Row Robin Reveal 2017, part 1

 My Quilt Guild did another row robin project this year. Each person makes a row for their own quilt and then we pass them among our group (of 6) each month. Everyone makes a row for each person's quilt. So, everyone makes 6 rows, for 6 different quilts, then gets back all the rows that go with their original row/theme.
So, I originally thought I would do something "geeky" for my husband. Then I was afraid people wouldn't know enough about the theme. I thought of a few other ideas, then at the last minute, decided to do a "Mommy's Apron Strings" Quilt. I wrote a long history of my blog/business for my group. I also supplied many of my style fabrics, including many 1930s prints and florals.
My row is the pinwheel row (4th down). It has my vintage machine embroideries between the pinwheels.

The top row was made by my talented quilting and heirloom/smocking friend. She recreated Linny's Pinafore and Ella's Bonnet in miniature. She also added string blocks, which are special because when we went on retreat, she ran the retreat and I organized a string quilt project. To say I love her pinafore and bonnet would be a total understatement!!
The next row uses many of my favorite fabrics in a geometric pattern. Then we have a row of tiny Easter baskets! Next is my row, then my friend made a row of chickens pulling a wagon with a clothesline nearby. Her row is a nod to my pet chicks/hens. She is also a chicken lover, though she doesn't have them as pets. She always uses chicken fabrics, etc in her decor.
The bottom row is a clothesline of vintage aprons. For a short time at the beginning, I had a photo of aprons on a clothesline, so my friend recreated this. It is special to me, because just as we finished this project, she moved to TN. I will remember her when I see her row!

 Now on to the other quilts from my group!
This next one was themed "Neighborhood". When I got it to work on, it had 3 rows of houses. I wanted to do something different, so I made the row with the Church. I was excited to use some of my custom "Stained Glass" fabric from Smoogie on the windows. I worked on this at our Retreat in April. It was my most work/most fun row.

This quilt was fun to work on- the theme was "My Grandchildren" for a friend who has 4 grands: 2 girls and 2 boys. She wanted to make a quilt to have in her guest room for when they visit. She provided tons of really nice kids fabrics that I wanted to steal loved sewing with! Her original row is the second one, where she cleverly incorporated a calendar with each child's birthdate in a lovely pieced block. My row is the top one. I decided to machine-embroider a "stacked" name for each child. Then I made reverse-star blocks, meaning the star is white and the background is the print. It turned out just as I hoped and I thought it was important to have their names to go along with their birthdates.

 Next up is the Rainbow Quilt. The friend who moved to TN loves purple! She did the very intricate purple row and wanted each person to add a different colored row. I did blue because I had a bunch of blue charms from a swap. I cut them down to 2.5" squares and added some dark blue appliqued butterflies randomly over the top. She intends to finish this quilt and donate it to be raffled for a cause dear to her heart.

This quilt is by my friend who loves chickens. She also loves cats. Her design is a quilt about her cat, "Nicholas". She made the center and wanted each of us to do a row to go around it. Mine is the cat playing with a ball of yarn, but it's supposed to be on the bottom. I also machine embroidered the "Home Sweet Home".

The final one of our group is a fun theme: "Grandmother's Curio Shelf". The top row is the original and we had to add 4 blocks on a pre-cut background. Each item should represent what might have been on our grandma's curio shelf. My grandparents didn't have curio shelves, so I chose to represent my parents and myself. My row is in a separate picture at the bottom, because I rant late and didn't get it in one shot. It is the same size as the others. 

My Mom has made many beautiful cross-stitch samplers, so I made a sampler for her. It is actually machine embroidery on Aida cloth and I love how it turned out. My Dad used to make wooden clocks from scratch, so the clock represents him. The face is embroidered and surrounded with a wood-grain fabric. I wanted the case to be fancier, but I wasn't sure how. For myself, I wanted to do a pile of my favorite books and a doll. I lost ambition and time at the end, so I did 2 dolls from a paperdoll fabric. They do represent my love of babies, children, vintage clothing, and the 1930s. 

Back soon with the next batch of Row Robins!!