The Blogger's Quilt Festival May 2011

Once again Amy's wonderful Blogger's Quilt Festival has come around and I've let it slip through my fingers this year because I wasn't sure I had something I wanted to put in the Festival.  Then it occurred to me that, rather than hang a quilt up in the main hall of the festival, I might hang a few minis up in the mini quilt room because, if I put them all together, they still wouldn't make one whole quilt.  I know most people pass that room by because it's on the way to the toilets but I always go in there because it's a bit quieter than the main rooms which are teeming with bloggers elbowing their way through the festival and the coffee's cheaper.

First let me introduce myself.  My name is Lynne but my blog is called Lily's Quilts because my husband likes to call me Lily.  I live in England with my Welsh husband and our four kids who are kind to me about my quilting but don't think it's very cool (except if I make something from Dr Seuss fabrics then they're all over it like a rash).  I'm forty something and look it but in my head, when there are no mirrors around, I look more like a supermodel - however, this is not reflected back at me in a mirror sadly.

This year for me has been the year of the mini quilt.  Why?  They're quick to make.  Fun to quilt.  It's a great way to try something new without committing to a whole quilt of it.  And you can hang them up on your walls just like pictures.  So here are the minis I've made and I hope Amy isn't cross with me for showing several small quilts rather than one full-sized one.  Amy, please feel more than free to delete the link to this post if that is the case.

This was finished last night and has been made for my secret partner in the Brit Quilt Swap - a new Flickr swap for those quilters living in Britain.  It's my first time playing with scrappy and value.

The hard lesson I have learned about scrappy though is that each one of those scraps has a story behind it for me - a gift from a friend or family, a piece from a favourite layer cake, which turns the quilt into a little story book of this year's quilting and so gives the quilt more meaning for me than a quilt made from fabrics bought for the purpose.  It's going to be difficult to give away.  Here is the back of the quilt.

The next quilt was made as a teaser for the QAL I hosted earlier this year.  That dresden is about 25" across and those circles are pieced in.  Lots of people joined in the QAL and it was so much fun for me.  The QAL quilt is made from six of these big babies, is designed to be made from a layer cake plus yardage and instructions can be found on my blog starting here.  I have to slip in here too that we here in Britain are so proud of Aneela and her fabrics.  Sherbet Pips has been a hugely popular fabric line and remind us all of those endless days of playing with our kids in the park, wondering how long before we can go home and have a nice cup of tea.

I made this mini for my Mum's 70th birthday - she asked for a Family Tree quilt.  I used shot cottons which give the tree a lovely shimmer.  Our names are FMQed onto the leaves.  There are some leaves without names but my sisters are going to have to fill those because I've had four kids and, fabulous as they are, that's enough now.

This mini comes up at about 22" X 30" and is called Double Fat Jack because it is a union jack made from two fat quarters plus a bit of yardage.  Instructions can be found on my blog here.  This was made the day before the Royal Wedding which was a day of fun and celebrations here in England (I know you know that of course) but it was a good day to be British.

This mini is called Big Little George because it is a big block  but a little version of the Georgetown Circle.  We had a little mini week long QAL on the blog for this and instructions can be found starting in this post here.  One day maybe I will make a proper Georgetown Circle but for now, I have made a mini one.

This mini was a fun way of playing with a lovely bundle of blenders from Sew Fresh Fabrics and making a variation on the big dresden QAL pattern.  I cut each leaf using my dresden ruler then added a skinny charcoal strip between each one and pieced the inner and outer circles in rather than appliqueing them so the circle just floats there.

And finally here is the quilt I made for my secret partner in the Doll Quilt Swap on Flickr.  It's my kind of little homage to the wonderful ladies of Gees Bend but doesn't come close (for me) to anything they made.

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my blog.  I am going to see as many quilts in the main hall as possible and will also try to visit back to any commenters on this post, which always makes the Festival more fun to me.  If you haven't entered the Festival yourself or haven't taken a look round it before, now's your chance.  It's a great way to meet new bloggers.  Click on this button to find out more: