Another scrappy quilt is finished. Quilts sew up fast when most of the blocks are pieced. I had planned to make a quilt called Kitty Corner. The pattern came from the January/February 2000 issue of Fons & Porters Love of Quilting magazine, page 34. I decided not to make Kitty Corner, you have to press seams just right to make them line up correctly. I just didn't want to think that hard.
I came up with my own idea instead and named it Repurposed 4 Patches since most of the 4 patches were already pieced.
A lot of the fabrics used were from my mother's stash including the cream sashing and the brown outside border.
The flimsy measures 91" x 102". I don't make quilts long enough for a pillow tuck anymore. I don't tuck the quilt under the pillows and my daughter and DIL's don't either. Just an unnecessary step while making the bed.
This quilt is also going to be gifted to my friend. She has three children still at home and now she has three flimsies to quilt for them. It's so nice to be able to gift these quilt tops away, I don't have to quilt them!
Here is information about the the pattern. The 4 patches were made from 2-1/2" squares. The black sashing was cut 1-1/2". After the black sashing was added, the larger blocks were squared to 11". The cream sashing was cut at 2-1/2" and the outside border was cut at 7-1/2". Feel free to use this pattern if you wish. I'm not plagiarizing anyone that I know of. I'm down to two projects on my list. I've pulled the bag with the strips sewn for Scrappy Bargello, a Bonnie Hunter pattern. Of course the strips are older fabrics I'm trying to get used and out of the stash. Linking toNeedle & Thread Thursday,Finished Or Not Friday,Confessions of a Fabric Addict, TGIFF!, Show Off Saturday, Oh Scrap, Love Laugh Quilt
I'm still working on the Darlene Zimmerman embroidery panel. The last several weeks I have been spending the evenings sewing with my machine more than normal which means less embroidering progress. I always save all the french knots until the end of the project. I don't know why I do this, somehow I got started this way and have kept on. Linking to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Show & Tell Monday With Bambi, Love Laugh Quilt, BOM's Away, Em's Scrapbag
Sister's Choice is finally a finished flimsy! She took me awhile but I persevered and she is finally completed. This scrappy quilt will be gifted to a friend who will quilt her for one of her children.
Sister's Choice is a free pattern from Bonnie Hunter. My quilt measures 90" x 100". I added sashing in between the blocks because I didn't want the hassle of repressing seams.
This project was one of the projects on the original list of ten. Another one is crossed off the list! Just three more to go!
The black fabric with purple flowers has been in the stash for so long. The date on the selvage said 2004, time to be used. The pale blue cornerstone fabric is left from Baskets & 9 Patches.
What's the next project? It's Scrappy 9 Patches, another scrappy quilt.
Since Esther's Garden is finished I need a different hand work project. I pulled out the Darlene Zimmerman embroidery panel and started the next block.
The poppies in my flowerbed never last long enough in the spring, so I'm enjoying embroidering these poppies now. I am also slowly prepping an EPP project but slowly is the key here. Actually all I've done is press the fabrics, I'll get around to the fussy cutting sometime. And I still haven't marked the Pastor's Attic quilt for the hand quilting. Plenty of slow work to keep me busy during these dog days of summer. Linking to Kathy's Slow Sunday, Show & Tell Monday With Bambi, Love Laugh Quilt, Small Quilts, BOM's Away, Em's Scrapbag, Esther's Wednesday WOW!
It was time to work on another UFQ (unfinished quilt). I pulled out the basket containing the 4-1/2" finished 9-patches and got to work. Since the 9 patch blocks were already pieced, I sewed the flimsy in one week, actually in 5 days!
I'm tired of calling it the 4-1/2" finished 9-Patch project so I've renamed it, Scrappy 9 Patches. How's that for originality?
I carefully arranged the blocks on the design floor and removed the first 3 diagonal rows to sew together. It was a breezy day with refreshing air coming in from both the south and east windows. The careful arrangement soon looked like this!
I picked up the scattered blocks and sorted them into their respective piles. Two or three rows were arranged at a time from then on. (The tray measures 17" x 25" and was purchased at E & S Sales in Shipshewana, Ind. I have 4 or 5 of these giant cookie sheets. They are large enough to hold all the pieces of a quilt. They're easy to stack, easy to carry and they're not flimsy. I see some quilters using small aluminum pans, those won't work for me, too small, too flimsy!)
This is a true scrappy quilt. The background fabrics are all left over from other projects. I used light colored background fabrics because I want the 9 patches to show, that's my personal preference. When I see a quilt with a busy background fabric, I have trouble seeing the actual design of the blocks. If that if what you like, go for it, I'm not the quilt police.
Some people don't like to sew diagonal rows. I just always make the side triangles a little bit larger then trim the excess when the center is pieced. You need to cut a square diagonally both ways so the long side is the straight of grain. This way you aren't dealing with bias on the outside edge of the quilt.
I had fun sewing this quilt and really like how she turned out. Quick and easy is always great! I'm sure you've noticed that there is not an outside border. This quilt flimsy will also be gifted to my friend who will quilt it for one of her children, just like the Sister's Choice flimsy. She'll add border fabric of her choice.
The individual blocks measure 4-1/2" finished and the flimsy measures 72" x 89". I wish now I had added another row to the quilt so the width would be wider. My friend will need to add 8" borders to make this quilt into queen sized. That may seem too wide to a lot of people but she has some lovely stencils for hand quilting 8" borders. Yes, she's a hand quilter. Another project (#10) crossed off the original list of 10, just two more project to go! (Updated-I made a mistake, there are 3 project to go!) Linking to Esther's Wednesday WOW!, Let's Bee Social, Needle & Thread Thursday,Finished Or Not Friday,Confessions of a Fabric Addict, TGIFF!, Show Off Saturday, Oh Scrap
The first AQS show I ever attended was in Grand Rapids, Michigan several years ago. My friends and I enjoyed our day very much, such beautiful quilts and the vendors were pretty good too. The vendor I liked the best was From My Heart to Your Hands which sold Lori Smith original designs. I bought two kits from her that day.
Since I've finished the applique projects I had been working on earlier this year, I pulled Esther's Garden kit as the next handwork project. I think the button flowers are so cute.
Before I left for Utah, I took the time to mark the embroidery on the flannel background fabric and took it along with me to work on when I had time. That embroidery was completed and looks like this.
The next step was to buttonhole embroider the wool baskets and leaves onto the background.
And the other way.
After the leaves and baskets were appliqued, I cut the blocks apart and added the flannel sashing. Now I was ready for the quilting. The directions said to use a lightweight batting. I used flannel. For quilting I used #12 weight cream Perle cotton thread for very simple long stitch quilting.
I had planned to take a picture before I attached the buttons but I forgot.
She measures 15-1/4" x 19-1/4". For the back I used this green toile that came in the fat quarter bundle of Dear Jane fabrics I bought from the resale table at a Jane Stickle Retreat.
