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Thursday, March 22, 2018

Blue and Green Turtles

First, thank you to all of you who entered my book giveaway: "Modern Plus Sign Quilts." I enjoyed reading your comments - and compliments! When I chose winning comment #38, using random number generator, I discovered that the commenter had not left a way for me to reach her. Generating a second number, #28, I contacted a very happy Mandy. She lives in Iowa, and we discovered some mutual cities of residence. Small world. She's thrilled to receive the book, and is already planning a quilt for her daughter! 

Second, I'd like to say thank you for your support during round 1 of the Mad for Solids competitive voting. My Painter's Palette fabric bundle - Tiffany Lights - won! (Read more about it here.)

Thank you for voting on the InspiredbyFabric blog, Instagram, and Facebook!

Tiffany Lights will again compete in round 9 on March 26 beginning at 6 pm through 6 pm March 27 (one vote per person/per medium). I don't yet know which fabric bundle is opposite mine, though I'd love your support. The Mad for Solids winner will design a quilt made from the fabrics in her bundle.

When we reach the final round on April 1, your votes on InspiredbyFabric blogInstagram, and Facebook enter you in several giveaways of fat quarter bundles, so don't miss that! 

All this excitement happened while I was away from home! Dan, Hogan, and I traveled by car - 18 hours each way - to Kansas City to spend spring break with our daughter and her family. Not only were the kids out of school, but our granddaughter was home from Colorado State. I saw my dad three times, and both my siblings and their spouses, so it was a nice visiting time. I also celebrated a birthday with them. The only negative: not nice weather - gray and gloomy. Oh, how I prefer the (mostly) sunshine, and temperatures in Florida!

Anticipating our trip, I decided to "whip up" a couple gifties for the boys. These turtles are made according to the large size of this Shell Shelter pattern by Java House Quilts.

In this picture I had all the parts and pieces made, only needing to join them all together. The head and eyes were stuffed with cotton fiberfill.

I chose the colors, blue and green, because our daughter assigned these colors to her boys when they were little. Being 13 months apart in age, color-coding each boy helped others who thought they were twins!

Instead of sewing buttons for eyes, I used 1 mm sequins. 


What makes each turtle special is the zippered storage area in the belly.

Adhering to my self-imposed plan to sew only from my stash, where the pattern called for "decorator weight fabric," I cut up Dan's old blue jeans and used the legs to piece the bellies of both turtles. The orange interior wouldn't have been my first choice, but that orange print was the appropriate decorator-weight lining fabric.

Both boys loved their turtles! Aesa immediately stuffed his with his favorite toys, including a stuffed shark! Hmmm. A little irony? Aesa named his turtle Shelly.

Tay named his turtle George, and was very impressed that Bapa's jeans were used for George's belly.


A few more turtle-making days are in my sewing future. After all, I have four grandsons! 😊 Linda

8 comments:

  1. Glad you had a good trip and family time. And that you won the first round of voting. What fun it will be if you get to make a quilt from your selections! Turtles are clearly a big hit.

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  2. Cute boys! And great turtle gifts. Sounds like you had a wonderful time with family, and can appreciate Florida even more now. We could sure use some warm sunny days to melt the ice that refuses to leave. Congratulations on your first round win!

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  3. Love those turtles, and your cute grandsons do too!

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  4. Love the turtles, didn't expect them to be that big. Great idea. The boys look pleased.

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  5. Those turtles are just adorable. Glad you had a nice trip to KC. We'll be there for just a couple of days the very end of Apr/beginning of May. Most time being spent in Topeka where my SIS lives now. At least by then the weather will be nice a springlike. How is your granddaughter getting along at CSU?

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  6. Very cute turtles and very cute boys! I see that you'll be going up against Shelley in Game 9--she had a bundle almost identical to mine, even using the term "Northern Lights" to describe it. (I'm rooting for you, but don't tell.) So glad you traveled safely, especially in this weather that still wants to be winter!

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  7. Congratulations on winning that round and good luck on the next one. I’m loving those turtles, Linda. That pattern has been living in my pattern basket for years. Maybe I need to dig it out and give it a try? Smart to use upcycled jeans for the belly, sticking to the 'plan'! Well done!

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