Green Bow Tie Baby Quilt Finished and Gifted

Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful, and optimistic. And we'll change the world.

~Jack Layton

Quilting

Bow Tie was one of my earliest scrap quilts. The 3D version interested me enough to want to reprise the block and finally I did. Fortunately this is a baby quilt because I didn't enjoy the process as much as I hoped. The blocks started easily enough but the last seams were tricky - straight but almost sewed as if they were curved.

3D Bow Tie baby quilt

The quilting was another quandary. Keeping the center (3D) part unquilted so it maintains its dimensionality means no spiral quilting. I could simply meander but somehow got the idea to zigzag on the ties. It took time and planning. The planning is especially difficult because my brain seems slower.

Dimentional center of bow tie

I considered green and white thread, together and individually. My sister recommended green only; glad I listened to her. Because the background fabrics are loud black and whites, the green is actually subdued. A bit anyway. 

It also meant fewer thread changes and thread burials. Some people stitch in place at the start and stops but I've always buried the threads, too. I don't want them to come undone after all the work of a quilt.

Back of 3D Bow Tie baby quitl

The back is a yard of cream Grunge fabric. It was the right length and width. 

Quilt Specifics

Size: 39" x 39"

Block: 3D Bow Tie

Batting: Hobbs 80/20

Thread: Grassias (green) Masterpiece cotton

Quilting: Meander and zigzag FMQ

Approximate yardage: 5 yds

Enjoy the day, Ann

Green Bow Ties

What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner.

~Colette

We traveled across the eastern US this spring for a delightful family wedding. So good to see the next generations growing up, becoming responsible and still fun! Then a second trip to the west coast. Wow. Now we are home resting up… in the heat. But lovely memories of people and places. 

Quilting

There were extra fabric squares from the Fireworks quilt. Loads of them, of course. I’d cut extra black-and-white squares and many green squares that hadn’t been used at all. Here they are resting in the scrap bag. So what else can I make?

I’ve always wanted to try the three-dimensional bow tie pattern. These squares cut into four pieces are a good size. Here’s my first layout…

And here’s what I finally chose. Moving the blocks into circular shapes changed the way they should be blended.

Bow tie seems to take two light and two dark squares. The center of the tie “sticks up” a bit because it is made from a third dark square. Sewing was a bit tricky as the block progressed. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

Quilts for Generations to Come

Finally figured out how to post some photographs of the quilt enveloping friends' future generations. Isn't this why most of us quilt? Don't you love seeing them still used and enjoyed years later? Family quilts hold a lifetime of memories and more.

Déjà vu All Over Again

I've been very busy doing everything but quilt for the past two months. But my daughter shared a photo she took of friends expecting their first child. Why am I writing about it? The quilt "prop" is the first scrap bee quilt I ever made... about thirty years ago. So fun to see it again!

Bow Tie scrap quilt

Inserting her Flickr photo eludes me; however, here's a link to her site. It looks so good with a happy couple snuggled inside.

Fall Maternity Collage

Happy Thanksgiving!
Enjoy the day, Ann