All the fussy cuts from the garments I have are now top-stitched onto backing pieces. There are 38 of these plus the 3 odd sized pieces which went on 4 backing blocks. A twin quilt is 54" x 90". The finished blocks will be 8" squares. So we need 9 rows of 6 blocks each = 54 blocks. That means there are 12 blanks. But that won't last long, mom is looking for a few more garments so there aren't so many blanks.
Here are just a couple of the blocks - so cute.
I laid the blocks out on the spare bed to see how they are going to look together and came up with this arrangement - not that this is what we will end up with but it is a very sweet quilt.
If we don't use sashing, the pieces top will need 9" border to make a twin sized quilt. A bit big for a border but not unreasonable. If we add an inch border between each block and around the outside of the pieced top the border would be just 2 inches. If we used the same material for the sashing and the border, the borders would be 3 inches.
I'll meet with Mom and get a decision - and pick up the last of the garments to make the rest of the blocks.
This weekend, I got to meet with Baby A's mom and we made some decisions on how to put her quilt together. It always surprises me but after all the pieces of material are cut out of the cute clothes, it is much easier to figure out what to do with it.
The objective is to get a twin-sized quilt from the garments. We are going to add a couple more garments to fill in the blank spots and even leave a couple of the blocks blank - to pause for the eye.
Now, all the blocks have backing. I think this picture probably looks a lot like the last one from the previous post but to me, I know that each piece is now stabilized and has be squared up to be just the right size.
I took a chance and stitched around one of them to show mom what we could do if she wanted to go this direction and, of course, she wants all of them to have the stitching (in grey) around the center piece. Although this will take some time and patience, it will make all of them look like they belong together and it will secure them so they really don't go anywhere. It's hard to see in this picture but IRL, it looks very nice :)
The odd sized pieces are a bit of a challenge. I haven't decided exactly what to do with these. If I put 4 of the backing blocks together, all 3 of the odd-balls fit but I'll play with this a little more before making a suggestion.
The next step is to get all of them onto the backing and stitch around the edges. This being a holiday week, I'm hoping to get this next step done by the weekend - depends on how much I end up working on Friday.
Progress is such a satisfying thing.
I got to meet Baby A and her mom yesterday. I brought home a bundle of clothes and some ideas on how to turn them into a quilt.
I also brought home three pieces of material to use to reinforce the blocks. You can't tell from this picture but the white has white stars. There are several of the garments that have stars - nice!
And, this is what's left of all those cute little baby clothes after a few hours with a ruler and rotary cutter.
The final count is 14 6 x 6 singles, 5 6 x 6 doubles - meaning I was able to get two squares from one piece, 8 4 x 4's which includes a couple pockets from the jeans, 4 2 x 2's and 3 larger pieces that will fit in some how.
We are aiming for twin sized quilt so we need 50 6 x 6 blocks. Each will have a two inch border in one of the backing colors. Obviously we are a few block short so Mom is looking for a few more pieces to add to the pile. And, we are going to use a few blanks (just the backing material) to round out the project.
There is a lot more work to get these squares appliqued onto the backing material but it is already looking good, right?
This project has been such a pleasure - and a surprise. I bought the material so long ago it's nice to see it all made up.
The Quilting Loft long-arm services did a wonderful job on the quilting and having a purple binding really catches the purple that's in several of the fabrics.
The piece 62" x 76" and the price is $300.
The top is large enough to go on our queen-size bed but it doesn't fall down very far. We have an older bed and I know once it's been updated, the mattress will be taller and then this quilt won't look very good. SO... I laid out all the left over material and decided to put a row of piano keys all the way around the quilt. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough material to make this happen so the corners are all one piece. If anyone notices this, I'll politely ask them to leave.
I like this one so much, I violated my promise not to buy any more material until I went back to work. I bought a beautiful Chambray for the back. When I had it all ironed and laid out on the cutting table, Michael asked if I was going to put a few other fabrics with it - to break it up a bit. I hadn't thought about that but since I've done that on other quilts, why not on ours. The blocks are rather small given there isn't much material left but I like the way it breaks up the solid.
Now all I have to do is wait for my first (or second) paycheck so I can take it down to Angie and get the long-arm quilting work done. Can't wait for this one to be on the bed - it totally changes the feel of our room.
A couple years ago, I talked Michael into buying me a kit of material for Christmas. I was really attracted to a Laurie Shifrin quilt that was hanging on the wall at The Quilting Loft for a while but the colors were all wrong. So Michael and I pulled a few bolts of fabric we really liked and Laurie finished putting the rest of the kit together. After opening my gift - Yes, Michael wrapped it and put it under the tree for me (ahhh!) - I read through the instructions and promptly put it away. Laurie's quilts are for a more advanced quilter than I thought I was.
This year, I've been on a mission to complete all the projects that are above the counter in my workspace and Sunset Over Sedona was the last one I picked up. I decided to just trust my skill and start cutting. I may have made a few mistakes along the way but we like the results so much, this is one we are going to keep for our own bed. The colors are simply stunning and getting to work with Batik was a real pleasure.
So far, the top is done to the end of the pattern but it isn't quite big enough for our bed so I'm going to have to improvise (and get some more material). I've put it away again until I get back to work and have some excess funds.
Here's what it looks like:
I can't believe we finally made it - this quilt is finally ready for it's owner to take possession. Who would of thought that a simple half-triangle square quilt would take some much time and effort.
AND, I'm really pleased with the results!
