Point of View and Outdoors Link Party

Welcome to this month's Point of View reveal! The theme for July is "Outdoors". Take a look at the great ideas the members of Point of View have come up with this month...

Gwen from Gwenny Penny (Click HERE to read more about my quilt)
Jonie from Just Between Friends

Leanne from Organize and Decorate Everything
Ashlee from I'm Topsy Turvy

(Amy had her baby this week! She'll be back soon :)

As always, you can check out each of the projects by visiting each of the blogs listed above.

My project this month may be a stretch to fit the "outdoors" theme, but we're using it outdoors, so that counts, right? :) I think I say this every month, but I use Point of View to motivate myself to complete some of the projects on my to-do list, and this month is no exception. I've been wanting to make a quilt for the girls and I to cuddle up under when we're out cruising around on our boat this summer. We get an occasional cool day or evening out on the water. I wanted a quilt that would be a quick sew and wouldn't overwhelm me. The 1600 Quilt fit the bill... five days people! I made this quilt in five days start to finish!

Click HERE to read more about my quilt.

Now it's your turn. Do you have an outdoor-themed project that you would like to share? We would like to invite you to join the Point of View Outdoors Link Party! It doesn't have to be a new project... If you have an outdoor-themed project in your archives, link it up! We want to see what you've created. You can link up to the Point of View link party on any member's blog and your link will show up in the party on all four blogs! Add the Point of View button to your post so that others can join the party. And remember, by linking up you have the chance to be featured by one of the members of Point of View next week!

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.gwennypenny.com" title="Gwenny Penny - Point of View"><img src="http://i953.photobucket.com/albums/ae14/gwennypennyblog/SummerPoVButtonB-1.jpg" alt="Gwenny Penny - Point of View" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Seaside 1600 Quilt

When I said good-bye last month, I really didn't think I'd be away this long, but its been really great to just enjoy my family and my life and sew when I can along the way. I've actually been pretty productive over the past month, and hopefully I'll get around to sharing some of the things I've been up to soon. Today I get to share the biggest project I've completed this month... a quilt!

We've been spending most of our summer weekends out on our boat. Even though it's been super humid here lately, there are days and evenings when it gets windy and cool out on the water. I decided that I wanted to make a quilt for the girls and I to cuddle up under when it gets chilly while we're out cruising around. There are so many ocean and beach-themed fabrics out right now, but I knew right away that I wanted Seaside by October Afternoon for Riley Blake. It has a very vintage feel to it and (I think) has a bit of a New England vibe. This month's Point of View theme "Outdoors" was a great motivator... I finished this quilt in five days from start to finish! If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I'm always complaining talking about how slow I sew, so five days for me would be like three days for everyone else ;) And you may be wondering why a quilt fits the outdoor theme... It's a bit of a stretch, but we're using it outdoors, so why not? Ready to see it?

This is my largest machine-quilted project to date (about 48" x 64"). I wanted a quilt that wasn't going to take forever to make, and I had seen this quilt that Darcy over at Modern Cozy made (which is beautiful!), so I decided to try out the 1600 Quilt tutorial for myself. It's so quick and simple to put together. I had the quilt top done in just over two hours!

This quilt uses forty 2.5" wide strips (Thank you pre-cuts!). Like Darcy, I didn't angle the ends of my strips. I just like the look of it better.

The back is solid gray with a 12" wide horizontal strip of red Lizzy House Pearl Bracelet...

I'm really glad I went with the royal blue binding. It really frames the quilt nicely...

I added a little piece of "Seaside" selvage to the bottom of my quilt label. I've never done that before, but I thought it was appropriate since the quilt is going to be used on a boat :)

I love this quilt, and I will definitely be making more 1600 Quilts. They go together so quickly, they'd make a great gift for someone special.

Now it's your turn... Check out this month's Point of View collage and link up your past or present outdoors-themed projects at the Point of View Link Party! We want to see what you've been up to!