Thursday, February 17, 2011

Grandpa's Candy Dish: A Quilty Finish

A grandfather is someone with silver in his hair and gold in his heart.
–Unknown

I've had this quilt rattling around in my head since last August. I saw it over at Quilt Times. Sue was using a pattern called Summer Breeze {found in Scrap-Basket Surprises}. She'd done hers in reds and greens and called it Christmas Stars. I loved the design. I decided that I'd use some giveaway winnings, a really fabulous Moda Marbles Jelly Roll and my Go!, to make something like it.

I really wanted this to be a Christmas gift for my Grandpa, but budget and time constraints prohibited that. So, I made it a priority as one of the first things to get done in the New Year. When I pictured what sort of fabric I wanted to use for the pinwheels, homespun came to mind and I thought red would be really spectacular. But when I got to JoAnn's {armed with my trusty 50% off coupons :wink:}, I absolutely fell in love with this earthy brown homespun. I picked up a piece of white-on-ivory for the background {also at 50%} and got a terrific steal deal on some Warm and Natural batting. I came in at just under $20 {it was $19.68 for those of you who are wondering, and I know some of you are} total out-of-pocket cost for this quilt.

I used the starter die that comes with the Go! Fabric Cutter to cut the half-square triangles for the pinwheels. It was really fast and fun. I laid the fabrics in pairs, right sides together and when I'd finished, they were all ready stacked and ready to sew :clap:. As I worked, I pondered names for this quilt. I couldn't very well call it Summer Breeze or Christmas Stars. I started out with basic descriptors, Grandpa's Pinwheels, Homespun Pinwheels, and the mostly likely candidate, Elemental Pinwheels. Then I asked for Mr. Bug's input. He suggested Earthy Pinwheels or Rusty Pinwheels. Nothing seemed to fit. Completely in love with how the top was coming out, I'd resigned to calling it the less-than-spectacular Elemental Pinwheels. I began to put the borders on and realized that the gorgeous browns reminded me of chocolate and caramel. As I thought about that, I remembered that my Grandpa had a candy dish. And in his candy dish, he nearly always had Werther's Originals. I'd had a Werther's from his candy dish the last time I visited him.

I remembered other candies in my Grandpa's candy dish; gummy bears {the good ones from Germany}, Skittles {also known as Andy Candy}, M&M's, mini candy bars. You see, Grandpa has a sweet spot for the grandkids. So if he knew you were coming, there was always something yummy in his candy dish. The pinwheels in the quilt reminded me of those wrapped Werther's candies and so I decided that Grandpa's Candy Dish would be the name for this quilt.

I just did a simple stipple, at a medium size, for the quilting {liking free motion more and more all the time :cool:} and threw it in the wash so it would be soft and crinkly. I'll be dropping this in the mail tomorrow. I can't wait until my Grandpa gets it so he'll know that I have a sweet spot for him too.


Today's post brought to you by:




My 2011 Finishes

18 comments:

Paulette said...

Your grandpa is going to love that quilt! It looks so cozy and comfy and earthy and manly, but fun too with the pinwheels. Love it!

QuiltNut Creations said...

oh it's lovely Elizabeth! congrats on the finish

pinksuedeshoe said...

Ok, I totally LOVE this! Everything about it! It is fantastic, and the name suits it just perfectly. I love the pinwheels with the striped blocks. I might even like it better than all pinwheels. Which is saying a lot, those are my fave block ever! So pretty. I'm saving that last pic in my inspiration folder for sure!

Barb said...

Just love your candy dish!!

Angie said...

To sweet! Love the homespun! I really like the way it looks but have been afraid to play with it, maybe on the next one. ;)

Jennifer Lovell said...

That one would sure be hard for me to give away. Thank heavens for cameras! I love the name, it's so fitting for the color scheme, which is definitely delicious. And, I'm so impressed with your quilting-it-on-your-own skills!

SewSara said...

that's awesome Elizabeth!
great job! and i love the name of it, with the message on the back.

your quilting looks great! i'm still working on my free motion quilting (have been sticking to straight lines lately!!)

Threeundertwo said...

Perfect name for this quilt! I love the colors and your stippling came out great! Thanks so much for linking up to Finished for Friday. Have a great weekend.

Shay said...

Brilliant name Elizabeth -it suits it perfectly.

I love the quilting on this quilt too.

Sarah Craig said...

This is such a gorgeous quilt, Elizabeth! And the name is perfect.... to me that's usually the hardest part of a quilt! Thanks for linking up - here's your whoop whoop!!!

Anonymous said...

Whoop-whoop1 LOVE THE QUILT!!!

Kim Brackett said...

Hi, Elizabeth! Sue sent me over after your very nice e-mail to her about her Christmas Stars quilt. Grandpa's Candy Dish is gorgeous! And I really enjoyed reading about how it got its name. What a sweet story!

Thanks so much for sharing!

Miki Willa said...

What a perfect name for this yummy quilt. I love the colors and the design. Congrats on finishing it.

Unknown said...

WHOOP WHOOP!!!!

Joyce said...

So pretty, Elizabeth, and I love the story!

Shannon @ Monkey Dog said...

Love the quilt, but especially LOVE the quilt label. Labels just make the quilt more special in my opinion!

Peggy said...

I LOVE it! and I hope to inherit it some day. Not any time too soon though

Unknown said...

Beautiful! I love the cozy rustic colors and pattern!

-- Colleen @ Made by Colleen