Finishes for Two

Many people like those fleece throws and some call them quilts. I suppose they are, and have made several over the years.

Among all the friends & family I saw, when I was back in MN for two weeks in June, I met two new members, one of whom is my eldest Granddaughter's Beau. Nice man. Very sensitive. Empathic. He was wearing a Twins Teeshirt and hat, so we had a mini discussion about MN sports. He is a devoted fan.

I looked at MLB fleece, finding the Twins pattern and bought a safe dark blue for the backside. It took 2 1/2 hours to layout the fleece, cut the selvages, pin it, cut the strips and tie them twice. Thing is, that is all there is to this throw. Done.

Then I finished Jer's Wild Cat quilt. Well, it needs a label, but is finished. I was given two panel prints & some supplemental fabrics for a project someone thought they would make and never got to it. It sat in my stash as I wondered what to do with it. I found a panel pattern and had to add two side panels to make it the required width for the pattern so that the top, bottom and side borders would fit. Of course it is scrappy. Then I added a small black border to separate colors and continued with that pattern for the last border.

After spending time in my younger Son's home, two things were apparent: One that he liked Cats and has two; Two that he loves the quilts I make and remembers the kind he had as a kid.

The backside of this quilt is made by cutting the length of the horizontal print in half and joining it. I took more of the black with white dots and extended sides so it would be a correct fit for the front. It also carries out the extension that was needed for the front panel. After trimming the sandwich, there was enough black with white dot print to make the binding and make it more coordinated. It was hot to work under, but the heat is what he will love.

Small Things

Binding this Wild Cats quilt is taking longer because, even with the AC, its hot under the quilt.

I did finish the Hallows Mug Rug for a swap. The upper most photo is the top and the lower pic is the back. Again, the top was made from scraps from one of those Lil Twister quilts I made last year. All of it, actually is scrappy.

Here is the embroidery project that came with me to MN in June. Of course, they need to have borders, batting and backs to finish them off as a project. I used an iron-on transfer paper that was printed from the computer. It washes off and this was a test. It passed! I love it and plan to use it when I re-do one of the Bird Quilts.

I am off to the clubhouse this morning to layout and cut a tied fleece comforter. While the temps keep rising here, and there are fewer projects with a deadline, I want to keep going on them. I am also doing some paper crafting for Hallows swaps. I will take photos as I go. My hand is shaking too much to use the IPhone and am back to the old Kodak.

Ok..a New Mystery Quilt

I've joined a new Mystery Quilt. This one is a Row By Row BOM mystery. I have wanted to do a RBR for a long while and tried on my own.

Several things about this one caught my attention. 1. Row by Row; 2. Scrappy; 3. Row of the Month (like a block of the month BOM only in rows); 4. The intentional focus or theme is SEASONS; 5. We work from our stash to make each row.

The first thing the facilitator had us do was to gather at least 200+ squares cut 2.5". I did that and it barely touched using contents in the box in my stash. There is a joy in using these because of the long hours I have spent cutting this and other sizes just for this purpose.
The facilitator told participants to start saving for this and I feel so ready to start!

The entire process for making the quilt has me giddy!

Measuring for Batting

I got outside in my gardens about 6 am and cut more of the dead plant matter, and then filled the trash container. Once inside, all the chores beckoned me, and I made potato-leek soup. Yes, it works for me when the AC is on.

The quilting task on my plate today was to measure projects waiting for batting. Then I measured the batting pieces in the bin. I know that if they were to be joined and used, it would take more than two pieces to create the batting for one of them and that is too scrappy. I need to buy batting.

As I bind the one using poly, I realize there is a different sort of weight and warmth to that type and am considering which to purchase, either poly or cotton. In truth, I prefer the cotton and after measuring know I will need to buy at least three packages.

I am headed to the ocean at sunrise. It is a three hour drive no matter which beach we head for. Surprisingly, there is a lot of coastline that is privately owned and has no public access. The drive takes me through Bakersfield so I may stop at JoAnns and pick up some heavy weight fleece to make a single fabric Quillo. I need to look at the online pattern again to make sure what I want to do for it, and see if there is a sale or coupons.

The computer issue is still frustrating me and I need to text the geek to see if he ordered what I need here yet and if so when it is coming. I have learned a lot and adapted to what is here, but am still whining about it all.

Wild Cat Binding

Working on this quilt brings me joy.

Most of the fabric (both sides are panels) was given to me, some comes from my stash, and the black with white dots I bought to supplement the concept. It is for my younger Son who really loved this style as a kid. When his Son was born, he asked if I would be making them again. When I visited with him this summer, I saw how much use all the quilts get in his home. I also saw how valued the furbabies are there. And remembering that I had this fabric with the cat theme, I realized it would be perfect for him. I found a pattern online that used panels for the front part and used that as a guideline, making my own version. Then, the back needed to fit the front and so I carried out the way I used the B&W on the front for an extension of that fabric. I almost think the original buyer wanted to make a baby or youth quilt. Most recommendations say to make the back a good 3" beyond the measurement for the topper, and in doing so, there was enough after tying to make the binding.

With as hot as it is here in Southern Cali, my AC is on. I worked in my Northern Garden early this morning to clear out dead plant material and pull what weeds I could. It was exhausting. So a nap under the yet-to-be-finished quilt was a natural. I do not usually use the quilts I make. This one is going to be warm.

I remember how my Sons wrapped themselves up in quilts and usually they were worn out and ready for replacements the following year.

I also recalled how my Grandson begged for another because "everyone steals" his. This is a FB photo of one of the cats in Jake's Santa quilt after a bath. This one is poly batting and tied, so gets lots of washing.

Some folks have issues with pets using quilts. I do not. When I had the Wild Cat quilt on my bed to measure for binding and left it there, my own cat Rico found it right away.

I am always sensitive to people who have allergies to cats and make sure if I am making a quilt for one of them to keep it away from cat contact. I keep the WIP quilts in plastic bags in covered bins and will close the door to my studio when working on it. He has no access to the inside of closets. AND the room gets vacuumed daily. It is the best I can do with a cat in the house.

Halloween Banner Swap

I am not sure what I am doing yet with the new electronics in my home. I downloaded them from my IPhone to the PC, and also uploaded them here from the phone, yet they do not post. I sent them via email and saved them to the desktop and still they will not post. I am going on with this blog. If the pics come, great, if not, oh well

WOOOHOO!

I cut a length of 90"+ for the rope, had knots put on either end of it and then cut 150 strips of Halloween fabrics 1"x9". Those were folded in half with right sides out, and then the ends were looped over the rope and through the fabric loop to make the tassel.

The tassel banner hangs with a loop over my biggest window. It took me very little time to knot the fabric pieces over the rope. When I put up the swap, I gave three types of banners to choose from. One was printables, one was sewing and this one was a no-sew option. I had so many scraps that would have been tossed so opted to make this.

The pattern instructions for it are found at: http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/halloween-fabric-banner-tutorial-and-a-huge-announcement

And then with the leftover burlap with spiders, I made a bag to hold it in and found a box for mailing.

I am still not happy with my photos nor have I figured out how to get them onto the blog. These got emailed and downloaded to the desktop. Its a learning process and I am simply whining about not having my IMac.

Red One

I finished Red tonight. I had forgotten that it has gone through a couple of name changes and I am still not sure this is the last.

It is actually hot to work under a quilt even doing the binding from an angle. Interesting to see some of the smaller print blocks read more solid white. They are all prints in the 'whiter' blocks. I thought about washing it but have decided to send a box of Color Catchers with some instructions. That way, if the red bleeds to pink, she will have seen it the way it was meant to look.

Technically, this would have been the last of the family quilts, except that they keep coming in with the Grands as they partner up. Children are not being born so no baby quilts in the near future.

I got invited to an October wedding and so might consider making a quilt for the newly weds. She is the younger Daughter of my high school friend, no longer with us. I cannot fly back for the MN event, but can send a gift.

Another thing that is starting are some swaps that are more interesting. I am hosting one that is for a Hallows banner. I listed three different styles and made one up today and will take a photo of it in the light of day as it is meant to hang over a window. It turned out so cute!

Tomorrow, I need to take measurements of several of my projects. I might have done that on the IMac, but am working on a PC now and don't have them. I will measure Red too.