Odds and Ends

I don't have any charity quilts to share this week so we'll start off with some random things. I pieced this fun hat using the Harico pattern from Feerie Telle. Piece with some pretty small pieces from my giant bin of fleece scraps.

I created my November cover sheet for my diary. Colored pencils and ink.

I used my long arm to create some fun texture to create fabric for a costume for an upcoming gaming event. This project is still in the works.

I also pieced this basis for a fur mantle. 

I did some hand-finished binding on this piece. I cut this binding entirely too wide but it won't be visible so it will be fine. I still need to cut and piece the fur that will be attached to the base. Bias binding is worth it when you're working with curves. 

My favorite tools and supplies (affiliate links):

Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle 

Fiskars Rotary Cutter

Fiskars Rotary Cutter replacement blades

Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron
Fiskars 8-inch scissors

Juki TL-2010Q

Grabbit Magnetic Pin Cushion

Dritz Craft Pins, 1-3/4-Inch (250-Count)

Creative Grids Stripology XL Ruler

Odds & Ends

We went away for the weekend so this post will have some of everything. I did some crochet in the car. this is Red Heart All in One Granny Square. This is one of those love/hate yarns. It may take some practice to get the square to come out perfectly.

We went to New Jersey and attended DexLite by Double Exposure. This gaming convention is a great way to try out new games and play old favorites with like-minded people. Everyone gets a set of dice at check-in and I picked these. 

The hotel had a pride display up in the lobby.

Before I left I used the Creative Grids Stripology XL Ruler to cut some binding. I have so many quilts to bind.

My favorite tools and supplies (affiliate links):

Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle 

Creative Grids 4.5" x 12.5" Rectangle Quilting Ruler

Creative Grids Quilt Ruler 6-1/2" Square

Fiskars Rotary Cutter

Fiskars Rotary Cutter replacement blades
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron
Fiskars 8-inch scissors

Juki TL-2010Q

Grabbit Magnetic Pin Cushion

Dritz Craft Pins, 1-3/4-Inch (250-Count)

Electric Quilt

Project box: IRIS 12" x 12" Portable Plastic Storage Cases with Built-in Handle, Clear (storage)

Letter Openers

Fiskars Rotating Cutting Mat 14 inch x 14 inch

Creative Grids Stripology XL Ruler

Utility Quilts

In 2002 I made this quilt for my husband. It was made with fabrics from one of the big box stores. The calicos were fat quarters of blue fabric. The background was a solid black, and the backing was bleached muslin. This is what I call a utility quilt. A quilt that was made to be used. A quilt to use until it can't be used any longer.  

This quilt has been in use for twenty years. It was starting to show its age and had a few tears, mostly in the muslin backing at the top edge. That loss of structure resulted in tearing of the top. 

I decided the best way to get this quilt back to work was to cut off the bits that had worn. I cut 12 inches off the top of this quilt. 

I ripped back the binding along the edges so I could join it to new binding. 

I pulled a blue print from my stash and cut enough strips to make new binding. I did question why I had cut 3" wide strips for that binding but it doesn't really matter. 

I patched a solitary hole in one of the stars using a scrap of blue fabric. 

Then the repaired quilt was put back onto the bed and will likely live a good life keeping humans and dogs warm for at least another ten years. 

Part of why I wanted to tell this story is to show that you should never feel shame at buying the fabric you can afford and using it to make things. If you take good care of the quilt, it will last many years. If you have to make your quilts out of old sheets and scraps cut from shirts, that's fine, too. I also wanted to show how a quilt can be repaired and continue its life. Just because something has a few rips doesn't mean you have to throw it away. Mending is easy. Giving my partner back his mended quilt is priceless. 

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):

Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle Fiskars Rotary Cutter

Creative Grids 4.5" x 12.5" Rectangle Quilting Ruler

Fiskars Rotary Cutter replacement blades
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron
Fiskars 8-inch scissors

Juki TL-2010Q

Grabbit Magnetic Pin Cushion

Dritz Craft Pins, 1-3/4-Inch (250-Count)

Electric Quilt

Dreams Mini-Quilt

Several years ago I used an embroidered alphabet from Urban Threads Embroidery to create a min-quilt for a friend. We share a dark view of the world and joke that now that we are old ladies (neither claims to be a lady, to be sure) all our dreams are dead. I wanted to make sure she remembered me always so I made her a mini-quilt similar to what you see above.

She asked me to make another one for another friend of hers and I said yes. I used the alphabet to recreate the design because I didn't know where the embroidery file was. I've also changed embroidery machines so an update was needed. I used a different accompanying font but I think it still works. After stitching, rinsing to remove the water soluble stabilizer, and blocking the piece, I trimmed it and layered for quilting. 

I did the quilting with my Juki TL-2010Q. The swirls and lines are all free-motion quilting. Some are better than others. Just like the days in our lives.

Trimmed and ready for binding. 

I had only a fat-eight of this striped fabric but it seemed perfect for this 12" by 12" mini-quilt. I know my life isn't over and my dreams aren't dead. I do joke that I have my dream job because I dream about work almost every night. Too bad I don't get paid for those hours.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron
Grabbit Magnetic Pin Cushion
Fiskars 8-inch scissors
Juki TL-2010Q

Charity Quilting

Blogger has made some changes to the blog drafting tool and I'm trying to give it a go before it becomes the standard. It appears the intent was to make the tool easier to use for those writing their posts on mobile devices. I draft my posts using my desktop computer. I can type faster, pull content faster, and generally get from idea to blog post faster on my desktop than I can with my mobile device. I've been blogging either with a desktop of laptop for almost seven years. Change is hard. I just wish the new tool was as good as the last one. You can learn more about the changes Blogger is making on their blog. 

I've been trying to finish up projects that have been hanging around too long. This little quilt has been quilted and trimmed for months! I finally found some coordinating fabric, made the binding, and got busy. If you want to learn how I machine finish binding, check out my Quilt Binding: Tips and Tricks page. 

This little quilt is destined for the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild. Every time I use one of these I think I should design labels through Spoonflower. One of these days.

This little quilt was made with leftover half-square triangle units from my Good Fortune quilt by Bonnie Hunter. She has loads of free patterns on her blog Quiltville. I finished my version of Good Fortune in January of 2019. 

2017 Baltimore MQG Mystery Quilt

This is the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild 2017 Mystery Quilt. The first clue of the 2018 mystery is going to be handed out this month and I wanted to work on the 2017 mystery quilt so I wouldn't feel so guilty about starting the new one.

I spent a bunch of time thinking about how to quilt this one. The stars wanted their own quilting and that dark orange strip really wanted the right color thread. I don't always do custom quilting but when I do it seems to take forever.

I think the texture is perfect! In hindsight, I likely could have quilted it all with the light gray thread I used for the background and the stars.

Now for some binding! The binding is made up of leftover dark orange and more than a few strips of the blue used for the stars.

I've named this one Royal Point. Quilted and bound! Just in time to go to the next meeting of the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild. 

This quilt is number 12 on my Get It Done UFO Challenge 2018 list.

Quiltville Mystery Quilt 2016: En Provence

En Provence!, Bonnie Hunter's 2016 Mystery Quilt is finished! This is the final post for this quilt. I shared my progress on clue #1, clue #2, clue #3, clue #4, clue #5, and clues #6 and #7. 

I found the time to sit still long enough to add the binding to my En Provence quilt. This is what it looks like when you pile a queen-size quilt on your sewing table to finish the binding by machine.

It is so nice to finish something. Now I'm really ready for the next mystery quilt.

You can buy En Provence as a digital download directly from Quiltville.

Guild Mystery Quilt

I'm a sucker for a mystery. This goes for mystery quilts and mystery knit-alongs. I'll join them and sometimes finish them. Okay, I mostly finish them. Some just take longer than others.

The Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild hosted a mystery quilt this year. It took several months to get all the clues as clues were distributed at the monthly meeting. This is a painfully slow pace for me as I generally participate in mysteries that are released weekly. These are my fabrics. I'm getting lazy and have been buying a single piece of fabric even when scrappy would work just fine. It doesn't mean there isn't scrappy in my future. Only that I didn't go that way with this one.

The pattern had some pre-cutting to do which I liked. Since the project took months to get all the clues, I added this project to my current leader and ender bin until the clue was done. If you don't know what a Leader and Ender is, please check out Bonnie Hunter's excellent post about the hows and whys of this technique. It can save thread and time.

I won't go into each of the clues (or the name), as this was a mystery. If you have a group that would like to try a mystery, I can recommend the directions as well written (pattern information at the bottom of the post). The pattern had several potential finishing layouts and I played with my blocks until I found one I liked.

I could have added more blocks to increase the size. Instead, I added a 1.5" border in the green.

Followed by a 3.5" border in the orange.

I made the binding with the blue and a couple strips of the orange. Since backing fabric is one thing I rarely have on-hand, finishing this one will have to wait until I get to the fabric shop to buy some backing.

Pattern information: Pattern designed by Debbie Caffrey. You can find several mystery quilts on her webpage Debbie's Creative Moments, Inc. The site also includes several free patterns and mysteries if you would like to try one of her patterns for yourself.

I'm not giving the name of the pattern to maintain the mystery. I recommend you try at least one mystery quilt in your quilting life. It is a great way to learn new techniques and tools. A way to stretch your quilting muscles and make something new. You might surprise yourself.

Quiltville Mystery Quilt 2016: Quilting En Provence Part Two

It took me more than a little time to finish the quilting on En Provence. I went with this all-over swirl design. Like all of my quilting, this is exclusively hand-guided work. No computers for my long arm. That means all the errors are my own. Quilted using Superior Threads So Fine! #50.

I've pieced the 400+ inches of binding. I'll attach and finish this binding by machine so I can be finished with this quilt. I'll be ready for the next mystery quilt.

You can buy En Provence as a digital download directly from Quiltville.

Scrap Vortex

Somewhere in my travels I came across a quilt along for the Scrap Vortex.  Go check out the quilt along for more instructions on making your own scarp vortex quilt.  Amanda Jean over at Crazy Mom Quilts has some wonderful tutorials and walks you through working with your scraps for the Scrap Vortex.

I've been using my crumbs to make stacks and stacks of 4.5" blocks.  If you want to make some of these yourself I recommend you check out Victoria Findlay Wolfe's 15 Minutes of Play.  The book is wonderful and gives you so many ideas of how to work with your scraps to make some really amazing things.

I pulled out my stacks and stacks of 4.5" squares and got to work.  Two shoeboxes full of these little suckers. It was time to make something.

I wanted some places to rest the eye so I made some groups of blocks and framed them with 2.5" strips.  I used different sizes of groups for each one.  Since the border for these units made the blocks 4.5" bigger in both length and width they fit perfectly into the rest of the blocks with minimal adjustments and zero partial seams.

I chose the finished size of this quilt based on the size of the backing I had available.  This year I have restricted myself to buying only backing fabrics and I've been really successful with not growing my stash this year and still making loads of finished quilts.

Some of the framed units aren't as obvious as others.  If I do this again I will pay much closer attention to these and try to make them stand out more.

The turquoise frame is the most obvious.  This might be because of this is the only solid or due to the blocks in and around it.

A scrappy quilt like this deserves more than one color quilting thread.  I pulled some Magnifico, OMNI and So Fine #50 and got stitching.  Each of these threads is great for long arm quilting.

Basted and ready to quilt.  Since this quilt has so many things going on, I decided to use a different motif in different areas and let the bobbin tell me when to change color of thread.

The Flower Power design from Angela Walters is always a great filler.  I know this is in one of her books but I've packed up all my books for the move so I can't pull it out and let you know which one it is.  I also used echoing a great deal.

Free-hand baptist fans are another great filler.

Pebbles!  They aren't my favorite, but I'm glad I included them.  A little bit of ruler-work there in the block.  It isn't anything spectacular, though.

This was my first real try with the ribbon meander.  I really like the effect.

I used this as an opportunity to practice my feathers.  Some are better than others.

The back of the quilt gives a better idea of the different colors of thread used.  This backing fabric is a dark blue flannel.

The purple and blue threads are pretty well hidden.  The yellow, orange, read and white are not so hidden.

The pebbles really show up on the reverse.

For binding I pulled out my bin of leftover binding and pieced some together.  Scrappy quilts finish pretty quick when I use the scrappy binding bin.  Binding finished by machine (you can check out my binding tutorial over in tutorials).

Have you done anything really scrappy this year?