Happy Wholecloth Flowers

Hello, 2021. Can you believe some quilters have new finishes to share already this year? That's amazing. I have a finish to share, but it's really the last finish of last year. I shared one photo of it in my 2020 wrap-up post, but didn't have time to get a post together for it, so here it is again.

Looks wonky; just the breeze

During November I had the thought that I might be able to eek out just one more quilt. I had a two-yard length of fabric I had bought as a souvenir at a Ben Franklin store on vacation in October 2017. I love Ben Franklin (think five and dime store, variety store...much cooler than a dollar store), but they are few and far between in my state now, so shopping there for fabric was high on my list of vacation activities.

I knew immediately how I wanted to quilt this fabric, but it took me this long to get to the quilt. I wanted to make it just a bit wider than the fabric, and when searching around in my bins, I discovered that I had a bunch of solids that were in the same color families as the fabric. And I don't even have that much solid fabric. There must be a connection between those pieces and this print. Are these "my" colors?

I used newsprint (packing) paper to foundation piece 1-inch (finished) piano keys for the borders. I didn't feel like planning corners so I just attached the strips and used a partial seam to finish it all off. 

I am still not real comfortable going into a retail store, but I did not have fabrics on hand that might work for a quick, easy backing. The next best thing was to search online for fabric immediately available for curbside pickup at Joann. My first choice would have been a local independent store, but they don't have a big online presence at this time. (I hope that might improve in the future, but I know that's hard for small stores.) You can not imagine how long it took me to look at (agonize over) every bit of fabric, squinting at or enlarging to try to determine how the colors and prints might look in real life. I fancied a small print multicolored floral, but of course, that was just a fantasy given what was available. I finally settled on a mottled yellow print.

It was described as a floral print, although I couldn't see that on my screen, and the colors sort of vibrated between yellow and orange. I took a leap of faith that that might translate to a goldish, cheddary (not lemon!) yellow. I was thrilled when the fabric was just as I envisioned it when I picked it up. The flowers just show up as texture, but it works well with the front of the quilt.

I knew that I would be tempted to over-quilt this, but I wanted to keep it a soft and not too lengthy project. All of the quilting is following the shapes. I tried to follow as close as I could, but did not obsess about it, so there are lots of wobbles--enough to keep it playful. 

I started with the shapes of the biggest flowers, then the tan leaves, and finally the interiors of the biggest flowers and some of the ladybugs. I was tempted to outline some of the small flowers, but wasn't sure how to keep myself from doing all of them, so I stopped. My freemotion quilting is a little rusty. I don't do it as much as walking foot quilting these days, and my stitches were a bit tiny, but the machine has a great stitch (tension is just perfect), so it still looks good.

I puzzled over the border a bit. I get bored quilting in the ditch, so I did not want to do that. I thought of a vine with leaves, but wanted it to be even simpler. Then I remembered that I had some very old cardstock stencils from back in my hand-quilting-only days. The biggest one just happened to be the width of the border.

I used to carefully measure and plan these kinds of borders to go around corners with symmetry, but not this time. Following the borders in the same style as they were attached was easier and had a more modern vibe. 

I used my hera marker for the lines, which worked well on the solids. And the soft December light by my window was just right to see the lines as I quilted with my walking foot. I left the last bit of border clear for my initials and the date.

(before washing, the washout marker shows)

When planning the size of the quilt, I made sure to allow enough fabric for the binding. I love pieced scrap bindings, but again, in the interest of a quickish finish, a single fabric was preferable, and the big print achieves the same purpose of varied colors. 

I took my time with the piecing and quilting, but it could have been a very quick project. I know that I will keep my eye open for other very large print fabrics to do this again because it was really fun. Minimal piecing, minimal marking, loosey goosey quilting, easy backing, along with a fun print--who doesn't love that?! (The only thing I might have done differently was center the main fabric vertically so those big bottom flowers weren't cut off in an awkward spot.)This quilt is going to be set aside with another similar-sized quilt until I have one more, and then I'll ship them off as a donation. 

Here's a gallery of photos after washing. I tried and tried to get good photos in the sun, but our weather has been fickle. The sun would peep out, I'd run out and get set up and then it snuck back behind the clouds. But I did get a few.

Where's the sun?

I did find some sunshine for a few seconds through the living room window.

Here are the stats for this one: 

Pattern: Wholecloth with piano key border
Fabrics:  Free Mind by Hoodie Crescent for Newcastle Fabrics; various solids, mostly Kona, but some others, too; probably a perennially-available Keepsake Calico fabric from Joann

Batting: Hobbs Premium 80/20

Thread: Superior Masterpiece in Granite for piecing; Superior King Tut in White Linen for quilting; Yellow, hefty hand quilting thread from my drawer (the label is gone, but it's got a nice glace finish)

Binding: 2 1/2 inches cut, double layer, machine sewn to front and hand stitched on back. 
Size: 48 1/2 by 60 1/2 inches before quilting; 47 3/4 by 59 3/8 inches after quilting; 44 by 55 3/4 inches after washing on cold and machine drying on low.

Machines: Singer Featherweight for piecing; Singer Treadle 115 for free motion and walking foot quilting and the machine work on the binding.

So that's a final wrap on 2020. After the week we just had in my country, I truly wonder what awaits us in 2021. Quilting will continue to be needed as a balm, I think. I gave my two machines a spa treatment this week while I was between projects. Then I started a new project, a Year of Scrappy Triangles, 52 patterns by Leila Gardunia. I think (hope) I can handle one block a week. That's all I'm going to say about it right now. I'll tell you about my "rules" for these blocks after I have a few made.  

Have a safe, healthy new year, and keep quilting!

I'm linking up with Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday (yeah, I know I'm late), Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop and Wendy at Wendy's Quilts and More for Peacock Party.

(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.) 

Worthwhile Squirrels

A few weeks ago I started a quilt--a runner--for our bed. I shared a photo on Instagram when I was halfway done putting it together. The quilt is basted now and ready to quilt. This post is not about that quilt. Eventually it will get its own post. There's no big hurry to finish it as we don't need it until the weather turns cold. So I set it aside, and spent a couple of days working on my RSC19 blocks, intending to get back to the quilt after that. This post is not about those blocks either. You can read about them in last week's post. 

I took some time out from sewing to read a few blogs, and came across a post by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict about the need for tiny quilts and pillowcases for the Socorro Foundation. She was sharing the brainchild of another Sarah who posted the need on Lazy Cozy Quilts and is hosting the drive to collect these items. By providing shelter, supplies and support with communication and educational resources, the Foundation serves families seeking asylum that have been released from federal agencies and are awaiting arrangements with family/sponsors . The quilts will be used at the shelter and washed everyday. When children arrive at the shelter, they will be given the pillowcases to keep. The need is great as there may be more than 100 people served every 3 to 5 days.

That bed quilt can wait. This is the project I've been searching for for a long time, even though I didn't know it. For months, I've been trying to think of a way to tangibly show love and support for asylum seekers, but it seemed there was nothing I could do. And then...this opportunity. Now I can do something.

And that is how I came to chase these squirrels. 

I did not have any suitable fabric--the kinds of pieces that you can cut WOF (Width of Fabric) strips from--so a shopping trip was in order. I usually like to shop at my local independent fabric shops, but a ping on my phone let me know that there was a huge sale (70 % off of some fabrics) at the big box fabric store, so of course, I had to check that out.

My first mission was to find fabric for pillowcases. I checked out those ultra cheap fabrics ($1.79 a yard). I loved the patterns and colors, but the fabrics felt coarse and grainy--not like premium cottons that make pillowcases so silky to the touch. So, despite the deal, I ruled them out and found softer cottons, still on sale, but a bit more pricey. 

The first fabrics I chose were the seahorse and "scales" (mermaid?) prints. I liked the seahorse fabric because of its all-over non-directional print. 

Picking out the fabrics was so much fun!! A sales associate suggested the teal strip. (I have never had a sales associate do that in that particular store!) It's perfect, isn't it?

The next fabrics that caught my eye were the floral fabric and a coordinating dot print.

And how about that little spark of orange red stripe!

I was uncertain about the third set of fabrics. Early in my search, I had seen the dolphin/whale print. I loved it, but it was a directional print and I wasn't comfortable with how it would look if I cut the strips for the case across the WOF. (I know that's weird. Lots of people make pillowcases with the design going parallel to the cuff. Just an idiosyncrasy--idiosyncrazy--on my part.) But I couldn't let it go, so I decided to buy extra fabric so that I could cut the strip for the main fabric with the straight grain instead of the WOF.

When I cut the main fabric, I also cut the strip in half and turned one piece 180 degrees. By putting seams on both sides of the case, the sea creatures were in the position I wanted them to be whether the cuff was on the right or the left.

I love that crosshatch trim strip.

I thoroughly enjoyed making the pillowcases. I'm not sure what I liked more, pairing the main and cuff fabrics or picking out that little bright strip. Because I cut the dolphin print parallel with the selvedge, I could have saved a bit of money by also cutting the cuff from that fabric, but I like using three different fabrics. This is the first time I've made pillowcases. It will not be my last because I loved making them. I looked at the numerous patterns online to figure out how to make them. I won't mention any websites here because they are everywhere, but they are the ones that some call "burrito" cases because of how they are made. It blows my mind how it all works out with such simple sewing. And now that I know how easy it is to adjust the pattern for a directional print, I'll be sure to look for more fun novelty prints.

My second mission was finding fabric for two little quilts. I needed this to be a quick project, so I decided to make wholecloth quilts with fun prints. The first one I found was a dinosaur print, which I paired with a diagonal crosshatch fabric for the back. 

For the quilting, I used my walking foot to follow lines in the landscape. Some of the lines were gently curved and some had volcanoes in them, which made a little bump in the quilting. 

Easy peasy. No marking, just enough quilting to hold it securely but softly with some interesting lines.

Because these quilts will get washed a lot, I attached the binding by machine--not my skill, but it's secure, and a little kid won't mind the wobbles.

While I was looking around for fabric for one more quilt, the same sales associate asked if I had looked at the fabric that was on super sale. (She was so helpful!) I told her I wasn't crazy about how it felt. She said that it had lots of sizing in it and would soften up when washed. I took another look. The thread count seemed a bit light, but I decided to take a chance on it. After all, $1.79 a yard!! There were so many fun florals and coordinating prints.

For this quilt I did a large (humongous, for me) stipple. I had a bit of mint thread that I had used in other projects, probably not enough for a whole quilt, so I used it in the middle third and then finished with white. So much fun! I had prewashed the fabric, and by the time I was finished quilting, it was delightfully soft and silky. 

I love the paisley back, and the tiny floral print on the binding.

Now, of course, I wish I had bought a whole cartload of that fabric. I still wonder a bit how it will wear, but really, it's very much like the fabric I sewed with in my youth, and that lasted well. I will watch for sales and buy this again, for sure. Even not on sale, it's a good deal at only $5.99. 

So here are some stats:
--The pillowcases are about 20 by 31 inches. I cut my WOF strips at 27 inches for the main fabric, 11 (I think) for the cuff and 2 for the trim strip. For the directional case, I bought 45 inches of fabric (I love how you can by fabric by the inch, instead of by an eighth or quarter yard at the big box store) and then prewashed it before cutting. 

--I bought lengths of 45 inches for the fabrics in the quilts. and 45 inches of batting (Heirloom 80/20) off a 96 inch bolt for the two. I prewashed the fabrics and then determined the sizes by the WOF size and slightly longer for the length. The dinosaur quilt was about  40 1/2 by 41 3/8 inches before washing and 39 by 40 1/4 after. The floral quilt was 39 3/8 by 41 before washing and 37 by 39 after. 

If you are moved to join the effort, I encourage you to do so. The quilt and pillowcase drive will end this weekend, I think (UPDATE: I just found out that the drive has been extended for two more weeks!), but the donations can go on and on. This project is easy, inexpensive, and fun, and the opportunity to give a quilty hug and a soft place for children to lay their heads is one of the most worthwhile squirrels I can think of. Check out the links near the beginning of this post for full information, and if you can spread the word on your own blogs, Instagram posts or by mouth, I'm sure the results will be a blessing beyond measure. And remember, chase those squirrels. You'll be glad you did.

I'm linking up this weekend with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop and Sandra at mmm! quilts for Drop Everything And Make it (DrEAMi). 

H2H Quilt Party!

This is a week when we all need to set aside a little more time to scroll through all the quilty goodness: the week of the Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge Party. Oh goody! It's always so heartwarming to see all of the quilts that everyone has made to give others comfort, and to see how the number of quilters and number of quilts grows every year. A big thank you to Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for arranging this. I  can't even imagine all the time that goes into that, but our quilt community sure appreciates it. 

I have shared a couple of quilts previously, and I'll include them and their links at the end of this post if you want to take a look, but today I have two more quilts that I made this month. I didn't know if I could make it happen, but it all came together. In fact, as I'm writing this the last one is getting it's bath so it will be all set to send. At the end of this post I'll share where these are all going.

This first quilt is special because it's made from a bundle of fat eighths I received from the generous sponsors of last year's H2H challenge. 

There were 33 cuts in the bundle: Authentic Etc by Sweetwater for Moda. 

Twelve were text prints. I really liked them, but I'm a bit uncomfortable making a quilt with words on it when I don't know who the recipient will be. One print was the alphabet written in tiny script in three colorations. I was okay with that, so I kept those fabrics. So there were 24 cuts in all that I chose for the quilt. I didn't really want to spend a lot of time designing a quilt, so my next step was looking around online for a fat-eighth-friendly pattern. You know what? There aren't many. In fact, I kept finding the same two over and over, and for various reasons, they wouldn't work for this bundle. Then I saw a post from Wendy at Pieceful Thoughts with a quilt block that intrigued me (the purple and white one at the bottom of her post). I wondered if I could size it in a way to make good use of my eighths. After a bit of scribbling, I decided to just look up the pattern. It's Modern Puzzle by Christa Watson, a free pattern here. The quilt is made with 2 1/2 inch wide strips, but as I looked at it, I realized it could also be cut from fat eighths, as the pieces fit perfectly with only a tiny bit of waste  usable scraps along the selvages. I looked at the fabrics in grayscale, matched them up in 12 sets,

and was able to cut 4 blocks from each set for a total of 48 blocks. I sewed them up in a hurry. You can tell I was in a hurry because there are no photos of the process. After I got them laid out 6 by 8, I decided that one more column (8 blocks) would make it a bit more comfortable size--7 by 8 blocks. I dug into my scraps, and (would you believe it?!) found three fabrics that were just big enough to cut out enough pieces. I needed one more fabric, but--no problem--I needed to go to the fabric store to buy the backing I had had my eye on in the sale bin, so why not look for one more black print there. Well, yes, I did find a print that would work not only for a block but (yippee, a stripe!) for the binding. So here are the extra fabrics I added in to make my extra blocks:

I really wanted that binding to pop, and I didn't want it to touch the same fabric in the quilt, so I laid out the quilt so that the darkest fabrics were away from the edge. Other than that I didn't pay too much attention to where fabrics came together, except for the dark/light arrangement of the pattern. If I had, I think I would still be on the floor switching blocks around and around and around--you know how it goes.

There was one little hiccup when it was time to prepare the back. I had figured out yardage for the back before I decided to make an extra row of blocks. I almost had to go back to the store to buy a little extra, but with some creative seaming I was able to make use of what I had. Whew. The mismatch in pattern shows just a tiny bit in the photo of the whole back if you look really closely, but the seaming doesn't show outside of photos. 

I did a loose wavy walking foot line for quilting, based on the sample in the pattern, but with more widely spaced lines and no overlap. A quick wash, and the quilt was as cozy and cuddly as I hoped it would be. 

I really like this combination of colors and patterns. I think it will appeal to most anyone because of the colors and patterns in the fabric. There is a floral on the back, but it's pretty subtle--and it's nature, so what's not to like about that, right? 

Barely visible initials and date going up the side (also a stray thread, sigh)

So quick stats and a couple of glamour photos, and then we'll move on because there is more to see.

Pattern: Modern Puzzle by Christa Watson (and with thanks to Wendy for her post about it!) And now you know, this pattern is perfect for that fat eighth bundle you weren't sure what to do with.
Fabrics:  Authentic Etc by Sweetwater for Moda plus three random scraps from the stash for the front; Chelsea Market Essex Rose in Green by Brenda Walton for Blend for the back; Farm Fresh Strings in Kettle by Gingiber for Moda for top and binding

Batting: Warm and Natural 

Thread: Superior-- Masterpiece in Granite for piecing; King Tut in White Linen for quilting; Coats cotton hand quilting thread in black for hand stitching binding.

Binding: 2 1/2 inches cut, double layer, machine sewn to front and hand stitched on back
Size: 64 1/2 by 56 1/2 inches, pieced; 64 1/4 by 55 3/4 inches after quilting; 60 1/2 by 51 3/4 inches after machine washing and drying.

Machines: Singer Featherweight for piecing; Singer Treadle 115 for walking foot quilting.

With our latest yard art from the local art festival

I just had to make one more quilt. Time was short, so it would have to be simple.

A notification for a huge sale at a local store showed up in my inbox, and I had a thought to make a little whole cloth quilt. So I headed on out with the intention of buying a large floral print that I could follow for the quilting. After mulling everything over (did I mention that my husband just happened to be with me doing errands--couldn't dither too long), I suddenly changed my plan. A beautiful little navy/aqua/celery arrow print was calling my name. And just a few bolts away, there was a tiny circle print with the same colors. And a tiny navy dot print. Within two seconds of the first choice, I had a whole quilt's worth of fabric in hand. (It is not a bad thing to have my husband with me--it has a positive effect on the dither factor.) 

Once home, I spent some quality time carefully basting the top and bottom fabrics with white flannel for batting. It was important to me to get the fabric straight since it was quite a directional pattern--in more ways than one! Then I quilted along every other white line to hold it all together. Binding was a cinch, with a relaxing evening to hand stitch it to the back. When I first finished it, I wondered if the quilt was too plain. 

I'm used to piecing blocks. But I know that some people are not really into pieced quilts (really!) and this would be a comfy little blankie for a newborn that might also fit well into a lot of modern nurseries. It's lightweight, so perfect for summertime use, too. 

I think this type of quilt will now be on my list of quick quilt projects to make now and then.

And here are the stats:

Pattern: None! It's an easy peasy wholecloth quilt.

Fabrics:  Front: Dog Gone It Collection Arrows Multi by Jackie Studios for Camelot Fabrics; Back: Mirage Dots by Alex Anderson for RJR Fabrics; Binding: Unknown Navy with tiny "square" white dots.

Batting: White quality flannel 

Thread: Superior-- Masterpiece in Granite for piecing; King Tut in White Linen for quilting; Treasure in Old Lace for hand stitching binding.

Binding: 2 1/2 inches cut, double layer, machine sewn to front and hand stitched on back
Size: 37 3/4 inches square, cut to size after quilting (I washed and dried all fabrics before quilting to minimize shrinkage of the flannel); 36 1/2 inches square after washing/drying finished quilt.

Machines: Singer Featherweight for piecing; Singer Treadle 115 for walking foot quilting.

So...here are the other two quilts. Click on the name of the quilt for the link if you'd like to read more.

Butterfly Quilt This quilt will be donated to Emily at Em's Scrap Bag for Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo. I think its cheerful vibe will brighten someone's day during treatment.

Strip Quilt I guess I never named this one, so Strip Quilt it is. This one is going to Bernie at Needle and Foot for Mercyful Quilts, an end-of-life quilt collection at Mercy Hospital in Sacramento, California. 

The Modern Puzzle Quilt (above) will also go to Bernie for Mercyful Quilts. I like to think these quilts represent the one I didn't have an opportunity to make for my mother-in-law when she moved into a new care facility before she passed away. The Little Wholecloth Quilt (as good a name as any) will go to Jack's Basket, an organization started by Carissa Carroll to celebrate newborns who have Down Syndrome. I'm giving it in honor of my brother-in-law who has his own extra chromosome.

If you don't know about these organizations, be sure to go to Confessions of a Fabric Addict and click on this link to learn more about these organizations. And here is the link to the ultimate linky party to celebrate everyone's finishes this year. 

See you all next year for more H2H fun!!

(I'm not affiliated with any company, so when I mention products, services, or stores I'm just documenting what I used or liked.)