improv quilts

Maine Mini UFO

My Maine Mini UFO is finally done, and I’m excited to show it to you today.

Back in September, BigJ and I celebrated our 30th anniversary, taking a trip to Boston and Maine. Most of our time was spent at this gorgeous cabin in Maine.

Maine Mini UFO - our cabin for the stay - piecefulthoughts.com 2018

As we prepared for the trip, BigJ said, “You need to design some quilt blocks and make a quilt about our trip.” I think he meant a bigger quilt than the one I made, but he’s decently impressed with the mini. So it’s all good.

During the time we were preparing to go, I had been following Kitty at Night Quilter and her outings with her kids which resulted in her Summer Adventures Quilt. It’s worth taking a minute to go visit Kitty, not only because her quilt is amazing, but the idea behind the design of the quilt is really cool. I wish I had thought of it when my kids were little! So Kitty’s quilt inspired me to give this little mini a go.

Maine Mini UFO - Full Mini Photo - piecefulthoughts.com 2018

Initially, I was going to meticulously draw out each block and then obediently stitch it up according to plan. Heh. I didn’t want to waste that much brain power, so I decided to wing it. And what fun I had.

Seriously, it was just me, my fabric, thread and sewing machine. Toss in a little music, and I was good to go. No rulers allowed, except for trimming seams and blocks. I had a rough sketch or idea of what I wanted to do for each block. From there, I just cut fabric and stitched it together freestyle.

Each of the four blocks is a memory of something we did or saw on the trip. Each block is 4″ x 6″ and the full quilt measures 8.5″ x 21″.

Maine Mini UFO - Sailboat block - piecefulthoughts.com 2018

I made the sailboat first because it was easy. I decided to make the water out of scraps of blue and kept the sky a solid. That carried through to each of my blocks. This block reminds us of our view from the cabin, the boats on the water that we watched each day — sailboats, lobster trawlers, speedboats and others.

Maine Mini UFO - Mountain Block - piecefulthoughts.com 2018

The second block crosses state lines a bit. It is actually a memory of our drive to Mount Washington in New Hampshire, with mountains in the background and trees in the foreground. However, we saw much of that in Maine too, like when we visited Acadia National Park. The navy fabric around the base of the trees in the block is actually one of the very first pieces of quilt fabric I ever purchased. It has moose on it (which are a little difficult to see), and it’s a nod to the Moose Crossing signs we saw on our drive.

After making the first two blocks, I stalled out for a bit. I had the other two blocks in mind and roughly sketched (to remind me what I wanted to do). I didn’t get them done until this last week, and that’s where the UFO part comes in.

Maine Mini UFO - Lobster Block - piecefulthoughts.com 2018

The third block was the most difficult of the blocks for me to make. It didn’t really turn out quite like I imagined it would, although I like it enough. The lobster is sitting on a plate (work with me here, some plates are square-ish) on the picnic table on our deck, which looked out over the water and to the green hills on the other side of the bay. This block is the whole reason why I’m explaining each block to you. Ha!

Maine Mini UFO - Lobster Buoy Block - piecefulthoughts.com 2018

Last of all are the lobster buoys. These three mimic the ones hanging in our cabin, but we also saw buoys peppered all over the water in the bay. We were continually amazed at how the boats could buzz through them without tangling them all up. Clearly we know very little about lobster trapping, etc.

I decided to do wavy line quilting in the water and straight-ish lines for the rest of the parts of each block. I didn’t get too fussy and just let the lines fall organically. I did leave some parts of the blocks without quilting, like the boat and the buoys.

Maine Mini UFO - quilting detail - piecefulthoughts.com 2018

Maine Mini UFO - more quilting detail - piecefulthoughts.com 2018

The sashing as well as the backing fabric were purchased while on the trip. The rest of the fabrics are from my stash. The lobster was fussy cut from the backing fabric, which you can see here.

Maine Mini UFO - Quilt Back View, almost - piecefulthoughts.com 2018

Oops, that’s Max reminding me of what he thought of us being gone two weeks. Let’s try that again.

Maine Mini UFO - Full Quilt Back View - piecefulthoughts.com 2018

All that’s left is to make a label. This little mini will go on my mini quilt wall once I get that up and going. This is my fifth UFO finish for the year.

Have you made a quilt to remember a trip you’ve taken? I’d love to hear about it!

Linking up today with Beth at Cooking Up Quilts, and Tish at TishnWonderland.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Wendy

23 Comments

  • Vicki in MN

    That is a cute memory quilt, so creative-you will always treasure it. I knew what each block was until the last one, glad you explained it;) I have never been to Maine so I haven’t seen the lobster buoys. Glad your DH liked it too.

  • Karen

    I didn’t actually design a quilt from a trip but I had all pieces cut in advance and I hand pieced a queen size log cabin quilt when on a trip to Colorado Rocky Mountain National Park – it is in greens and browns maybe that will count? I made it at the campsites and in the car

  • Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting

    I can relate to your little “Heh” thrown in there! Made me chuckle. This makes such a great memory. The lobster block is my favorite.
    I made a wallhanging of our trip to California in 2016 using some Row By Row blocks. It makes for a very good memory reminder.

  • Tish

    This was a fantastic idea for documenting/remembering your trip! I think the little crab block is one of my favorites. Oh, Max. Did he at least get a prize from your trip brought back? He seems to have strong kitty opinions 🙂 Congrats on this finish!

  • Sandra

    This is just so very wonderful, Wendy! So creative…makes me think I should do one for this year’s Florida trip. Love the Max butt shot! That cabin looks idyllic, and makes me hope to fulfill the plan for last Fall that fell through, to go to the Catskills.

  • Preeti

    Oh my goodness, Wendy. That is such a lot of work, dealing with itty-bitty pieces. I am sure you were having a blast and loving each moment of it. I can absolutely see the square plate – man that is one gigantic, juicy lobster.

    Are you sure that when he said – quilt for a trip, he didn’t mean something to snuggle under?

  • Louise Hornor

    This is so neat, Wendy! You really captured Maine in this little quilt. As boaters, we HATED the lobster buoys, but they certainly are a important and huge part of the experience. I love the plated lobster on your picnic table 🙂

  • somethingrosemade14

    Oooh love this little mini quilt. This is such a neat way to remember a special vacation. I’m thinking this should be something I need to make when I go on vacation. Thanks for the inspiration!

  • Marti

    That turned out really nice! You’re really brave to just wing it but you must have a good eye because it looks like it was planned out. I’m also impressed that your husband wanted you to make a quilt of your trip.

  • Kathleen McCormick

    I love this mini! I think the improv piecing is just terrific and I totally see the lobster on the plate. The lobster bouys are so much fun. I have spent much of our marriage looking for a live moose – started in Nova Scotia on our honeymoon and whenever we see the sign, I think that this must be my lucky day. Distance is fine, nowhere near a car is best! Glad you have this quilt to remind you of your trip!

  • Kathleen McCormick

    I love it! I think it is a terrific way to summarize the trip. The lobster on the square plate is perfect, as are the mountains and lobster buoys. I totally get the moose thing. When we were honeymooning in Nova Scotia I kept seeing the signs and hoping that I would see one. It has been a theme in our marriage whenever we see the signs. Whales also fall into this category – sighting off shore not on a boat ride. I do remain grateful that a moose and my car have never met!

Thanks for visiting my blog! Feel free to leave a comment, and I'll respond via email.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.