And still More Cirlcles...QAYG

As I go through my quilts, I'm rather surprised, at how many are QAYG. The circles on this quilt are inset rather than applique. The quilt is all flannels, except for the binding and the joining strips. In my earlier QAYG quilts, including this one, the lattice or joining strips are very obvious
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I just can't seem to get enough of spirals....easy when you are quilting the individual blocks.

 

Quilt Back

More QAYG ...and with Circles

By the time I made this quilt in 2007, I was beginning to be an old pro at joining the squares. I made this quilt for my beautiful niece, Alarissa's 16th birthday......as she unwrapped it our eyes met, and she said in wonder "You made this for me?" I was a happy quilter then..... another one of my quilts was going to be loved. There I go...sappy again.

 

As my fascination with circles, started to grow, I was determined to conquer them. I have a few favourite methods for circles, as well.....I'll save that for another day

The squares for the quilt back are just random....I didn't bother planning to much....I like surprises.

 

My Love Affair with QAYG continued....

This next QAYG quilt was inspired by the book quick and easy Quilts by Jenni Dobson ( Liberated Log Cabin). I went a little crazy and learned a lot along the way. Joining squares, that size, definitely has it's moments.  For  awhile, I thought I would never finish it. However, the minute I did, my youngest hugged and loved it, you know what that means, it went home with her. She has since moved to Montreal...so far away...it makes me happy she has it with her. Sorry, we quilters can be so sappy!

 

Since I was still fooling around with circles, at the time, I plunked a few, on the center blocks....I'm not sure they really add anything to the overall design.

 

The truly amazing thing about making this quilt, is how liberating it really is. You can even cut into the fabric, you are afraid of using...I know you all have a few of those...because you only have to cut a strip or two.  I didn't plan ahead. One strip at a time...without to much thinking.

My plan is to document all of my QAYG quilts and then illustrate my favourite methods.  Even though I have a long arm quilter I still love QAYG!!!

My Love Affair with QAYG

It was this particular quilt that started my love affair with QAYG quilts, back in 2006. I spent an evening with  friends, who were making quilts for an orphanage in the Ukraine. They were tossing around ideas, that I had long forgotten about....but I went home pumped and decided to make a quilt for the orphanage too. I had some quarter circles that I had been playing with and decided to use them for the center of the quilt. I quilted the center and then added each border and quilted each border, before I added the next one.

If you look at the back of the quilt you can see the center with all the borders. I was having such a blast making this quilt, that I called friend to join me and we have been quilting together ever since ( the BLOCKHEADS...more about them another day). I got her so hooked, that I think, maybe, just maybe, her husband thinks I'm a bad influence in the stash department.....me?.....how is that even possible?

I had so much fun I thought I better do one for home. I was playing with circles at the time so I threw them in there too.

There a couple of advantages to this method

1. You get to start quilting early on in the project....I love that.
2. You don't have to stuff the whole quilt under the machine (there are those of you, out there..and you know who are....Lynne...whoops did I say that out loud???) that get a strange satisfaction out of doing just that.  Me, I just get a headache.
3. There a number of different QAYG methods ( I do love researching different methods).
4. The quilt actually gets quilted....now I know, there are many tops hidden away, never to see the light of day, because they never get quilted I have a few, of those myself.