Batik Hollow Finished

In looking back through my records, it appears I started this quilt sometime in early-to-mid 2011.  I have no pictures of the first iteration.  It was ugly.  The second idea came from Kim Brackett’s Scrap Basket Sensations book.  I really liked the design, but it was still ugly.  Maybe not ugly to other people, but ugly to me.  How could I finish an ugly quilt?

Well, I couldn’t finish an ugly quilt, but this isn’t an ugly quilt any more.

Bright colors helped.

The perfect back helped.  The quilting helped.

It’s all good and it’s all done.

ps–I am sorry to say that I cannot tell you what that perfect backing fabric is.  It came in a hand-me-down box and I loved it when I first saw it, but wondered how I would ever use it.  Then this quilt happened.  Some things are just meant to be, I guess.

Twin Pint Size Finish

The twin Pint Size quilts are finished.

The “boy” version has scraps of green, yellow, red and brown.

The “girl” version is green, yellow, pink and purple.

It was an interesting challenge to use the same backing fabric for both and yet make them distinct.

They will be delivered by Husband to his work in the near future.

If you are worried, “Will I like scrappy, or will it just be chaotic?” consider starting with a backing fabric you love.  Pick colors that stand out to you and then select pieces that match-but-not-too-closely.  If you look at these quilts you will see a wide range of each color, but they do coordinate.  The variety provides interest and texture only possible with scrappy fabrics.  And it really does work!

Do Two Pints Make A Quart?

In crazy American units of measure two cups make a pint, and two pints make a quart…and four quarts make a gallon.  It makes sense to us, but to persons accustomed to metric measurements it can be quite a mystery.  At any rate, and by any measure, I am pleased with these twin Pint Size tops.  Whether they add up to a quart or not, I do hope they add up to pleased parents who have quilts to match those two cute babies.

The tops have two shared colors–yellow and green–and two different colors–one with red and brown and the other with pink and purple.

It always surprises me how different colors work together.  All the colors, though, coordinate to the backing fabric.

My goal is to get the tops basted and quilted this week. One step closer to a finish and delivery.

Off And Running In 2017

My husband’s manager delivered twins just after Christmas.  So, my first project for 2017 is a same-but-different twin quilt set.

Fabric for twin baby quilts

I am using the Pint Size pattern I recently created and they are coming along nicely.  I hope to have finished tops by the middle of the month.

If I do two blocks a day, it is possible and that is a pace I believe I can keep.

Sister Babydoll Quilts

We have two granddaughters–sisters and daughters of Second Son and his good wife. They are 4-1/2 and nearly 2.

They NEEDED a matching-because-we’re-sisters Christmas gift.

Babydoll quilts are perfect.

These were made from some vintage (somewhere between 1980 and 1990) wall hanging “cheater” panels that came in a hand-me-down bag.  I added simple machine quilting and a binding.

It all goes in the mail on today.

It Was Time

OLD potholders…

NEW potholders…

It was time!

They are about 8″ square and use my scrappy 2-1/2″ squares.  I don’t know if it would be helpful to have a tutorial…What do you think?

Another New-Old Project

2016 has been a great year for finishing old projects.  In fact, the supply is running low and I am starting to look around for new projects for the new year.  Until then, I have a few old projects left to pull out and make a decision about.

This is Tile Works, a bunch of blocks based on one from the 100-blocks magazines (way back–#2, I think).

There are 23 blocks created so far.  I don’t hate them, but I have trouble seeing them as a complete quilt.  It will need sashing…what colors to use?  Not scrappy, I think.  And colored cornerstones of some kind.  And an interesting outer border, perhaps echoing at least part of the block pattern.

Thirty blocks, plus sashing and borders, would make a reasonable queen-size quilt.  I think I have seven more blocks in me for this project.  Maybe I can even finish it before the end of the year…

The Quilt, Formerly Known As Ugly

Things have been quiet on the blog lately.  There has been a lot going on at school and at home (nothing bad, just busy)….

and…

pieced borders take a long time.

Meet “Batik Hollow,”  the quilt formerly known as Ugly.

Not so much now.

The additional colors helped.  And finishing helps.  After all, finished is nearly as good as perfect.

The pattern is called Blessings from the Hollow from the book Scrap Basket Sensations by Kim Brackett. I added blocks for a finished top about 66″ x 80″.  Enough for a twin bed or a throw or something.  But mostly it is done and I am very happy.

On to other things.

Rethinking

I am turning to another old project.  This one has been known by many names; right now I am calling it “Batik Hollow.”

The problem, now that I am looking at it again, is that it is boring.

When you look at the fabrics in a pile, the problem becomes clear. There are hints of warmth here and there, but most of it is about the same tone of the same colors.  I like contrast and this doesn’t have it.

You might feel differently, and that is OK.  We each have our own aesthetic. Husband has joked that my quilts are very energy efficient because no one would ever need a nightlight when sleeping under them.  Surely that isn’t a bad thing? 🙂

Here are new fabrics that might help the future blocks and some of the existing blocks are being torn out to add new, more colorful centers.

Right now there are 14 blocks.  It will take 20, plus a pieced border, to make a quilt worth counting.

Sometimes you have to do the bold thing, even if it is painful.  I am not looking forward to that much tearing out and re-doing.  But it is better than having a pile of fabric without a purpose.  Yep, at this point the quilt needs to be finished or thrown away, and I can’t bring myself to continue down the same path, and I don’t want to throw it away.

 

Not Sure…

Time to reveal the mystery project…

Ta-dah!  or Not…

I am not sure how I feel about it.  It is so…different.

The quilt is based on the Quasar block I designed a few years ago.  I have been dithering along with it since then.  Finally, here we are. The top is about 60″ x 80″.

Now what?  I don’t really know…