Just Messing Around

I lost my momentum when the weather turned nasty. I was in the mood to get a couple more large quilt tops basted. But then it snowed. Spring is fickle around here. One day it's sunny and the birds are chirping and the buds are bursting and then the next day it's freezing and everything is covered in snow. Since I do my basting on the homemade ping pong table out on the deck, the layer of snow (as well as the freezing temperature) put the kibosh on my enthusiasm. So I went to plan B.

Plan B for me is always the same. Start a new project. Awhile ago I discovered the free scrap blocks that Lisa (of Primitive Gatherings) posts on her blog occasionally. They are 6" blocks with lots of teeny, tiny pieces. She has posted 12 so far. I have made 2 but intended to try them all. This week, while the weather kept me inside, I made all 12.

A couple are really challenging. I already knew that from making the one with the 4 little stars. The stars finish at only 2".

I had trouble with this one. See how those brown corners are cut off? Square-in-a-square blocks never turn out well for me.

I really like this one.

I used up a lot of little scraps making these.

I saw a really neat idea at Country Loft when I was there in February. They used a box frame to display  a small block similar to these. It was just stapled over batting. I'm going to display these blocks using that technique. I just need to get hubby to make 12 little frames for me.

The weather looks promising this morning. There are daffodils blooming. Time to get some tomatoes
 planted and some quilts basted.

Solving the Puzzle~A Star Crossed Tutorial

I needed to let my sore shoulders rest after my marathon of machine quilting 4 large quilts. So I pulled out a long neglected UFO I started a few years back. It is a new version of the quilt in my header and is one of my favorites. It was the first large quilt I ever made. It spent years hanging on a wall so it is very faded. It was used on a bed and on a sofa and has been washed too many times to count. It doesn't have a lot of years left and it's survival is iffy. I want to make a new one before it disintigrates completely.

Because I didn't label it, I have no idea when it was made. (Note to self: always label your quilts. You will be glad you did someday.) My fuzzy recollection is that I took a class at the local quilt shop. It must have been in the mid-eighties. I vaguely remember it was called Coat of Many Colors or something like that. I've named it Star Crossed. Although I have saved lots of stuff from my early years learning to make quilts, there is nothing in my files about this quilt, no notes, no pattern, nothing. I measured the pieces & figured out that there are four basic parts. The easy one is a plain 4"(finished) square. The other parts are:

                                                       2X4 (finished) Flying Goose

                                                     4X4 (finished) Square in a Square

                                                     6X6 Whatever the heck this block is. I have no clue.

Once I figured that out, I just dove into my scraps & started making blocks. Then somewhere along the line, I packed the parts away & forgot about them. Yesterday, I dug out the bin of parts & put them up on my design wall to assess what I needed to complete the top. Here is the chaos that met me.

Lots of parts still missing. And how do I assemble all those parts without going crazy? I remember that when I made the original I laid all the parts out on the living room floor and stayed up all night and all the next day sewing them together. My family thought I had gone off the deep end. Surely there has to be a simpler way to assemble this top.

As I stared at all those parts trying to count how many more I needed to make, I felt like I was in the middle of a Bonnie Hunter mystery where you make a gazillion flying geese and then a bazillion square in a squares and then cut several thousand squares with no idea how all those parts will ever fit together. Then it suddenly dawned on me that there is really only 2 basic blocks in this quilt.

                                                                         Block A (finished 10")

                                                                          Block B (finished 10")

Just alternate the blocks ABAB etc.  Row one starts with Block A and row two with Block B. Repeat. Easy peasy.

Once I had solved that puzzle, it was easy to count how many more parts I needed.  All the square in a square & flying geese blocks are sewn together the same way like this:

There are 2 of these units in each 10" block. Just pay close attention to the different placement in Block A & Block B. The square in a square blocks have always given me fits. They generally turn out a skosh too small. I found a chart here  that solves the problem. There is a lot of trimming involved but the results are a vast improvement. Thanks, Bonnie. I can always count on you when I'm searching for anything quilt related.

The original quilt is square and I want to make the new one bigger so I'm adding another full row and a partial block row on one side so it will be rectangular. Then I'll add a border so it will fit my bed. Using the 2 basic 10" blocks and partials, this quilt can be made almost any size you want.


Postscript:
When I posted about this top back in 2010, I received a few emails asking for instructions. One non blogger gal even sent me her mailing address. I promptly lost both the email and her snail mail address. I have been riddled with guilt ever since. I hope she finds this post and forgives me for never sending her the instructions.

It Never Fails

I told my daughter that I wanted to make a wall hanging for her. I asked what her preferences are. She said NOT traditional. She sent me lots of color swatches in a long email message. Hot colors, lots of reds and blacks and dark saturated colors. I have agonized for months about what I could make for her that she would like. So this is what I came up with.

It's definitely not traditional. I've never worked with batiks before. I actually don't have more than 2 or 3 in my stash. I always thought they were so stiff and would be hard to get a needle through. Wanda was kind enough to send me some samples to try. I used them in this quilt. I have a quilting friend Joan who has a huge stash of every type of fabric. She gave me a stack of scraps from her batiks. I even went out & bought a kaleidoscope ruler so I could more easily cut the little triangles for these 4" blocks.

I left it on my design wall for a couple of days to decide about a border and how I would eventually quilt it. This morning, sipping my coffee I spotted a boo boo. It never fails to happen. Do you see it?

Now normally, I would just say the heck with it and leave it as is but.......since this is a small quilt the mistake can't hide as easily as it would in a large quilt. I did a little frogging and fixed it.

                               
                                                                  Ahhh, that's better.

Now I still have to decide on a border. Or maybe I should make the black framing strip wider. I'm not sure. Any suggestions?

My leader ender project this week was 2 little pink doll quilts for 2 little girls who need new blankets for their dollies.

I am a complete failure at doing leader/enders. The always turn into primary projects. I've picked a new one.......multi-colored 3" 9 patches. I need about 500 or so for the quilt I'm planning.

Everyone's A Winner

I want to share the generosity of my friend Janet so I am declaring everyone a winner. I'm busy cutting squares for everyone who said they would like to make something using the Japanese fabrics. The winners are:
                  Pokey, Gale Ky Quilter, Ozone3, McIrish Annie, and Jan Baker.

Send me your mailing address and I'll get your bundle in the mail pronto!
If I missed anyone, just send me an email with your mailing address.

When Hubby came down with Spring Fever he started emptying the closets. One of the symptoms of Spring Fever is an irrational urge to clean, usually windows but in Hubby's case it's closets. One of those closets contained a stack of quilt tops. Thirteen large quilt tops. I have set a goal for myself. I'm not sure how realistic it is but I won't know unless I try. I am going to get all those tops finished this year. I even went out and bought fabric to make backs. I always seem to run out of steam once the top is completed. Piecing a back is such a daunting task when my stash has only small cuts of fabric. I feel like I'm making a whole 'nother quilt piecing together a back. Now I have sufficient yardage of several fabrics to make the task a lot easier. I've already got 3 tops basted and almost done!

I also intend to finish every quilt I start this year.  So far I'm doing pretty well. It helps that all my new projects (except Jodi's Red & White which is enormous!) are small. I sewed down the binding on my latest little mini using the squares from Cheri's sew along. It will join the other minis on my wall.

Sharing Janet's Fabric~Giveaway

Those cute little squares that Pam Buda shared on her blog here got put together yesterday. I wasn't sure what I wanted to use them for but a little table topper seemed just the thing.

Thank you everyone who left such lovely comments on my last post. I was feeling pretty low as I finished up the quilt for my friend Janet. See that little bundle of fabric? That is 50 squares cut from Janet's beautiful Japanese fabrics. Here's another shot of them.

They are cut 6.5 inches square so there are lots of possibilities there.  I would love to share Janet's fabric with other quilters. If you would like to have these squares just leave me a comment saying so. I'll draw a name at random on Thursday.