June 28, 2013

Custom Twin-Sized Rainbow Wave Quilt Progress #1

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Oh, YUM!
Rainbow Wave Quilt Pieces
My current custom order is a twin-sized Rainbow Wave Quilt.  
Today I cut out the colored pieces - 18 yummy colors in all!

Rainbow Wave Quilt Pieces
This quilt is a custom order in my Etsy shop, Busy Hands Quilts!
The pieces are lying on my Rotating Cutting Mat, which I love!  The pieces are cut with a template and are so much easier to cut with a rotating mat - no moving the fabric and messing up the straight edges before making the next cut.  Here is a picture of it:


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June 27, 2013

Double Irish Chain Twin/Full Quilt in Red, Pink, and White

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Double Irish Chain, Full Size, in Read and White
After taking the Custom String Quilt off the quilt rack to ship to my customer, I decided to take more pictures of the Double Irish Chain Quilt I made last year.  She never did get her time of honor, appreciation, and pictures on the quilt rack in my living room, so today she is hanging there in all her sweet simplicity!
Double Irish Chain, Full Size, in Read and White
This Double Irish Chain is much more appealing than staring at a bare wall, don't ya think?  At least until the next bed-sized quilt is done ... which will be just a few days!

Double Irish Chain, Full Size, in Read and White

Double Irish Chain, Full Size, in Read and White
Quilt Stats:

Pattern:  Double Irish Chain from Eleanor Burns' Irish Chain in a Day book
Size:  72" wide x 90" tall, twin / full with pillow tuck
Quilt Top Fabrics: 
  • Red Fabric is Kona Bay Marble in Deep Red
  • Vine Fabric is Bordeaux by P&B Textiles
  • White is a tone-on-tone from a LQS
Backing:  Kona Premium Muslin in Bleached White
Binding:  Kona Bay Marble in Deep Red
Batting: Hobbs 80/20 cotton/poly
Quilting:  All-over meandering in deep red cotton thread on my vintage 1896 Singer wewing machine
Value:  Precious!

I love Eleanor Burns' Irish Chain in a Day book!  The instructions are so clear with color pictures every step of the way, along with instructions to make nearly every size of quilt from wall hanging to king.  It was one of the first quilt books I ever bought, and I have never been able to part with it!


Linking to:
Val's Quilting Studio

June 25, 2013

Disappearing Nine-Patch Full-Size Quilt in Meadow

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Disappearing 9-Patch in Meadow
On my design wall today are the disappearing 9-patch blocks in Meadow by Blackbird Designs  With borders added, it will be a full size.  I wish you could come on over and see it; it is much prettier in person!
This quilt top is a gift for a friend whose life has been turned upside down as she has had to seek shelter outside of the family home.  I let her go through my stash and pick out any fabric she wanted, and she chose Meadow because it is beautiful, yet with subtle designs and colors to not overwhelm her tiny, tiny studio apartment.  
If you have a good man in your life, give thanks to the Lord today; many women do not, and those of us with good men in our lives most likely have no idea what it is like for these women and the amount of courage it takes for them to step out and build a new life on their own.

Happy Home Book
In the past I have struggled with making disappearing 9-patch blocks because they seemed so ... messy.  This picture in Jennifer Paganelli's book, Happy Home, convinced me otherwise!  What helped me get over my aversion to the jumbled disappearing 9-patch pattern are the HUGE blocks.  They are 12" squares!  The large squares are so pleasing to the eye.  It is also really nice to not chop up beautiful prints into such small pieces.  I used 9" squares in my quilt top because that size is a very efficient use of fabric as you get two strips of them from a half yard or fat quarter.
And by the way, this quilt in Happy Home is not called the Disappearing 9-Patch, nor is it cut or sewn as a D9P is.  Believe it or not, the instructions say to cut out the three different-sized pieces and then sew them together separately ... SERIOUSLY?  Hmmph.  
{For those of you who do not know what a Disappearing 9-Patch block is ... sew 9 equal-sized squares together in a 3x3 design.  Cut down the middle from top to bottom.  Then, without moving the pieces, cut down the middle from side to side.  Rearrange the blocks how you like them and re-sew them together.  Easy Peasy.}
The book redeems itself, however, because of its adorable-ness.

And that leads me to my birthday present - a TrueCut Ruler and Cutter!  They were delivered today, and I love them already!  The cutter has a tab that fits over the edge of the ruler, so it cuts a straight line because it won't allow the cutting edge to move away from the ruler.  This tab also prevents the cutter from gouging the mat when you press too hard, so it will last longer.  They are currently on sale at Connecting Threads!

True Cut Ruler and Cutter

June 24, 2013

Custom String Lap Quilt in Thimbleberries Sweet Home - Finished!!

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Custom Oversized Lap Strip Quilt in Thimbleberries Sweet Home
... I'll let the pictures tell the story ...

Custom Oversized Lap Strip Quilt in Thimbleberries Sweet Home
... She is super warm and cozy ...

Custom Oversized Lap Strip Quilt in Thimbleberries Sweet Home
... makes me miss having Thimbleberries fabrics in my living room ... 
Custom Oversized Lap Strip Quilt in Thimbleberries Sweet Home
... Thimbleberries floral beige backing ... 
... black allover meandering quilting ...

Custom Oversized Lap Strip Quilt in Thimbleberries Sweet Home

Custom Oversized Lap Strip Quilt in Thimbleberries Sweet Home
I just have to show you our platform ladder.  It is wooden, very old and heavy, and perfect for hanging up the quilt rack.  What looks like the top rung is actually a platform to stand on!  I can't imagine trying to get the quilt rack attached to the wall while balancing on a standard ladder!

Custom Oversized Lap Strip Quilt in Thimbleberries Sweet Home
Quilt Stats:
  • Pattern:  Scrappy string strip quilt with black strips down the center of the block and beige strips in the second strip from each corner to create the black grid and beige sub pattern.
  • Size: 80" square
  • Fabric:  Thimbleberries Sweet Home and other Thimbleberries fabrics; Moda Marbles in Black.
  • Batting:  100% cotton, thin
  • Backing:  Thimbleberries beige floral
  • Quilting:  All over meandering in black polyester thread on Mrs.Singer, my vintage 1896 31-15 industrial machine which is mounted on a long-arm quilting frame.
  • Value:  Super warm and cozy!
This quilt was a custom order from my Etsy shop, Busy Hands Quilts.

Linking to:
Fresh Poppy Design

: Tuesday Archives :

June 22, 2013

Custom String Lap Quilt in Thimbleberries Sweet Home Progress #4

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The custom string lap quilt in Thimbleberries is quilted!  Here it is on Mrs.Singer's rails, in progress.
Custom Strippy Lap Quilt in Thimbleberries Sweet Home
Despite this picture in which the points meet up fairly well, most of the points do not match up, which is the beauty of a string quilt!
Custom Strippy Lap Quilt in Thimbleberries Sweet Home
My cherished Mrs.Singer.  She is a 31-15 with a date stamp of 1896.

Custom Strippy Lap Quilt in Thimbleberries Sweet Home
And here is a peek!  Well, it really is more than a peek because that is pretty much the entire quilt!  It ended up bigger than intended, although it will shrink several inches in both directions when I wash it.  The quilt is ready to be bound in black and washed and will be off to my customer very soon!

Custom Strippy Lap Quilt in Thimbleberries Sweet Home

Next up is a custom twin-sized Rainbow Wave quilt ... among many other quilts!  I am currently not taking custom quilt orders in my Etsy shop because I have three gift quilts to make, as well as quilts for myself that I MUST get done!  Plus, I have a closet full of fabric that I need to use, and most custom quilts require I buy something else!  ... sigh ... more fabric ... what's a girl to do?

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June 17, 2013

Custom String Lap Quilt in Thimbleberries Sweet Home Progress #3

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Custom Scrappy Strip Quilt in Thimbleberries
Today I sewed the string blocks into sets of four and then hung them on my design wall to be sure colors are spread out well.  The black squares and cream sub pattern sure sparkle!  She is turning out beautifully and will be ready to quilt very soon!  Good thing I got Ooh La La off Mrs.Singer's rails, so she is all ready for her next project!
This quilt is a custom order from my Etsy shop, Busy Hands Quilts.

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June 16, 2013

HAPPY SCRAPPY Ooh La La Twin Quilt

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HAPPY SCRAPPY is the first in a line of value-priced quilts coming to my shop.  My value-priced HAPPY SCRAPPY quilts are made from beautiful quilt-shop quality fabric collections and have a lower price because the big blocks are quicker to piece than a more intricate quilt pattern.

Lovely breezy summer day for photographing a quilt on the swing set!

HAPPY SCRAPPY Ooh La La Twin Quilt
Ooh La La by Michael Miller is a huge collection of prints, and this quilt includes 24 of them, each used only two to three times for truly HAPPY SCRAPPY quilt!

HAPPY SCRAPPY Ooh La La Twin Quilt
Delicious lime-green binding!

HAPPY SCRAPPY Ooh La La Twin Quilt
I love Kona 200-thread count premium muslin for backing.  It is so soft and cozy and comes 108" wide, so no piecing is required!  I get it at Fabric.com.

HAPPY SCRAPPY Ooh La La Twin Quilt
Quilt Stats:
  • Pattern:  Happy Scrappy Big Block
  • Size:  Twin, 57" x 82" after washing
  • Fabric:  Ooh La La by Michael Miller, 24 different prints
  • Batting:  100% cotton
  • Backing:  Kona 200-thread count premium muslin in white, super soft and cozy
  • Binding:  Ooh La La by Michael Miller
  • Value:  Super cheery and value priced!

June 13, 2013

Custom String Lap Quilt in Thimbleberries Sweet Home Progress #2

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The kids and I are home from a visit to my family.  It's always good to get into daily sunshine when one lives in the mostly cloudy, rainy Northwest!  Never one to leave home without a project in hand, I took along these scrappy strip blocks for a custom order for my Etsy shop.
Custom Thimbleberries String Quilt
All 64 blocks are complete.  I just need to remove the tissue paper backing.  I'm thinking that is a good job for the elves around here!  They are approx. 10" square (the blocks, not the elves).
Custom Thimbleberries String Quilt
Here is how they will be laid out.  The black creates boxes, and the creams toward the corners create mini boxes.  I put the cream strips closer to the edge so the block would have more color.
I've got so many projects going right now or coming up next that I am feeling a tad overwhelmed!  Here is my quilting to-do list, updated in September, 2013.
  1. Finish last row of machine quilting twin-sized Happy Big Block quilt (can't quilt item 2 'til this is done). DONE!
  2. Assemble blocks, quilt, and bind Scrappy Strip Quilt in Thimbleberries  DONE!
  3. Custom order twin-sized Rainbow Wave quilt.  DONE!
  4. Full-sized yellow quilt as a gift.  DONE!
  5. Full-sized Meadow 9-patch quilt for a friend.  DONE!
  6. Re-do a full-sized vintage hand-tied quilt with machine quilting for a friend, then re-bind.
I have begun selling vintage sewing patterns in my Etsy shop!  I have listed 40 so far and have about 60 more to list!  

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