Two Small Quilts Finished

Last week I finished two small quilts that a friend had requested.  Along with the Wonky Log Cabin quilt, she wanted two more of a similar size so each of her grandchildren could have a picnic quilt.  Isn’t that a neat idea?

She left it up to me, whatever kind of scrap quilt I wanted to make.  Size-wise, I was aiming for around 48 inches square.

The idea for this first one came to me one evening as I finished a Sudoku puzzle—honestly, the first one I had ever finished.

I had made two Sudoku quilts a dozen or so years ago.  At that time, Sarah had shared her Sudoku pattern with me, so I didn’t have to solve a puzzle to know how to lay it out (thankfully).  I had gifted one of the quilts and used the other as a throw for a while, but now that one was safely stacked deep in the quilt closet.  Out of sight, out of mind.

But one night a few weeks ago, I grabbed a Sudoku puzzle book another friend had given me last year.  I had never done an entire Sudoku puzzle before; truth be told, it never seemed to click with me and felt like an exercise in frustration (at least my attempts at the ones printed in the newspaper).  That night, however, I needed something to do before bed that would make my brain tired and give me something to focus on besides the fretful thoughts in my head.  So I started on the first page of the book, presumably the easiest of the easy.  An hour later, I had solved my first puzzle—and remembered the Sudoku quilts.

The next morning, with that puzzle as a reference, I pulled nine fabrics from the stash and assigned each one a number.  I cut nine 4-1/2 inch squares from each fabric and then laid out this quilt.

I used a bright green Grunge fabric for the sashing between blocks, cut 2 inches, finished it with a light purple tone-on-tone, cut 4-1/4 inches, for the border.

That was not the border I initially thought I’d use, which was this brown floral.  Too dark.  Cute fabric, though.  I saved it for the next quilt, as you’ll see.

After quilting, the Sudoku quilt came in around 48-1/2 inches square. Can't you just imagine a sweet little tea party happening on this quilt?

I liked that brown floral, so for the next quilt, I started pulling fabrics to pick up on the colors of the flowers in the print.  I cut those into strips and sewed them together into columns, stacked coin style.

The columns were trimmed to 6-1/2 inches wide.  The vertical sashing between columns was cut into 3-1/2 inch wide strips, with an outer border cut 4-1/4 inches wide.

A peek at the pieced backing, above.  After quilting, the stacked coins quilt measured 47 x 48-1/2 inches. I know her granddaughters are going to love these!

Then I made a cute mug rug with the leftovers.  :)

Linking to:

Can I Get a Whoop-Whoop?

Finished or Not Friday 

~Paulette

You Have to Start Somewhere

It's been almost four months since I poked my head in here, and I'm not sure where to begin!

I guess, for starters, I'll tell you about this little quilt I recently finished.  

This wonky log cabin quilt came about as I was sorting scraps into piles on my cutting table after having made a crib quilt for my cousin from thrifted shirts.  She had seen my Ship Shape quilt on Facebook in December when I was offering it and a few others for sale.  My quilt closet was overflowing so I thought I'd try to move a few from my home to someone else's.  

I ended up selling three and generating some commission quilts in the process.  My cousin asked if I could make a baby quilt version of the Ship Shape quilt for her grandson, as well as two other baby quilts for her newest granddaughters.  

Here's how the "Mini-Ship Shape" quilt turned out. It's more like crib quilt size, about 46x55.

(Back side of Mini-Ship Shape; the center creasing is from where it was folded)

Getting back to the wonky log cabin quilt...  As I was saying, I was sorting through the shirt scraps from Mini-Ship Shape when it occurred to me to make some wonky log cabin blocks with the leftovers.  

I started free piecing strips, which I then squared up to 6.5 inches.  Pretty soon I had 16 blocks done, which I arranged on the design board like this.

I took a quick picture and posted it on Facebook where a friend saw it and messaged me to the effect, "Whatever you're making, I'd like to buy it."  What an pleasant surprise!  I told her it was going to be small as I didn't have enough scraps to make a big quilt.  She said that was fine; she wanted it for her young grandson for a picnic quilt.  Okay!

So I made as many blocks as I could from the pile of shirt scraps and put them together with a light gray sashing and border for a little quilt that ended up around 48 inches square.  I think it turned out pretty cute!

My friend said she'd like two more similar size picnic quilts for her granddaughters, done in whatever scrappy style I'd like.  I have one of the tops done and another is currently in the works.  More on those later, too.  I'm making good use of the stash and scraps.  It's been fun!

Linking to:  Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

~Paulette