Loading the QAL Quilt

Hi all!

I found out some news and I am happy and surprised and a little frightened all at the same time!

A LQS of mine where I teach booked me to do a trunk show that I have done once before called Something From Nothing.  And I thought - no one is going to sign up!  Um I  was wrong!  It is sold out with people on the waiting list!  Wowzers!  I figure I should get my butt in gear and bring something new to the people so I grabbed my latest 2" square project and  decided to get it on the frame to show in a couple weeks.  Yep!  The scrappy Christmas Quilt!

 

You have no idea how happy I was to remember this HUGE chuck of Christmas flannel that I purchased about 10-11 years ago off the 50% off pile!  I bought the bolt of 10 meters - and finally it will find a home.

 

 

So I loaded the quilt backing up - after piecing the back of course.

 

And loaded the batting and top all ready to quilt.  Hmmm . . . . now how to quilt it!?  This will be a bed quilt so it cannot be too heavy something all over I think with the holly leaf border in the borders.  Hmmmm . . .

Any thoughts?

Am I crazy to want a new project done for this trunk show?

The Final Step in the QAL!

Well here it is!  The final step in the Scrappy Christmas QAL - better late than never and at least I got it done in January and not June!

I know that several of you have already gone ahead and put the borders on your quilt; but for those of you that haven't here it is!

if you need to catch up you can find the previous installments here.

 

Cut 7 strips at 2" by the width of fabric (WOF) remove the selvages and piece together short ends to short ends to create one long strip.  I chose a gold print for my first border because who doesn't love a little gold in their Christmas quilts!?

 

Add these strips first to the two long side borders press towards the first border; and then add to the top and bottom of the quilt.  Press.

 

At this point my quilt measures 63" x 74"

 

Measure your quilt top to make sure that your measurements correspond with mine and if you need more or less then cut for that amount ;-)

 

For my outer borders I like to cut on the lengthwise grain or parallel to the selvage to have long cuts.  I needed 76" (as my largest measurement once I had added on my side borders) in length by 7" total so I used 2 meters of fabric and cut the strips from that.  While it was still all positioned I cut 4 binding strips 2.25" by the 80" of length so that I will be ready to go after this is all quilted.

 

If you would like to cut your borders on the cross-wise grain you would still need 2 meters for your borders and binding - I really like the strength and stability that cutting lengthwise gives me.

Add your borders to the sides first - measuring YOUR quilt top just in case your measurements are different.

 

i chose a poinsettia print from my stash that I purchased a few years ago and didn't have a destination for it - it's always nice to use up fabrics like that!

After adding the borders my quilt top measures 76" x 87" - a nice smaller bed size.  If you would like your quilt to be larger simply add on additional borders or wider borders until you achieve the desired size.

I hope that you have enjoyed this and used up some scraps!  And I hope that you will share a picture with me!  If you have any questions please feel free to let me know and I will do my best to answer them.

Another Rag Quilt

Somebody has to stop me!

i am working on yet another rag quilt and loving it!  My LQS was having a sale and i couldn't resist picking up some more flannel.

Why am  making yet another rag quilt you ask?  Well it is really really cold here right now!  As in so cold you have to wear a scarf or it hurts to breath.  So i am making the warmest quilt i know of :-D

 

Tell me what you're working on too?

Totes!

Hi all!

Recently I got the Studio Everyday Tote die and I have been playing with it since!  The thought of cutting out a tote, with boxed corners, without all the measuring really appealed to me so when it was on sale I grabbed it!

As soon as I started playing with it I started thinking - wouldn't this be a great class?!  Come and make a tote bag and have all the cutting done for you?!  So, I planned a class and propsed it to my LQS and she thought it was a good idea. In a nutshell - come and make a tote without having to do the cutting and leave with a template and pattern!

 

These are a few of the totes I made yesterday and today.  I love the simplicity of the tote and the functionality.  I love how there is room to embellish, from the basic design, without losing the simplicity.  Now I need to play with some different handles!

I was asked by a local retirement home to come and teach their quilting group something so I proposed the tote bag as an easy project - especially when die cut.

 

They liked my sample a lot - remember the navy tote I made first?  So I went to my LQS this morning and chose these fabrics for their kits.  I think they will be happy - or - I hope that they are!  Each kit will include the fabrics, pre-cut, for the outside, lining, a pocket and the handles and will include a thread so they can make it all in one thread.  I will kit it all up so that each individual has their own kit waiting for them at the start of class.

This is the first time I have done anything like this before so I really hope that they like it!

Blue Snowman Rag Quilt

Yep!

You read that correctly!  Another rag quilt!  Well, not just a rag quilt - but a matching rag pillow as well.  If you've been following along, I bought fabric, started working on A rag quilt, changed my mind, bought more fabric and now have ended up with two rag quilts!

 

And, I am very pleased.  I love my Christmas rag quilt and I love my new winter rag quilt.  Don't you just want to wrap yourself up in it!?

Many of you were asking what I was going to do with the blue log cabin print; and, it is in this quilt and in the matching pillow.   I love that this can stay out all winter; and, judging by the amount of snow we have right now, winter might just last until April or May this year - just joking - sort of.  Let's just leave it as I feel that this quilt will be out for many months before it is put away for the summer.

 

I love the embroidery stitching/quilting on these blocks as well.  I feel that it really adds to the quilt.  Someone commented that it looked like it took a lot of time.  Well - yes it did.  But, not only did it give me something brainless to do while I was sick, and, thus, make me happier by relieving boredom; but,  it really gives a great, special finish to the quilt.  A rag quilt doesn't have to be "just a rag quilt" (like I hear often) it can be more.

So, why did I start on this one the day after finishing my last one?  Honestly, my sewing room was a disaster after the last one.  There were thread and bits of flannel EVERYWHERE!  It looked like a rag quilt blew up in here!  No I am not taking a picture.  So, I figured that instead of cleaning up, and putting everything away, and vacuuming (yuck) that I would plow ahead and finish the second one and then clean up.  And, I knew that if I put all the ready-to-be-assembled blocks away that I might not get them out again for months and months!

Needless to say, we are now the owners of not one, but two, raggy rag quilts!   And, shhhh don't tell my husband, but, I have the next one in the planning and beginning stages.

Christmas Rag Quilting in January

Hi all!

If you've been following my blog and facebook page for the last little bit you'll know that I have been working on a rag quilt or two or three lately.  It started off as all one rag quilt - I bought fabric and came home and started to play with it.  

Once I started cutting and embroidering the fabrics I realized that i really didn't like the blues and the red together so I separated them out.  And then I decided that I wanted to play some more.

 

So, I came up with this design inspired by a rag quilt I saw on a friend's facebook page.  Since I had the dies to make this I decided to go and buy more fabric and play with this design.

What do you think?  Me? I love the way that this turned out!  What began as a winter rag quilt is now completely a Christmas rag quilt but I love it!  Too bad it's after Christmas but I'm going to leave this out and use it for a while before I put it away.

 

I love the way that the green sashing grounds all those reds.  And I love the way that it looks next to all the snow.

 

Here is a close-up of the embroidery/quilting.  I embroidered the snowflake design on each of the large squares, for added interest, and just a simple X in the sashing and cornerstones.  I think that the embroidery really adds a lot of interest for me.

Remember all that batting I had cut?  It's long gone with more cut to complete the quilts.  I thought that stack would last me a while - but - wow - it went fast!

So, now I have all my blue winter prints set aside and ready to be made into another rag quilt.  Hmm maybe I should get to that today!