Time to Quilt

Patriotic Strings

I finished a quilt today and this one is a bit larger than the size I normally make for string quilts.

I began by making 7 1/2″ string blocks then paired them with either a red, white, or blue square – drew a diagonal line on the solid fabric and stitched on both sides of the line. Cut in half and you have a pair of half square triangles. Those were trimmed to 6 1/2″.

I made a similar quilt with upcycled men’s plaid shirts a couple of years ago. I love the quilt and display it in our living room. For that reason, I was fairly certain I’d like this string version too.

I have a couple more string quilts I want to make next, well actually three of them. 🙂 Each one will either be inspired by, or a deliberate effort to replicate one, I’d seen on Mary’s Heartstrings Quilt Project website. All three of them go back several years so it’s time to stop procrastinating and just do it!

On Thursday I went to Hobby Lobby to check out the fabric sale. I’d looked online as the kids prints first so I’d have an idea of what to look for. I bought a few of the ones I’d seen online and at 12 yards for only $60 I was happy I went.

I plan to take a break one day a week an work on a baby or children’s quilt. They’re usually pretty quick and always fun to make. I’m saving up ideas too on how to use up the scraps I’ll be generating from those.

The pixelation pattern in the middle of the bottom is the only one in this set I haven’t made so I may just start making some 9 patch blocks as leaders/enders while I’m working on other things. Note: the quilt above the Pixilation pattern is not mine. I didn’t take a photo of the one I’d made. I probably saved this photo from Pinterest to my ideas file. I’ll have to be sure to snap a picture of the next time I make it!

Who is that one for?

When Sam saw my latest quilt top he asked “who is that one for?”.
Silly man!
Do people ask an artist when they finish a painting, who’s it for?
It’s for me.. of course. Whether I keep it or give it away is always secondary.
I quilt for myself.

I secretly think he asked because he wanted me to keep this one.

“Art is to console those who are broken by life”. ~ Vincent Van Gogh

That makes every quilt – art.

What you just read above is another Facebook memory – from a little over a decade ago. I promise not to keep sharing them but this one really hit home today.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about quilting and where it plays a part in my life going forward. As much as I enjoy gifting and donating quilts, I still quilt for myself because it’s what I love doing. I realize how incredibly fortunate I am to have something to do that I absolutely love. ♥

My quandary lately is…
Do I take on the work and responsibility of leading a group of quilters to make and donate quilts – or not?

My doctor says “no stress!” for health reasons. My husband asks “how are you going to manage that with after school pick-up?” And, my heart says…. “will trying to lead a group actually strip away the thing I love doing the most?” because I know how super hard it is to both lead and participate. It’s a tough decision and one I’m not taking lightly.

The quilt is still one of my very favorites and from the pattern called Seafarer by Quiltfabrication. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it! If you know me, you’ll know I’ve worn a ship’s wheel and anchor charm around my neck for longer than I can remember. It’s the first thing Sam ever gave me, it’s symbolic of our last name and, my step-dad just so happened to be a ship captain.

I think this pattern is the only one I’ve ever purchased specifically designed for string piecing.

And, today this quilt is for me. A reminder of how much I love to quilt and that no matter how much I love quilting- family will always come first.
Everything else ranks a distant 3rd place. ♥

Memories

One reason I like to share photos of my quilts on Facebook is because they pop back up a decade or so later as a “memory” and make me smile when I see them. I remember not being able to wipe the smile off my face at the lizards I quilted to match the focus fabric in this little quilt. I even drove over to a nearby park to get a picture of it on the playground.

For a time, I enjoyed making “Quilts for Kids” through their official website and this was one of their free kits. They asked that you mail it back finished with another quilt of your own.

I quickly realized I could make and donate double the number of quilts if I didn’t pay shipping costs to send them out of state.

Many years ago a friend told me “do what you love, love what you do” and, I’ve been very fortunate to be able to do exactly that..

Which also brings back a memory of my all time favorite quote ~

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me’. ~ Erma Bombeck

Puppy Strings

I finished this quilt on Wednesday, I’ve just been too busy (and tired) to take a photo of it. This picture isn’t that great but, it’ll have to do. 😉

I don’t do needle-turn applique very often but I decided it was worth the effort for this little sleeping puppy.

The only fabric I had to purchase for it was the green “grass” lower outer border. I wanted him to look like he was outside and it just wouldn’t have been the same with a plain green. I had just the right brown ombre fabric to get different shades from it for his ears, face, and the spot on his back.

I chose to use a blue/green print for the center strip of the string blocks flanked by a solid blue on one side and solid green on the other. I ‘m really happy with that choice because I think the end result gives definition to the blocks.

I’d seen a photo somewhere, probably Pinterest, a long time ago of quilt with a puppy on it. I’m no artist but I drew him from that photo the best I could.

I enlarged the drawing on an Office Depot copy machine, and made a couple of copies so I could cut the pieces out for the individual parts.

Quilting over applique always gives me pause. I’m never quite sure if I want to do it or, try to quilt around it. Because I hope a kid falls in love with this one and drags it around, it may get washed a LOT. So, quilting over the applique to make sure it was well secured and none of my hand stitches came out felt like the best option.

My patriotic string top got pieced this week too and it’s ready to be quilted. It’s the one I mentioned at the end of this post last week.

I had 4 tops to quilt for my guild’s outreach program first. The patriotic string top will be up next. In the meantime, I’ve started a new one – with Kaffe Fassett strings. Even Sam looked at the blocks I was making and said “that’s pretty wild”. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hope it turns out the way I have it pictured in my head… you just never know until you try!

You can see a few more of my String Quilts by clicking on the link.

Resource Depot

Today I made a trip to Resource Depot, a non-profit materials recycling thrift store.

I wanted to look for a few more rolls of adding machine tape and luckily, I found some! I got these (plus some index cards that I like to use to keep a running grocery list) all for just $2.oo.

Since I like to use paper foundations for my string quilts, these work great for short strings and scraps. These are examples of quilts I’ve made with them.

I also scored a 9 1/2″ Omnigrid ruler for $3.00 or maybe it was $4.00… I don’t remember but I know it was a whole lot less than you’d have to pay for a new one! It’s the exact size I prefer using to trim my string blocks.

Do I need another ruler this size? Yep! I plan to start making string blocks with friends soon so an extra one or two the right size will really come in handy.

I didn’t expect to find any nice quilting fabric but I was pleasantly surprised to find these:

A two yard piece of fabric by wilmington Prints for only $4.oo. It’ll make a great quilt border. I like to select a border fabric before I make my string blocks so I can pull the colors I want to use from there. I think blocks in shades of gold, cream, rust, and brown will look great. I see it with a blue inner border too or, maybe the center string for the blocks Ocean inspired fabrics are always my favorites!

Another two yard piece of fabric by E.E. Shenk for $4.00. It will work great to make a cute kiddo quilt or two.

I probably had a half a dozen ideas on how I can use this cat fabric before I even left the cash register! And, because I love the mission of this non-profit so much I dropped a couple of dollars in the donation box before I left.

I spent about 75% less than what these items would have cost me if I had purchased them at regular retail prices. For sure, I need to make a point of getting over to Resource Depot more often.