowing what coriander is? 

Here is a darling quilt Annabel made for her little Bug:

Here at last is the Bug's new quilt. It's Kathy Doughty's 'Avalon' pattern from Doughty and Sarah Fleike's book Material Obsession.

I like the authors' philosophy of the "One" inspiration (p.11): 'What is it about quilts that invites you to make one?'. For me it is the wish to give it to a particular person, in this case my Bug. They also suggest 'Start with the one fabric that makes you sing'. Here it was Alexander Henry's 2-D Zoo fabric, in the Bug's favorite colours of blue and green. I thought for a long time about the pattern, then my quilting guru Taccolina suggested the Avalon, and it was indeed the One. The back is Alexander Henry's Blakely Stripe, so the quilt is reversible for when the Bug is older. My other quilting guru Lynne suggested the argyle design for the hand-quilting and the bias-striped binding in the same Blakely Stripe. I'm lucky to have my gurus!

In Arthurian legend, Avalon is the island where the sword Excalibur was forged, and in some versions Arthur was taken there after he was mortally wounded. It is known as the "Isle of Apples". As my family name is Orchard, and I am writing a Ph.D dissertation on mythological weapons and armour, it was obviously the quilt pattern for me!

If you look closely you may see Michal Miller's apple fabric in the bottom right square. I'm thinking of adding an apple to all of my quilts, a sort of coded signature, either in the fabric, the quilting or in applique.

I'm delighted that my quilt is being featured, and that it was only a couple of months ago that I won your opening giveaway, and Quiltstory is such an institution already!

Annabel

Thanks Annabel!!  I just have to say I LOVE your apple signature idea...I'm considering changing my last name to Orchard.  Seriously.

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