Merry Go Round Bloggers Quilt Festival 2011
Three cheers for the Bloggers Quilt Festival!!
Today I'm showing off my Very Very Merry Merry Go Round Quilt. I made this quilt a few years ago so you may have seen it before but it's so bright and colourful I thought it would be a fun festival quilt.
It all started when I bought some Queen of May block templates around the same time I was given a heap of scraps. Without any plan I began sewing lots of these fun Queen of May circles. They come together surprisingly quick and easy. They make a great carry around project!
Soon I had a pile and had to decide what to do with them! At first I thought I'd sew up the rest of my bits of fabric to make up scrappy squares to alternate with the Queen blocks. I was amazed to find how far all those scraps went. I could have made a quilt with just those strips !! I played around with different ideas but in the end I decided to use the scrappy strings as sashing.
I was pretty new to quilting when I made this and quilted it on my old 1960's Bernina who I fondly call Betty. I then hand quilted in colourful perle 8 cotton around the circles and triangles.
This quilt was perfect for my sister-in-law because her birthday is in May and she is such a colourful person. I'm happy to report she loves it and uses it!!
I'm sending huge thank you to Amy at Amy's Creative Side for hosting such a great event. It's a highlight on my quilting calendar. I've got no plans for the weekend except to hop, skip and jump around to see as many quilts, and wonderful blogs as I can! Leave me a comment and I'll come and visit you!! Thank you for visiting!!Cheerio,
86 Comments
I love colorful quilts and yours is gorgeous! Wish I would be your sister. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI adore your use of colour! Your sis is only lucky lady getting a quilt like that :)
ReplyDeleteI love this quilt Rachael. Your sister is soooo lucky.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could do scrappy like you, xx.
This is one of my favourite quilts Rachael and I am so pleased you shared it here so I could find out more about how you made it! I hadn't realised you had hand pieced the middle circles (over paper I presume?), I have not heard of this block but I would really like to have a go! Did you applique the circles onto the block? I need lots more info so I can make a quilt this cool one day!
ReplyDeleteI love your quilt!! You are right it is amazing how far scraps can go. The colors are great.
ReplyDeleteExcellent! Love the bright scrappiness and your design is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteRachael, this quilt is super fabulous! I love all the color and those queen of May blocks are just stunning! Bravo!
ReplyDeleteHey, Rachael. Great to see you here. I love this gorgeous quilt. It's such a great design and I love all the vibrant colours. This is such a fun quilt and I can see why it was a very welcome gift. It's a beautiful quilt!!!
ReplyDeleteI cannot think of anything but a kaleidoscope when I see this quilt, it is stunning!!!!! The vibrant colors and beautiful design are amazing :o) Great job!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely adore your quilt!!
ReplyDeleteLove this, not buying that "they come together surprisingly quick and easy" but they are stunning!
ReplyDeleteWant to adopt another sister?
Come see my entries: #29 miniature reproduction quilt and #31 antique 1850 Star quilt
Rachael!
ReplyDeleteYour quilt is so beautiful!!! You are so generous with your gift. Your sister in law is a really lucky girl!
Gorgeous happy quilt Rachael...and your sister is one lucky gal...enjoy blog hopping and I hope Hubby cooks up a nice dinner tomorrow night for you...You will need it after being busy looking at all the quilts!!!
ReplyDeleteI love this quilt and those great hexies from the previous post. I am a new follower!
ReplyDeleteLOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!! This is fantastic and wonderful all rolled into one!!! Lucky sis-in-law! And sweet you to make such a beautiful quilt to give her.
ReplyDeleteWhat an absolutely gorgeous quilt and isn't your sister a lucky lucky girl. Makes me want to go do the same thing with my scraps! Thanks for the thought Rachel!!
ReplyDeleteLook at all those wonderful colors!! Orange!!! and green!! my favs!!I wanted to snatch that orange block right out of the screen.hehe
ReplyDeleteLucky sister!
I got to looking at it closer.. I see some of the colors you used in that little doll quilt I won!! yay! Have a fun filled weekend Rachael!
WOW! I'm star struck! This is amazing with so much color and movement!
ReplyDeleteI love your quilt!!! It's amazing and beautiful!!! I love the scrappy sashing and all of the colors!!!!That would be perfect to snuggle up in. It makes me happy just looking at it =D
ReplyDeleteGlad you shared this quilt - I just love all the colour! WOW - what a beauty!
ReplyDeleteNow this is certainly a happy quilt! Thank you for sharing it with us today. Rachel, I really love your quilting idea, and I can't stop smiling at your quilt!
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Cyprus!
Amazing design! The colors are so happy:)
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of a queen of may block. But I LOVE it! i love all the color and variety in your quilt... Just love it!
ReplyDeletewhat a wonderful contribution the the quilt festival.
ReplyDeleteThe wheels look complicated,I haven't had the courage yet to piece something like this.
Love the quilt !
I also have never heard of a Queen of May block, but I love it! And I love how scrappy and bright this quilt is. Just gorgeous!!! Seriously.
ReplyDeleteWow - love the colors!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderfull quilt! You and your Betty had done a great job :-) !!!
ReplyDeleteLove the colors and mix of blocks and textures with the quilting - good for you in handquilting. Thank you for sharing this beautiful quilt with us.
ReplyDeleteMarvelous, I love all the color and the scraps, the strings as sashing is wonderful. Just great.
ReplyDeleteSpectacular. I love the design and "scrappy-ness".
ReplyDeleteLe tue sono sempre trapunte stupende con colori favolosi!
ReplyDeleteGrazie per i graditi commenti che non dimentichi mai di lasciarci
Ciao e buon divertimento per i prossimi giorni!
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your quilt!! Thank you for showing it.
ReplyDeleteYoue Quilt is Stunning!
ReplyDeleteOooh, ahhh, it's wonderful! What a terrific sister you are!
ReplyDeleteTalk about adorable Rachael. I love this quilt . Scrappy and bright are two of my favourite things. No wonder your sister loves it!
ReplyDeleteIts such a gorgeous quilt Rach, your SIL is a lucky gal!
ReplyDeleteGreat quilt Rachael! Looking lovely in its Blue Mountain setting too! Enjoy your blog hop!
ReplyDeleteWonderful quilt...so vibrant, great pattern and lovely colors. Nice job. Love your quilting, too Thanks for sharing it. Have a great day
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful, vibrant colors!
ReplyDeleteWow! I'll be she loves it!
ReplyDeleteHow pretty! I love how you used the color in this quilt.
ReplyDeleteI truly, truly love all the colours you used in this quilt. It is bright, cheery and fresh and it makes me immensely happy to look at it. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI love your very happy, scrappy, colorful quilt. No one could ever be sad in a room with this beauty.
ReplyDeletePlaying in the scrap box is quickly becoming my favorite way to quilt. Maybe someday I will manage to keep enough of my tiny creations to make a big beautiful scrap quilt as well. Your quilt is certainly inspiring me.
Thanks for sharing it.
beautiful quilt! i'm also wondering where you are located because i'm in the blue ridge area in central virginia!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.littlebitsandmore.com/2011/10/bloggers-quilt-festival-serendipitous.html
Em
what a wonderful gift - love and art all wrapped up in one. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou know I love it!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! It looks quite complicated to make but the result is just stunning!
ReplyDeleteYour scrappy blocks came together beautifully! I've always loved this block but have yet to try it...
ReplyDeleteI love scrappy quilts and your sister in-law is blessed to have you in her family. It is a wonder quilt. Thank you for sharing it with all of us.
ReplyDeleteLove how colorful and scrappy this quilt is!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful Cheerful quilt. Your use of color is dazzeling!!!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful Cheerful quilt. Your use of color is dazzeling!!!
ReplyDeletelove the quilt!
ReplyDeleteMargaret
www.quiltsoflove.blogspot.com
Such a bright cheerful quilt!
ReplyDeleteOh, this is one amazing quilt! Very cool!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a gorgeous quilt - I love colour in my quilts too and the circular blocks remind me of the Camelot quilt which I`m just about to start hand piecing. A lovely choice for the BQF.
ReplyDeleteGreat quilt - what a unique pattern!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you decided to show this one because it's the first time I've seen it. I really like the sashing and the bright, cheerful fabrics.
ReplyDeleteThat is one fine quilt! I love that you made it up as you went along. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by to see my quilt - I love this one of yours! It is so fun and bright! Scrappy quilts are the best!
ReplyDeleteScrappy at its best! Truly, a gorgeous quilt. I love the strippy sashings, and the riot of color throughout. Fabulous! Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous quilt, truly! I love, love, love the bright colors, but I can't decide whether I should truly believe you when you say "they come together quick and easily." Ha! LOL. Thanks for sharing your - err, your SIL's - quilt with us!
ReplyDeleteIs Betty a Bernina 830? One that came in a red plastic case? I sew on the same machine! I purchased mine in 1976.
whoa, that's some amazing piecing there! such a happy quilt. congrats!
ReplyDeleteI love the saturation of colours, it's beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThis is just yummy, I love the color and vibrancy!
ReplyDeleteYour quilt is very vibrant and cheerful. I hope I can make a compass style quilt someday.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun, happy quilt! Great use of scraps.
ReplyDeleteHi there Rachel,
ReplyDeletejust seeing if i have fixed the glitch.
What a bright and cheerful quilt! i love it. I can't imagine that you hand stitched all that together. That's crazy! one day I want to be able to hand quilt a quilt but I doubt that will be any day soon...I just get to a point where I want to get the quilt finished! =)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your quilt and I love your blog - so fun! =)
Beautiful! So colorful and fun! I must try circles one day :-) thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteA stunning quilt and the pattern and colors are just so fun. A perfect pick for the Quilter's Festival!
ReplyDeletewhat a fun, colorful and fabulous quilt!! Love it - thanks for sharing it in the festival.
ReplyDeleteAnother colorful burst of joy! LOVE it!!!
ReplyDeleteWow !! You are so my kind of girl!! I love color, color, color.. and you girl have it!! Love this quilt. I'm your newest follower!! Come see me when you can. Hugs
ReplyDeleteIts a lovely quilt Rachel- very fun and very pretty- love the rich colors.
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing another of your wonderful pieces.
Enjoy the festival.
Regards,
Anna
what a lovely quilt! So colorful and happy!
ReplyDeleteHow could you not love all that colour! Its gorgeous! I love it when you give quilts as gifts and they actually get used. Its very satisfying. Happy blog hopping over the weekend.
ReplyDeleteOh what glorious color! And hand quilted! Over all those seams. Amazing and then you go and give it away. That's the spirit!
ReplyDeleteFAB-U-LOUS!!!
ReplyDeleteSo cheery and bright--no wonder your sister loves it!
Hazle
That quilt puts the B in Beautiful. I love it :)
ReplyDeleteStunning! I am not familiar with this block, so I really enjoyed seeing it. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a fantastic quilt!! How nice your sister loves it and uses it too.
ReplyDeleteVery pretty colors--love the design!
ReplyDeleteI can see why your sister-in-law loves this quilt! It is great fun to visit all these blogs...this may take me weeks...but I'm thrilled to see so many wonderful quilts and learn the stories behind them.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. I love the bright colours and the design.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful, colorful quilt...thanks for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for leaving me a comment. Your kind words encourage me to keep sharing my work and stories.