Welcome May! Scrappy Kaffe Flimsy

May! It's a pleasure to welcome a new month!

 

April ended on a super-high note as I finished a flimsy! It feels so good to have a finish to share. Feast your eyes on this Kaffe Fassett beauty.

Last November, I  began sewing my collection of 2.5-inch squares of Kaffe Fassett scraps. A block even easier than the 9-patch, I opted to keep it really basic with a 4-patch. The collection of random fabrics collected here in this scrap quilt date back a whole lot of years. I did some serious reminiscing with some of these beauties.

All the while I was making the 4-patches, I had absolutely no plan for them. I trusted that when I had a while giant mess of them made, I would know what to do next. I knew that an idea would come.

 With my best sewing bud Sharon's input, we came up with the easiest and (as I see it all together now) the very best option. Keep it super simple and use just one fabric for setting squares. Let the 4-patches be the star of the show. And they truly are. I love-love-love this quilt top. 

The nature of scrap quilts - at least in my experience - is that piecing small bits is acceptable as is making blocks with 'near matches' when necessary. Using the scraps is the main goal, so improvise as needed.

Pertinent details on this quilt: Blocks are 4" (finished); 4-patches are made with 2.5-inch squares; it is 18 x 22 rows and measures 72" x 88"; it contains 396 blocks; 198 pieced and 198 setting. It does not have borders, but I may add some. We shall see...

Are you a fan of Kaffe Fassett fabrics? When they first began appearing on the scene, I was not a fan, but they grew on me. And then I sorta' became obsessed. I have a way-too-big stash, and even though I've made quite a few KF quilts over the years, I really need to get crackin' on making more.

Maybe sometime this month, I will devote a post to sharing all my KF makes in one place. That'd be fun.

I'll try to be back tomorrow to do the April collage and share some plans for May.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

A Long-Awaited Reveal

The year has been filled with far more things than quilting, so 2024 is definitely seeing a markedly reduced number of quilt finishes. We are celebrating today the near-finish of Tiny Nine Patches! A whopper of a quilt, she needs only to have her binding attached and a label secured, then she will truly be finished. 

Many previous posts have chronicled the long journey this quilt has made from start to finish. Here's my Reader's Digest condensed version.

She was actually started before I knew what she was going to be. I was making 9-patch blocks out of a huge tub of 1.5-inch squares and strips - all scraps. The amount of scraps in this small size had gotten completely out of hand, so I decided that it would be easiest to just make 9-patches and then figure out what to do with them later.

During the process of completing the 'niners' I found a fun sew-along or a challenge hosted on Instagram by Taryn @reproquiltlover. It looked like a very doable effort, so I joined in. This post describes my initial sewing as well as discovering Taryn.

By February, I was well into the 300s for completed 9-patches. I'd also purchased my background fabric. I loved it in the store, I loved it laid out with my blocks, and I still love it in my quilted finish. It has the look of a faded old quilt and it so nicely sets off all the little 9-patch gems.

I didn't begin sewing the blocks together until we came home, and when I did, I couldn't believe how quickly the entire top went together. I even changed my mind midway into creating a straight-set quilt, opting instead an on-point quilt. Read about that in this post.

Making this has taken me on so many reminiscences! I come across a bit of fabric here and there and there and am reminded of the quilts I made with them. Most have a story, and don't get me started if you are here and we begin pointing out different blocks. I have fabrics from my old projects plus bits from my grandma, and also from a handful of friends. Some represent quilts I have gifted, while others are quilt tops hanging in my closet waiting to be quilted. 

The quilt measures 100x80 inches. In previous posts, I talked about making it a square quilt, but I cut one side down a bit so that I could get it on my long arm machine! 100 inches is just way too big! I calculate that there are over 5400 pieces of fabric used in this 22x20-block quilt. I also have 1.5-inch pieces in the 4-patch border. 

I've linked up with Cynthia and her weekly Oh, Scrap! link party. Go have a look at other scrappy endeavors!

Happily, my small scrap bin is nearly empty!

Yay for a finish!

Hope you have a great week! Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

9-Patches On Point

It turns out that changing mid-quilt from making a straight-set quilt to an on-point quilt wasn't as troublesome as I thought it might be. It's been tons of fun seeing this transformation.

Here are some pictures of what I first made - a straight set section 10 blocks wide and 24 blocks long. It's hard taking a decent picture of something so long and narrow, but you can get the gist of it, right?

At this point, I decided I'd rather have an on-point set, so I wondered if it would be terribly complicated to switch things up this far into the construction process. The answer is no. It was just a matter of making the angled parts which I would attach to each narrow end. Below is one end. The other looks just the same, only angled the other direction.

Attaching these triangle units to the straight set was easy and before long, I had a big hunk of this quilt completed. Seeing this laid out on the bed is making me very eager to get back to the machine and finish it off.

Look at how big this is! After adding each small angled unit for the ends, I topped out that larger, upper part to form a corner of the quilt top.

The very rough drawing on the photo above outlines the original section I made before making my design choice. You can see, I hope, the 3 sections that have been added. One small triangle section to the top left (not shown in the photo), another small section to the bottom right, and a larger triangle section to the top right.

I turned the quilt the opposite direction to see how it fit. The same. So that means I have a square quilt in progress here. I will put the corner triangles on this last long row, then  begin closing down to the final corner of the quilt. (I'm sure this is not very well explained; my technical writing skills need to be honed no doubt.)

The bed shown here is a queen size, and the photo above shows plenty of overhang. Ultimately, this quilt will be intended for a king-size bed, so I think I am doing okay as far as size is concerned. If my calculations are correct, the quilt will be 22x22 blocks on the diagonal and measure 93" square. I'll get this part made and decide at that time on whether or not borders will be needed.

Changing this quilt so dramatically has been a lot of fun. Initially I took it as a challenge, but as I did that first angled unit, I knew that it was easily doable. I hope to have a finish on this very soon.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Welcome Summer!

Officially summer arrived Thursday. Now it's Saturday, and I wouldn't want to do anything in a timely manner, now would I? Close is good enough for me.

Yesterday, the first full day of summer, was a scorcher and I found myself immersed in a range of activities, some of which occurred in the quilting room, but most did not. It wasn't until late afternoon that I made my way to the sewing machine to stitch on a hugely satisfying project. More on that in a bit.

First, let me mention one thing that made the first day of summer special this year - the incredible full moon. Did you see it last night? It’s called the Strawberry Moon in folk lore probably because of strawberry harvesting time. Here in southern Ohio we are well past strawberry harvest, but the moon was the exact color of a strawberry, especially just as it was rising above the horizon. We took a walk late in the day to avoid the heat  -  yeah, I dragged myself away from the sewing machine -  and in the twilight the moon was a breathtaking sight.

 

Now back to the stitching. Below is an old photo from March when I was working madly to turn scraps into blocks. This represents just a few of the gazillion 9-patches and 4-patches I made while snow birding.

I show you this because last evening was spent working on turning the 9-patches into a quilt top. I’m super-excited about this one! I bought several yards of discounted fabric from Quilted Twins specifically for the setting blocks in this quilt. I'm loving how it looks! In fact, I am so stoked to work on this quilt that I had to force myself to stop sewing and go to bed. (This is the equivalent of a reader saying 'just one more page' or 'one more chapter;' I was saying 'just one more seam' and 'one more row.')

And here’s a tease for the goodness to come - a couple of 9-patches sewn to setting blocks. Stay tuned! I promise, it's as gorgeous as can be.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Festive Churn Dash

That cute little churn dash block from yesterday's post is now stitched up with 8 others into a happy, festive little table topper. I am just loving it!

All the fabrics are from the existing stash. The red setting fabric was from my friend Kay's sewing room. The backgrounds were just random fat quarters collected over the years, and the three browns used for the churn dashes are scraps from quilts made over 20 years ago.

The inspiration for this little quilt (pictured below) is one I've saved and come back to time and time again. I don't think there's any one specific reason I have been so taken with it. I love the cute little dashes; I love that it's on point; I love brown and red together. To me it simply screams "make this!" 

And so finally, I have!

I've added a tag onto the picture indicating that I do not know the source for this quilt; likely it was saved from Pinterest or Instagram, my usual two sources for inspiration. If any reader knows the source, I'd sure love to acknowledge it, so let me know.

I see that my churn dashes are evenly divided whereas the inspiration quilt has smaller center squares separating the corner triangles, making the churn dashes look chubbier. I might return to this and make another one with that chubbier churn dash. 

I do love the churn dash, in whatever form it appears. A couple of years ago, I was in a major churn dash frenzy. Click here to see the exchange blocks project of the the Frankfort Girls. The quilt from those blocks is pictured below. Also, click here to see True Blue, a large churn dash quilt. And click here to see a navy and poison green example. 

I'm sure I've got a scrap piece of batting for my festive little lovely; I will do a stash dive for backing. The binding has to be brown, like the inspiration. I can see this being finished off in short order.

Only two more sleeps till Christmas!! 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Last Quilt of the Year

As we close out 2022, I find myself attempting to finish one last quilt top. As of Tuesday, I thought it was done, but the more I think on it, the more I want it to be just a bit bigger.

So I am adding one more row wide.

This means I need to make 13 more blocks - 6 with red and 7 without.The blocks are 9-patches and it will take no time at all to crank them out.

Currently, the quilt is 13 blocks long and 11 blocks wide. With 6" blocks, this comes to 78" x 66". With one more column of blocks, I'd end up with a 78" x 72" quilt, and that would suit our queen bed much better.

Now, here's the catch - which isn't really a catch at all. I'd been using all the scraps I could from the big zip-lock bag of 2.5" squares I had after our exchange. I am left with only a tiny stack of very light neutrals, and I will need more variety than that. Click here to read about our exchange and to see the bag when it was full.

You know why there is no catch, right? I have mountains of scraps of my own! Just take a look at this little tub of ready-to-go 2.5" squares.

Sorting through this will be fun; revisiting old projects and sorting out those bits that are of a reproduction-style design. Then, cut, sew, snip, stitch, and voila! Thirteen additional 9-patches ready to add.

My self-imposed goal is to have this completed before the end of the year. 

It is definitely doable.

To see my inspiration for this quilt and the very beginning, click here.

Happy Quilting, Friends!