Temecula Baskets Reveal

Final binding stitches have been taken on Temecula Baskets and she's at last ready for her coming out party.

 

And by party, I mean let's lay her out on the front lawn and take a picture. I don't currently have a proper bed to put her on! (Remodeling continues...)

The backstory on my making this quilt is pretty well outlined in this post from early 2022. To my recollection, I’d ordered some FQ bundles from Temecula Quilt Company/Marcus Fabrics and had been saving them for ‘just the right’ quilt.

When I saw a sweet basket block in my 501 Rotary-Cut Quilt Blocks book by Judy Hopkins, I knew a perfect match was made. Sewing the blocks was fun and fast. I recall putting a lot of thought into the direction of my setting blocks, and I’m still very pleased with this layout. 

This book, by the way, has been a favorite go-to of mine for a long, long time. Honestly, one would never need to buy another pattern or book with this on the shelf. (Of course, that's putting quite a stretch on a quilter, but it could be done.)

So here are a couple more shots of Temecula Baskets. The red border pleases me, as do the subtle gray setting blocks. All-in-all, I am pleased as punch with this adorable basket quilt.

Ongoing while finishing the master bedroom, I have been boxing up various items that will be donated. I will have near 300 books going soon to our library's book sale. I also plan to purge some of the fabric in my stash. I know - big shock!! I've gotta' be realistic: there's no way will I ever - EVER! - use it all.

 

And when I need a sewing fix, I continue working on Tiny Nine Patches; gosh it's going to look so amazing. I put the first border on yesterday. Today I will press it all, and then add the next border which is just one fabric (not pieced, in other words). The final border is pieced, and I will need to decide how I will proceed with it. All those gazillion bits I made in Florida are just about all used up. Hooray!

Hope you're having a great day!

Jayne

Quilting Temecula Baskets

Often the hardest thing for me is deciding.

There are so many quilt tops stored in closets that I have a hard time deciding which one to pull out for quilting. It's like playing favorites. What a nice problem to have, right?

Yes, two closets are packed full with quilt tops made over the last 20 or more years. I made the tops yet never had the means with which to have them quilted. And now that I do have the long arm machine, I continue to make quilt tops and never quite seem to get ahead in the quilting phase of the process.

Sometimes it's just a matter of pick a quilt - any quilt.

 

 

Mostly just randomly, then, I picked Temecula Baskets which I pieced in 2022. Here's a post that pretty well explains the entire piecing process.

Temecula Baskets is such a cheery creation and seemed suitable as a summertime quilt. It will probably be on our bed for awhile these next couple of months.

And so, another quilt has been removed from the closet and finished off. I’m thoroughly pleased with the results. It was fun to piece and the quilting continues to be easier the more I do it. 

Now to trim it, bind it, and label it. Even when you say you're done, you are not really done. *wink*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Temecula Basket Flimsy

I am proud to show off a flimsy this morning! Feast your eyes on Temecula Baskets! I finished off those last 8 seams yesterday afternoon, and have this stunning beauty pinned to the design wall. I am so very happy with the finish.

I suppose I could go back into the archives to see when I bought all my Temecula fabrics. Who has time for that? I sure don't. The colorful fabric for the baskets came in one online order; the background fabric came in another; the red fabric for the border came just recently in one more order.

The pattern is one I dreamed up. I thought I'd like to use the bright colors for simple baskets, so I found Baby Bunting, a block I found in Judy Hopkins' book 501 Rotary-Cut Blocks. I love that book and refer to it often. I took the less colorful gray fabrics to make the double 4-patch setting blocks. 

For more complete details and links, check out my last post.

 

At the time I was making the blocks, I didn't really have an idea for how I would set the quilt together. I tried out a couple of layouts, and this one seemed most pleasing to me - especially after ordering that red bundle. It just sorta' worked itself out. 

I am glad for this finish. It allows me to check an item off my goals list for 2022. That's a nice bonus. It also allows me to more actively consider starting a new project. I have a gazillion ideas for 9-patch quilts, and I have a hankering to make a Kaffe Fassett quilt in blues. Which direction will I go???

Here's another look at Temecula Baskets. She's just so darn pretty!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Temecula Baskets Progress

As much as I am itching to start something new, I am making myself finish at least one WIP (work in progress) before I do. I don't dislike the quilt I am attempting to finish; I just really like starting new things more. 

So, follow through is the name of the game this week. And here is where things stand at present with my Temecula Baskets. I laid out all my blocks on the bed and made the extra blocks I needed. For baskets, this has six vertical rows of baskets with seven baskets in each vertical row. I next needed to cut my side and corner triangles.

Earlier this month I'd seen a timely sale advertisement from Hancock's of Paducah on this bundle of Temecula reds. What perfect timing! Red triangles to surround this quilt will look great. It took me about 10 seconds to get the credit card and order this fat quarter bundle. I pulled the darkest of the reds from this bundle to make my triangles.

I started stitching rows, and gosh I was loving how the red works so well to set off my baskets. Here's a sneak peak of the first few rows.

I stopped last evening after getting all the diagonal rows stitched, and some of the shorter rows joined. With 8 more seams to sew, I am definitely in the homestretch and will have a finish this week, God willing. I am pinning a lot - every intersection and any other places that warrant. It takes longer but I will be more pleased with the results, I believe.

Click here to see information on the very beginning of this quilt. I have worked on it since around Thanksgiving, as it was on my goals list for 2021. Click here for an early progress update. It may not have been finished in '21, but it's not going to linger too far into '22, by gosh. Bonus: a finish here will take care of an item on my goals list for 2022!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Project Shifting

Currently, two quilts are under construction in the quilting room. Both have been mentioned here in recent previous posts, and the fun of it is, I can pick one up depending on what seems most interesting or most doable in the time I have to stitch.

Yesterday is a prime example of working on both. First, I made a few more Temecula Basket blocks and more setting blocks. I need to do some figuring to determine how big I want this to be; surely I am getting close to having a good-sized quilt.

When I was at a good stopping point on Temecula Baskets, I turned to Lunch Box Social. It was supposed to be further along than this after a full day of sewing on Friday with the Frienzies. 

Ahem. 

I did not do nearly as much sewing as I did visiting. 

Truly, those Thangles triangles are the only bits I finished on Friday. I hadn't even unpacked my bags as of yesterday. I was dreading the cutting of all those HSTs. So I faced the music yesterday and got 'em all done.

Perfect 2" HSTs all cut and pressed and ready for the next step in Lunch Box Social. Before I need those, however, I finished a step involving the 9-patches. They needed to be surrounded by this muted stripe. Easy-peasy.

Since this is a smallish quilt - throw or table cloth - I only need to make 9 blocks that are very involved. Then the top construction can begin. This should be coming together quite fast. Makes me wonder why I kept putting off making it - I think I can go back to a goals list for 2017 and see this listed there. *geesh*

Hope you are having the best Wednesday! DH and I are going on an afternoon day date - thrift store shopping and maybe more!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Progressing on Goal #12

Making these 8.5 inch (unfinished) baskets has been lots of fun. I have been pulling out 2 or 3 colors at a time along with a neutral and I am taking my time. No chain piecing. No mass production. Just enjoying the journey. Seeing the little baskets piling up on the cutting table is rather a pleasing sight.

 

I currently have 12 baskets finished, two of six different colors. One Instagram follower commented that it looked like basic crayon colors, and I have to admit I agree. That was not at all planned, but so far that's how it appears.

The Temecula fabrics have been in my stash for a couple of years, and you know how we quilters do. We save special fabric for just the right quilt. I've done that for years and what it really amounts to is hiding gorgeous fabrics in tubs for years on end. No more! I determined that my pretty fabrics WILL be used!

As recently as May, I had a different notion for use of this fabric. I was deep into my Churn Dash phase, and I still think that would have been a viable option. For whatever reason, though, I did not follow through, and since then I've continued considering possibilities. When I saw this simple basket block in a quilt book (click here for title), the decision was a done deal. I love little baskets, and this one is just so easy! And, as I mentioned earlier, the cutting instructions yield 2 blocks, thus the reason for going slowly on construction. I want a lot of color variety in my little baskets. 

In addition to switching up the colors of the baskets, I am also using many different backgrounds, and a close look at the blue stack will show that I am mixing them occasionally. Rather than have bits of leftovers, I chose to follow our grandmothers' tendencies - no wasting! So mix and match, it is.

Today I have played around a bit with potential setting blocks. The stash of Temecula fabrics contains three gray FQs and I think those would make nice chain-style blocks across the quilt. I will continue with my blocks and share further progress as I work this week.

Is your Monday going great? It's been a slow start around here with nothing overly pressing going on. No immediate needs to fill. So I'm finishing the last of the coffee and doing a couple of loads of laundry. Soon, I will be heading off to the quilting room for more work on Temecula Baskets.

Happy Quilting, Friends!