Thursday 26 February 2015

A sea, sun and sand quilt



kite flying on the beach by Green Star Quilts

Here in Lincolnshire we have the most wonderful safe and sandy beaches and in the summer they make a great place to visit with children. Our seaside towns are very traditional, lots of shops selling buckets and spades, whirly windmills in bright colours and every sort of ice cream possible. The donkey rides are a huge attraction and because the landscape is flat, the sun seems so high in our big skies. Fish and chips for lunch, a walk along the seafront, lots of dogs swimming in the sea and such enormous happiness from burying your feet in the sand..... it all makes a very special day out.


children on the beach

 So even though the weather is still chilly and the snowdrops are only just out, I have been making a seaside inspired quilt. Here is the first block:


star block for seaside quilt
It is a picture quilt with lots to look at and retro camper vans for the trip to the beach.... I fussy cut the campers from a printed fabric:

camper vans at the beach
The shell were inspired by these I saw in a shop window:

Amonites in a shop window
The colours of the quilt are bright and sunny, using lots of different fabrics from all the tiny pieces saved in the sewing room. I save every tiny scrap with Bondaweb on it from other projects and they are so useful for things like tiny strings of bunting....

beach huts by Green Star Quilts

The local people on the coast are very friendly and make every effort welcome people and their dogs...


The quilt top is nearly finished now and ready to be quilted:

Seaside quilt top by Green Star Quilts

Boats, fish, swimmers, bikes are there and daffodils, a Welsh flag and The White Rose of York to show the family history of Emily who will own this quilt soon. I am just about to quilt the top now and will show you the finished quilt next time.



So in this pale spring sunshine, I hope you have felt a little warmer for a few minutes reading the blog,
Happy quilting this week,
Kind regards,
Sue

PS. I so enjoy reading your comments, they make a happy part of my day, so thank you for saying hello, I will answer them all on the comments bit and visit your blogs if possible too.

13 comments:

Jasmine said...

Wow! Your use of color and value makes this cute so impressive. I love your beachy appliqué.

Sue @ Quilting the Green Star said...

Thanks Jasmine, I shall be looking at your blog for a lesson on how to quilt it, you are so good at free motion quilting and your sample quilt is lovely.

Marie said...

That seaside quilt is a real beaut! Unfortunately looking out of my window summer seems like a distant memory.

Sue @ Quilting the Green Star said...

Oh dear maybe I was a little too optimistic! It's freezing here on the east coast too. We can only dream but with our feet on a hot water bottle and our knees snuggled under a quilt!

Joanne said...

Wonderful quilt, it will be perfect for breezy seaside picnics!

Anonymous said...

So beautiful! The landscape and the quilts :) I am dying for warm weather

ipatchandquilt said...

You seaside project is super cute!
Esther

Sue @ Quilting the Green Star said...

What a good idea, I hadn't thought about making picnic quilts, maybe win the left over fabrics if there are enough!

Sue @ Quilting the Green Star said...

Oh I konw, think flip flops, summer dresses, no socks and long warm evenings... I can't wait!

Sue @ Quilting the Green Star said...

Thanks Esther, I am making another similar one for Emily's little sister too.

Sue Wild said...

Lovely to see your bit of sea where you are and enjoyed seeing your beach quilt. Lovely.

Sue @ Quilting the Green Star said...

Thanks Sue and you have inspired me to have a go at one of those zippy pouches on your blog.

Nita said...

Your quilt makes me long for summer :)
Popping in from A Fresh Sewing Day.