Adding Charm

Last month I needed an easy project. I pulled down my ever-growing stack of 5" charms and pulled some squares to make fun crib quilt. How does one get a disturbingly tall stack of 5" charms? Just trim your scraps to size and keep doing this without a plan to get rid of the darn things. It does mean I can work up a quilt pretty quickly if I need to.

I didn't have a person to give this quilt to, but I figure it will make a great gift for someone's new addition to the family at some point in the future. I had two yards of green flannel that would be perfect for the back of a cuddle quilt. It might shrink and crinkly but that won't change the warmth it will provide.

A simple basket-weave quilting design worked up quickly.

It also created this amazing texture!

I will have to use this more often now that I see how wonderful it is.

I was going to cut binding, but I was pretty sure I could find five 2.5" strips in my stack of strips. Yes, I cut those from the leftovers, too. Within minutes I had what I needed to make a perfectly wonderful scrappy binding. Overall, a great project. Now I just need to find it a home.

Finally Finished Friday

Have you ever looked through your stash and found something you forgot you had?  I don't like to admit it.  I'm not all that old.  That doesn't mean I don't find things I forgot about.  This quilt was one of those times.

I found this almost finished quilt top.  It is from a kit from a chain store.  I probably bought it about ten years ago.  I have no real idea when.  I added the last two borders to it and found a likely piece of backing fabric.  In this case, I had the last of 10 yards of wide flannel that was just about the perfect size.

The large frame is in my three-season room on the back of my house.  It gets great southern light but winters aren't often the best time to be out there.  When I peeked out the window and found that the temp out there was almost as warm as in the heated house I jumped up and went out to get quilting.

I loaded it all up and got stitching.  I didn't want to custom quilt this since it is just a kit that has been languishing in my stash for years.  I just wanted it done.  I decided that this great design would be perfect for getting it done.  I found this inspiration in my copy of Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters.  It is called flower power and I love doing this as an all-over design.  It is easy to fill in with the petals and to move from motif to motif.

Here is a shot of the back of the quilt.  You can see that there isn't any traveling, just a bunch of echoing of the petals.  The top thread is King Tut from Superior Threads.  The bobbin thread is Tailor Made 27 from Superior Threads (this thread has been discontinued).

Here is a shot of the top.  I still need to make and attach the binding.  Once it is bound and washed I think the texture will be awesome!

Have you found some long-lingring quilt top that you had forgotten about?  This is the year of finishes!  Get sewing!

Aunt Betty Strikes Again!

Have you heard of my Aunt Betty?

Professor Pincushion made this great video that you should totally check out!

Let's just say that I have my very own Aunt Betty.  She loves to give me fabric, books, sewing machines, thread, and other things that she no longer needs, wants or has room for.  Sometimes I find new homes for these things, sometimes I fill my shelves with books and fabric.  I will not discourage my Aunt Betty.  She supports my habit as surely as she supports her own.  Last week I received these two bags of unwanted fabric.

To be completely honest, this fabric came from a completely new Aunt Betty.  It seems I'm beginning to gain a certain reputation in my local community.  All of these wonderful fabrics came to me from a friend that is trying to clean out things so she can work more efficiently.  I totally understand how having too much fabric can be overwhelming.  That's why I try to make it into things and send it out the door as quickly as possible.  

I won't be hoarding this fabric.  I've already got plans for some of it.  I want as much of it to go to good homes as possible.  Stay tuned to learn more about where some of this fabric is headed.

Do you have an Aunt Betty?

Design Boards

I saw some design boards on a group on Facebook.  I have been meaning to make something similar to take the place of my rotating cutting mat that I set next to my machine to set up my blocks for piecing.  This is where I set all sorts of things; my scissors, my seam ripper (devil!) and bits.  Today I finally got my act together and made them.  I figured I would share my process.

I am using this piece of foam-core board as my foundation.  It is lightweight and inexpensive.  First, I measured my rotating mat and found I could make two. 

Two is always better than one!

I used my rotary cutter to trim the pieces.  I wouldn't do this with a new blade, but this blade totally needs to be changed, so I had no problem using it for something other than fabric.  Cut size is 14" square.

The next step is to cut batting to fit.  I went with a piece that is 1/2" larger on all sides. (15" x 15")

Then, I cut the fabric at 3/4" larger than the batting on all sides.  (16.5" x 16.5" but you should check my math.  Heck, don't use my math, use your ruler.)

I used hot glue to attach my batting and fabric to my boards.  Use what you are comfortable with.  If you do something else, I would love to hear about your method.  First, I tacked down each corner and let it cool.

Then, I put a bead of glue along the edge and pulled the batting over the edge to that line.  Careful, they don't call it HOT glue for nothing.

I wanted to pull the batting tight over the edge, so I did one side, then the opposite side.  Call them left and right or top and bottom, it doesn't matter as long as they are opposing.  I started in the center and moved out to the corners, tugging a little to keep the batting tight over the surface of the board.  I did the miters on the corners last since they can take a little of pulling and prodding to look even close to nice.  Ultimately, these will be covered up with tape, so it isn't a big deal.

I used my seam ripper (devil!) to make them a little tidier.  Shown here with the fabric layer, but it is the same method.

Once you have all the batting glued down, it is time to repeat it with the fabric layer.

I'm not going to go through all the steps, but I thought it was important to share this shot.  I put the bead of glue just along the edge of the batting.  This made sure I was attaching the fabric to the board and not to the batting.  I want the fabric to be stretched a little and be held taut and I don't think that will happen if you are trying to glue the fabric to the batting.

I used some 2" masking tape to cover up all the raw edges on the back.  This will keep those frayed edges from fraying any more or the fabric from getting caught.  Again, I did opposing sides first.  This was mostly just my preference, but I did find it easy to line up the second set.  I'm sure I could have done something else that would have been prettier, but this will do the job.

I trimmed the corners like a miter, but not a perfect one.  I just wanted it to be neat and I figured it would be easier to overlap the ends cut on a diagonal (even a not precise one) than trying to get right angles to line up perfectly.  Do what you think looks good or you are comfortable with.

When I was done, I had two at 14" x 14" and one at 12" x 12" that I had to tape together from the leftovers.

I can now use my rotating mat instead of using it to hold up my squares and scissors.  

Please, let me know if you use this tutorial to make your own design boards.  I don't have a design wall, so this is going to be handy for auditioning at least a few blocks.