T-for-Terry Top and Back

And the top is finished.

You can hardly tell that the final border is made of squares, and that was the plan. If there had been enough fabric it would have been a plain strip of the same batik that is in the center block.

I like the narrow brown border, but it didn’t solve the balance issue. And I see why not. The area between the two narrow borders functions visually as a unit. Even though that had been my intent, I’d not made the next step to think balance. Rather I’d used the 2, 3, 4 inch units to figure the next. (Interestingly, I’d treated the middle two as one, but I didn’t carry that concept through. ) So a 9-inch outer border might have worked, or a 6 if I had had enough fabric. And a use for a larger quilt. I was aiming for something near 40 x 60, and it is 46 x 64. ( Do I get extra credit for a palindrome measurement?)

Put on your sunglasses for the back. Are you ready?

The bright is the rest of the fabric in the alternating squares of the final border on the front. When I use only 2 fabrics on a back and have enough fabric, I like to use the “zipper” strip to join them. I think it looks more like I designed it than that I ran out of fabric. And it doesn’t add much construction time.

Tomorrow the quilt gets sandwiched.

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F2F Top Finished

And the top is finished, just in time for the guild meeting. I asked a friend to take a photo during show ‘n tell.

You’ll have to imagine the strip of border at the bottom; it had to be cropped out to remove a head of the person in front of the photographer. Of course I see better places for some of the blocks–that is always the way with a sampler quilt. There is no perfect arrangement. I do like the color of the sashing/border.

The Sunny Lanes block (upper right) is one I made for everyone; here is the post where I showed it in each color way. Meanwhile, here is the post on this top’s beginning. Yep, top finished over the weekend and in two consecutive posts. It is enjoyable,  how quickly a quilt top goes together when the blocks are already made (never mind that I’ve had the blocks since 2016).

I think I’ve mentioned before that blocks came from US, France, UK, and Australia. Here is a fun location-specific print with a kangaroo crossing sign:

For next month, the guild is requesting male-themed throw tops. I think I’ll work on Irish Stars first.

Tomorrow (15th) is scrap happy day. I’d guess some of these blocks were made from scraps–when making three, it is a good use for small amounts of fabric. I know there are scraps in my three.  And you will find a link here to other scrappy projects.

I’m also linking to the Clever ChameleonTuesday Colour Linky party.

 

F2F Blocks Reappear

Once upon a time, a long time ago, I participated in the F2F (Foot Square Freestyle) swap. Each month we made three blocks for one member; the receiving member chose the color scheme, and we could make blocks any pattern or style we wished. I had no plan at the time, so the blocks waited for a need or an idea.

The first project (here) was for the welcome blanket project, a project that is still going. The second will be a twin top for my quilt guild. Last month twin sized was their request, and I thought of these blocks for a quick finish. (They will be doing the quilting.) So I got them out and counted. Yes, there were 20, which would be enough for a twin with sashing. So I ordered a brown that would work with all, and it has arrived.

Next the lay out. I really have fun with all that dithering and moving around.

This isn’t the first layout; it is just the first one I photographed. (You didn’t really want to see all 20 variations, did you?) After studying them a bit, I moved a couple and swapped one with the “extras.”

Better, but I still see a couple I might move. I’ll see what I think after I’ve cut the sashing.

And there were 5 blocks left; that will be just right for a baby quilt for the firemen.

I imagine there is something in my stash that will make the four alternating blocks. It would be a pity if I had to go shopping.

(You knew I couldn’t stick with one project, didn’t you? I’ll get back to Irish Stars.)

Two Baby Quilts and a Doll Quilt Finshed

All finished and ready to take to guild tonight. The last two, as the others, got meander quilting.

I thought the animal print was really cute and that the dark blue would set it off well; it does but it makes for a rather dark baby quilt. To lighten it a bit, I quilted it in bright green.

It helped only a little.

After a lot of dithering, I bordered the butterfly doll quilt. A dark showed up the butterfly much better than the light I had started out with. It took several tries to find the right dark.

16 x 16

And a cuddle fabric backing.

Sometimes the cuddle fabric doesn’t shed, but most times it does. Not sure what the trick is when cutting it. I’ll be glad when the stash of it is used up. I’m getting there–most have to be pieced now.

History: Beginning (here); process (here and here). It’s pretty rare that posts in a row contain start, process, and finish.

If I remember I’ll edit later to join Let’s Make Baby Quilts and TGIFF.

 

A Pleasant Surprise

Usually tasks take longer than I anticipate. Not this time. Three of the baby quilts are finished, the lotto-block quilts.

The quilting is mostly meander, though I couldn’t resist putting some stars in the ship’s night sky.

I didn’t wait to blog until all 5 were finished because I wanted a finish to link up to TGIFF (Here) Beginning of the quilt here.

Baby Quilt Tops

It’s that time of year when my local guild gives quilts to the fire fighters Toy and Joy program: doll/teddy bear quilts for the toy program and baby quilts for the emergency vehicles’ use when evacuation of the little ones is necessary. Previously the guild gave 100 of the baby quilts; the fire fighters told us they could use double that many. I have five tops–each is 36 x 36, the size requested. The first three are from my collection of lotto block winnings. This last batch must have been from a blue and yellow month.

This first one was made the easy way, all lotto blocks. The Sunshine Online Quilt Guild (now on MeWe.com) is a friendly group that makes quilts for two charities: Wrap a Smile and Quilts Beyond Borders. The lotto is a monthly project. Those who want to participate make blocks in pairs; each pair is an entry.  One stays with the coordinator who makes heaps of quilts from them for each of the charities, and one goes into the “pot.”  The winner of the “pot” is free to do whatever they want with their bounty.Sometimes we give them to the two named groups; sometimes, as this time, locally.

The next two needed filler.

Now, adding four squares isn’t a big deal in itself; it is schlepping the bins of fabric to get to the one that has the relevant fabric that slows me down. For this sailboat one I have some anchor print flannel for part of the backing. I’ll add a piece to make it the right size.  Luckily three of the five will have backing made from single pieces, but then my stash pieces got smaller.

I haven’t played lotto for a while. The novelty of finding ways to use a collection of random blocks has worn off, and I now prefer designing the whole quilt.

Back when Sunshine had a retreat we were all making blocks for the retreaters to assemble.  I kept 9 for a baby quilt.

It is good to have a dark quilt top because some of the flannel I was gifted is dark. It will go fine here. It looks like I have used two shades of blue, but it is all from the same piece: just cut in different directions. If I had it to do over, I’d have split the border top and bottom better. I was aiming to keep the off-centered look, and overdid it I think.

This last one is from scraps.

I even remember the project that left two of the fabrics: the argyle print came from a group project (here) , and the domino dot fabric purchased for use (here)–but  used here. The blocks are 6 inches finished; the scraps were large.

There is one lone lotto block left.  It is a butterfly pattern and will stand alone nicely in a doll quilt, should there be time.

Linking with Oh Scrap! and I’ll link up with Let’s Make Baby Quilts second Friday–this post, or maybe even the finish. (Link when available)

QBB’s FQ Challenge

A little alphabet soup for the soul. Never did like chicken soup.

QBB = Quilts Beyond Borders, an organization that gives quilts to children in need in many places. The above link tells about their Fat Quarter (FQ) challenge as well as the organization. QBB is a group that Sunshine Online Guild donates to, so I had heard of them.   Recently they had a booth at the Clark County Quilt Show that I attended.

So I selected a bright geometric print, thinking it would be a focus fabric to which I could add solids. It came with a pattern, Rainbow’s End, a Villa Rosa Design. A nice pattern, but the block involved 6 equal weight squares.

Here it is, laid out.

I had not anticipated the dark blue and green squares ending up adjacent. I almost like that it looks like a rectangle instead of two squares.  And if I had it to do over, I’d have used a different yellow. The other yellow fabrics I had on hand were worse than this one.

It is an easy to assemble block; the layout of blocks takes a bit of concentration, but with the help of the picture on the pattern, I got it right after a couple tries.

I think the pattern has great potential for scrap quilts. I’m not sure if I’d try to make a pattern by color of scrap square or simply go for a random look. (It may be decided by what color of squares I have.) I’ll have to see if my 4-inch square pile has anything resembling 120 squares. It also might be hard to have enough large scraps for the purist to make the background scrappy–guess that depends on how one defines ‘scraps.’

If you want to see quilts made from actual scraps, vist Kate’s Scrap Happy list.

 

Baby Quilt with a New Quilting Design

A new project interrupting the other running projects.  It was prompted by the firemen’s request for more baby quilts (36 x 36). They keep some quilts in the trucks for when they have to take a baby out of a dangerous situation, and they were running low. And guild meeting is tomorrow. So a time limit. Couldn’t get too fancy.

When I am on good behavior, I spend regular, short amounts of time cutting scraps into squares and rectangles. I start with the largest square I can make and work down to 1 1/2 inch squares then throw the smaller (but at least 3/4 inch) pieces into the crumb jar. So maybe, just maybe, there would be 36 6-1/2-inch squares that would work together. There were. Not ideal, but passable.

I probably spent more time selecting and rearranging than sewing. Luckily there were 6 of the rainbow striped squares; since they dominate it was nice to put them in the center. I’d always thought I’d eventually gather enough crayon-colored squares to go with them, but oh well . . .

Next was quilting design. It seemed a good time to try a new pattern. Very recently I’d read a blog about Dragon-Fruit Fill and it seemed it would go quickly enough. (Here is the link in case you want to try it.) Susan used it in a smaller space; I just enlarged it.

I did it from memory and forgot that her echoes were more sharply angled. Next time. After quilting at least half of it with no problem, suddenly I started skipping stitches. At first it was just on an occasional curve, but it got more frequent and even occurred on straight lines. It no longer seemed like it was a speed change problem, so I changed the needle. That fixed it.Not sure why, but I’ll not complain since it worked.

And here is the finished quilt.

Sorry about the poor light–I won’t have time before guild tomorrow for a better shot.

And I made two more sets of blocks to send to the Sunshine Online Quilt Guild retreat where blocks will be turned into tops. This time I had some cute novelty prints for the centers. A set is 8 because 3 strips of 4-inch and 3 strips of 2 1/2-inch make 8 blocks.

 

 

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I think the original idea for half light edge and half dark was that they would be alternated; however, I think a quilt using all the same background would work out well. An allover design like the ladybugs allows for turning the blocks any way that appeals; A directional fabric, like the jungle print requires some planning when adding the first piece.  Whatever color/value scheme is used, the result wilt be an alternative-grid look.

I have three more sets prepared. I think I’ll stop at 60 since they said they had a good supply. Then I’ll experiment with enlarging the edge pieces to make 12 1/2-inch blocks so that 9 will make a baby quilt. (I don’t want to enlarge the square because keeping it 5-inches allows for using charm packs.)

Linking with Let’s Make Baby Quilts, Moving it forward Monday, and remember to check here for the Scrap Happy list of bloggers who sometimes have scrap projects, but always have interesting ones.

ETA: At guild meeting it was announced that the guild had been giving 100 baby quilts per year to the firemen; they requested 200.

Two Backs and a Bunch of Blocks

My two recent orphan tops now have backs.

This one goes with the first orphan top (here); the block is one that was unfinished–I added the orange corners–and suggested the color for the back. I don’t have enough purple for binding but there is enough excess on the back to bring the back to the front, so that is the plan.

And this one goes with the second (here).

I had made an oversized striped square so I could play with direction, and that left some pieces that I cut into 2-inch strips. The end result is not quite what I’d pictured in my head because of the alternating directions of the stripes in the strips. But it will do. I’ll cut the binding and keep it with the top and back. I have learned how easy it is to grab fabric I’m supposed to be saving for one project and use it for another.  Early on I’d save the fabric with the top, but that puts the whole piece out of commission. So now I cut the binding. (I think this brown will make a nice star for the Irish Star quilt, so knowing what I have available is important.)

These two will now go into that black hole called “to be quilted.” At least when I am ready, they will be ready to pin.  It is quite annoying to be in the mood to quilt but to have to make a back first.

And here is a sample of the blocks in progress:

When trimmed they will be 10.5-inch blocks. Sunshine Online Guild (information currently visible at Mewe.com by searching groups) has its F2F gathering this June. People who go will assemble tops from this block; people who cannot go will send blocks to be assembled. I will miss playing with the piles of blocks this year, but I’ll be watching for the results.

I have 40 cut and ready to sew, all with light borders. We were asked to make half light borders and half dark borders, so I have to dig into my fabrics for the dark ones.  I knew I didn’t have much light-colored fabric on hands so just want shopping.

I’ll link with Em’s Scrapbag for Moving it Forward Monday and the Tuesday Colour Linky.

 

 

Orphan Blocks on National Quilting Day

You knew today was National Quilting Day, didn’t you?  Of course you did. As usual I didn’t get as much finished as I had planned, but oh well, the back will wait.

A couple months ago I picked up a charity kit at guild. I usually avoid that table because I have enough stash to make charity quilts from, but that day the colors appealed to me. I think the kits are made up from blocks left on the freebie table that are not grabbed up. Then someone assembles some that go together into kits. Minimum size is 40 x 40. So I took a kit and laid them out. (I remember when these were blocks of the month, and even made a couple several years ago.)

Oh good, it looks like they fit. There are a couple more.  One I snatched to go with another kit I’d taken a LONG time ago as it was the same block. One would be a loner and end up in a doll quilt, most likely. One would go on the back; however, it needed corners.  I bought some orange for the corners and purple for the back.

In the first layout, it looked like the top and right rows might be a tiny bit big, but I assumed that would be taken up in the 1/4 inch seams. If anything, I expected to be trimming the checkerboard part (Trip Around the World blocks?) I was quite surprised when the border blocks were about 2 inches bigger than the squares set.

I gave about 2 seconds of thought to making a new row of squares for two sides.  Not being much of a perfectionist, I decided this was the moment for liberated quilting. I think it was Gwen Marsten who said, “If it is too long, cut it off; if it is too short, sew something on.”  Knowing I couldn’t match the colors already there, it seemed better to do a strip than a row of squares that clashed. (Sounds better than saying that I was too lazy to sew up two rows of squares, doesn’t it?) It would have looked more planned if the side strip had been on the right, but not enough better to be worth getting out the seam ripper. The purple is what I’d bought for the back and binding, so it will appear again.

Of course I didn’t go with the original layout. Half the fun is playing with possibilities. I ended up with this.

It measures 47 x 47 so I won’t need to add a border.