Monday, January 19, 2015

Treasure from the DillyDally Vault!

I promise!  This is not a post about my love and affection for all things Disney!  Although it is true that I love Disney ... especially "cheesy" Disney!  But that is another subject for another post on another day!  Whew!  Hope that clears things up ... and that you're willing to continue reading!
I am always excited when Disney opens their vault to re-release a vintage movie from the past.  Well ... here in DillyDallydom, I have been opening my DillyDally vault and pulled out some quilt tops from the past.  Hmmm ... I wonder ... how old must they be to be considered vintage?  You know what?  I don't think I want to know! (insert a wink & giggle)
Long time readers of this blog know that my favorite part of the quilting process is piecing!  Decades Years of piecing has resulted in millions thousands hundreds many quilt tops!  The truth is that there are too many to count!  Some things are best left unknown!  Ignorance can be bliss!  Every 2-3 months this past year, I have had a couple of tops quilted!  Several have just been waiting for binding.  With all the wet and dreary weather last week, I finally got three of them done!  I'll begin with the most recently pieced one.  ;-)
Let me be honest ... I LOVE fabric ... that fact is not an exaggeration.  Fat Quarter Packs were designed for people like me!  They are perfect ... a piece of every print in an entire collection!
This happy fabric was designed by Me & My Sister for Moda in 2008.  It was called Strawberry Lemonade.  I bought tons of it then ... and now this many years later ... I wish I had bought even more.
This pattern is from Terry Atkinson's book, Spring Cleaning.  It is the same pattern I used for the lap quilt I made my MIL for Christmas.
My long arm quilter worked her magic and custom quilted this very bright and busy quilt beautifully!
Flicka gave her final approval! ;-) She spent a lot of time rolling around on this one!
It is queen size ... probably too bright and busy for Mr. DD ... but it is one of my favorites!  It is just so dang happy and makes me smile every time I look at it!
This beautiful quilt was made entirely from stash!  I pulled colors that were in the novelty print I used for the borders.  Can you believe the detail my long arm quilter put into this simple piecing?  She turns my very average quilts into treasures!  I am so grateful!
The pattern is another Terry Atkinson design called Yellow Brick Road.  I purchased the pattern in 2002, and made this as a way to test it for possible use in my classroom.
The super cute border is a fabric I bought in the mid 1980's called Cucumber Kitty!
Fabric bought and used long before Flicka came into our lives!  The kitties in the fabric look just like her!  Sometimes forces outside of our control are in charge!
Flicka was really involved in the binding process of this quilt.  I think that she was partial to the hot pink flannel backing!  Yep ... this kitty loves pink!  Doesn't every Princess? ;-)
It is twin sized ... some little princess that walks into my future will receive it.
I dug deep into the vault for this quilt top.  Long time QBees and I figure that I pieced this top in 1990 or 1991 when we all took the Pineapple Quilt class together.
I remember Brother being very young, as it was difficult to be away from home all weekend.  I used scraps that I had on hand, but found I was short when it came to the colors of orange/peach.  Yep ... I still have a difficult time using those colors!  Some things never change.
Back then embossed muslin was all the rage, and that is what I used for the background and border.  For the back I chose bleached muslin.  I wanted it to have an antique feel and had the quilter use a featherweight polyester batting.  I love the results!
I am so impressed with the job the long arm quilter did ... again, she took a mostly average quilt and turned it into an heirloom!  I especially love how she took the wide border and quilted it as though it were two ... genius!
Flicka thought this quilt was for wrestling!  Hee-hee!  She is such a goofball!
I loved this quilt when I made it years ago ... and I love it even more now!
It feels wonderful to pull quilt tops from the vault, have them quilted and finished by applying the binding.   Someone asked me if I was sorry I had waited this long to get them done.  The answer to that question was simple and did not require any thought.  No, I am not sorry ... nor do I feel any guilt.  These quilts were not forgotten or neglected ... they were waiting ... for the right person to come along to quilt them!  I am so fortunate that my long arm quilter is willing to take on my mountains of tops!  She is a blessing!
Happiness is a pile of finished quilts with a kitty on top!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!
Mrs. DillyDally
P.S.  The DillyDally vault remains open ... two more quilts are currently on their way to the quilter!




6 comments:

  1. Happiness IS a pile of quilts with a kitty on top or in my case a doxie! Beautiful work!

    ReplyDelete
  2. My favorite part of the quilting is the piecing too! You brightened up my winter dreary day with these lovely quilts and Flick just makes me laugh. Thanks for the lovely post.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome! I love all the quilts and they are all so cuddly! Great job on the finishes!

    ReplyDelete
  4. A W E S O M E! Only one word comes to mind with these marvelous quilts. I does feel good to complete...But planning, creating, piecing is such a high....

    ReplyDelete
  5. All beautiful quilts.
    They would make me smile too. :)
    I love it when Flicka tests and approves.
    Marilyn

    ReplyDelete
  6. I just pulled out some Kitty Cucmber panels and fabric I had for years. One has books that the kitties are holding that have 2000 on them. I'm putting together a couple of baby quilts as I'm going to be a Great Aunt next week and in March. Your quilts are beautiful and I'm so glad they're quilted and bound.

    ReplyDelete