Polka-Dot Love

Mother Nature loves polka-dots ... so do I.

June 14, 2014

My love affair with polka-dots began when I was seven.  My mother had made my sister (she was age two at the time) and I matching Easter dresses from a lavender dotted swiss fabric.  The dots were a deep purple ... oh, how I loved to rub my fingers gently across those fuzzy little dots.  I have been in love with polka-dots ever since ... yep, I've always thought they were cool!

The first shop I visited in Seattle last summer had a huge display of polka-dot fabric!  It was a little slice of heaven here on earth!  They were in every size and color.  Because it was the first stop on our mini shop hop ... I was being conservative ... I know, big mistake ... you'll understand later in this post.

I went against my norm and bought fabric with a pattern ... here are the two chain fabrics and border ...

... this is the pattern I intended to use ... it determined the yardage I purchased.  Don't get me wrong, I still like this pattern ... and it would have been fine.  Those dillydally winds were blowing me in another direction.

Love the string of pearls fabric ... wish I had bought it in every color!  Dang it!  Obviously I wasn't using my dillydally brain or philosophy! ;-)

Time passes ... and I decide that I like this pattern better for the intended purpose.  Fortunately I didn't act on that decision right away!

Because ... all plans were halted when I came across this pattern on The Moda Bake Shop.  It is called Simply Woven and was designed by Jessica Kelly!  You can find the "recipe" here!  This pattern is designed for "jelly rolls" ... so yes ... with the yardage I had , there was some serious tweaking!

After cutting strips ... there was very little fabric left.  And there was literally no background fabric remaining!

I had to get 16 blocks from the yardage available ... talk about pressure ... my Supervisor watched every stitch ... there was no room for error.  Yikes!

These blocks were so much fun!  Do check out the technique I linked to earlier!  I will be making this again!

Whew!  We got 16 blocks!  Happy dancing in DillyDallydom!

Blocks were labeled and ready to piece into a top!

This is a gift for a sweet little girl, so the Quality Control Officer ran a few tests.  It is possible to successfully wash your face while on this quilt.

It passed the back scratching test.

The rollover quality was exceptional!

But what really sets this quilt apart ... the "Will it slide across the floor?" test ... it passed with flying colors polka-dots.

Yardage for the border worked out well ... the only piece of fabric where I had some to spare.

Apparently machine quilting is interrupting my supervisor's napping schedule.

"Since being in the traffic lane didn't stop the quilting process, I'll use my sense of superiority and just lay on top of the quilt!"

"Good!  The phone rang!  Now I can really make myself comfortable!  I'll only leave this spot if she offers me kitty treats."  Yep ... she's the supervisor and I am well trained! ;-)  When in Anchorage, I found this yellow polka-dot flannel for the backing.  There is no yellow on the quilt top ... but I love yellow ... so there you have it!

Coming up with binding was the real struggle.  I didn't have enough leftovers for even a scrappy binding!  So I hit the stash and auditioned several pieces that were large enough.  Yep ... Flicka weighed in on the decision-making process ... of course!

We felt the pink floral centers resembled polka-dots and the green was a good color match.

I chose to quilt it "stitch in the ditch" to accentuate the woven look of the piecing!  I like the way it looks on both sides.

I think it all works together well!  And it is Flicka approved!

It is such a happy quilt ... I love it!

And it was made for this happy little girl ... because I love her too!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally