Camper Churn Dash Finish

Here's a little cutie that's been calling out to be finished for ages.  I found this cute camping print that I thought would be just right to use on my friend Betty's quilt.

Then my sister had these cute little campers that seemed like  just the right thing to go with it!  Then I remembered that Betty enjoys camping in a tent!  So the campers just wouldn't do and they got put aside while I finished the real quilt for Betty and several others.  Now, nearly two and a half years later, I've decided to finish it.

As you can see I chose the Churn Dash patter for the blocks.  There were only a few campers so I used the green print as the alternating block.  I just loved finding all the bright colors to use as the churn dashes.  This was truly a scrappy quilt since all the fabrics came from my stash.  I'm so proud of myself for not going out and buying more fabric!  It's the little things in life isn't it?

Along the way I had some "help" from the cats.  That's Alice camped out on the ironing board.  I had to keep moving the iron every time I stopped pressing and went back the to the sewing machine.

Then Guppy decided that it wasn't fair for Alice to have all the fun so he joined her.  I don't know how to fix those shiny eyes in the picture - they are cute cats in person :-) no really they are!

Here's the layout for the quilt in process.  Shaping up nicely.  This one went together much easier than some of the others I've done.  The color choices were pretty obvious and having that green print to tie it all together was great.

I decided since I had so much of it I would use it as a sashing, borders, and backing.  I used left over solids and white for the scrappy binding.

 

The quilting came out just perfect!  I told Lorri I wanted something with a camper in the borders and sashing with rolling hills on the blocks.  You can clearly see the rolling hills but the special pattern she created for me is hard to see.  Here's a picture showing it in outline form.  Again, not the best picture taking or drawing but you get the idea.

 

 

Guppy continued to assist throughout the entire project.  Since he believes he is the center of the universe I could just imagine what he was saying:

 



He's really a cute, loving cat; just don't try to skip a meal!  So every night at 10pm I'd have to stop what I was doing and feed the cats.  Some nights I stopped sewing but other nights I was ready to keep going.  In the end it turned out like this.

Some close-ups.

 



 

 

And just for the record, this one is for me!  Hope you enjoyed seeing it as much as I enjoy making it.

 

Now I'm off in search of another unfinished project to work on - and believe me there are plenty of them around! 

 





Flannel Finish

Gee it's been forever since I've felt like I had time to post something.  I really admire those bloggers who are so proficient at keeping their blog up to date!  I have to admit I've not been doing a lot of quilting lately so there really wasn't much to say.  Now that the weather has changed here in New England and the humidity is gone I'm getting the quilting bug again.

Before I start writing about my latest project I need to catch up on one or two of my previously finished projects.  Let's start with this flannel one.  This is a project that was actually finished and delivered back in May.  I have a very dear friend that lives on a lake and I'd wanted to make a quilt for her and her husband.  So it had to be pretty but masculine at the same time.  As I poked around my stash I came up with this fun flannel fish fabric!

The fish are different types of salmon (my friend loves salmon!).  And then I found these flannel fat quarters in fall colors, plaids, and little flowers.  Seemed like just the right mix!

Deciding on a block was easy; the disappearing 9-patch is a quick fun block I’ve used it several times and loved the end results each time.  Deciding on a layout took a bit longer but after several tries I decided that what was missing from the block was the fish!  So I checked my yardage and had enough for the backing and the blocks.  Here’s what the final block looked like after it was cut and the pieces rotated.  If you have a novelty print that has a specific orientation then rotating the blocks can be tricky. For some of my previous quilts with this block I tested them first. 

 

In this case, I wanted to make sure that the fish were swimming upright but they could have been rotated any which way and still been fine.  Once the layout and rotation was determined I simply strip pieced the blocks together.

Before bringing the finished top off to the long arm quilter I had to piece the back.  Now most of the time I don’t pick a fabric that has such a distinct pattern so piecing the back just means doing the math, cutting, and sewing the pieces together.  But for this backing I just felt the fish would look weird if they were cut in half and a head swimming into a body!  Kind of ghoulish don’t you think? 

So I took the time to match the pattern and I had whole fish swimming happily around when it was pieced together. Phew!  Funny how I was hearing my mother’s voice as I lined up the pattern (not literally, they lock you up for that!).  She would have been saying “if you’re not going to do it right then don’t do it at all, it only takes a couple extra minutes to get it right!”  How true, and I’m so glad I did it.  Mom would be proud.  :o) 

I love picking out just the right quilting pattern.  This one looks like ripples on the water.  Having a long arm quilter that works with you is one of the best things.  Lori Wurtzler of Seventh Heaven Quilting here in NH has been doing a great job for me.  I always feel like she’s as excited about how the finished quilt will look as I am.  I didn’t get a very good picture of the quilting but if you look closely at the gold and cream squares you can see it.

For the binding I used the same cream fabric that was in the block.  I didn't want to distract from the scrappy nature of the layout so I didn't include any borders or sashing.

And what quilt would one of my quilts be without the “Guppy Quality Check”?

 

Once it passed the Guppy test the label was all that was left.  As I’ve often said I really don’t like to have a huge white block on the back of the quilt.  I always fine it distracting.  Sometimes you have to do that but I try to at least incorporate some type of fabric from the front to tie it all together.  For this one I just wanted to put my name and the date on it because I loved how the fish looked swimming around in the water.

 

 

The finished quilt came out beautiful and my friend loved it.

 

 

 

 

I hope you'll give that disappearing 9 patch block a try I think it will become one of your favorites too!

 

 



 

Layouts for Flannel Half Square Triangles

I had some fun over the weekend playing around with the half square triangles (HSQs) I made from those old flannel shirts.  The challenge has been to create a beautiful quilt from fabrics I have on-hand.  Here's what came up when I added some white flannel from my stash. 

I used the tube cutting method and it went pretty quickly.  One thing I have learned from working with the flannel is the different weights can really make a difference in how much stretch you get in the triangle.  I was careful not to press too much and kept the handling to a minimum so the whole thing came out pretty flat.  The individual HST blocks are about 5 1/2 inches square.

Layout # 1:  Diagonal lines with alternating the plaids.  Not very inspiring but I was just getting started.

Layout # 2:  Friendship Stars - again, rather typical and a bit dull.  Plus I didn't have enough white to fill in the background.

Layout #3:  This is one below I just loved!  I didn't have all the HSTs made so you kind of have to imagine where it was going.  I added some of the charms from a flannel charm pack of flannels that my mother had given me.  It just brightened up the whole layout.  I think I've got one of these layouts in my future with different fabrics from my stash.

Layout #4:  I decided to add the charms to the white corners of the HST blocks and ended up with this combination.  I just cut the charms into 4 equal squares and sewed them on "snowball" style.  Then I laid them out on the design board and mixed them around until I like the way they came together in the middle of each 4 patch.  I'm pretty sure this block has a name but I can't remember it right now. 

Anyway, the final layout looks like this.  It's really nice!  I'm probably going to add a narrow border just so the points don't get lost when I put the binding on.

And of course, Guppy is keeping a close eye on the progress from his prime vantage point at the end of the ironing board!

The top is all together and measures 31" wide by 41" long.  A nice size for a lap quilt.  Since I don't have any big pieces of flannel for the backing I'll be heading up to my sister Dutchy's house to see what she's got in her stash.  It's like shopping but it's FREE!

Stay tuned for the finish at the end of this week.

Still Here!

I'm happy to report that though my readership is a VERY small group I have had several inquiries as to why I've not posted anything lately. Thank you!

Truth is I thought I'd have lots of posts for April but as it turns out I've been so busy piecing the last of the quilts for The Girls that I haven't posted anything in ages. 

I'm happy to report the Mary's quilt was finally off to the longarmer on Thursday.  I should have it back in a couple of weeks.  That will give me plenty of time to get the binding and label on before I head off on a two week, cross country business trip that includes a stop in Boise.

Since I don't want to spoil the surprise by showing her quilt I'll just let you know that Guppy was not at all happy about all the late night quilting activity.  Look at that face!  If looks could kill I'd be dead !!! 

To be fair, he had been to the vet earlier that day for his annual check up so he was not particularly happy with us.  Shots and temperature taking can make a cat (or even a human) rather grumpy.

Good news is he's down to a slim, trim, 14 pounds and healthy as can be.  After a good nights sleep he was back to loving us. :0)  

Next time I'll show you some quilt pictures, I promise.

Back to Quilting



Flip Flops on Audrey's quilt


Ahhh, back to quilting!  I've been off studying for an exam that I want to get for my job.  It didn't go so well but I've decided that a little quilting time will cheer me up.  Actually, I have been doing some sewing since my last post but I haven't been able to share the projects yet because they are for "The Girls".

Jean's quilt is done and I just realized last weekend that it needs a label.  But the binding and sleeve are on and sewn in place.  It's really pretty and I can't wait to give it to her.

Kim's quilt is at the long arm quilters and should be home any day now.  That will be #5 of the 6 quilts I had set out to make beginning this time last year. 

Of course, I did have help along the way.
This is Guppy helping me measure
 for the binding on Betty's quilt.

It all sounded so simple.  I just wanted to make a quilt for each of The Girls for their birthday. Well, I almost did it.  I never imagined it would take so long or run the gambit of emotions along the way.  They didn't get them "on" their birthdays but they each got one.  Or should I say will get one since there is still one more to go. 

With such a large group of work in just over a year there's lots to choose from if I decide to enter a show.  Each quilt is so different from the next and I love them all so it would be hard to pick one from  the bunch.  Maybe I should enter a couple of shows? Hmmm, now that's an idea.  Guess I should look into that.

I've started working on Mary's quilt this week.  I'm just at the fabric and pattern stage but it feels good to be getting back to something I love.  Pouring over quilt magazines and check out patterns on the web give me lots of inspiration.  I have had an idea brewing for this particular quilt for well over a year now I just need to pull it together.

Besides the girls quilts I've started a wall hanging called Cone Flowers.  It's a nice size applique piece that I'm able to pick up when I take a break at lunch time or for a when I have a few minutes here and there.  After spending last summer with Betty's large quilt in my lap and without AC in the house I decided that I needed some small projects for this coming summer.

Along with the cone flowers I'm going to be working on the borders for my bunny quilt this summer.  I just love this quilt and can't wait to design the applique layout for the border.  This one is done in 1930's reproductions.  I want to add a 4 inch white border using the background fabric which has white on white polka dots.  The flowers and leaves will be from the 1930s prints that are in the blocks and the vine will be black rick rack.  The borders will be scalloped and the binding will be black.  I'm hoping it comes out looking something like this.

Sample border for Bunny quilt.
From the pattern "Sweet Caroline" by
Karie Patch Designs

Ahh, it truly is good to be doing something I really enjoy!