Come Sail Away
Come sail away with me! Let’s just spend a moment or two, picturing ourselves on a sailboat, a light breeze blowing, warm sun toasting our skin . . .
I’m definitely wanting to sail away lately, with the bitter cold and biting wind we’ve been having. Those coming to Minnesota for the Super Bowl are going to be treated to warm Minnesota hospitality and cold temps.
Days like this are made for warm, tasty coffee (preferably with a friend), comfy socks for those cold tootsies, and quilting.
Even my cat thinks it’s too cold, and sidled up a bit too close to the iron when I wasn’t watching. He doesn’t seem to bothered by his singe tattoo.
So let’s just sail away today. I have my Regatta quilt top to show you. Roseann from Home Sewn By Us is hosting this sew along using the Regatta Quilt pattern from Block M Quilts. The sew along is very relaxed, so you sew at your own pace. There is no real end date, but in the end you will have a pretty quilt. I used a Hello Love jelly roll (Heather Bailey, Free Spirit Fabrics) and a Kona Snow jelly roll. I was surprised to find that the Hello Love jelly roll varied in its width, sometimes being an exact 2-1/2 inches and sometimes 2-5/8 inches. Thankfully this quilt top is fairly forgiving, so I just made it work. I also ran out of matching strips with the Hello Love fabric. No worries, I just made it a bit scrappy, using strips from the same color family.
Once you have your cutting done, which takes just a few minutes, the quilt goes together fairly quickly. It is a good idea to read through the entire pattern first before you start, so you get the idea of how the quilt will go together.
I had planned to take this outside and get some nice sunny shots, which I should’ve done on Wednesday when it was 30 degrees outside. Thursday was just too cold to be outdoors, so this will have to do until the quilt is finished completely. (One of my goals this year is to improve my photography; I have a ways to go!)
Here’s a close up so you can see the colors in the Hello Love line a bit better.
I don’t often buy my backings at the same time as I buy the fabrics for the quilt top, so I still need to get the backing for this quilt. I like to finish the top and then think about what the backing should be. This works as long as I don’t wait too long, especially if I want to back it with a fabric from the same line.
This was a simple, easy quilt to make. Come join the fun!
New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop 2018
Yesterday registration opened for the 2018 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop. When I started blogging two years ago, there were many times when I’d read other blogs and wonder how they did things I’d see on their blogs. I had no one to ask, and didn’t know if it was good etiquette to seek out a veteran blogger and ask questions. Then last year I came across the New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop. It took me a couple of days to muster up the courage to register, but it turned out to be one of the most helpful things I’ve done for my blog.
Here are a few things I learned from being part of the Blog Hop:
- We’re all in this together. Other people had the same questions as me.
- Quilt bloggers are wise, helpful people! My circle of online friends grew from participating.
- You never know where being part of the blog hop will take you. Some of the quilters in my group hosted a very popular QAL this year. It was really fun to follow along!
You can find out more about the New Quilt Blogger’s Blog Hop from the four hosts: Beth@Cooking Up Quilts, Tish@TishnWonderland, Sandra@mmmquilts.com, and Jen@Dizzy Quilter. These four veteran bloggers are so much fun, and they love what they do. I’m sure it’s going to be a great Hop! If you’re at all interested, please go to one of their blogs to register,
Happy sailing, friends!
Wendy
12 Comments
Sandra Walker
Thanks for promoting the hop Wendy! Kind, and oh-so-true words! Love love WANT TO DO THIS/nooo cannot start another… this quilt! How odd and annoying that the strips in Hello Love varied in width; I would never have thought that. Such pretty colours in this line and I’d never have known it had added strips from your stash if you hadn’t said. Bet you wish you were here in Florida this month with the cold temps that have descended on the prairies… Funny: Angela on soscrappy said a couple days ago I think, it was too cold to go out for pictures. She’s in Tampa! It had dropped to 43/47 a couple of days overnight here!! She’d die up where you and I are from when we think 30 is lovely in January and we’re talking Fahrenheit!
Vicki in MN
Yes I went sailing with you(in my mind obviously) my boat was gently rocking with the waves in the warm sun:o Your Regatta is looking so pretty and fun, great choice of fabric. Strange that some were different widths, but I have noticed that with a few other brands here and there. Now I know why you braved the cold and went to coffee-you needed another pic, hahaha.
Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts
I wanted to sail away but my boat was iced in….drat! LOL It sounds lovely, warm breeze, rocking boat, sunshine, aaah… I really like the quilt you made. The pattern looks easy and fun. One of those ones you can make while hanging with a group of friends, chatting and have a great time. How irritating that those strips were cut at different widths! Glad you could make it work.
Karen
I have heard just how bitter cold it is up there – and I’m glad I’m down here when I hear about it – then my 40/26 doesn’t sound so bad! Stay warm – keep on quilting – that is a nice looking one that you show
Geri Howie
Someday, I hope to make a quilt with the scraps from all the outfits I sewed for my girls. This would be a really neat way to separate each fabric out.
Louise Hornor
Your Regatta looks mighty fine, Wendy. I wasn’t familiar with that fabric line…it’s so pretty!
Your poor, singed kitty reminds me of the time our first cat sat so close to a nice, warm halogen lamp that smoke was curling from her head! They like to be warm, our not-so-smart companions 🙂
Kathleen McCormick
That coffee looks so good! And poor kitty, how awful to singe oneself…even if it was keeping warm. The regatta quilt turned out great; but I do hate it when the precuts are off. Its bad enough when I make those errrors, but that is why we buy precuts…aarghhh. You got through it and it looks terrific. I agree on waiting to get backs, but sometimes, like with squiggles, I just order it. I wanted one of the fabrics from the line and it was still around. It made it easy! Hope you find one soon.
Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting
Sew cute, Wendy!!! I love your Regatta quilt!!! That fabric line!
Lisa
I did the 2015 (I think) new bloggers blog hop and it was a wonderful experience for me as well.
Sherry @ PoweredByQuilting
Your regatta quilt is awesome! You get so much stuff done it’s so impressive <3
I signed up for the New Quilt Bloggers this year, too! It's such a great experience!
Sparkle On with Abbie
Oh Max! You’re silly! I think he was trying to match your latte coffee Wendy.
It’s nice to know you got so much from being part of the New Quilters blog hop, I did too 😊
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