Border Solution

I left off on this top after being disappointed that my choice for a border did not work.

Plan A had been to make the border from stash.  However, nothing that I already owned really worked. I finally gave in and went shopping (oh darn!). And I am happy with my choice.

64 X 80 inches

Guild has been in need of twin sized quilts the last couple of months, so it was time to get this one on its way.  Someone else will be quilting/knotting and binding it, so I’ll not see the finish nor be able to show it here.

To visitors from Scrap Happy:  This is at least partly a scrap quilt. The middle color is from my scraps and the kit was made up from guild members’ left overs. Other readers might like to view Scrap Happy to see what folks are doing with all scraps.

Quilt history

Blocks made at 2016 Fall Retreat (no photo)

Blocks trimmed and arranged in preparation for 2017 retreat

Blocks assembled at 2017 retreat and border audition

And during the quilting silence, I’ve been knitting squares for blankets for orphans.

A friend of mine had volunteered more than he could get finished, and I had time, so  helped a bit. It would certainly be fun to be on the receiving end and be arranging squares from 400+ selection! The square was a perfect size for using up bits of left over yarn that had been seeking a project. You can see I have a few ends to weave in. Every craft has its dull moments.

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Reviving a Dormant 9-Patch

80 x 96

The top has been finished for a long time.

I have nowhere in my apartment to spread out a double-bed sized quilt, so you will have to use your imagination; the top row of brighter blue blocks is the center row.

In the 70s when I learned to quilt, my husband was an avid auction attender. At one estate sale he bought me two piles of blocks and a quilt top. Alas, I don’t even remember the name associated with the estate sale, but it was in Cambridge, Ohio. It was before my introduction to quilt history and the need to record provenance.

I liked the old-fashioned shirting look (which of course is no longer old-fashioned), but thought the blocks a bit dull and planned the sashing and cornerstones to brighten them up. In those days we used sheets for backing, and I bought a dark blue one. I set it aside for a time when it would be easy to baste.

Enter a long gap in my quilting career.

In the late 90s when I returned to quilting and joined a guild, I took the top, batting, and backing to a guild retreat where I planned to baste it on the large tables only to learn that the sheet wasn’t big enough. So the top got set aside again while I looked for coordinating backing fabric. And there it stayed because there was nothing urgent about finishing it.

Fast forward to the present when I learned of longarmers who would baste quilts on their longarm machines. The quilt is revived, the back is made, and they are ready to be sent on for basting.

The blocks are hand pieced. I machine stitched the sashing and borders. I plan hand quilting in honor of the blocks. And because it is a nice change of pace.

I’ll link belatedly with Needle and Thread Thursday. And I’ll be linking with LAFF because it is a finished top. I’ll be linking up with Oh Scrap! because I’m sure the 9-patch blocks were made from either left overs or usable parts of old shirts. Several of the squares are themselves pieced. And because 9-patch is the theme for Feb 3, I’ll link with Tuesday Archives.