Windmill Baby Quilt

I finally got around to quilting the windmill baby quilt. Since it's 40" wide, it fit on one width of backing fabric, but only if I quilted it on my domestic machine. There wasn't enough extra width to load it on the long arm. I gave it a loose meander to keep it soft and drapey. It's been a while since I FMQ'd on my home machine, and I'm out of practice! My loops aren't as smooth as when I do them on the long arm. 

This is another of those projects that my village helped with. Julie sent a couple of the fabrics in the top, and Cherie provided the batting and the backing. Thanks so much, friends!

This little quilt will go to a young family at nearby Luke Air Force Base. PCQ recently added Luke to our vetted charities, and it's nice to have a destination for smaller donation quilts. 

Link ups: Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 10/27;  Alycia Quilts 10/31

More Crossroads Wheel Blocks

These blocks are fun to make because each one is designed as its own unique palette. Since there is a lot of planning and cutting involved, I can make one block a day, in about three to four hours. 

20 blocks will make a 66 x 80" throw. After consulting with my husband, I've decided to make a 36 block, 98" quilt for our bed. There will be sashing between the blocks. 

Each block has 6 prints in it. So far there's only one repeated fabric among all these blocks, and since it's a center square, that's an easy replacement. I'll definitely have to collect some more fabrics in order to not have repeats among 36 blocks. 

The palette is heavy on teals and corals from light to dark, as well as everything else except purples and yellow greens. Any blues are teal cast, and any pinks are warm, not purplish. 

Some of my prints and templates offer opportunities for fussy cutting. 

The block below is a revision of an earlier block that was too muddy looking, with a khaki floral print for the arms. Much more to my liking now. 

I'm still trying to make the blocks more clashy than matchy-matchy. Some are more so than others, but the overall look is the eclectic vibe I'm going for. 

I foresee some fabric shopping in my future. I am rapidly exhausting my suitable scraps, and in order to continue with no repeated fabrics, I'll have to get some new ones. Oh, darn, fabric shopping...

Only small amounts are needed. The blades take a 3-1/2" WOF strip each of light and dark. The arms take a 2-1/2" WOF strip. The background can be cut from half a FQ or quarter yard and still maintain directionality.  The quarter circles can be cut from a 10" square or a 3-1/2" by 16" scrap if not fussy cut. I'll see if some of my local friends want to trade. 

Linking up with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 10/20 and Alycia Quilts 10/24

Red and Black Churn Dash

For the last few years, Pebble Creek Quilters Community Service Committee has been kitting up quilt kits for charity sew days. This year they took a different direction and decided not to have kits, but to let each quilter do their own thing. There were several reasons for the change. 1, the demand for twin bed size quilts exceeded our ability to keep up with the requests, so we're no longer making bed size quilts for one of our charities. 2, the cost for batting and sometimes backing fabrics became more than our budget could handle, especially for the bed size quilts. 3, our schedule of having a prep day to make kits and a sew day to sew them each month was too much because there are too many demands on the studio time to allocate that much to community service. 4, There was some misunderstanding that only committee members were allowed to come to the sew days, take kits, and work on them, when really the sew days were open to all PCQ members. 

So, this year the sew days, one per month except August, are publicized as open to all and everyone can work on a project of their own choosing. The club will still provide batting upon request, but makers must provide the backing for their tops. Recommended quilt sizes range from baby quilts to teen/tween throw size, to adult throw size, generally about 60 x 80". The charities we support serve new moms, teens, and adults. 

There were some left over twin bed size kits that didn't get made up last year. I heard a rumor that there was a concern about the fabric in them being wasted. So I took one of the kits and repurposed it. 

Originally this kit was for a giant Friendship Star top. I reconfigured some of the pieces and added the sashing to brighten it up. The size is 56 x 74". It's gender neutral enough to go to a teen boy or older man if needed. 

The backing has been in my stash for more than 20 years, so this was a good opportunity to use it up. Back then I had plans for a symmetry project but with working full time and my beginner skill level, it never happened. 

The backing is 2 widths of fabric joined lengthwise. I was able to match the print pretty well; you have to really look to find the seam. 

I guess you could say this project is a win all the way around. One less kit going to waste, a masculine quilt of suitable size for a teen or adult, and a purpose for a long-stashed print. 

Link ups: Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 10/13,  Alycia Quilts 10/ 17

And Once Again, the New Project Completely Takes Over My Attention

So, this was supposed to be a long-term project. Funny how that is not happening...

One test block became another. And then I couldn't resist pulling fabrics for a third block. Each block is its own palette, and it's fun to pull favorite fabrics and combine them. Plus, a new FQ order arrived, ordered specifically for this project, with some fussy cutting possibilities. 

With all this practice, sewing those tight curves has gotten easier and they're coming out smoother. This quilt is planned to be 20 blocks, so I have a few to go. 

I'm trying hard to make the blocks not all matchy-matchy. I want some clashiness in most blocks and in the overall palette for interest. It's really hard for me to do clashy!

So far, there are no repeated fabrics. With six fabrics per block I don't know if that will last or if I'll eventually have to repeat something. We'll see. 

Link Ups: Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 10/6;  Alycia Quilts 10/10

September Stash Report and Goals Update

It seems like I was sewing almost every day this month. What do I have to show for it? Not many blog posts, that's for sure. I was quilting on things that either are not bound yet, or belong to someone else. I made some piecing progress, or not...

I thought I had finished the teal top, but blog readers saw that I attached the bottom border upside down. That needs to be fixed before I can count the top finished. 

Teal quilt with OOPS bottom border

I did a lot - for me - of long arm quilting this month, helping a friend. On the piecing front, I made progress on some existing projects, and I started something new. My stash report is still looking good; a lot more has been used than purchased. 

September Stash Report

IN this month:  5-3/4 yards (2 yards video game print. 3-3/4 yards from FQ order.)

OUT this month: 4-1/2 yards (Backing for black and red churn dash, 4-1/2 yards.)

IN YTD: 51-3/4 yards

OUT YTD: 93-1/8 yards

YTD Net Change: 41-3/8 yards OUT

Positively Scrappy blocks

Goals Update

September Goals:

1. Help Edna quilt her large quilt on the long arm. May take two sessions. Done - We got hers done in one session, so we quilted one of mine during the other session we had booked. 

2. Assemble the teal blocks into a top. Progress - I thought I was done but the bottom border is sewn on upside down. Sheesh! 

3. Piece franken-batting for the red & black churn dash top. Done. And also quilted. Photos and story to come later. 

4. Piece backing for the Postage Stamp top. See if I have enough batting off-cuts to franken-batt together for it. Backing made. Franken-batt was used for the red and black churn dash. Batting for the Postage Stamp quilt was requested and received from PCQ. 

5. Make progress on the Leftover Strata top. No, change of plan. Since it's already kitted up, I'm saving this project to work on at social sewing or a future retreat. 

6. Make progress on the new scrappy project. Progress: Blocks made and sewn into columns. Now named Positively Scrappy.

7. Make backing for windmill baby quilt. Yes, have backing and batting and will quilt this on my domestic machine. 

Other: Found inspiration for a new challenging long-term project; made templates and a test block. 

Test block; I'm calling my version Crossroads Wheel

although there are similar patterns out there with other names.

October Goals: 

1. Quilt the Postage Stamp quilt.

2. Bind the red and black churn dash top. 

3. Fix the bottom border on the teal top. Piece the backing for it. 

4. Quilt the windmill baby quilt on my domestic machine. 

5. Finish piecing the Positively Scrappy top.

6. Make some more blocks for the new Crossroads Wheel project.

7. Start planning a new video game-themed quilt for grandson's birthday. 

8. Make a banner for my souvenir pins.

Looks like I have a busy month planned!

 
The weather is finally starting to cool off a bit here. The snowbirds are coming back and fall activities are starting up in PebbleCreek. When the snowbirds come on social sewing days, the classroom gets crowded. PC's Sewing Club will resume having classes twice a month, which reduces the studio time available for those of us who sew and socialize on Wednesday mornings and then go out to lunch. I may or may not participate is some of Sewing Club's events, depending on what project they're doing. But it will be good to see friends again who've been away for a few months!