Blogger's Quilt Festival: 30s Barn Raising Lap Quilt

I'm entering my 30s Barn Raising Quilt in the fall edition of the Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by Amy's Creative Side.

30s Barn Raising

A variation of an old-fashioned quilt pattern.

The bestest use of a clothesline is to photograph quilts!

I love the variation on the traditional log cabin barn raising pattern using squares rather than strips of logs.  This is the first quilt in which I used a jelly roll, and I now love how easy they are to use!  This is also the first quilt I have made entirely of solids {except the striped backing and binding}, and I love the look so much!

This 30s Barn Raising Quilt pattern can be found on the Moda Bake Shop website.  The original pattern said to cut 700 squares and 100 rectangles, but I couldn't bear to do that when I knew strip piecing would be so much easier and just as effective in color layout on a quilt this size.  Long 42" strips can easily get distorted when ironing them after sewing, so I took special care to line up the strips with the stripes on my ironing board, and they turned out nice and straight.

I then quilted this sweet lap quilt on my vintage 1896 Singer 31-15 machine in an allover meandering pattern.  Then, because I love striped bindings, I used the striped backing fabric for the binding.

Blogger's Quilt Festival Stats:

• Pattern:  30s Barn Raising from Moda Bake Shop
• Size:  56" square.
• Special Techniques: Strip piecing
• Quilted by:  I quilted this quilt myself in a freehand meander on Mrs.Singer, my vintage 1896 31-15 machine mounted on a long-arm quilting frame.
• Best Category:   Favorite Throw Quilt,  Favorite Home Machine Quilted Quilt,  Favorite Quilt Photographer

I sold this quilt in my Etsy shop, Busy Hands Quilts!

I'm on a Knitting Frenzy!

I've been knitting up a storm during these colder fall days!  I modified a pattern to create unique flared ends for a bit of fun!  They measure at least 58", so they are long enough to double up or wear long as an accent.

And isn't that the most adorable vintage wire mannequin?!?

These scarves and more are available at very reasonable prices in my Etsy shop!

Celtic Thunder - A Place in the Choir

Fun, fabulous song by Celtic Thunder - A Place in the Choir.  This group is coming to Seattle in November, and I would so like to go!  They are currently on a huge tour and might be coming to your area, too!

If the video does not appear above, you can view it on YouTube:  

http://youtu.be/aqm-S9J1s_k

Good Fortune Baby Quilt!

I ♥ Good Fortune fabric by Kate Spain!  Just a few days after receiving this precious bundle in the mail, I chopped into the fat quarter bundle, cutting 10" and 5" squares, and 2.5" strips, and whipped up this fun baby quilt!  I used straight-line quilting to continue the modern theme of the fabric.

♥ Yeah for a sunny day to photograph a quilt outside! ♥

I ♥ making quilt backings from coordinating prints in the fabric line!  The backing wasn't quite big enough, so I added a strip of  leftover scraps bordered in white which finished it off just right!

Here's a close-up of the scrappy binding, also made from Good Fortune fabric.

Quilt Stats:

• Fabric in Top, Backing, and Binding:  Good Fortune by Kate Spain for Moda and Moda Bella Solid White
• Size:  35" x 37"
• Batting:  100% cotton
• Quilting:  Straight lines
• Value:  So cheerful!

For sale at Busy Hands Quilts on Etsy!

Linking to:

Crazy Mom Quilts

Teeny Tiny Civil War Era Mini Quilts

Just completed are three teeny tiny Civil War Era mini quilts!

"Country Lane" is a whopping 8.5" square!

"Chimney Sweep" is a bit bigger at 9.5" square.

"Window Panes" is also 9.5" square.

Quilt Stats:

• Size:  Truly mini at 8.5" and 9.5" square
• Method:  Paper pieced, 2" and 3" blocks
• Fabric:  Civil war ear reproduction fabrics with old-fashioned unbleached muslin backing
• Batting:  100% cotton
• Binding:  Double fold, attached by machine for durability with mitered 45-degree corners
• Value:  Truly striking because of their incredible mini size!

And, no, I am not becoming a paper piecer.  I much prefer strip piecing and pieces of fabric big enough to find if you drop them on the floor!  Making a tiny quilt does not make a visible dent in a fabric hoarder's stash and therefore does not justify buying more fabric!  

For sale at Busy Hands Quilts on Etsy!

Linking to:

Breath of Fire Zig Zag Quilt Finished!

Quilt Stats

• Name:  Breath of Fire!
• Pattern:  Zig Zag Quilt (without piecing triangles) by Crazy Mom Quilts
• Fabric:  Moda Bella Solid Black, White, Gray; Kona Solid Orange; Rolling Thunder The Works by Dan Morris for RJR Fabrics; and Super Fly by Jennifer Paganelli
• Size:  54" x 72"
• Batting:  100% cotton Hobbs
• Quilting:  Straight line quilting on the diagonal.
• Binding:  Double fold Moda Bella in Black, attached by machine for durability with mitered corners.
• Value:  One tough quilt!

For sale in my Etsy Shop, BusyHandsQuilts!!

Linking to:

Crazy Mom Quilts

Tuesday Archives 12/7/2015

Breath of Fire Zig Zag Quilt Progress

I have decided to quilt my Breath of Fire Zig Zag quilt with straight lines on Mrs.Bernina after all.  Mrs.Singer is acting up ... again.  :{  I have taken down the custom listings in my Etsy shop because Mrs.Singer isn't reliable enough at this point to ensure timely delivery of a custom quilt.  She will work beautifully for three or so quilts and then {crash} stop stitching evenly.

This Breath of Fire quilt really screams straight-line quilting, but this quilt at approx. 60" x 72" would be easier to quilt on Mrs.Singer, and for some reason I cringe at quilting this size of quilt by "hand" on Mrs.Bernina.  Weird how owning a long-arm quilting machine has made me consider quilting on a standard machine and table to be by "hand"!

Actually, I discovered last night that it is rather enjoyable to stitch straight lines with my walking foot.  Ah ha, I just realized that the part of the process of "hand" quilting that I dread so much is getting all of the layers {quilt top, batting, backing} together and secure.  This is different on a long-arm machine because each layer is held by a different rail {except the rail on which they all come together}, and the layers do not need to be pinned or fused together.

I ♥ fusible batting, and it once again proved reliable even on a quilt this size.  I always use Hobbs Fusible 100% cotton batting - pretty much because this is the only kind I can find.  Connecting Threads has all batting 30% off every few months with free shipping easy enough to qualify for, making this a very affordable option.  Fusible polyester is not an option as it does not work consistently and will gum up the machine's needle - don't waste your money!!  Fusible batting frees me from pinning {except at the corners because the corner takes a lot of "abuse" flipping around while quilting}, and it frees me from airborne glue.  I will not use basting spray because I do not want my family to breathe glue into their noses, mouths, sinuses, lungs, and ultimately their entire body through the circulatory system {is that explicit enough?}, nor do I want to pollute our home this way.  It will settle on all surfaces and leave a layer of ... well ... glue residue.  On my nice wood floor?  On my nice concrete floor?   On my nice wood furniture?  On my lovely pine cabinets?  On my hideously ugly sofas?  No thanks!!

I digress ...

Shown in the pic is Breath of Fire Zig Zag quilt in the process of being "hand" quilted.  Removing the covers from my ironing board provides an additional slick surface to support the weight of the quilt.  It's quite fun, and I'm thinking I'll do this more often as it creates such a nice grid pattern on both sides of the quilt.

The red you see on top of the quilt is my quilting gloves.  I ♥ them!  The provide a sure grip on the quilt and make the process much easier.  The pair below is Blue because they are a size Medium.  Size Small comes in red ... part of me has remained petite!

 

Good Fortune Baby Quilt or Table Topper

I have been on a kick cutting into fat quarters in my stash, and it is SO liberating!  It is like giving myself permission to use the fabric and actually create something with it!  I have a rule that I have been following - for every collection I cut into, I must make something with it immediately!  That was the inspiration for making the Domestic Bliss baby quilt last week; I had cut the FQs up and was required to make something with them!  

I looked online for the most popular way to cut FQs and found this was it.  Two 10" squares, four 5" squares, and a 2.5" strip.  This assortment of sizes seems to fit many quilt patterns.  Of course, there are some patterns that really need FQs, so I won't cut up all of my FQs right now because that would take too long {huge stash!}, and I'd be bored out of my skull.

I treated myself to some delicious Good Fortune fabric by Kate Spain and cut into it within a week of receiving it!  It's a fun baby quilt or table topper at 36" square.

Linking to: