Quilt Too Small?

Red and Blue shown at Durham Orange Quilters meeting, 2022.

It’s been quite a while since I posted here. I’ll try to catch up, as I HAVE been making quilts. But today’s issue is a quilt that is too small.

In 2022, I finished a queen quilt for my own bed. All Kaffe Fassett fabrics with a bamboo batting. But both of us toss and turn all night and the sateen backing lets the quilt slide everywhere. So I’m adding new blocks to three sides.

Fortunately, old and recent Kaffe fabrics coordinate well. The quilt is called “Red and Blue” despite the whole rainbow, black, and white in the fabrics.

New blocks combining old and new fabrics.

New quilt sandwich section ready to quilt.

I’m taking the quilt-as-you-go approach, quilting each new part, then seaming it to the main part. I still had some of the original batting and backing left and have begun quilting the additions.

Not too crazy about taking the 10 yards of binding off, which will now be too short. I found 12 yards of Kaffe binding on ebay and am hoping it will be enough.

2018 – Delectable Yellow

I just realized that I hadn’t posted on this blog about the quilt I made last summer for my daughter, who is now a junior at SUNY Geneseo, majoring in Art History. The school’s colors are blue and white, so it doesn’t completely match.

Long enough for her dorm bed, this was made from indigoes and yellows from my stash, using a modified Delectable Mountains block and free motion quilted on a longarm. While I hoped to make a dent in the dark blues, my stash is still blue-heavy.




This was before I bought my longarm, so I rented machine time at Jackie Lynn’s in Irondequoit. I really rushed through the quilting – all free motion, no rulers! Forrtunately, my daughter loves it, so all is well.

Update 1 – 2019 Squares in Squares

I’ve completed piecing the top, measuring 72×108. The bottom two rows are tucked under – too long for my design wall!
Next step is using all the leftover fabric strips to piece the back. I’m hoping it will look like a giant square bulls-eye. Stay tuned for more!

2019 – Squares in Squares

Here’s a view of my design wall today. This project is using lots of fabrics from my stash. Only purchase so far was one yard for the center squares. The blocks should finish 12″ square, making a single-sized quilt.

Squares In Squares on Design Wall

Note on design walls: I used anti-pill fleece on this wall, wrapped over insulation panels. Fleece holds much better than flannel. Completed blocks would rarely stick to my old flannel wall unless I pinned them. No problem with the fleece.

Update 9 – 2019 Buckeye Ties

I put this project away two years ago, stymied about how to fit its parts together. It’s a combination of variations on the Ohio Star block and a map of the State.

My father was proud to be both an Ohioan and a Marine. I used his extensive collection of (mostly silk) patriotic ties to piece the top. At last it’s fit together and the quilting has begun on my Viking.

Still not sure if this will make much sense once it’s done, but at least it’s closer to being finished.

Update – Honey Bee Variation Quilt – 1948

Honey Bee Variation Quilt

Honey Bee Variation Detail

Honey Bee Variation Border Corner Detail

 

You might remember this quilt, that I posted in 2014. It was made in 1948 by my great grandmother, Rose Brown Tague. The traditional honey bee block, in pink and purple, alternates with snowball blocks with green corners. The original post can be accessed under “Family Antiques” in the right-hand column.

I recently found an old photo, taken of my grandmother, Mary Josephine Hamrick Tague, holding nine-day-old me, her first grandchild. Covering her chair is this new quilt, positively dating it to 1948. That’s my father’s writing; he probably took the photo.

It would be great if there were photos floating around showing some of the family’s other quilts. Wishful thinking. . . .

 

Basket Project – 2018-19

It started with a gift exchange at Rochester Modern Quilt Guild. We were to make a small container or basket to exchange with other members at our January meeting. Here’s the one I made for the exchange:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The interior fabric is from Mali, and the handles are riveted-on leather tabs. The pattern I found was so great, I also used it to make some Christmas gifts.

These went to my sister-in-law and husband, to coordinate with her MacKenzie-Childs collection. Handles were made from the same fabric as the binding, with wire inserts.

These cat-themed baskets were gifts for my daughter, again with the riveted leather tabs.

The pattern was designed by Anna Graham of Noodle Head Designs and can be accessed at:  http://www.robertkaufman.com/assets/pdf/Baskets.pdf I changed the dimensions of the fish bowl basket here, and the Mali-lined one above, by reducing the square fabrics and innerfacings to 12-1/2″ but still used the larger dart template.  It makes a great size.

If you decide to try out this, please send me a photo of what you’ve made. I’d love to see it!

 

New-to-Me Handi Quilter 16

Yes, I have finally acquired my own long arm!

Handi Quilter 16 with 10′ Rollers

After renting time on the great long arm quilting machines at Jackie Lynn’s in Irondequoit for several quilts, I wanted to have my own machine but really couldn’t justify the price of a new one. So when a friend at Genesee Valley Quilt Club posted this older HQ16, I jumped at the chance. Turns out, another member had purchased a new Nolting, so sold his Gammill to the HQ owner, who sold the HQ to me. Rather like falling dominoes!

Handi Quilter 16 Mounted on Oak Table

It came with a double oak table instead of a metal stand, which was a job to move into the basement space for my sewing room. But there was a great spot for it there.
The staff at Jackie Lynn’s cleaned and adjusted the HQ for me, and I now have a practice piece on it to get used to the feel. It’s great to be able to leave work on it and not feel rushed to complete a project.

 

2018 – Green Fuse – Finished

Green Fuse – a full-sized bed quilt – was part of the Rochester Modern Quilt Guild’s “Taking Flight” show (September 29, 2018).

I used a bright lime thread for all the quilting.

2018 Green Fuse Floral Quilting Details

2018 Green Fuse Floral Details

I quilted florals on the white area, seedlike ovals on the green, and roots on the gray.

2018 Green Fuse Quilting Detail “Rose”

Also among the roots was part of the Dylan Thomas poem “The force that through the green fuse drives the flower.”

More quilting details in next post.

 

2018 – Ten Squared Plus Five

At last, the Rochester Modern Quilt Guild’s first show, “Taking Flight,” is over (September 29) and I’ve nearly recovered. It was a huge success; we had lots of visitors, lots of quilts, and lots of happy vendors. It was also a huge job creating a show out of whole cloth, a job I’m glad to pass along to another guild member.

“Taking Flight” – inaugural show by Rochester Modern Quilt Guild, September 29, 2018

So, here is a quilt I made for the show. You can also see it hanging lower center in the show photo.

Ten Squared Plus Five

I used three packs of mini-charms (2-1/2″ squares) sorted by color, then added a few extra black squares to counterbalance at the bottom. To contrast with all those straight lines, I quilted it in a spiral on my Viking.

Ten Squared Plus Five – center quilting

Ten Square Plus Five – Showing Back

The back matched the fabric of the yellow square.

This is now with my new grand niece in Virginia.