Winter Blues

One of the biggest things I wanted to do when I started my blog was to participate in the various
blog hops I have enjoyed reading. I knew the challenge to stay within the creative limits of the
theme would be a challenge I enjoyed! When this one was introduced I knew I had to join in,
after all blue is my favorite color! 

When I interviewed for my teaching position, one of the questions was how I would handle 
motivation in the long period with no breaks in the middle of the winter.  I misunderstood and 
said that I find taking breaks for the things I enjoy, like quilting often helps. Of course that answer
wasn’t quite what they were looking for since they meant motivating the students-OOPS! 
However the more refreshed I am the more I can inspire my students to get through the winter 
blues too.  
When I signed up I was thinking I would make a string tulip quilt because I’d started cutting one 
and then got distracted.  When I thought about the quilts I already started with looming deadlines, I
decided that starting a new quilt would cause me more stress and not help with those winter blues. 

Then I was thinking I’d use a quilt I’m making for a wedding gift because it has a lot of blue. Then
another blog hop was announced for after the wedding that I thought that one would also work for
and not give away the surprise.  Then I realized that I’d started a new quilt for my husband to use
so I could repair my tee shirt quilt that he’d been using and since we both love blue I’d used blue 
to surround crumb blocks. The only reason I’d set this aside was that the piece I thought I wanted
to use for the backing wasn’t large enough, but I found another piece of fabric that was the perfect size.
This was just the motivation I needed to finish that quilt! 
Trying hard to hold my quilt up by the bridge!
With the crumb quilts I personally prefer the look of tying the quilt.  For some reason this style
reminds me more of the type of quilt my grandma would have made if she were a quilter and that
equates to tying in my mind. I was actually surprised how quickly I managed to tie this once I put my
mind to it, and found a piece that would work for the back.   




Once I got the table cleaned off to tie one quilt I figured I may as well get another done, so I was also
able to finish a project I started with my students last school year.  I’m planning to write a post about
that one at a later time but it has so much blue that it works well with this theme too. We had a snowy
weekend so I even managed to bind both quilts in time for the hop and then made my husband trek
through the snow to get to where I wanted to take pictures. 
There have been so many inspiring projects in the blog hop so far. Be sure to check out the other
bloggers participating in the blog hop today.

Comments

  1. Your quilts are beautiful. The snow looks so cool. Enjoy your day!! :-) :-)

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  2. This my favorite quilt so far in this entire blog hop! Love the use of scraps, the simple design and it's tied instead of quilted. I'm a quilt a quilt to death kind of quilter. However some of my favorite quilts are the ones that are lightly quilted or tied.

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  3. Beautiful quilt and good idea.

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  4. The bright blue sets off the crumb blocks beautifully. Great job! Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Good Morning! Both quilts are fabulous. I really enjoyed hearing about your thought process on how you decided which quilt was the ultimate winner for this post. Your husband was a good trooper and an excellent quilt holder - and that covered bridge is SO COOL. What a perfect backdrop for photoshoots. I love all the different scraps of fabrics you worked together, kind of like favorite pieces leftover from other fun projects. Now they are all connected into this gem. ~smile~ Roseanne

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  6. I always love a colorful photo taken with snow surrounding.Beautiful quilt.

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  7. Your quilts are wonderful. I love the idea of a tied quilt I haven't done one of them in ages. These quilts were perfect for that type of finish.

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  8. Great crumb quilt. I call that "excellent scrap management". So pretty with the blue sashing!

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  9. Beautiful quilt. I need to do something like that with my multiple scraps! Thanks so much for sharing!

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  10. Love your crumb quilt. I love the way you've set the blocks. I have a several crumb blocks built over the years and your quilt is such an inspiration for me to make something with them.

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  11. Scrap and crumb quilts are dear to my heart. I love squeezing out the very last scraps of fabric into a usable quilt. Your's is bright and cheery and wow, what a beautiful bridge to use as a background.

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  12. I see that you, too, have a few UFOs. I'm NOT counting mine! Congrats on completion and motivation. Love your 'Grandma's' quilt - wouldn't she be proud that you were using a technique she used? Excellent.

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  13. Great projects, and glad DH would walk through snow for you. I love the photos, too. Wooden bridges are wonderful!

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  14. Great quilts! I have never made a crumb quilt but it looks like fun. Thanks for sharing!

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  15. Love your blue quilts! Thanks for sharing! I'm now thinking crumb quilt for a project to use up some stash!

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  16. Beautiful quilts! They certainly chase away the winter blues! I have never heard scrap quilts called crumb quilts before. I like crumb better because it sounds yummy and lends itself to all different kinds of cute names for quilts.

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  17. It never ceases to amaze me what beautiful quilts come out of scraps. Well done.

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  18. Two beautiful quilts for the entrance fee of one! I really like the one you made for your husband. I remember you posting about that one before, so I'm glad I got to see it at this stage.

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  19. What a beautiful Americana quilt. Great use of scraps.

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  20. Thanks for sharing your quilts with the Hop. Crumb quilts are my favorite!!

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  21. Perfect to use all that color with a blue background. I love scrappy or crumb quilts, they are just so darn interesting and colorful. Thank you for joining the Winter Blue Blog Hop!

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  22. Woohoo on finishes and great blue projects!

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  23. Thanks for sharing your quilts with blue.

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  24. Cheerful quilts! They should get rid of the winter blahs!

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  25. Two great finishes on those beautiful quilts! I love the scrappy look and tying them would definitely bring some nostalgia to them. I tied many, many quilts with my mom over the years. Thank you for sharing!

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  26. Thanks for sharing your projects!

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  27. Hi there. You asked on my blog about the sea-themed quilt. I couldn't answer as you come across as a no-reply blogger. The center part was mostly from a book by The Picket Fence called All Hands on Deck. The panels were silk-screened lighthouses and whales I picked up in a shop in Trinidad, CA long ago. So I designed the quilt around that center panel and those panels.

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  28. They are both great quilts. I love your photo shoot at the bridge; and appreciate your desire to tie something to honor your grandmother's memory.

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  29. Great quilts! I love that covered bridge too. My Grandpa built one at the entrance to his home in Montana; great memories!

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  30. Great quilts and that covered bridge and snow surrounding it is awesome! Thanks for sharing.

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  31. The blue really sets those crumb blocks off amazingly!

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  32. Your crumb quilt it lovely with the blue.

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