It's a Finish!

 Another Nine Patch

No clever name comes to me for this one

78 x 78

Machine quilted on my DSM 

 It's basically a little Nine Patch within another Nine Patch  (or Puss in the Corner) with striped sashing.    I used 2.5 inch scraps to frame the little nine patches. 

 I used to participate in a quarterly 3 inch nine patch swap so had lots of those on hand. I still have a lot of them and am always looking for new ways to use them.  I think I've made five different quilts that used nine patches. 

 The quilt was inspired by a picture I saw of a Susan McDermott quilt in Quilt magazine. 

I quilted it with straight lines on the diagonal. I tried to quilt it so the little nine patches poofed out. 

I used a  100% cotton queen sized sheet from the thrift store for the backing. The tag was still on it - $2.  I was going to make a scrappy binding but couldn't decide on which scraps to use from the 2.5 scrap bin - they are all rather short. And I don't have many bright pieces in the leftover binding bin. So I used plain old red to match the corner stones. 

This was my goal #4

for 

Q4 Finish-Along 

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun than Housework

It's About Time

 I finished six Christmas stockings. 

That was my goal #14 for 

Q4 Finish Along

 Forty years ago when my son was four years old and my daughter was two years old I made them these Christmas Stockings. Santa has filled them with goodies every year since then. They have held up pretty well except some of the stitches in the embroidery of their names are missing. 

Six years later another son came along and every year since then I've been telling myself I really need to make him a special Christmas stocking since he has worn out many a cheap felt dollar store stocking. 

And finally...this is the year now that he's 34 years old. 

Johnny has always loved cats. While going through Christmas and cat fabrics I found enough bits and pieces of  Laurel Burch fabrics to put together a stocking for him. Won't he be surprised. 

 I thought I had enough six inch Christmas nine patches to make six stockings but I only had enough to make four.  There's two for my granddaughters, one for my grandson and one for my son-in-law. 

I had some six inch squares of snowmen and snowflakes to make a stocking for my oldest son's girlfriend because I know that's something she likes. 

Now everyone will have their own special Christmas stocking for Santa to fill. 

And I know what they will all say on Christmas day when they see them...

"It's About Time". 

It's a Finish! Confetti Waves

Confetti Waves

48 x 64

Looks like from previous blog posts that I started on this in December 2015.  In that first post I blogged about how I was making these blocks from waste triangles. They are arranged like an Ocean Waves block which I was also making at that time.  I called it Confetti Waves because it looks to me like little pieces of confetti. 

I used waste triangles and bits and pieces of different red solids.  I just made blocks until I ran out of those red bits and pieces.  You really can't tell there are different reds in there but there are.  I didn't make a dent in the waste triangles but I do have a couple of other quilts in the works that use them. 

I quilted it on my DSM with some spirals. I thought that might give some motion like confetti twirling around. Or maybe I just imagine that. 

A kind soul gave me the backing fabric to use on donation quilts and since this will be donated I thought I would use it because it seems like the perfect backing for Confetti Waves. 

This was goal #7  for  Q4 Finish-Along

It's a Finish! The Owl and the Pussycat

 The Owl and the Pussycat

At sunrise

40 x 60

Machine quilted on my DSM with spirals

If I can find the old book Owl and the Pussycat (it's around here somewhere) I'll put it with the quilt in the hope chest for great grandchildren.  I've made several quilts that go with old children's books for the hope chest - Velveteen Rabbit, Ten Apples Up on Top and I think another one I can't remember right now. 

If I can't find the book (I have several bookcases full of children's books here and there throughout the house I need to check) I guess I could make a quilt label with the poem on it. 

I posted yesterday about flimsies I just made that used cat scraps. I actually started to try to use some cat and owl scraps back in March 2017 when I started making these Sawtooth Stars.  Sometimes things just get stalled around here. 

I used a piece of flannel I washed several times for the back. Flannel seems to shrink a lot. I had just enough of the polka dots for binding with just a little piece leftover. It was meant to be. 

You can kind of see the spiral quilting. Hey, I'm finally getting better at those spirals but I still need to work a little on consistent size and spacing. 

This was my goal #11 for  Q4 Finish-Along

And in an effort to have no scrap left behind...

I usually like to make Flying Geese for the star points on Sawtooth Stars but for some reason I used the flippy corner method to make these stars.  When I do that I just eyeball the 1/4 inch seam and lop off the extra. I figure no need to actually measure because the seam is already sewn and I don't care if the extra fabric left is cut accurately at 1/4 inch or not.  And I don't like to take the time to sew a 1/4 inch seam to make a bonus HST.  So, I'm left with lots of "waste triangles".  I sometimes throw them in with crumbs if they are big enough or keep them separately in a waste triangle box.   At any rate... I'm trying to use up scraps now as they are made so I put the eight waste triangles with a center 3 inch square in order to make some Wonky Stars when the urge strikes.   I have to cut yardage for the 8 three inch pieces for the rest of the star.    And when I'm finished with the three inch pieces I'll cut those scraps in half and put them in the 1.5 inch scrap bin since three  inches is not a size of scrap I keep in a bin. I normally don't have a lot of 3 inch scraps. I have a few projects in the works that use the 1.5 inch scraps.  

So that's just a little about how scraps get made, used and stored and then used around here. 

Wonky Stars. 

They finish at 7.5 inches.

And they are fun and easy to make. 

I'll have enough for a small quilt in no time!

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Moving it Forward Monday at Em's Scrapbag

This was goal #11
for
Q4 Finish-Along

It's a Finish! Plain Brown Wrapper

Plain Brown Wrapper

80 x 80

hand quilted with big stitching in various shades of brown perle #8

For my purposes cream also counted as brown. 

The center is a 50 inch square that consists of brown postage stamps (1.5 inch squares) and a heart. 

Next there is a round of 2.5 inch squares.  Then there is a round of dark/light four patches made of 2.5 inch squares.  Most of those were from swaps years ago but I didn't have enough of them so I filled in with postage stamps in that round in the center of each side.  Then there is another round of 2.5 inch squares. 

 The next round consists of 3.5 inch squares with 3 inch nine patches from the Parts Department in the corners. 

The final round consists of 4.5 inch squares with four patches in the corners and middle of each side. 

I used perle #8 in various shades of brown and stitched through the middle of the 1 inch squares in concentric squares.  I stitched an eyeballed 1/4 inch from the sides of the other sized squares.  The four patches and nine patches and postage stamps in the other borders had an X stitched through them. 

The binding was scrappy brown. 

And guess what! The backing is brown. 

Lots of scraps in this one!

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework

Lots of Slow Sunday (and Monday and Tuesday...) Stitching in this one!

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

AND...

This was my October OMG (One Monthly Goal)  

at 

Elm Street Quilts

This was also goal #3 

for

Q4 Finish Along

Fourth Quarter Finish-Along Goals

1. Blind Man's Fancy (90 x 90) will be hand quilted with Baptist Fans. 

2. Marginalia (Quilty 365) is 72 x 84 and will be hand quilted. 

3. Plain Brown Wrapper - 80 x 80 almost finished hand quilting.

4. Another Nine Patch - machine quilt

5. Rosebuds - to be machine quilted (as I keep saying)

6. Depression Blocks - to be machine quilted

7. Confetti Waves - to be machine quilted

8. Snowballs - to be machine quilted

9. Framed Four Patch - rows need to be sewn together then machine quilted

10. Happy Critters- top needs to be assembled then machine quilted

11. The Owl and the Pussycat - top needs to be assembled then machine quilted.

12. Make Pillow from this embroidered piece

13. Cat and Rabbit pillows - make. Will use small batting pieces for stuffing. 

14. Make six Christmas stockings from nine patches. Using stockings I made my two older kids 40 years ago as the pattern. 

15.  Finish four Valentine themed placemats and napkins. 

16. Make at least one thing from these Christmas themed blocks and HSTs - placemats, tablerunner, tree skirt, hot pads ??? I want this bin to be empty at the end of the year!!!! 

That should keep me busy and out of trouble for a few months. 

Q4 Finish-Along

It's a Finish! Zig Zag Nine Patch

 Zig Zag Nine Patch

92 x 92

Actually I think it is one inch shorter on top width and one inch shorter on the left side. I measured all four sides several times and got different measurements each time so am just using the largest number and calling it good.  I have to confess I don't square up my quilts. I don't have the space or the tools and they serve my purpose whether they measure the same on top and bottom and on each side.  You can tell if a quilt has perfect measurements when a quilt is on a bed or on a person. 

 I like to find pictures of vintage quilts and try to figure out how to make them. 

I saw this one from the Darwin D. Bearly collection of Antique Ohio Amish Quilts at Plaid Portico and knew I had to make one. 

 I had a lot of three inch nine patches on hand. Some were from swaps over the years and others I just made when I felt the urge.   I also had the solids on hand so it was meant to be. 

I hand quilted it in different colors of perle #8. The quilting really shows up well on the solid red backing. I took some pics of the backing but they turned out pretty blurry and I don't feel like retaking any so you will just have to use your imagination. Even though I haven't washed it yet the hand quilting has made it all soft and crinkly already. 

This was my goal #1 

for 

Q3 Finish-Along

It's a Finish!

It's a Finish!

36 x 48

Machine quilted in variegated blue thread on top and natural in the bobbin. 

If the very middle looks a tiny tiny bit wider than the rest...well, it is. You may or may not know that I have a wringer washer.  It is difficult to squeeze out enough water to put a quilt in the dryer without a spin cycle.  I normally drape the smaller quilts on an old wooden drying rack.  I have no place to dry them flat. (The larger quilts are taken to the laundromat). Well...a couple of wooden dowels came out of the drying rack and I haven't had a chance to glue them back in. One dowel is warped and I'm not sure I'll even be able to get it glued back in. I guess it's time to buy a new drying rack.  I found the one I've been using many many years ago at a thrift store so it really has seen better days.   So, I know I should not hang quilts on the clothesline to dry when they are really wet but I thought if I just folded it it in half and draped it over the line this small quilt would not stretch out of shape. Well...I was wrong.  Somehow where it was folded over the clothesline the quilt grew a tiny bit wider. Darn!  When I took it off the line when it was almost dry to put it in the dryer to finish up I never noticed it but I sure do now.   In order to fix the problem I might wet the quilt and clear off the dining room table (full of tomatoes and peppers right now) and dry it flat there on beach towels. 

 Twelve ships with different colors of sails.  This was a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project a few years ago. I found one ship at a time was not efficient so quit making them.  I dug out the UFO to finish for some soon-to-be grandparents and found I needed five more blocks.  No problem. 

I quilted "clouds" and "waves"...

 ...but left the ship and sails unquilted so they would stand out a bit. 

I had almost enough blue solid for the binding.  I grabbed a snowflake scrap from the 2.5 inch scrap box to finish out the binding.    Which came first? - the quilt or the backing? The backing fabric inspired the quilt!  

This was goal #11

for

Q3 Finish-Along

and

this was my August OMG (One Monthly Goal)

And another UFO gets checked off the list!