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.

Flannel Shirts

When I first started quilting over 12 years ago I was really interested in being able to recycle old clothes into quilts.  Then I discovered the whole world of quilt shops and speciality quilting fabrics!  It has been such a treat to be able to work with the beautiful colors and designs of these speciality fabrics but there's still the desire to create something new from something used.

I began collecting fabrics on my first trip to Lancaster PA.  My sister Dutchy and I went there with a group from our guild and on the bus I won my first fat quarter.  How exciting!  I didn't even know what a fat quarter was but I now had two of my very own.  The main reason for taking this trip to Amish country was to attend the huge quilt show but the second reason was to buy fabric.  I had no idea what I was doing but the group of seasoned veteran quilters were eager to help me out. 

Since that first fat quarter, my fabric stash has become much bigger than I ever expected.  At the beginning of the year I decided to expend some real effort to do something with all that fabric. So I've decided if I can't make something with it I'll have to get rid of the fabric.  Oh my!  I don't know if I can part with my fabric!  I know the quilters among you will understand :-)  Well, not all of it just the stuff that's been hanging around for so long I've forgotten what I was going to do with it.

I started by sorting out the fabrics into colors and weights.  I'll spare you the details but I found a stack of flannels.  This was one of those things I've been going to get around to some day.  Well, someday is now. These plaids are just two of the dozens of flannel shirts that my sister Sue gave to Dutchy after cleaning out her husbands closet.  Some of the shirts had never even been worn.  After all one man can only wear just so many shirts! Dutchy used pieces from many of the shirts to create a great lap quilt for Scott.  He loved it and Sue is still using it all these years later.  There's still a big box of flannel in the closet of Dutchy's sewing room which is on her list of things to use or lose.

 

I took these two to add in with some flannel fabrics my Mom had given me.  I had purchased some white flannel to use on the Holiday pillows I made after Christmas.  So I guess you could say this next project is a family affair! 

 

I didn't start with any particular patten in mind just large half square triangles (HST).  I wanted to try to use up as much of the flannel as possible so they are pretty big - 5 1/2 inches square.  I used the tube piecing method that I had seen on the Missouri Star Quilt Company's site. You can find the video here.  It's such a cool and fast way to make HQTs!

 

 

 

I've made a few blocks and they are on the design board.  I'm very happy to be getting around to recycling old clothes to make a quilt.  I have no idea what the final design will look like so stay tuned.