Better Late Than Never: Finish #14 in 2018

Not quite a baby quilt since the recipient, Temple, is nearly 2-1/2 years old.

 

He was so eager to be born that he arrived three months sooner than expected, weighing less than three pounds.

I've always thought this photo was so amazing since it shows his dad's wedding ring on his little wrist like a bracelet.

But here he is now: healthy and strong, and a typical two-year old.

I actually made a different quilt for him originally, but then realized the quilt needed to feature a train since his dad works for the railroad. I started with the train, and it kind of evolved from there. And this was the result:

And except for the lime green minkey on the back, all of the other fabrics came from my stash and scraps.

Poster Child for Make-do Scrappy Quilts

Finish #13 for 2018. And only seven years in the making.

In 2011 I did a block swap for Bonnie Hunter's (Quiltville) Chunky Churn Dash block. I blogged about it here on March 1, 2011. I decided to set it with alternate blocks inspired by a Kim Diehl quilt. I've had the top made (except for the outer piano-key border) since April 2011.

In fact, I had misplaced the top and found it a week or so ago while sorting through a pile in my sewing room.

I decided it needed something more than the two inner borders, and remembered that I had lots of 4 to 5-inch long strip sets from my checkerboard quilt (blogged about here). I only had to make six extra segments and I had enough for the complete outer border. How's that for making do and using up scraps.

Each of the alternate blocks is made from prints that don't appear anywhere else in the blocks. None of the fabrics in the piano keys appear in the center of the quilt (although they are repeated in the border). 

To add to the scrappiness, about 60% of the chunky churn dash blocks came from the block swap and use fabrics I don't have in my stash. 

I estimate that there are between 130 and 150 different fabrics in this quilt! I think that's a record, even for me.

Modern Baby Quilt -- Finish #12

Twelfth finish for the year! This one is another baby quilt for the daughter to be born to my niece and her husband later this year. I had a different quilt planned for her, but while I was working on this quilt I decided it was perfect for them. It just seemed to fit the mom-to-be.

The Kaffe Fassett fabric combined with the black and white prints is such a classic combination, and one I used for my Wizard's Chess quilt that was on the cover of the June/July issue of McCall's Quick Quilts. 

And, in keeping with my goal to use up stash, the border fabric for this quilt was left over from the backing used on my Which Way To Go? quilt that I designed and made for the September/October issue of Quiltmaker magazine. It was technically also a UFO (unfinished object) because I had done the house blocks in September 2016. I have 15 more house blocks that are done, so I'll likely make another quilt pretty much like this one for a friend. (I had originally been working on this one for her when I decided to earmark it for the upcoming baby instead.)

Here are a couple more pics of the quilt:

Finish Number 11 for 2018

Last week as I tried to organize my sewing room and fabric stash, I ran across a stack of Jovial Christmas fabric by Basic Grey for Moda. As I took stock of the fabric, I realized I had 15 yards of it! Yikes! I must have had something specific in mind for the fabric, but I don't have any idea what my plans were.

According to the Moda United Notions website, this fabric came out in June 2011, which means it's been waiting to be put into a quilt for nearly seven years!

Since I've never made a Christmas quilt, and I'm focused on using fabrics I already have, it was time to get busy. After looking at Christmas quilts on Pinterest, I found a free pattern called Pinwheels and Patchwork, by Andy Knowlton, at abrightcorner.com. 

In the original pattern, the pinwheel blocks finish at 12 inches, but I decided to make blocks that finish at eight inches instead. Since I have the AccuQuilt die for the triangle-in-a-square unit in the pinwheel block, I made it easy on myself and cut the fabrics with my AccuQuilt Go! Baby rather than buy a Tri-Recs ruler.

This quilt is truly "a quilt in a day". I got it all done (except for the outer borders and quilting) in one day.

I did buy some black Minky for the backing rather than piece the backing. I had plenty of Jovial yardage, but most of it was 1-yard cuts.

I made a small dent in my Jovial fabric, but still have enough fabric for a couple more wall quilts. I'll probably make this same pattern again for a gift, and then use whatever remains for a different Christmas quilt.

I quilted it using a digital design from Wasatch Quilting called Waves and Pearls. Since I loaded the quilt sideways on my frame, the waves quilted out vertically -- a look I quite like for this quilt.

Year-to-date finishes -- 11 quilts and one quilt top

• UFOs: 1 
• Flimsies into quilts: 3 
• Other quilts (started and finished in 2018): 7 (includes three quilts for magazines not blogged about yet)

• Finished quilt tops: 1

Another Quick Stash Buster Quilt

Still on my mission to use my scraps and fabric stash.

I have a huge pile of Woolies Flannels by Maywood Studios and Wool and Needle Flannel by Moda. I've made three quilts using these thick and cushy flannels. As a result, I have plenty of scraps and even decent pieces of yardage left over from backing and borders.

While looking through a Keepsake Quilting catalog, I noticed a quilt designed by Villa Rosa Designs using Woolies Flannels. I decided to draft my own version of the quilt and hopefully make a dent in my flannel scraps. Here's the result:

It's a throw that's about 56 inches by 68 inches. I even had enough flannel in my stash to use for the backing. 

I love it when I'm able to make a quilt from start to finish without having to buy any additional fabric.

I still have a stack of these flannels, so I'll be on the search for another quick design that will be appropriate for these cozy fabrics.

I quilted it using a digital design from Wasatch Quilting called "Square Pegs in Round Holes".

So here's the update on 2018 projects:

Year-to-date finishes -- ten quilts and one quilt top

• UFOs: 1 
• Flimsies into quilts: 3 
• Other quilts (started and finished in 2018): 6 (includes three quilts for magazines not blogged about yet)

I also completed a quilt top for a wedding quilt that I'm not showing yet and needs to be quilted. So I'll add another category to my finishes.

• Finished quilt tops: 1

Quick Baby Boy Quilt

I was doing some organizing in my sewing room and ran across a novelty panel and some yardage, intended for a quilt for a baby boy. Although baby Samuel was born yesterday, I had already made his quilt -- the Pony Express quilt I blogged about previously.

I decided to go ahead and make this boy quilt knowing that there will likely be another boy born into the family at some point in the future. (The next two births are girls -- one within the next couple of weeks and one in July. I'll share their quilts soon.) And except for backing fabric, everything else came from my stash!

This was a snap to make, since it includes a panel for the center of the quilt. I had yardage for the borders, binding, and corner four-patches. In fact, it took longer to fussy-cut the border print than to sew the entire quilt top.

Sometimes the right quilting choice IS a straightforward meander/stippling pattern. I think it actually complements the construction theme. And it also quilts up quickly.

To make it even quicker to finish, I bought 60-inch wide Minky for the back. Perfect for a baby quilt -- and no seams to stitch or cotton to iron. And I only needed to purchase the length of the quilt plus eight inches.

Loaded the selvages to my leaders -- which meant the stretch of the backing went across the frame. It also meant I needed to load the quilt top with the length of the quilt sideways. Luckily the meander quilting isn't directional, so that worked like a charm.

Now just need to wait until another baby boy joins the family!

Year-to-date finishes -- nine quilts

• UFOs: 1 
• Flimsies into quilts: 3 
• Other quilts (started and finished in 2018): 5 (includes three quilts for magazines not blogged about yet)