A Finish: Homespun Fun!

 Homespun Fun

54 x 78

Machine quilted and tied

 Most of the Friendship Stars made of homespun fabrics and muslin were swapped long ago.  When Bonnie Hunter was running her mystery this year I decided to make the units she gave in the clues to advance some of my UFOs forward and skip the mystery.    Around the same time the Stashbuster Yahoo group was talking about an Irish Chain Challenge to bust stash.   And so that's how I decided to make the nine patch units and add them to the Friendship Stars in an Irish Chain layout. 

I quilted it on the diagonal in the muslin areas which left the star and nine patch homespuns  without quilting. That was okay for the nine patch blocks but left a little less quilting in the star blocks so I tied them in the center with perle #8. 

This will be a donation quilt for a guy when the time is right. Seems like a lot of male family and friends were hit by prostate cancers and such last year so I'll be glad to have one handy for giving although I hope I don't have a need to give it away under such circumstances. 

And now that I see this picture up close it looks like I might wash it again. The Color Catcher came out just a little gray and dingy looking with no color. I thought the muslin looked a little dingy but I chalked that up to using a gray backing and it possibly showing through to the front.  But now that I see the photo it looks like there might be a little bit of bleeding like around the green/blue star.  I hope it's just an optical illusion. It's difficult to wash quilts by hand around here now that I have the wringer washer.  (Actually, if you asked any of the men in my life if they saw anything wrong with the quilt they wouldn't even notice a little bleeding or dingy muslin. They would think something was wrong if it wasn't long enough to cover them properly while in a reclining position.) 

This was my goal # 7

for 

2018 Finish-Along

and

18 in 2018

Today I'm linking up to Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun than Housework. 

It's a Flimsy - Homespun Fun!

Homespun Fun

It's a flimsy!

54 x 78

Baby it's cold outside!!  I'm not going out there. I don't have anywhere to take good photos of a big quilt top except outside hanging on a clothesline so you only get to see a snippet of the whole top for now. 

The six inch Friendship Stars in homespuns and muslin were blocks from a really, really old swap. I recently dug this UFO out of storage and made some nine patches in homespuns and muslin for an alternate block.  Rather than make a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt I made some of the units she gave as clues to move my UFOs forward.  And that's why I made all these nine patches. 

One of the many reasons I don't get quilts completed is because I am out of batting or I need to piece together some batting. Another reason is because I don't have a back ready.  This year I'm going to try to get a back ready at the same time I finish a top.   So, here is the backing - a plaid thrift store sheet that is just the right size.  I think I have a little bit of batting left on a roll.  I might even get this pin basted this week.  

I even know what I'm going to do with the leftover homespun fabrics that have been around here for years.  By year end I hope they are all used up and my sewing room has one less box of fabrics. 

This will make a nice donation quilt for a guy if my husband doesn't take it to replace the one in his recliner that he thinks is getting worn out.  But it's a little short for his long legs. 

Some Assembly Required

Some assembly required...

...now that I've finished making the 27 Friendship Stars of homespuns and muslin I needed to add to the pile of 38 swapped stars.    But maybe I should iron these first. 

Homespun Fun

I really like the Bonnie Hunter Mystery quilts. I've made a few of them but haven't made any the last couple of years. I thought this year I might join in but the more I thought about it the more I decided not to. I love the color scheme this year but don't have enough of those colors in my stash and I'm not good at changing colors unless I know what the final quilt looks like. I don't want to buy more fabric until I use a LOT of what I have.  I also don't need another UFO to add to my list.   So...  I do know that the Bonnie Hunter mysteries involve making a lot of individual units. I told myself I'd make the units she calls for in  each clue but make them for one of my UFOs in order to move a UFO forward. 

Clue 1 called for 50 nine patches.   I made 60.  Her clue called for 3 inch nine patches but I made six inch.   I used homespuns and muslin.  That navy on top is fabric left over from curtains I made for my youngest son's room when he was in high school and he's 33 years old now so that fabric has been around quite awhile. 

Long ago I participated in a Friendship Star swap. Stars are made of homespun fabrics with a muslin background.  I have thirty eight stars so will have to make a few more.  I'll use the fabric scraps left over from making the variety of nine patches. 

I will combine the nine patches and stars and move this UFO forward. 

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Moving it Forward Monday at Em's Scrapbag