Novelty Print Quilt Pattern

I have had a hard time finding good quilt patterns for novelty prints the past couple times I purchased them.  I made up this pattern so that I could show off the novelty, but still keep the quilt simple to finish.

Here is my pattern sheet I made myself just in case anyone wants it.

I designed these "U" squares and sewed them together first.  They were relatively easy compared to many quilt squares out there.  Aaaaanndd...that is the only photo I took during the construction phase apparently.  So, on to the finished product!

I used a 90x90" black microfiber blanket for the back as a replacement for minky since I didn't buy enough from the fabric store months ago.  Being in this quarantine has made purchasing fabric inconvenient, expensive, and in some cases, impossible.  I purchased the blanket on Amazon for about $26 and cut off the hemmed edges before putting it up on the quilter.  When using these blankets, plus batting, the blanket is THICK.  It ended up about 6 lbs, so good for those loving a little weight to their blanket.  I still prefer actual minky for the blankets, but they work in a pinch.

 Choosing the thread was rough.  The minky was black, but the front of the quilt was about 50%/50% black and white.  Actually, I just realized I could have used Red, lol.  I don't profess to have a fully functioning brain....ever.  In the end, I chose to quilt with black on top and bottom.   I kept the pattern loose to keep the quilt soft.  Tighter quilting designs make for a stiff quilt.  Also, my quilting set-up is pretty touch and go, so really I always quilt with this free-motion pattern, lol.  One day we will upgrade the machine and table, but not today.

And here we go, all done!  I didn't want the work of adding the black strips between blocks in the beginning, but it really sets everything apart and shows off those novelty prints.  I couldn't have been more pleased with the finished product.

So, Happy Birthday Dad.  I hope you loved your quilt!

Now on to the next project!

Between Etsy orders I have been designing shelves for our little sets of nerdy toys, lol.  More on that later!  Have a great night ;0}

Quilten' For My Man

Here it is!  The quilt I whipped up for my hubby for Father's Day ;0}

The pattern was Antelope Canyon by Laurie Shifrin.

I happened across a going-out-of-business sale at one of my favorite quilt stores last summer and scored the quilt kit for a fabulous deal.  I have been pulling this kit out of my UFO pile for small snips of time ever since then, cutting, looking for the pattern in our moving boxes since it was accidentally packed from September 2019-February 2020.  Finally found it, did a happy dance, then waited patiently until it's turn finally came.

It is a pretty simple pattern, only 4 log cabin style blocks.  The biggest recommendation I have for this type of quilt is be sure to square up your blocks all along the way.  When I went to quilt this gorgeous thing the inner part of the "cabin" was a little baggy.  That could have been avoided with a little more consistent squaring up.

Ignore my messy desk.  It always looks that way but you are not supposed to see that.  

I managed to finish sewing the top, but was not able to quilt it by Father's Day.  I did, however, quilt it the Monday after Father's Day and hubs came home to his very own quilt...

and then had to be my quilt model so I could show you pictures.

He is so sweet.  How does he put up with me!!!

Isn't he cute!  I sure love that guy.

It is a good thing he is very tall, because the quilt was VERY TALL.  

Actually it was the other way around...

I had to add an additional boarder because I wanted it to go just under his chin and travel all the way to wrap under his manly feet at night.

There it is!  What a rewarding project!

It did take more time than I thought, but could totally be stitched together at a nice weekend quilting retreat with a little pre-cutting.

Be sure to label all the pieces!!!  

I use post-it notes and label each strip and it was still just a little confusing to follow.  

The shop I bought the quilt kit from was Elaine's Quilt shop.  I believe this particular quilt, using these colors and this arrangement of the 4 blocks, was their addition to the pattern.  They are now part of My Sister's Quilts in Sandy, UT.

Typically these days I use minky on the back of any quilt I can possibly afford to, but my hubby wanted a summer quilt just light enough to keep the air conditioning off his skin.  Instead I used a king-sized top sheet that is heavenly soft to keep him comfy at night.

Now hubby is properly dressed in a sharp looking manly quilt

 every night for his travels to dreamland.  He is worth every stitch!

Finished For a Friend

With America under quarantine people be goen' CRAZY!

One of my BEST friends in all the world, Wendi from Amarillo, Texas suddenly had all of her 6 kids hovering around her again.  One daughter recently returned from an LDS mission in Louisiana.  Between the mission, church camps and activities from younger years, and high school theater and various other t-shirts Alysa had enough shirts for a whole quilt.  

I was super impressed when Wendi sent the first photos of Alysa's work.  She just decided to make a quilt and sat down and did it!  I need more of that in my life, lol.

Alysa chopped up every shirt, ironed each one to interfacing, then stitched them all together.

I told Wendi to pop that sucker in the mail and I would quilt it for her.

I probably should have thought twice about that.  The quilter was SO NAUGHTY!

The thread broke probably 20 times on one shirt.  So embarrassing.

With a whole lot of determination and taking the frustration in small, 

2 hour bites of time over a couple days, and a thread change halfway through the nightmare of that first row....  It is done!

I just used scraps of the sheet Alysa sent for the backing to make the binding and bound the whole thing for the girl.  

Wendi wanted to see pictures before I sent it so it was time to beg my husband for a little help again.

It is so nice having a 6' 3 husband to use as a human tripod...

Sometimes.

And there you have it Alysa!  It is packed up and on it's way to you ;0}

Now on to the NEXT project!  I will show you the quilt I whipped up the week before Father's Day for my sweet husband next time.  It was so fun to make. 

My Popsicle Quilt

Check out my Popsicle Quilt!  

It is my first quilt finished here in Pennsylvania.  Wohoo!

I started my Sweetie Pie quilts after Christmas, but with all the monotony brought about by the Quarantine for Covid-19 I needed a spunky, summery project 

so I pulled out my little Popsicle table runner from my UFO pile and started sewing.

I have been obsessed with this cute little pattern for over 2 years now.  I think I have tried to get 3 different friends to make it with me, failing every time.

These little fabric popsicles were so cute, so easy to make, I couldn't stop myself from turning the pattern into a full quilt.  My goal for a few years has been to have a different cuddly quilt for every holiday or season, so this popsicle quilt was the perfect project for working towards that goal.

You can get the original pattern here from FigTree.

Even the cat was in love with my project.  

I ended up with 30 luscious popsicles, just enough to get a twin sized quilt out of the batch.

I was determined to only use fabric from my stash to make this, so that is what happened.  All the fabric stores were closed and the shelves at Walmart were empty, so there really wasn't any other choice anyway.

The topper was finished late one Craft Day Thursday.  It was probably another 2 weeks lost agonizing over fighting my quilting machine before I actually put needle to thread.  

This whole machine quilter set-up was found on craig's list by my cousin, who bought it, loaned it out to friends, but in the end she was so frustrated by the sewing machine never working that she gave it to me for a steal.  I have worked and fiddled and cried, prayed, said some bad words, said some more prayers, taped on straws, taken off whole parts, spent a few hours just sitting staring at the machine wishing for a genie to come and make it want to work.

By some miracle I have been able to keep the darn thing running, but I really think it is just because of  the prayers alone.  This quilter is much like my car.  I thank the Good Lord it is still working and acknowledge completely it is ONLY because of His Grace that they keep going day after day.

Because of it's fussiness I cannot do any fancy quilting patterns, just a breezy swirly path.  I told myself that if I can prove frequent use, then I can start looking for a new machine...maybe a computerized model, dare I say :0)

Anyway, Here she is!  Isn't she beautiful???

As usual, Emmalee has claimed it as her own personal couch quilt. 

 I have to use the Valentines quilt.  I am fine with it.  

I am just so excited to have finished this project and that everything worked out as well as it did.  

I think the fabrics I had worked out great.  I had to work a little bit to have enough scrap fabric for the background.  Most came from Farm Girl Vintage quilt scraps.  I just pieced and sewed until the whole thing came together.  

And the Minky for the back...I had that in my stash too.

I can't remember what I bought it for, way back before we moved, 

but it worked great for this quilt!

And again, my sweet husband helping me out by being the perfect quilt rack, lol.

I love him so much.  He puts up with a LOT around here.

Now that this popsicle quilt is finished, I have a special quilting project for a friend.  I will be back with photos of that soon enough!

Getting Ready to Roll *Quilter Style*

Miracles DO HAPPEN!  I have proof.

This whole quilter table and machine lived in pieces on this floor since we moved in almost 5 months ago.  Now look at it!!!

Thanks to my fabulous husband who came to my rescue, it works!  

We had lost screws.  

I bought new ones.

The tracks were cracked in the move.

I bought new ones.

I couldn't find the instruction booklet.

I printed a new one.

After 2 days of screwing and lifting and wrenching, 

examining the diagrams, trying wrong sizes of screws....

I got this whole table together and.....

 the dumb machine would not stay on the tracks.

I gave up trying to do it all myself and lured my handsome husband 

into my quilting room with a wink and the promise I'd make it worth his while.

Hubbs pulled out a speed level and tweaked it a smidge 

and the whole thing purred into action for him.  

Show off.

With how many months it had been since I quilted, I started with something small.  

This was a baby doll quilt I made when I was trying to use up some scraps.  

I put minky scraps on the back, batting, and the cute flannel top on top, then started quilting.

Not too bad for taking so many months off.  

Now that I have everything running FINALLY, It is time to get some real quilting done!

Up next, my Popsicle Quilt.  

I can't wait to show you the whole thing when I finish sewing....

Sweetie Pie Progress

Just before Christmas Madison asked me if there were any particular projects I wanted to start.  This Sweetie Pie quilt by Lori Holt was at the top of my list.  I had a whole tote full of Farm Girl Vintage scraps and thought the Sweetie Pie quilt would be the perfect way to utilize them.

These Dresden plate "pies" were so fun to make.  I set out to make 2 quilts.  I needed 12 "pies" for each quilt, 16 Dresden shapes for each pie.  Once the scraps came out and I started cutting I just never stopped.  Have you ever lost all track of time and space with your arms buried elbows deep in a box of silky soft, vibrant fabrics?  It is like heaven on earth.

Slice.  Snip.  Dig. Dig.  Slice.  Snip.

Repeat.

Sewn together I ended up with 30 pies!  I only needed 24 for my 2 quilts.  Halfway to a third quilt I hit the scrap pile again....

Slice.  Snip.  Dig. Dig.  Slice.  Snip.

Repeat.

Sew those Dresdens together and.....

ended up with a total of 50 quilt squares :0D 

 Um...enough "pies" for 4 quilts and 2 pillows.

I think I need a support group for my attention deficit overproduction issues.

The things I do when I am not paying attention...

When making one of these quilt blocks all 16 Dresden shapes are sewn together, then the center is cut out to make room for the fruit.  That's how you make "fruit pies" you know.  I haven't decided what I am making with these middles, but aren't they cute all stacked up like this?  

It took a week of my free time hours, but eventually I got all 50 "pies" glued down to the white background blocks, managed to topstich everything down, then sat back feeling pretty accomplished...  

Then I took another look at the pattern...

You see how there are flowers in the corners of all the blocks??? 

Not finished.  4 flowers across, 5 flowers down...that is 20 flowers per quilt. 

 Who let me accidentally expand my 2 quilts to 4 quilts and 2 pillows???

I have a serious "If you give a mouse a cookie" problem when I am elbows deep in fabric.

I contemplated probably 4 days, wondering if I could just not make the flowers.  Do you know how much more background fabric I will need!  And interfacing!!!  Do I even have fabric for the flowers?  I don't want to do that much work!  I will just not do it....  But will my quilts look like there are huge empty spaces???  3 days later...  Fine!  I will make 9 million fabric flowers!

With no other choice but to make 80 flower pieces for my 12,000 quilts it was back to the drawing table, tracing out flowers, flower centers, and white circles to stitch them to.  I did modify the flower shape because there was NO WAY my 80 flowers were going to be made one petal at a time.  

Trace.  

Cut. 

Sew.  

Cut.  

Cut again.  

Turn.  

Smooth with tool. 

 Iron.  

It's finally time to glue!

I heard a bunch of quilter ladies say they used the school glue technique to baste applique to their quilts.  

The idea is you use washable school glue, 

pipe it on your pieces, 

iron the applique pieces onto your quilt blocks right away to set the glue.  

Sounds easy enough.  The glue is supposed to all wash away.

It seemed everyone recommended buying a special little glue bottle to put the school glue in, cost a fortune for a little nugget of a bottle you would have to re-fill often, small nozzle that clogs often... I decided to just try the regular school glue out of it's original bottle.  Bam!  Magic.  It works just fine.  

Last April I started the Bee Happy quilt.  Used my cheap school glue in it's original bottle.  You could see the glue through fabric here and there while I was making the quilt.  I was worried it would be a problem when I quilted everything together, but it wasn't.  Even on spots with 3 stacked applique pieces on top of the quilt, batting and minky backing.  When I washed the quilt the glue completely dissolved in the wash and a gorgeous masterpiece emerged from the dryer.

So, if you have an applique project, I say go for it.  Skip the tiny bottle with tiny nozzle and just use the bottle of glue the way it was meant to be used, lol!

You can see in my photos I put a regular string of glue around the shape, plop the whole thing on the fabric circle...

Apply heat...  Do you love how gross my mat is?  This is my applique ironing mat.  I plan to make a new cover for it, a cover I can take off and wash...but that takes energy and thought at all the right moments, so ...just a messy board that keeps getting used for school glue applique.  It's fine.

After a week of working during all my free hours I ended up with these 2 stacks.  Stack on the right, not stitched down to the applique circle.  Stack on the left...Done and ready to be sewn to my quilts!

These two stacks have been sitting in my craft room for 2 weeks untouched.  I abandoned them to get a few U.F.O.'s finished {Un-Finished Objects} finished.  After that, face masks for quarantine survival!  I think it is time to get back to this and make at least ONE completed Sweeite Pie quilt.  

Feel free to cross your fingers too in my behalf, lol!

Unstitched...

Stitched.  I prefer Mettler invisible thread for top-stitching applique.

Unless you are looking for it, you can't see it.

I am off to bed, but tomorrow begins Thursday Craft Day and hopefully very soon my pile of very lovely fabrics will resemble the quilt above.

Wish me luck!