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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Blogger's Quilt Festival: One Tough Granny


I think I finished just in time to link up to Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival! Phew! ;)

Amy's Creative Side


 I totally love this blog event! It makes me feel like I'm strolling around a small town fair looking at everyone's beauties! Except that I don't have to get dressed, I don't have to worry about kids running around and getting lost, and I don't have to drive for hours and hours and yet I can still see quilts from all over the world! :) Now this is my kind of fair! ;) You can see my entry to last years quilt festival here.


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My Giant Granny!

Whenever I think of Grandma's I think of sweet, cute old ladies who back Christmas cookies, give out candy to kids in the neighborhood, crochet and embroider, and give the best cuddly-squishy hugs ever. You've probably seen all the Granny Square quilts around blog land lately. I love them! And they kind of give me that same feeling of being sweet and cuddly, of course have the look of crotchet and many do have some hand quilting,  and of course I always just want to wrap myself up in them.


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If you've been hanging around my blog lately, you've probably seen my Giant Granny Square that I've been working on. If not, well let me tell you, this is not your sweet old huggable granny! This thing is One Tough Granny!

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the back


Ok, it has a lot of those yummy qualities too, but overall this lady is big, ok giant! and don't make me explain the tough part any more than me telling you that I have broken 4 embroidery needles trying to quilt this thing. (On my behalf I will say that I've been doing some sort of cross stitch, embroidery, handy work since I was young, so while this is my first hand quilted quilted, I'm not new to the idea.) I think this quilt is in its own way just making sure I know who's boss! lol. This quilt means serious business!

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And hopefully that is serious business in being AWESOME! lol. ;)


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I have had so much fun putting this quilt together! I knew I wouldn't have time to make 20+ granny squares, so I decided to go big or go home. I totally didn't figure my measurements right, so the square ended up smaller than I'd like, but with the 5" sashing, I really like it! The perfect size for a little baby to snuggle with or play on! :)


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You can see all the hand quilting in the center best in this photo


I really debated on what to do with the back. This is the first quilt that I've pieced a back like this. I like it, but if I were to do it again I'd do it differently. Any who, I really like how the quilting shows up on the back! :)

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As I said, this is the first quilt that I've completely hand quilted. You can find some tutorials I used to prep myself from this post. It's been so much fun! I absolutely love the process of it. The process is a nice change of pace in comparison to all the other sewing I've been doing for the last few months. :) I think I will definitely do more of this... though I don't know if I could do anything much larger than this.


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If you're looking into doing some hand quilting, I TOTALLY recommend these Q-Snap Lap Frames! I love them! :) I have the 17" by 17", but would love to get a smaller one too for smaller projects of course.

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So here we have it! My One Tough Granny Quilt. I don't know what I'll do with her. Unless I decide on something else, she is currently listed in my etsy shop! (That's what she gets for giving me such a hard time. lol.) ;)


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If you're knew to these parts, thanks for stopping by! I hope you'll sit and stay awhile!
Too bad I can't offer you some of my Grandma's Christmas cookies through your computer! ;)


Hope you have a great week!!
And make sure to stop by Amy's Creative Side 
and visit all the other amazing quilts 
that are linked up in the Blogger's Quilt Festival! :)

I am also linking up at Quiltstory
and at Katie's new linky party for hand stitched items at There and Back!
Be sure to check it out if you haven't already!! :)

Updated to add: This is also a finish for the Finish-A-Long 2012!
Wahoo! :)  You can find this in my original link up post here.



Diane

25 comments:

  1. This is a great quilt with wonderful colors! Good finish!

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  2. I love it!! I really love the granny block and it's great super sized!! Great job on hand quilting this bad mamajama. She has a presence for sure :)

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  3. This is gorgeous! Great job on the hand quilting! :)

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  4. I love the hand quilting. I am afraid I din't have the patience for that, but it really sets your quilt off! Love it.

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  5. I love it! The hand quilting is beautiful. I just really love those pieced 9-patches.

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  6. I've seen some of your in progress pics of this and couldn't wait to see how it turned out.... I LOVE it! Great colors, and the hand quilting looks wonderful with it! Makes me want to add this to my ever growing list of quilts I want to make :)

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  7. Your One Tough Granny is wonderful. Talk about super-sized!

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  8. I loooooove this quilt! How big is it? The little 9-patch blocks are perfect.

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  9. i love it! that's a great way to enjoy a block pattern without getting bored by making a ton of them!

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  10. Hi Diane! That's a wonderful granny quilt! I love your idea for making one big granny square! Beautiful fabrics, lots of white and hand quilting - lovely! x Teje

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  11. She's a beauty, Diane! The big stitch quilting is just gorgeous!

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  12. I love your hand stitching on the quilt and the back side with the orange and green contrast is tooo beautiful. I have to make a cell phone pouch for my mom's Tracfone SVC phone for seniors, with the big keys and letters on the screen and that hand stitching and citrus color material for the pouch will look so cheerful hanging around her neck. I want one of these phones too so I don't have to wear my specs to make or take a call.
    I find the small projects I do with my daughter like making ornamental felt birds with hand stitching to be quality time spent together, that makes memories to reflect on later in life.

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  13. OH the hand quilting really sets it off! totally worth all the time and broken needles!!

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  14. The quilt looks amazing! What a great version of the granny block!
    I love your hand quilting! Good luck in the festival =D

    I'm hosting a new swap over at my blog if anyone is interested please pop over for a look =D

    http://ibescheraldine.blogspot.co.uk/p/goodie-bag-swap.html

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  15. I really like how you turned this block into the quilt. These colors are perfect for it. I love orange and blue together, and throwing the green in with it really works. I love the hand quilting with the colored thread. You did yourself proud!

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  16. Diane - this quilt is lovely!!!

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  17. I just bought fabric to do a single giant granny baby blanket--but I didn't think to make the squares of nine-patches! That's so much cooler. Hrm, I now have to make a decision...

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  18. Such a lovely quilt and the handstitching just makes it so special! I love how you used the different colors around the border!

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  19. I love oversized quilt blocks used as an entire quilt top, this is very cool. Love the hand stitching too, great job!

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  20. I love the giant Granny! What wonderful fabrics you choose. Just beautiful!

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  21. Cute quilt and what a great idea! I love the hand quilting around the edges.

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  22. i love this!! i have filed it away in my brain for the next baby quilt i'll need to 'whip together'

    thanks for sharing...

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  23. Awesome. I love the one large granny square. Great quilting, too.

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  24. Sorry - can't find your email... Can I include a photo from this post in my next newsletter when I'm rounding up one-block quilts?

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