Tag: jewel box quilt

Mini Jewel Box COMPLETE

This quilt started out as a leader-ender in March 2022. You can read more about the process HERE.

In spite of the challenges, particularly it not being as large as I thought it would be, I am happy with the outcome.

It used so many scraps! And is that lovely mix of traditional and contemporary that I seem to lean towards.

Total pieces: 3456. Yardage (cut sizes) in top: 7-1/4 yards (more or less). Scraps are eternal, but they do add up fast. The top finished at 64″ x 72″. The small squares start at 1-1/2″.

WIP #3: What Really Happened

Well, it turns out that….

  1. I didn’t really make 324 blocks, I made 274.
  2. That is a dumb number of blocks because it doesn’t make a logical number of rows.
  3. I did it because I was running out of background fabric. And, I don’t know for sure what “white” it was and couldn’t match it. (NOTE TO SELF–mark the selvedge of “white” fabrics with color name and manufacturer.)

SO…

  1. I made 14 more 4″ blocks.
  2. The layout is now 8×9 4-patch (sets of four/8″) blocks
  3. The top finishes at 64″ x 72″.
  4. Total number of pieces: 3288
  5. The top is assembled.

I have learned (re-learned)…

  1. Plan background fabric more carefully.
  2. Make notes for myself.
  3. Finished is better than “perfect.”

Make That THREE WIPs

When I said that I had two WIPs (Works in Progress), I had sort of pushed one out of my mind: The Jewel Box Quilt.

I started this project in March of 2022, making 4″ blocks based on 1-1/2″ squares. All solids with a single white background fabric. By June of 2023 I had 324. 

And that is where I got stuck. The thought of laying out 324 blocks…

But, Monday I had a brainstorm! I could sew them into 4-patches, changing 324 blocks into 81 blocks. That doesn’t seem nearly so daunting. Now, I am back in business with this one, too. Maybe it will even be a finished top before the end of the year. YAY!