Time to Quilt

Create!

I have several wall hangings in spectrum (rainbow) colors, except for one special black & white piece.

I found this older post today and since I’ve wanted to republish some that were archived, I decided to begin focusing on ones related to my sewing room.

After that, I’ll share photos of how the room looks now. It was always useful to have a reference when talking with a friend about our sewing rooms.

The post below was originally written on January 10, 2021.

I saw the idea in an old magazine by Angela Bowman. She’d made one with the word “MAKE”. I loved it and wanted to use the word “CREATE” for mine. She used an 1980’s font called “Edit Undo Line Break”.

I searched online and found a free font to download. I initially thought I’d need to graph each letter, but after printing several sizes, I was excited to see that an 800 font size worked perfectly. I just measured each piece and added a 1/2″ seam allowance.

All strips were cut 1″ wide to finish at 1/2″, including the strips between the letters and the outside border.

The first one was made with ombre letters and a white background. I didn’t think it was going to look good on the wall color I had at that time so I remade it. The second time I used some leftover Kona jelly roll strips and a black background. (Each letter took less than one jelly roll strip).

When I first saw the photo from a distance, I liked both pieces! My husband suggested adding “Re-” to the second one for Create and Re-create. He’s a funny guy!

I haven’t checked my trunk of wall hangings in a while, but I think I gave the white one to another quilter. I probably should have kept it because I really liked ombre.

The wall hanging finishes at 8 1/2″ x 40″. It took a skinny quarter yard of fabric for the backing. I used 1/2 yard of fabric for the background and binding. I chose to make a single fold binding with 1 1/4″ strips since it’s only a decorative piece.

Here are the details in case anyone wants to save the idea. I think it would be a cute method to use and insert a child’s name in the backing of one of their quilts.

Background, colored strips, spacing strips between letters, and border strips were all cut at 1″ wide (they finish at 1/2″)
The letter blocks are unfinished 8″ x 6 1/2″ so you may need to adjust your page margins to “0” before printing.
Each letter is made with 8 colored strips and 7 background strips.

I quilted it with a wavy serpentine stitch in the background rows. Super easy!!

You can downloaded the free font from 1001fonts.com. Just make sure to click the GREEN download button (the blue one is an ad that requires downloading an app).

Surf and Sand

I came across this quilt today and realized I’d never taken a photo of it.

It’s a block of the month from 2018 I’d participated in at my local quilt shop called Surf and Sand. I didn’t like the setting in the original pattern so it was a while before I took it back out to finish once the blocks were made.

This was the original setting. I was able to find more of the Quilting Treasures fabric line for the setting I ended up making. I’d seen a photo of a similar quilt on a long armer’s quilting page. I graphed it out and because I knew I’d like the finished quilt, I stopped procrastinating and finished it.

I made a lap quilt with the leftovers.

I have more scraps but not many. I like the fabrics but not sure what to do with them. I suppose they’ll have to wait their turn too.

Happy Friday!

A finish

I completed another string quilt last week, and I’m really happy with the result.

I do need to make few quilts that are almost entirely strings to use more of them. I’d have been able to use double the amount of strings had I just pieced the 9″ blocks together. I used 12 blocks rather than 24 that I would have otherwise.

It is fun looking for ways to incorporate string sections into other patterns! I figure as long as I’m being intentional about using them often, rather than let them accumulate it’s all good. 😉

I took some photos while making the blocks using grocery store ads on newsprint paper.

Once the blocks were trimmed and the paper removed, I cut each 9″ block into 4 1/2″ squares. I forgot to take a photo of that step.

Each time I sew a string to the blocks I stop and iron them before adding the next string. Not everyone bothers to iron as they go but the extra step seems to make my blocks lie flatter than I think they might otherwise. It’s also a good opportunity to make sure the paper is easier to remove later. I to that by folding it back, sliding my thumbnail across the crease to sharpen it, then folding it back in place so it’s ready to add the next string.

Rocky (our cat) has his own little piece of batting to lie on and nap, watch me, or look out the window. I know people have cat allergies so I’m careful to keep the rest of my batting covered.

Today I’m cutting 2 1/2″ strips from Kaffe Fassett scraps for my next quilt. I didn’t think I had enough until I laid them out!

Any leftovers and narrow pieces will go into my next string quilt. It’s better to use them now than save them for Ron. (Late R On ;-))

Memory Quilts

I searched the archives and found my original posts about a pair of quilts I’d made for the sons of a friend who’d passed away. One of her closest friends asked last night to see a photo of them again.

Making these two quilts was challenging, not because of the piecing or quilting, but due to their emotional significance. They were made from the jeans of a friend who had died from brain cancer. Her close friend gave me the jeans to make quilts for her two sons. It was an honor to make them and knowing how sentimental she could be, I think Patti would have loved them.

You can read more about them in this original post here and here. The brief instructions on how to make the quilt are in this post.

It’s one of the many posts I’ve had to look for in the archives and republish. It takes a few minutes to reformat them but I’ll work on a few at a time, at least the ones worth repeating. 🙂

Patti absolutely loved this song! I remember weekend nights sitting around a fire singing it to the top of our lungs, and loving every minute of it. ♥
(After a long day of watching our husbands drive the four wheel drive trucks in the mud. Laughing at the wimps who were too chicken to try it. Then, spending the afternoon pulling out those who did try but didn’t make it to the other side. Those were the days.)

Reset

I quilted and bound this guild unfinished top that had been in storage for quite a while. I asked if I should adjust the size, either make more blocks or remove a few, so it would be easier to donate. The answer shook me to my core.

The lady making the deliveries said these smaller quilts can always be used by a senior in a recliner or wheelchair (depending on size). She then added that one organization she gives the quilts to will take any size. The children and teens they help are by referral and they know many of the children sleep on the floor because they have no bed.

Children. Sleeping on the floor because they have no bed.

How can you not remember that when you’re making quilts? I know if I’m not careful, I’ll overdo it to the point of burnout. That won’t help me or them. The best way to avoid it is to put my quilting on some sort of weekly schedule. It’s the same thing I do for household chores, laundry, and grocery shopping. It’s a habit now so I don’t stop and think about it. I need to make a habit of rotating what I work on at the beginning, the middle, and the end of the week.

I want to have a mix of quilts that are needed, quilts that are ones I’m really inspired to make, and quilts that will use up my abundance of scraps and strings.

Last month I worked on the rescued quilt tops. Now, I’m making strings but I feel the need to quilt some tops for my guild and also projects for the weekly bee I joined. It makes my head spin but, I know it doesn’t have to so I made a plan.

Saturday – Reset my sewing room including piecing frankenbatts, trimming scraps, make sure all fabric is noted with the yardage and put away. If there’s extra time, prep for the next project.
Sunday / Monday – Sew string or scrap quilt
Tuesday / Wednesday – Sew inspiration (bucket list) quilt
Thursday / Friday – Bee project and quilt a guild top

Life happens and there are days I’ll be busy with family things and not sew at all. The point is to rotate what I’m working on so I don’t get in a rut.

I once read that procrastination is simply decisions deferred. That’s a pretty accurate description. The left photo shows how my strings are stored. The wooden crate on top are pieces I need to trim and/or sort.

The next photo shows my scraps, and the last one are white/off-white strips on that were cut for projects I later changed my mind about. Those strips rest on top of my scrap baskets because I have no storage space for them.

As you can see, I have an overflow of fabric for both string and scrap quilts, not to mention the two drawers of fat quarters. I have ideas for all these fabrics! I don’t want to just store them; I want to get a better habit established to use them regularly.

On Saturday, I started my plan and used the morning to reset my sewing room. I thought I had kept up pretty well with my batting cut-offs so I was surprised to see there was actually enough for 2 small quilts. I only have 2 little pieces of batting left over. Staging them at the end of the table on the back of my long arm works well as long as I keep up with piecing and using them.

I’ve had good success by zig zagging them as soon as I finish attaching a binding while my walking foot is still on the machine. while I have the walking root on from binding the previous quilt. Now I know if it’s late and I’m tired, or have somewhere I need to be, I can just catch up on my Saturday morning reset.

I trimmed pieces from quilts I worked on last week too. I have 60 “waste” half square triangles trimmed to 3.5″ from the Dinomite quilt.

If I put them away, it might take a while before I want to work on them again. Better to keep them out and use them up eight away, especially since I have an idea for them based on a simple 3 Yard Quilt pattern.

I’ll cut the rest of the pieces for the quilt tonight. I’m anxious to start the next quilt so I’ll sew these as leaders/enders. The fabrics are so different than the quilt I’m making next that I won’t have to worry about the pieces getting mixed up.