Small Quilts Quilted

Before we get too far away from February, I ought to share the two quilts I finished at the end of the month. Both quilts will forever be memorable, and the reasons are not so pleasant. I was attempting to be efficient, and, well, it backfired.

I had a long piece of backing and these two small-ish quilts would fit nicely according to my rough calculations. I mentioned awhile back that I am near the end of the bolt for this backing fabric, so using the cut-away parts helps keep the random piles of fabric somewhat tamed.

First I loaded 4-Patch Delight, then I put Lunch Box Social onto the end of the piece. The quilting was fast and easy. I am so glad that confidence on the long arm has finally found me. And with confidence comes carelessness. I actually sewed over my index finger! No harm to the quilt or machine, but man-oh-man! I cannot recall ever feeling faint after an injury; this was a doozy! The pic below was taken the next day. This is what two needle-pokes look like.

After DH helped me bandage my finger, I went back to stitching. As I was nearing the midway point of the second quilt I made a rather startling discovery. I was going to be running short on backing. My rough calculations didn't work out very well. 

I had to remove the half-quilted quilt and add more backing fabric to allow me to finish it. It was doable, but geesh! Talk about a whole lot of bother. 

The photo above shows a bit of the seam where I added enough backing to allow for finishing quilting. I rolled everything back on and two passes of the machine had this little gem finished.

I have bemoaned my aversion to math in many previous posts, but this incident is a clear lesson for me. From the very beginning, if I had calculated more accurately and allowed the standard 4" that quilting generally requires, I would have saved myself a whole lot of aggravation.  

It wouldn't have done a thing, though, to save my finger.

So, now to share the actual finishes of both quilts. First, 4-Patch Delight. It was on this quilt that I stitched my finger. Special memory number 1.

Special memory number 2 - short backing; Lunch Box Social sure is a pretty little quilt, which makes up for my being a dunderhead.

That wraps up my February quilting. I needed to finish that old business before moving on to some really exciting new business! Yes, I have a new quilt started, and you will be seeing that soon!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Slow Sunday Binding

Binding a quilt means that things are getting finished around here, and I am mighty glad for it. I actually have binding for two quilts to share today. 

Yes, they are small, but never mind that.

First to be tackled was my 4-Patch Delight. I made it at the very end of last month on a whim, and now it is quilted and bound! Hallelujah! 

I also quilted my recently finished Lunch Box Social finished back in December, and that is what I am stitching today. It is just 40" square, so the binding will go quickly. 

You may notice that the same beige/white dot fabric backs both quilts. Yes. Quite a lot of my recently quilted quilts have this backing because I bought an entire bolt of 108" wide fabric to expedite the backing of quilts. I am awful about measuring and piecing backs, so this has been a wonderful alternative. 

I have used nearly the entire bolt, and will have a new backing fabric to share soon. One has been waiting on reserve in my quilting room; it has a shirting look - white with tiny black flecks. I have also ordered two more bolts - grays and taupes - very neutral and hopefully will serve a lot of different looks. They are on delayed delivery; something to do with availability. All good.

See what the other Slow Stitching gals are working on this week by clicking over to Kathy's Quilts for her weekly party. I am joining in on the fun. I see some knitting, some EPP, some quilting, more binding (like me), and embroidery. All the slow stitching fun! 

Happy next-to-last-day of February! Hope you are having a great Sunday!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

4-Patch Delight

Here we are ending January, and even with all the travel time, I am sharing a finish for the month. And - bonus - it fits the last and very loosely defined goal on my '22 Goals List - "Numerous TBA Quilts." In this post I delve into many possibilities for gorgeous yet simple quilts that would fulfill this particular goal, and share appealing inspiration pics from my Pinterest boards.

Simple. Straightforward. Easy. Fast. Satisfying. Stash-busting.

Yes, this little cutie ticks all the boxes. I had the 2.5-inch squares prepared and on hand. I took my time enjoying the process of matching up light and dark combinations. The fact that I made enough for this quilt was a pleasant surprise - I guessed pretty accurately - only 2 4-patches left over.

I was winging it, for sure, and it just all worked out as if it were meant to be. Here are the most basic instructions; while I used 2.5-inch squares, this, of course, one could work with whatever size happens to be on hand.

1. Make a whole bunch of 4-patch blocks.

2. Attach 4-patches to make  4 16-patch units.

3. Attach 16-patches, then add inner border.

4. Attach two rows of 4-patches to the top and bottom.

5. Add two rows of 4-patches to the sides.

DONE! This measures 42.5 inches, and at present I intend to leave it as is. The possibility of adding to it appeals to me, but not as much as considering this particular piece FINISHED. I can use it as a table cloth, or drape it on the back of a chair. 

I don't mind square quilts, but if I were to make another one just to see what it would look like in a larger size, I believe I would play around with ways to make it rectangular for use on a bed. Six center blocks? That seems a likely place to begin.

And look - the bag is still full. I've barely touched the contents. The oft-heard cry from quilters about never running out of scraps is true! The more we use, the more the scrap bins/bags/baskets overflow.

I hope you are having a wonderful Monday. I need to take care of lots of loose ends today, chief among them - a massive grocery haul. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!