Blocks, Pet Mats, and a Quilty Field Trip

April was a busy quilting month. Yay! I have already posted about the quilt I made (just go back one post after you read this one), but before that I finished two small projects and went on a field trip. It was good. Too much for one post, so here is post number two.

This year I have enjoyed making quilt blocks for Many Hands and Many Hearts, a block drive hosted by Cynthia at Quilting is more fun than Housework to make quilts for various programs in Oregon. There are several ways to support the program, which you can read about here. I like this because sending whole quilts across the country is getting really spendy now, but sending a collection of blocks is reasonable. In addition, there are parameters for what blocks to make every few months, and that gives me a chance to see what I can use from my stash and to try out a pattern I might not have made before. The sewing is simple, and the projects can be made a bit at a time. Perfect for when you want to do just a little something. And best of all, these blocks get combined with all sorts from people all over to make a quilt of comfort. What a great community project to show compassion for others. 

So, during this quarter of the year, the blocks were to be Mini Square in Squares made with contrasting batiks. I have quite a few batiks which I have used in landscape quilts over the years, so it was fun to go through them to see which ones were big enough. I think I teased you with this photo at the end of March.

Here's how they ended up:

I tried to make pairs when I could, but I didn't always have enough fabric to do that. I enjoyed this so much. Of course, the real work will be done by Cynthia and others, to make the tops and quilt them. I encourage you to join this project if you can. It's so satisfying and for a wonderful cause. Thanks to Cynthia and all the others who put so much work into this.

My other project was like nothing I have done before. My local fabric/candy/gift/toy/boutique/best store ever collected mats for dogs and cats at the local animal shelter. These mats are used by each rescue animal while they are at the shelter awaiting adoption, and then they go to the pet's new home for a bit of comforting familiarity while they adjust to a new, better life. Patterns were provided. I had a dog named Peggy when I was a kid. I haven't had a pet since then, but this was just an appealing project. 

First, the dog mat, approximately 36 inches square.

I had enough baseball fabric (Dogs like balls, right?) and matched it up with some red fabric for the bone and two navy fabrics for the background (because I didn't have enough of the printed navy). 

Here's a close up of my meandering quilting:

For the back I used my everlasting navy and red paisley leftovers from a quilt I made for our bed years ago.

You can see there's no binding. That's because the directions recommended an "easy" no binding method, of sewing around the edge and turning the whole thing right side out before quilting. I had never done that before and it was not easy for me. Impossible to get everything smooth. So the resulting mat is a bit wavy on the edges. I figure a dog won't mind, but I won't be using that method again. 

Since I don't have a pet, how about my old stuffie puppy that I got for my eighth birthday 60-some years ago to model on the quilt?

His name is Surprise (because I was so original in naming things--he was a surprise). I had to really prop him up because the stuffing has shrunk to flatness. He's still super soft, though. 

Another pose, because he's such a good boy:

The cat mat was smaller, about 23 by 24 inches. I chose to make a Ginger cat. 

Here's a close up.

The binding is leftovers of a quilt I made for my brother-in-law in the early 1980's I think. Time to use it up! 

Because the mat will get washed a lot, I machine sewed the whole binding instead of doing the folded over part by hand. I don't do that much. I got 50% of the miters right, but the cat won't mind. 

Here's the back:

My favorite stuffed animal when I was a kid was a leopard named Leppy that I got for Christmas when I was 3. (Well of course. I told you I was original in my naming). She was the softest stuffie ever. Now her fur is almost gone. Except for on her tail which is as soft as ever--fascinating because I remember rubbing it on my face as I fell asleep every night. You'd think it would be worn out. Anyway, she's a perfect, if somewhat flat, cat model. Looks pretty good for someone in her late 60s.

They did so well, they wanted to pose together.

I hope the mats will find their way to some very good pets. What fun!

So the other thing this month: the field trip. We have a new art quilt gallery in the nearby tiny town of Williamston. It opened about a year ago, and has different shows every few months.

So far there have been three other shows, the first by the owner of the gallery, Pamela  Loewen, as well as another solo show and a juried group show with artists from all over the country. Quite something for this tiny town. We've attended all of them, and they are beautiful. Right now there is another solo show by Pat Budge, a quilt artist from Idaho. 

These quilts are stunning. They are densely quilted with luscious texture. Here's my favorite:

And a close-up.

See that texture! Must be seen in person.

This is my kind of quilt show. I am easily overwhelmed by major (and even smaller) quilt shows. Kind of like Stendhal syndrome light, maybe? This is a small, intimate venue, with just a few (maybe 30 or 40?) works that I can look at at my own pace. I'm so glad it's available in my community. It's been a great place for a date with my husband. He says he knows nothing about quilts, but his observations are always interesting and enlightening. 

 

The gallery has no admission fee, so I'm glad that there is a way to support it. There are calendars, puzzles, notecards and calendars of some of the quilts that have been shown. I bought one of two choices of sets of note cards of Pat Budge's quilts. (And also got a freebie bookmark and keepsake mini poster.)

There are four different quilts pictured on the cards.

If you are ever in mid-Michigan, try to visit the gallery. (There are limited hours and gaps between shows to allow for set-up, so be sure to check before you visit.)

So that was April. It was a hard month for me in several ways, but I am so glad that I have been able to be productive. It certainly helps to make for others and to treat my soul to beauty.

I'm linking up to Michelle's Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty today and to Cynthia's Oh Scrap post at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. Of course!

Keep quilting and finding beauty anywhere around you.

(Just a reminder: I'm not affiliated with ( any company, so when I mention products, services, or stores, I'm just documenting what I used or liked, not officially promoting anything.) 

Double Churn Dash Finish

A few weeks ago as I entered our township library, someone was plopping a stack of quilt magazines in the exchange bin (think little free library for magazines). I did a quick page-through, and my eye was caught by a quilt in the American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine of August 2019. I don't often make quilts from magazines, but I knew I had to make this one: Dashing Duos by Melissa Corry. The quilt was a little bigger than I needed, so I scaled it down and simplified some of the patches. I couldn't remember the original name as I was working, so I now present to you my version: Double Churn Dash.

The white background and black and white sashing and binding were what drew me to this quilt. 

I had lots of colorful fabrics on hand--a bit brighter than the ones in the magazine quilt, but that's okay. First I went through them using paper versions of the block parts to determine which pieces were big enough to use.

Then I paired up my favorites.

Cutting and sewing were pretty straightforward--some strip piecing, some half square triangles, and squares. I simplified the white areas using one large square instead of three smaller ones and a modified "sew and flip" corner instead of a HST. I used that method rather than a "sew and flip" square because I didn't have enough of the black and white floral fabric to waste on the corners. I've used this technique before: I measured out where the seam needed to be then laid a ruler marked with masking tape on the white square a 1/4 inch closer to the corner.

I pinned a triangle against it, sewed the seam and flipped to the corner. (My presser foot makes a nice scant 1/4 inch seam if I sew this sort of backwards way.)

After I sewed my blocks, I found myself wondering if I'd like an alternate layout more, with five large white squares instead of four. I tried it out.

Then laid them out in as in the original plan. 

How about those feet?

I waffled and spent way too much time trying to figure out which I liked more. I also laid out the sashing with both plans. 

And I kept rearranging the blocks to get a nice distribution of color and value. I got tired of moving blocks, so I printed photos and cut them apart to rearrange on paper. 

Much easier for all my dithering. I consulted with my Quilt Advisor and my daughter. Both liked the original plan, but QA advised maybe make another quilt in the alternate layout. What an enabler! Maybe I will?

I also needed to make a decision about how I wanted the cornerstones to look. Like this? 

Or this? 

You know by now what I chose. What I had really wanted was stripes like in the magazine quilt, but the only ones in my bins were 1/4 inch wide--too big for my scaled down cornerstones. But this works fine.

I quilted with a meander--quick with lots of texture because I wanted to get this done this month. (May's going to be a busy one for our family.) Well, quilting was not as quick as I'd like because I accidentally sewed the edge of the backing underneath the quilt. TWICE!! 

My excuse is that I was distracted by falling tree limbs--our trees were getting a major (almost-30-year) haircut, and I kept jumping up to see if there would be any tree left.

But once that was done, I could relax to hand sew the binding. I really like the light white and black binding in the magazine quilt. I didn't see anything suitable when I bought my backing (isn't it pretty?), so I cobbled together bits and pieces from my scraps--some dots, ovals, music notes, and a tiny bit of the floral leftover from the quilt top. Some are a bit vanilla, but they worked fine.

Here's the back on the garage. 

So soft, and the colors are perfect with the front. I bought it full price, but that's okay. It supported my favorite local shop, and the rest of the quilt cost me nothing new. (When I went to buy the white background and black/white cornerstone fabrics at a different store, I discovered that I had accumulated a nice bit of fabric cashback over several years through their punchcard reward, so they were free--and I still have some cashback leftover. Whoopee!)

So, a few more views while I show the stats. (I did not take the quilt on location because it's mud and grunge season here.)

Pattern: Dashing Duos by Melissa Corry

Fabrics: a variety from my stash with new background, backing and cornerstones.

Do you see my initials at the bottom and date up the side?

Dimensions: 54 inches square pieced; 52 1/2 inches square quilted; 49 3/4 inches square washed. I downsized the blocks from 15 inches to 11 1/4 inches finished and the sashing from 2 inches to 1 1/2 inches wide finished.

Batting: Hobbs 80/20

Thread: Superior Masterpice in Granite for piecing; King Tut in Temple for quilting; Treasure in Old Lace for hand sewing.

Machines: Singer Featherweight for piecing; Singer 115 treadle for quilting and sewing first seam of binding.

This is probably the closest to the colors; outside light was a bit harsh. The white is a true white, though. Tough quilt to photograph to get the right color saturation.

This quilt will be donated to a postpartum therapy program to bring comfort and a cozy hug for someone during sessions.

Washed and cozy

I'm linking up with Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl for Favorite Finish. You have no idea how I hurried to meet the posting deadline. Sometimes that's needed to get something done. I'm glad to have had a wonderful sewing month--it's a good antidote to grief and anxiety about all sorts of existential and social threats. And believe it or not this isn't the only project I did during April. I made a couple of fun mini projects. I'll try to get them written up and posted this weekend. I hope you have had a good sewing month and have a favorite finish to celebrate, too.

(Just a reminder: I'm not affiliated with any company, so when I mention products, services, or stores, I'm just documenting what I used or liked, not officially promoting anything.)

A Pinwheel of Placemats

 My local quilt shop's yearly collection of placemats for Meals on Wheels is wrapping up this week. I hadn't made nearly as many as in the past, so it was time this month to make a quick batch. 

If you read my last post, you'll know that I struggled a bit with one I made last month based on the Loving Garden pattern by Bethanne Nemesh White Arbor Quilting. I needed to prove to myself that I could quickly make another without any challenges. So I did. 

I chose a gray background for this one with candy pinks and greens. (That little floral print is from the '80s or '90s.) To speed things up, I quilted with a stipple (a pale turquoise that read as mint green) and discovered that my treadle really likes stippling with a 100/16 needle. Who knew? I made a minor trimming mistake, so it's a bit off-kilter, but that's okay. I think it's fun. 

The backing was a gift from Mari The Academic Quilter more years ago than I dare to admit. The aqua green in the print is just right with the binding. Thanks, Mari. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

During a recent trip to our local library, I came across a pile of quilt magazines in the exchange bin. After flipping through them, I snagged a couple with patterns that intrigued me. I don't usually use magazine patterns, but anyway, one is going to be my next quilt. The other had a placemat. It's Stretched Nine Patch by Connie Kauffman in the November 2014 issue of Quilting World (Quilting for the Holidays). I have some fat quarters of Australian Aboriginal prints that didn't work out for a quilt a few years ago, and I thought they'd work well for placemats.

I mixed them with some scraps and used one striking one for the back. I used orange for the stipple this time.

The next placemat was a variation of a free pattern I came across online: Square Scramble by Kate Colleran for American Patchwork and Quilting. I used a different Australian fabric this time along with scraps. 

I used a blue variegated thread for stippling.

I chose to make the next placemat from the four blocks of the Confetti pattern by Rachel Hauser (LaBour). I used a floral background and pulled scraps in some of the colors. To keep the placemat the required size, I needed to trim some off at the top and bottom and add a bit of background to the sides. This placemat was surprisingly time consuming, and although I like the pattern for a quilt, I would have been better off just doing improv piecing. 

I had plenty of the floral print (wideback cut-off) for the back. I used white thread for the stippling.

Time was running out, but I really wanted to make another placemat. I found a wideback cut-off and pieced a scrap strip in complementary colors. 

There was plenty of fabric for the back. 

I stippled with off-white thread. This was the fastest placemat yet, so of course I had to make just one more with another wideback cut-off, this time stippled in white.

Together with three placemats I made since last spring's collection, I had an even ten to donate this year, fewer than usual, but that's okay. I've learned a few things that will make it easier to make them quickly for the next round. And for sure I'll make more of those whole cloth ones with the colorful strip. So satisfying. Here they all are again.

These are all about 14 by 18 inches, pieced on my Singer Featherweight and quilted on my Singer 115 Treadle.

I still enjoy making throw quilts to donate, but placemats are quickly becoming a favorite project. I've struggled with world-weariness this year, and it's sometimes hard to get going on something big--but these give me a creative outlet in a short amount of time. Here are some of my thoughts on making placemats:

1. Someone asked me if people still use placemats. Based on the fact that these are requested for a program makes me think that they are appreciated (even though my own placemats are folded dishtowels), so I think they are worthwhile to brighten someone's day.

2.They are a great way to use up bits of fabric. I had everything I needed for them at home.

3. They are a good way to try out a pattern, if I wish, instead of making a whole quilt.

4. I found that I like using leftover cuts from widebacks for background or backing and coordinating with scraps.

5. If a pattern takes long, I've enjoyed it, but I'm not very likely to repeat it--I prefer something fast.

6. I usually try to make placemats "food friendly," staying away from really light fabrics (but not always).

7. I try to vary patterns and colors to appeal to a wide range of tastes/preferences.

8. I've done various kinds of quilting but am quickly choosing stippling most because it's easy and (you know I'm going to say this) fast.

9. I cut my binding before I start quilting so I can sew it on right after I finish quilting. It keeps the momentum going. I still enjoy sewing the binding down by hand in the evening.

10. Leftover thread works great for quilting these placemats. It helps me use up thread that isn't plentiful enough for a whole quilt--although there is an element of suspense in playing thread chicken.

I brought my batch of placemats to the local store collecting them yesterday and bought the background fabric for a quilt. (I say "bought," but I actually had enough dollars in their rewards program to "pay" for it. That was a surprise to me as I hadn't bought much lately. I feel kind of bad that I walked out without them making any money on my purchase.) I'm already starting another project that is great for this season of my life--blocks for Many Hands and Many Hearts requested by Cynthia at Quilting is more fun than Housework. You can find the directions for the block drive here. I've started sorting and cutting my batiks. 

Another local fabric store is requesting donations of dog and cat comfort mats for shelter animals. The mats will be used in the shelter and then go to their new home to help with their transition when they are adopted, so that will be my next project.

And THEN I will start the quilt I found in the free magazine at the library. Woohoo. It's good to have a plan for a manageable bit of sanity-saving sewing. 

I'm linking up today with Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl for Favorite Finish, and on Sunday with Cynthia at Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap. 

In these hard, heart-breaking, maddening times, keep sewing for your sanity; keep sewing for humanity. Sewing is resistance and restoration. 

(Just a reminder: I'm not affiliated with any company, so when I mention products, services, or stores, I'm just documenting what I used or liked, not officially promoting anything. )