This is the third cow baby quilt I have made. They are so darn cute, you can’t make just one!
I make just three blocks and round the rest out with squares. A lot of visual impact without too much time. It finishes at about 36″ x 36″.
Another warm baby!
Another happy quilter!
When THIS QUILT was sized down I was left with 32 extra 16-patch blocks. What to do with them?
There are plenty of 2″ squares at my place, so I made an additional eight blocks. Then, 40 4-patches with 2″ background all around.
Well, that was a quick top. Only 48″x60″, but a nice lap quilt size. And, no leftovers.
How to wrap up the year? With the Final Countdown, of course.
Task Three is to Organize One Area Of Your Sewing Space.
Well, that means it is time to stop procrastinating that task.
I have for a long time had color-sorted bins for small scraps. And those bins are on a shelf.
But those bins look something like this.
It was time to give them a sort and fold.
It turns out that fabric neatly organized takes less space than fabric wadded up. I am not ready to do the other seven bins right now, but I will as time allows. My goal is to do one every couple of weeks. That is probably realistic.
Thanks again, Shelly, for a great end to the year. Happy 2022!
I started this quilt about a year ago with the intention of making a queen size quilt. The pattern came from American Patchwork and Quilting, October 2020, and is called To Give and To Receive.
First, I made all the 16 patches I thought I would need as leader enders.
Then I started the star blocks and got to a certain point and was ready to be done with it. It is 66″ x 78″, after all.
So, I stopped and finished it. Sometimes it is important to be flexible in our plans. After all, the original pattern was only 66″ x 66″. I am really pleased with it and will deliver it to its new home next week.
In the meantime, I have 32 extra blocks to put into a new project. We’ll call that a good start on the new year.
A friend recently made a quilt with her mother out of fabric that the mother had brought back from the Far East several years ago.
The quilt with stay with the mother, but there were a few small scraps. I suggested she give them to me.
Using the picture of the top as a guide, I made a matching mini.
Yes, a few solids were added, but hopefully the spirit of the quilt has been maintained. The mini will probably hang on the wall of her sewing room and remind her of a wonderful weekend with family.
What I thought was a disappointment has turned into a lovely quilt. I call it Discovery.
DISCOVERY BABY QUILT
39-1/2″ x 39-1/2″
MATERIALS
A good sized pile of color coordinated scraps
1/2 yard background fabric
1/3 yard binding
1-1/4 yard for backing
CUTTING DIRECTIONS
from the colored scraps cut a total of…
400 2″x 2″ squares (NOTE: These need to be in multiples of at least 4, 5, or 8 of each color in order to build the block pattern)
after your blocks are built, cut the background fabric as follows…
24 2″x8″ rectangles
9 2″x2″ squares
2 2-3/4″ x 35″ strips
2 2-3/4″ x 39-1/2″ strips
ASSEMBLY
2. Assemble to create one block. UNFINISHED size should measure 8″ x 8″.
3. Repeat to create a total of 16 blocks. TIP: I made little piles of my squares sorted into blocks first so the colors would be fairly evenly distributed and each block would be unique.
4. Lay out blocks in a 4×4 pattern, balancing colors
5. Add 2″x8″ sashing between the blocks to create rows.
5. Create sashing strips for between the rows by alternating 4 2″x8″ rectangles with 2″ squares.
6. Attach strips 2-3/4″ x 35″ to sides of quilt. Attach strips 2-3/4″ x 39-1/2″ to top and bottom of quilt.
7. Ta-dah! A Discovery Baby Quilt top.
DISCOVERY BABY QUILT Gallery
your beautiful creations here…
This little quilt is finally complete and I like it more and more.
Just simple squares, of course, but striking and versatile.
This one starts with 2″ squares, but I am thinking of doing a quiltalong making a throw size quilt using a jelly roll or layer cake (or, of course, scrappy squares). Would you be interested?
In the meantime, I need to get the tutorial written for this one. Watch for it next week.
A small quilting gift for my friend Jennifer.
Based on THIS pattern from All People Quilt, but made miniature. The small squares started at 1-1/4″.
And a little hand-quilting, which is not a strength of mine, but the stitches did get better with practice.
I was able to get some time on the longarm I rent.
Simple pantos are within my capacity, and it is nice to have it done.
That baby will probably get here a little earlier than originally predicted and it is nice to have it ready.
You can find the tutorial for Build A Baby HERE. Enjoy!
It was a long time coming. As I have said before, it seems so harmless to cut the block size in half to fit the sizes of my scraps, but it meant it took a lot of pieces to get anywhere. Should you want to try the pattern for yourself, you can get the (full size) information HERE.
That said, I am really happy with the results.
Scrappy happiness, mostly reproduction prints, but a few authentic pieces thrown in.
The yellow binding works with with the stars to give some unity and rhythm in the scrappiness.
It is a gift and already delivered. She cried. We’ll take that as a good thing.
Wedding Dress Blue 