Second Chance Quilt: Seek The Near Perfect Solution

What to do with three blocks?

Maybe a table runner? Wall hanging?

The good news is that you don’t have to create something from scratch. I did a quick search for “table runner 9 inch blocks.”

This near perfect solution came up: A free pattern from All People Quilt. That is the website associated with American Patchwork and Quilting, a magazine (in addition to the Online Quilt Magazine, of course) that is worth subscribing to. Yes, the block style isn’t the same, but everything else checks out.

And gives those blocks a second chance, and you a quick finish.

NOTE: This post also featured in the Online Quilt Magazine.

New Project Update

It isn’t taking as long as I thought to get a lot done on the new project: THIS ONE.

It is now called the Confetti Quilt, and there are 100 of 144 blocks assembled. And most of the pieces are cut (out of that abundant scrap box) for the rest of the blocks.

Possibly the blocks will be complete by early February. Such a nice way to start the year.

New Year. New Project.

My end of the year cleaning almost always results in a new year project.

My bin of “little bits of background fabric” was overflowing. Fortunately, there are patterns for that.

Like THIS ONE. I am making 6″ blocks using only 4 HSTs each, rather than the 12″ she shows. But the rest of the measurements are the same.

So, I am busy sewing bits and pieces and creating blocks. There is a long ways to go. I am currently planning for a 72″ square quilt and that will take 144 blocks. Maybe I’ll do more, but that is the basic goal.

I’ll keep you posted.

Dino Baby

I was in the mood for something easy and cheerful.

There was a bag of dinosaur print fabric that came from…somewhere. I get a lot of hand-me-downs. It didn’t take long to cut three 6-1/2″ squares, and several 4-1/2″ and 3-1/2″ squares. That used nearly every tiny bit. My bin of solids supplied the borders/sashing for the smaller squares (1-1/2″ and 2″ strips, respectively).

And, ta-dah, a baby quilt. Ready for donation. Such a cheerful finish giving purpose to those too-cute-to-throw-away scraps.

A Finish For Mom

My mother has dabbled in quilting a little. But I was still surprised when, at Thanksgiving, she handed me a box and said, “Will you finish this?” It was a quilt she started about 20 years ago, but, somehow, like most quilters do, lost momentum and never finished.

It really didn’t take much. Just adding on. She had kept track of the fabric. It is her favorite blue.

And pansies are her favorite flower.

I had the backing fabric on hand, something she had picked for herself years ago and never made into something, and finally handed off to me. She’ll be glad to get it back, I think.

One of my final finishes for the year.

Merry Christmas To Me

I am not a big seasonal decorator, but I do love Christmas. And for a while I had considered a Christmas quilt.

When I saw the Fall 2022 Scrappy Mystery at QuiltingGail, it was the answer. I made mine a little larger, but the idea remains the same.

And I added a smaller complementary quilt for the back of my husband’s comfy chair.

It is based on this tutorial.

Both were built entirely with fabric on hand. The last stitches were put in the binding about 3pm Christmas Eve. Still plenty of time to enjoy them this year before the decorations come down.

Merry Christmas to all (and to me)!

Let It Snow

We recently have been blessed with a lot of snow, including a three-day storm that dropped 17″ at our house and as much as 50″ in nearby mountains. YAY! That is where most of our water comes from, and we are tired of drought.

In the meantime, I was working on a little snow here. Or, rather, a little snowflake quilt. This mini finishes at 13″.

I saw the darling pattern and had to give it a go.

Yes, the pieces are little, but there is a larger version out there if that is more your style.

The new owner is very happy with her little snow, even as we all pray for more big snow to fall from the sky.

Second Chance Quilt: Bits And Bobs Make A Quick Job (Christmas Table Topper)

Susan shared a few of her bits and bobs with me.

The blocks were already 6″, so I did all I could with the assorted half-square triangles and leftover scraps, adding a few other 6″ blocks that caught my eye.

Those strips of 2″ squares became the border.

And, ta-dah!, a cute Christmas table topper or wall hanging. It finished at 30″ square.

Don’t give up on those bits and bobs (or odds and ends, or leftovers). Sometimes they are most of a pretty good idea and just need a little nudge to turn into a quick finish. That is just the sort of thing we all need this time of the year.

NOTE: This post also featured in the Online Quilt Magazine.

Baby, That’s A Lot Of Pieces

A teacher friend is expecting a baby in early January. After seeing pictures of the crib and sheets, I settled on blue, orange and grey.

The pattern was a dilemma, until I was thumbing through my pattern inspiration pile: PERFECT!

Well, perfect…if sized down, in different colors, and with a border.

It wasn’t until I started cutting that I realized the top would have around 300 pieces…Too late to turn back now!

But now it is complete. And she says it is perfect. YAY!

A Visit To The Way-Back Machine

Over Thanksgiving we visited my parents in rural Colorado. Their house is full of quilts they have very kindly accepted over the course of my quilting career. I thought to share a few from the way-back machine.

This one is very early. Not labeled, but it has to be one of the first few I made, probably about 1999 (First quilt was 1998). Throw size. Tied. Rough binding. But, my mother loves it. She says it is her favorite of all I have ever given them.

This one is a little later. Sometime between 2000-2002. A friend did the handquilting, which I love. I had fun with the pillow shams. It was on one of the upstairs guest beds.

This is the original Calico Rose Quilt, which I did as a quiltalong in 2015. It is holding up well to use and was on the bed we usually sleep in when we visit.

One of the funniest things about my mother is that she only leaves quilts on the beds if she deems the guests capable of caring for and respecting the quilts. Otherwise they are put away and replaced with comforters or bedspreads. I am glad to see one on the bed I sleep in when I arrive. Hopefully next trip there will be different quilts in rotation and I’ll share them then.