A Whale of a Good Time!

No, we’re not out partying like college kids on spring break. I mean, really. It’s winter in Utah and it snowed today. We’re old fogies, there’s a pandemic going on (but the tide seems to be turning to use yet another seaside idiom), and who’s got that kind of energy? No, my idea of a good time the last couple of days has been working on the next round of the Stay at Home Round Robin. So let’s get to it, shall we?

This is where my project finished last week after Round 4:

On Monday, our Round Five hostess (and brainchild behind the SAHRR), Gail of Quilting Gail, called Appliqué for the next round. An alternate of rail fence blocks was given for those not crazy, er, daring enough to do appliqué. Or in my case, to do MORE appliqué.  Yes, I decided on appliqué so I could insert more ocean motifs.

First I had to decide how wide to make the next border and what color. I found a nice ocean blue in my stash. Then came the images - how many? Which ones? Since this quilt is for my husband Bruce, I let him help me pick designs. I searched for some copyright-free line drawings and/or silhouettes online, and we picked our favorites. Then I drew them on paper a few times until I got the scale and proportions right. 

From there I sewed on the blue fabric border, fused Steam-a-Seam Lite to the back of black and green fabrics, and traced the shapes on. Then I cut them out, fused them on and topstitched them down. It. Took. Forever.  Here’s the back side and then the front side of the first motif, a sea turtle. 

Continuing on, I eventually had it finished.

I knew I wanted long-ish motifs on the sides. When Bruce said he didn’t want jellyfish, I switched to seaweed/grasses with seahorses. The anchors were extras that we just decided to throw in because why not? You can see they are slightly different because my drawing skills are limited,

So, that’s it for this round. The quilt now measures 40.5” x 48.5”. Depending on what the next round will be, I may add a thin stop border around the blue before proceeding. I sure hope next week’s round isn’t as time-intensive! But I know it will be just as fun!

I invite you to come check out what the other participants are doing. You can find the link-up quilt parade at Quilting Gail’s blog.