Monday, December 26, 2016

Bookshelf Quilt--Finished


I started to fear that I wasn't going to hit my deadline on this project.  I cut it a bit too close for my comfort.  But this little elf pulled it off anyway.  My cousin approached me via email several months ago about making a bookshelf quilt for her mother in law for Christmas.  Secretly, I've always wanted to make this quilt, ever since I found it on Moda Bake Shop.  The pattern is called Read With Me Quilt and is by Melissa Corry.  I absolutely LOVE the way it is quilted.

After explaining what a jelly roll was to my non quilty cousin, I told her to pick out a jelly roll, mail it to me and I would get started.  Several weeks later, this little 1930's reproduction jelly roll arrived in my mail box.  I grabbed a pretty white on white fabric for the background and promptly but it on a shelf..fitting right?



When I finally cracked this bad boy open I discovered instead of being your typical 42 strips it was only 20.  Huston, we have a problem.  Luckly, I have a huge stash of 1930's reproduction fabric that I've never touched (that good ol' good intentions thing).



 I asked if it would be okay to incorporate some of those and got a green light.  I'm actually glad this happened.  That jelly roll was a whole lot of orange, brown, green and blue.  My stash addition added a bit more color.

Now it was time to read the directions and start chopping.  


As I cut my different length strips I sorted them into bags according to their size.  This made things so much easier when I had to sort my strips for the four different types of blocks that make up the quilt.

Since it was mostly strip piecing it went together in no time.

The little blue squares at the top are part of the MOD Bear Paw you will be seeing soon

This led to a little Crafted Applique fun.



Let's not forget quality control testing.


And boom!  A finished quilt top.  This is where the pictures stopped.  I knew I was quickly approaching the deadline and focused more on the quilt and less on the blogging aspect.  Sorry.  I was DYING to quilt this one based off the original quilt design, but knowing that my cousin wanted it for Christmas 2016 and not Christmas however long it takes, I went with the more practical all over loops design using Aurifil #2021 Natural White.  So after a quick quilting and a tumble in the washer and dryer, I was able to get this in the mail and delivered safe and sound on time.

I did snap a few pictures before it went out.  A huge thanks to my mom/next door neighbor for letting me take a few pictures in her house.  The weather has been quite bleak, with no good lighting.








My cousin and her mother in law was nice enough to share a few pictures with me and allow me to share them with you.


The picture is a little blurry, but I think the happiness shines through!


And a very sweet picture of my cousin and her mother in law.

I'm very glad that I was able to help my cousin with her gift and lets to a little happy dance for me, because I was able to cross a bucket list item off and another item off my 4th quarter list!!  Of course, now I want to make one for me too, because I must have all the quilts :)


Today I'm linking up with Let's Bee Social.

18 comments:

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

It's awesome! Kudos on meeting the deadline.

Nancy J said...

Wow, and the delight is plain to see. Finished on time,and a superb design and quilting.

Vicki in MN said...

What a wonderful quilt, and she looks thrilled to have received it.

Jayne said...

How wonderful! The joy on her face is priceless and worth every stitch! Great finish Tish!!

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

And that is exactly why having a stash can be such an amazing thing! Congratulations for the finish, and I am sure that the last photo was icing on the cake. :)

Gina said...

THis is lovely. I've a hankering to do a book shelf quilt after making some blocks for a Bee. One day maybe xx

bvanwe said...

I love this but need one somewhat larger. Any ideas on making it about 10 inches longer and wider.

Cut&Alter said...

What a great finish Tish. A bookshelf quilt is certainly on my to do list.

Bernie Kringel said...

This turned out so cute! Thank you for sharing the story. A lovely Christmas tale.:-)

Stitchin At Home said...

What a lovely quilt and thankfully you had some stash to keep on going with it. You can see the pleasure on her face. Well done!!

Emily said...

This is beautiful, Tish! I love how it turned out! And now I understand what you mean about the quilting in the original--it's amazing! Sometimes deadlines are great because they keep us on track, but I'm sorry you didn't have time to really get creative on this one. I have no doubt it is well loved!

JanineMarie said...

What a wonderful quilt, and it's so neat that your cousin sent you pictures of the gift giving! That makes it all the more special.

Janice Holton said...

YAY for a great finish! Celebrating that with you! Really cute too.

Paige said...

Tish, it's fantastic! Adding 'books to the shelves' from your stash made a complete library! :)

KaHolly said...

Wow, Tish! It's awesome!

Heide said...

Great finish, and the happiness shows!

Kate said...

A very fun quilt! I can see why you'd want to make one for yourself. What a great gift for both your cousin and her MIL.

helenjean@midgetgemquilts said...

Your own stash really adds to the jelly roll fabrics . A great finish tish and well done with the lettering

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