Starbound Finished

 Starbound is bound!  I can't wait to get her washed and on the bed.  This quilt was a great way to use up some bigger scraps of fabric.

The quilting is entirely ruler work. The outer border didn’t turn out as planned, so I added a bit more quilting than I thought was necessary. Since the outer border ended up over quilted, I left the red inner border unquilted to balance it out and keep it softer since it’s bed sized and will be used. Seems logical to me, though it might just be laziness. Haha!

The star block quilting was copied from a quilt I saw on Pinterest.  Reminds me of fireworks exploding.

Two fabrics were used for the backing.  The floral is a Walmart Pioneer Woman fabric and the dot is an old Riley Blake print.

I didn't plan for the gingham binding to look like a stripe on the front of the quilt, it's just one of those happy mistakes.

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Scrap Saver System Reboot ~ Quilting UFO Scrap Quilt

Back in May, I decided to start a scrap saver system...again. The picture below was taken on May 3rd. I’ve tried this before but quickly became overwhelmed because I have so many scraps. This time, my plan is to cut only the scraps produced from current projects, with the exception of blue jeans and flannel shirts. My husband’s holey old flannel shirt has been waiting nearly a year to be taken apart, and I finally tackled it this weekend.

The picture below is what I accomplished on May 8th.  There are strips and squares ranging from 5 inches down to 1 inch, along with some circles cut for the yo-yo quilt I started last year. 

The leftover scrap 3-patch units from the Purple Iris quilt were added to the orphan block storage. 

This weekend was spent cutting up the latest scraps and putting away the larger pieces that were too big for the scrap saver system.

Right now, the scrap saver system is small. The plan is to keep the scraps visible because, as we all know, out of sight is out of mind...they need to be right in front of me. That’s also how I’ve been tackling UFOs, and it seems to be working. I’ve finished a lot of them over the last two years since I started keeping them out in the open in clear containers. 

I’ve been on the lookout for the perfect clear containers while shopping. The larger one came from Meijer’s tote section, the two smaller rectangular ones are from the Dollar Tree, and the square box is an Art Bin from a Fat Quarter Shop Sew Sampler Box a few years ago.

For now, everything can fit into the larger box.

I recently picked up a clear food storage container at the Dollar Tree. It’s a bit flimsy, so I wouldn’t trust it for carrying food, but it’s perfect for holding strips of fabric.

Flannel and denim are stored separately in a drawer under my longarm frame, and it’s getting pretty full. I probably have enough now for at least two full sized quilts. That’s what happens when you tell friends and family not to throw out their worn out jeans and flannel shirts.  

With all the fabric sorted and stored away it was time to load another quilt to the frame.  

We all have our favorite part of the quilting process. Normally, anything other than the actual quilting would be my favorite. But for some reason, I’m on a roll and really enjoying the quilting itself right now. While I’m in the mood, I might as well keep going. So yesterday, I loaded another quilt on the frame, and right out of the gate had to spend a little time with Jack the Ripper. At least I caught the error early. This little mishap didn't discourage me in the slightest.

Not too long after the mishap it was time to shut down the sewing room for the day.  So, I took a quick look at what I had completed.  Looks pretty good except for one little missed piano key. 

 Today is going to be a busy day with little to no time for quilting so I stuck a pin in it as a reminder.

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Posies and Pinwheels ~ UFO Finish

Today's UFO quilt top finish is a quilt made with the scraps of the quilt in my previous post.  

Finishing at 48 x 48 makes her a great size for a baby quilt or spring table topper.  

The backing was pieced from the remaining quilt top scraps and the backing fabric I used on the other quilt mentioned above.

The pattern for this quilt came from a magazine, but the chances of still having that issue are slim since I’ve given away about half of my magazine stash. So, I just went with the first name that popped into my head and put it on a label.

A few days after making the label and sewing it to the backing I stumbled upon the image below on Pinterest. This is the second or third time this happened recently, it's kind of weird and spooks me.  Is the web paying attention or the powers that be? (insert Twilight Zone music) Anyway...Much to my surprise there was a link attached to the image.   The link went to a stand-alone pattern and in the description for the quilt was the when and where it had been published originally.  I'm pretty sure I gave that magazine to my aunt a few years ago who had just started quilting.

The name? Little Blossoms...so much cuter than Posies and Pinwheels, but by then it was too late. The label had already been made and sewn to the backing. I also realized I’d left out some appliqué, and knowing myself, it was probably to make the quilting easier.

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UFO ~ Garden Lattice Quilt Finish

My, how time flies! It’s been three weeks since my last post.   I’ve been keeping busy with all the usual summer yard work and quilting whenever I could find a moment. This past Sunday morning, the Garden Lattice quilt was finally bound and tossed into the washer.

This quilt top has been waiting for years to be finished. It was started in July 2012. The fabrics for the lattice part of this quilt were bought at Walmart around 2005 or 2006. The border fabric, a white on white from Joann’s, and was purchased around the same time. I kept putting off quilting it because I knew the cheap white on white fabric would probably cause skipped stitches....and I was right. I tried every size and type of needle, but nothing fixed the issue. It quilted beautifully on the other fabrics, so the skipped stitches will be part of this quilt’s story. 

It started at 64 x 86 before washing. After the wash, it shrank to 61 x 83...that's a lot of shrinkage! But it gave it the charming crinkle vintage vibe some quilters love. The photo shows the before and after, with a trusty safety pin left in place so you know you’re looking at the same spot. You’ll also notice the 100% machine attached binding.  Machine binding a quilt means I'm not in love with it and just want it finished.  

All of my quilt tops are stored with their backing fabric and binding fabrics. Most of the time they are pieced and ready to go but not always. I’ve learned the hard way to always double check the binding and backing lengths because I do make mistakes sometimes. This time, the binding was not only two widths of fabric pieces short, but it was also cut at an odd size....2.75"! What was I thinking? I don’t recall ever using anything wider than 2.5". Thankfully, I checked and had more than enough scraps stored with it to cut more at that unusual size.

The backing fabric was the scraps of the pink and blue fabrics in the quilt top. I hadn’t pieced them together for a backing, and it wasn't enough to cover even half the quilt. So, I dug into my yardage stash and found enough of one fabric to use instead. The pink and blue scraps will come in handy for the next quilt top I plan to quilt. It too was made from the same fabrics.

 I named this one Garden Lattice because I’m not sure if I designed it or used a pattern, so I just went with the first name that came to mind.

Remember when I said this quilt was going to be trouble? Well, the quilting gremlins must have heard me and decided to put on a show.  About halfway through, the needle bar thread guide assembly fell apart, leading to a jarring needle break. Thankfully, it didn’t leave a hole in the quilt or cause me to wet myself. After the initial shock, I couldn’t help but laugh and think just one more problem to add to the list.   Luckily, I had spare parts ready because this had happened years ago, and I’d smartly bought two “just in case.” Now I’ll be ordering two more…you know, just in case the gremlins come back for an encore.

After attaching the thread guide, the saga continued. The needle crash threw my machine out of time, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the mischievous little gremlin haunting this quilt top. It took about two hours, but I fixed the timing and sent those pesky gremlins on their way.  

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Iris Finished ~ Another UFO Started

Every once in a while, we get to work on something truly special. This will be one of my most memorable projects because I had the chance to work out of my comfort zone and honor the unknown creator of the hand embroidered blocks and showcase her incredible craftsmanship.

Working with purple isn't easy for me.  When it comes to purple, I avoid it most of the time. The color purple only appears in my scrap quilts because I don’t really like it. In scrap quilts, purple is just another part of the rainbow, blending in nicely without stealing the spotlight. As you can imagine, there’s very little purple in my fabric stash. So, to make these gorgeous blocks shine, I had to buy some fabrics...and it was worth every penny.

While working on the quilt top, I considered giving hand quilting another try, thinking the unknown maker of the blocks might have preferred it. But after some thought, I realized the best way to honor her and make it the best it could be in my care was to stick with what I know and do well...machine quilting.

She put so much time and love into every stitch. I can’t help but feel a little sad knowing her family will never get to snuggle up with this quilt. All I can do now is make sure it’s cherished the way it truly deserves.

Even though I don't know her name I did my best to give her credit on the label.  I also gave it the name "Purple Passion".  Purple because of the color.  Passion, because it took her passion for handwork and my passion for quilting to get it to a finished quilt.

The last thing I did to honor the maker was to hand stitch the binding to the back.  Normally on quilts I plan to give away I 100% machine bind. 

A big thank you to Melissa, a new local quilting friend, who gave me the embroidered blocks.   For those of you who missed the original post about this quilt, below is how it looked.  

Melissa's mom gave it to her.  Her mom passed last year.  Her mom got them from a neighbor who has also passed, hence the Unknown Indianapolis Woman on the label.

The finish is bittersweet because I would love to keep it my quilt collection just because of all the handwork, but I know it's going to someone who will appreciate the handwork, the colors and the story behind its journey.

Now it's back to working on my own UFO's.  They too have gone unloved for far too long and they don't have any purple in them!

Next up on the frame...this one was started in 2013.  It's a small quilt so let's hope for a quick finish.

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