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

Happily Gone to the Dogs

I had a wonderful visit from my daughter last Sunday.  We'd not seen each other since Christmas due to the pandemic, but now she and my husband were both fully vaccinated (my own vax is delayed due to recovering from shingles).  So we planned a get-together to visit and catch up (on hugs, especially), as well as exchange a few things.  

Namely, I had some kennel quilts for the animal surgery and recovery clinic where she works as a veterinary nurse.  It had been awhile since I'd made a batch of them (you can see previous ones HERE).  She reminded me of the size dimensions of the ones that get used often, on gurneys and such, so I pulled out the fabric I had left and got to work.

(Streak of Lightning Quilt)

What I mean by "the fabric I had left" is that whenever I can, I like to use repurposed scrubs for these small quilts.  It seems to wear well and stand up to frequent washings, even with bleach.  I had a lot of scrub jackets left that were all out of the same bright, multicolored fabric, as well as a some light green patterned scrubs fabric and some solid pieces in various greens and blues.

(Square in a Square Quilt)

Here are three of the quilts that came out of that.

(Stacked Coins String Quilt)

One is a streak of lightning type setting, the second is a square in a square, and the third is a stacked coins quilt.

I have to say, my favorite is the stacked coins.  It's string-pieced on 5x11-inch telephone book pages.  I was down to just strips and snippets of the solids by then.  Perfect for string piecing.

(Back of Streak of Lightning Quilt)

Backings are always a chance to get creative with leftover bits, too.

(Back of Square in a Square Quilt)

Along the way, I found some older fabric that had been donated to me this past year that said "doggy" on it.  It wasn't as sturdy as the scrubs fabric, so I began another streak of lightning quilt with the intention of making a baby quilt for donation.

When my daughter saw it, though, she said they'd definitely be able to use it at her work, so she took that one along with her as well.  

The apple pie fabric was another fun donated piece that got used up for the backing on this one.  

She says these quilts are already in rotation this week, which makes me happy and hopefully the dogs a little more comfortable, too.

They have apparently been very, very busy at the surgery clinic this past year.  Perhaps a silver lining in pandemic times has been that people are home more, spending more time with their pets and being able to prioritize to their pets' health needs. I know the staff at the surgery and recovery stay clinic are considered heroes by their clients, working hard to meet the needs of beloved furry family members at a time when their companionship is so important.

I said earlier that we were exchanging some things, and what my daughter brought for me were two big bags chock full of fabric from one of her coworkers, whose daughter had been making masks last year and had leftovers to spare.  Oh my goodness, what a generous infusion of fabric goodness!  I'll have some pics and more on that in another post.  She also brought me a new infusion of solid colored scrubs from a coworker, which have already been washed and cut apart for the next batch of kennel quilts.  And so the circle continues!

Linking to:  Confessions of a Fabric Addict - Recognizing our Hometown Heroes

Stacked Coins Baby Quilt

A friend's son and daughter-in-law are expecting their first baby the end of this month—a boy—and I figured I better get my rear in gear and quilt the top I finished in early September.  Actually, it wasn't just pure procrastination; it was procrastination for a reason.  I wanted to get some free motion quilting practice under my belt before I attempted stippling this quilt.

Enter the Free Motion Quilt Along by Christina at A Few Scraps.  Perfect timing!  I hopped on board that train and road along the learning curve all the way up to our current stop, Stippling 101, where we are experiencing a momentary layover.

But that's okay, because stippling is exactly where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do on this baby quilt.  I practiced on my Spiderweb Halloween table topper, then practiced a bit more on my practice quilt for the quilt-along.  Finally, on Monday, I basted this baby (quilt) together, and away I went!

Oh, there are some stitch length issues and a few mountain peaks where there should be meandering curves, but overall I'm happy with how it turned out.

I did a pieced backing, since I had enough strips cut anyway.  I like a little something extra on the back of a quilt, don't you?

It's mostly from stash, except the Kona cream (I don't know the official color name).  I was trying to come somewhat close to what may or may not be the mom-to-be's nursery theme.  I think there are giraffes and leaves involved anyway.  I was fresh out of giraffes but had a bunch of leafy prints.  The gray/white/black print is a vintage piece I've used in probably way too many things already, but I love it.

Now all this quilt needs is a little baby boy nestled in the middle.  As Tom Petty said, "The way-aiting is the hardest part!"

I'll be linking to AmyLouWho's Sew & Tell Friday.  Click on over to see the other great finishes this week!

Baby Boy Stacked Coins Quilt Top

I have a friend whose son is expecting their first baby, a boy, in November.  I missed the baby shower last weekend, unfortunately, because we were at the benefit gig.  This week, I thought I'd start pulling some fabric from the stash to see if I had enough on hand for a baby quilt.  I had in mind what my friend described as the color scheme or theme of the baby's room, as well as some idea from their baby gift registry, which helped.  Ultimately, I just started sewing, though, and this is what turned out.

This is my first stacked coins type quilt, and it went together really quickly with strip piecing.  Now, if I'm being honest, the finished top strikes me as just "okay."  But I guess I'm all right with that, and if the new mom and dad feel the same, maybe that will mean this quilt gets used a lot.  Which is the whole point, right?

Although I started out winging it on the coin strips, I did eventually look up a tutorial when I got to the cream-colored kona sashing, because I wasn't sure how wide to make it.  I found a great stacked coins baby quilt tutorial over on Moda Bake Shop by Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts.

I'll figure out how to quilt this later, after I get some more practice under my belt with the Free Motion Quilt Along at A Few Scraps.  In that regard, I do have my practice strippy quilt top pieced.  Christina recommended, "Do not think too much about your fabric choices.  Use any fabric you have...If at any time you think to yourself, 'My god, this is one ugly quilt,' then you have succeeded in this exercise, which is to make a quilt top that you are not attached to."

I have succeeded at ugly, that's for sure!  

But I really get what she's saying.  The point is to practice and not to be afraid of messing up.  I'm looking forward to it.  Now I just have to get it basted together real quick.