FINISH--Nine-Patch Squared

 Well, I managed to make another quilt, setting a record for me at one per month this year !

Below is the top before being quilted.....

It may be my age, but I have developed a love for a more simplified quilt........I think that it has to do with polyester batting.   With bigger piecing (4 " finished squares in the nine-patches, and 8 inch in the frames),I'm leaving room for the poly batting to 'fluff'.  I think that the crinkly look of cotton batting goes better with smaller piecing and closer quilting.

  And I'm satisfying my desire to do some hand-quilting again, although now I do "big-stitch" rather than going for the most stitches I can squeeze into an inch of quilting, like I did when these hands and eyes were young.

Having said all of that, this is my latest finish.........I call it Nine-Patch Squared, and it is not my own original design.  I ran across it in some pages that I have cut out of magazines and catalogs (sorry, I don't save the info).  I save these pictures as ideas and inspiration for future projects.

Back of quilt......same fabric as center of framed squares on front.

Hopefully for the recipient who takes a closer look, the hand-stitching shows up well around the solid frames.  

Deb let me make her this one to trade back for the last one that she took, when I explained to her that the kitty fabrics and little girls climbing trees might have been too 'juvenile' a choice of fabrics for a quilt that is to be gifted to her daughter-in-law.

Quilt info:  Polyester batting , low-loft, by Fairfield (PolyFil), Thread--Coats Bold Hand-quilting thread in Natural....... finished size, approximately 48" x 60" after laundering.  I made the binding finish at around one-half inch because it matches the framed print, and ties it all together.

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AFTER NOTE:  I delivered this quilt to Deb on May 15, 2023.  She was happy with it.  

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A salt shaker spilled in my raincoat pocket, and not realizing that there was salt in the bottom of the pocket, I put my keys in there while I ran errands in the rain.   Now I can hardly get the key in and out of the ignition.  I think that it got salt in it, and it tarnished something or who knows what.  The key feels rough on the end, and even a second key hesitates within inserting and removing.

It's a Honda, and I only have the one key that does everything....ignition, keyless entry.  My local mechanic thinks he could replace the ignition, but a Honda dealership has to reprogram the key unless you know a locksmith that can perform that task.  The nearest dealership is in Franklin, and I DON'T DRIVE TO FRANKLIN.  A new key was over $250 when I bought the car in 2018....I can only imagine the price now.

Stay tuned for update........for now I'm just going to use the car as sparingly as possible, and PRAY !

FINISH: Actual 3rd Commission quilt--Color Stripes

I did not use that poison green solid for the back.....my daughter voted it down, via text, so I used a Marshall Dry Goods mottled blue from their Tie-dyed solids collection, found at my local fabric store.  No photo of back or finished quilt......sorry !

 That's right.....I've taken the quilts to be approved, and forgetting to take the last one that I posted about, my sister-in-law loved the other three......this one, the scrappy string quilt, and the orange barn star !  She took all three without quibbling about the prices that I asked.  

  I'm happy that she's happy, and I'm ecstatic that this commission is fulfilled. (In fact, I was so thrilled to be finished --with this 3 months of work--that I didn't even get a photo of the last quilt after it was quilted !

Finishing larger than the others, at 50" x 70",  knowing that this quilt had lots of black, and being fresh out of the dryer, I didn't dare lay it on my carpet for a photo (remember, I have two in-house cats!), and these people are not pet people. I used an all cotton batting, and I have to say that with this one, I really loved the flat look of the pieced top MORE than the crinkly look of the laundered quilt.   I'm finding that I now have to choose between cotton battings and polyester ones, dependent on the finished look that I want.  I love the drape of cotton, but I enjoy the puffiness of the polyester sometimes, and the fact that it DOESN'T CRINKLE since I tend to prewash my fabrics.  Of course, since I didn't prewash this batik fabric, being that it WAS cut as a jellyroll, it might have crinkled even with a poly batt.

   As far as the commissioning goes, I don't often take on requests, specifically because of the stress that I feel during the fulfillment of them, and also for the plain reason that I like to make what I feel like making.  Sounds pretty selfish, but I'm not actually selfish with the finished product, just how I spend my time.  She meant to make this commission easy by telling me to just make whatever I wanted since she loves any quilting that I do, but I worried the whole time that it just wouldn't turn out to be what she had in mind originally.

  As far as this quilt goes, I grabbed a batik jelly-roll that I have held onto for quite a few years, and was just going to sew it into strips of color-change.  That went just fine until it came time to trim up the left and right sides to add a  border.  Even though the strips showed no sign of bowing, having sewn alternately from each end of the strip,  somehow it just wouldn't trim up right.  I was forced to come up with another idea, so I resorted to the idea of quilts that I had seen where they had cut the assembled strips into columns, turning the center one upside down.

Turns out that I like the new design much better than the original boring one !  Who knew (probably just about  every quilter ever !)

 Mid-piecing I ran out of the black fabric, and found more yardage from a different manufacturer in my stash.  They looked so very much alike that I really don't think anyone will know the difference.  But with  battling tiny bits of the cotton batting clinging to the black fabric throughout the quilting stage, I hope to NEVER use a solid black fabric again !  I'm not even sure that it won't pill, but I told her to let me know if there's ever any problem.......probably scared her to death !

Anyway...........you might not see another quilt from me for awhile, if Spring opens up where I can stay busy outside.  Hope you've enjoyed this series of quilts !

FINISH--3rd possible commission quilt--Fat-Quarter Squares on Point

 Finishing at approximately 47 inches by 60 inches, this one was pieced mainly from my fat-quarter collection.

For a batting I used a polyester queen-sized batt that I cut in half.  Before basting this quilt, I threw the batting into the dryer, on the lowest heat setting, to hopefully get the fold/wrinkles out of it.  

I left it longer than I meant to (FORGOT IT !), and it actually melted a couple of globs along one of the outside edges of the batting.  Never had that happen before !  This  was one of the polyester battings that Missouri Star Quilt Company occasionally offers in their 'daily deals'.

I minimally quilted this one, as I did the original quilt that I made in this design, in order to maximize the fluffiness of it. 

 I  used a dark red and black flannel check for the backing, and I don't think that I had pre-washed that fabric because it was such a big piece (found at a local yard-sale).  Well, at the end of my quilting it on my Jazz 2 machine, I noticed pink stains in the crevices and on the surface of the machine's base.  I hope I can get the stains off.........and I'll be watching for color release in the washing of this quilt.  I will probably throw several color-catchers into the wash even though I tried some of the fabric in a sink of cold water and saw no color release.

I wasn't crazy about this quilt when I finished with the quilting, but that striped binding really brought up my appreciation for the finished quilt.  Love that !

FINISH---Second possible commission--Orange Barn Star

 

I watched a video on Pat Sloan one day when she was previewing the first Barn Star in a series quilt-along (sorry I don't remember the details for links)......and I was really taken with the design of this star.  I think that their block would finish at around 16 inches or so.  I drafted mine to be one large 48 inch star/lap quilt.

Pieced from orange fabrics that I was gifted a few years ago (by bestie, JodieAnn), backed with 104 inch grey on white backing fabric from Fabric.com (years ago). 

Basted in my 1 x 2 wooden frame-boards, I then move to the couch and started out hand-quilting in the ditch on both sides of the green inner borders, and around the big star-points, (using my q-snap 17-inch square frame).  But at one point my left eye just wouldn't focus right on my hand-work, so I switched to machine-quilting straight-line on my Jazz 2 machine.  I kept the quilting to a minimum for maximum loftiness.......and the quilt feels scrumptious.

 I used a low-loft Fairfield polyester batting for softness and fluffiness/puffiness.  I haven't washed and dried it yet, but it currently measures approximately 53 inches square.

Not being sure exactly what my 'client' wanted when she asked for three "throws", I have decided to make up a few smallish quilts, take them to show her, and see if she likes anything.  People are always asking if I have anything for sale, so it won't hurt too badly if I'm on the wrong track......someone will eventually want to buy them, OR they will make good gifts.

UPDATE on most recent previous post

 Success !

 I washed and dried this string quilt throw, and I am happy.....really happy AND relieved, to report that the shrinkage in the dryer made all the strings look the same !  No more obvious directional 'pulling' !

Before photo....

 

After..........

Finished measurement after laundering--45" x 46".

80/20 cotton batting from MSQC.

 

FINISH--String Quilt (Commission?)

Yesterday I finished binding this string quilt that I began as the first of three throws that I was asked to make. 

I quilted it on my Jazz 2 sewing machine, using this wonderfully soft flannel as a backing.

It is wonderfully SOFT......the softest flannel I can ever recall coming across.  It was 60 inches wide, I think, and I picked it up at a garage sale a couple of years ago. Not the prettiest coloring, but not really bad either.

I have two reasons for calling this a 'possible' commission. 

 #1, I hope to make up several throws, and then offer this person her choice for the three that she has ordered.

  But, #2, ....do you see those rippled strips that are here and there in this little quilt.  I have never had that rippling occur while quilting one of my string quilts (that I remember, and I think that I WOULD).  I am not happy with that at all, but I haven't laundered the quilt yet.  If the crinkly effect makes those areas look just like the rest of the quilt, I might be accepting of this one, but otherwise it may just become one more quilt that graces my own home.

Hopefully I will come back and update this post with an 'after' photo of the quilt having been washed and dried. 

FINISH--2 Sides of the Heart

 First big finish of 2023, this quilt's front was blogged here in 2022.

 In December of 2022 I assembled an 'after quilt' from a large panel with a bicycle, 4 small panel blocks depicting the 4 seasons, and several favorite fabrics which I had found difficult to use elsewhere.

  The blue abstract-looking flower in multiple sizes was especially troublesome, but one of my cherished fabric gifts from Jodie Ann (now deceased).  The yellow chevron I found a yard of at a second-hand store recently, and I just loved the punch that it added.  The striped division strips were an after-thought but very satisfying to my eye.

 I thread-basted this one in my living room, and machine-quilted the bulk of it from the front side on my BabyLock Jazz 2 machine.

 I flipped the quilt to the other side to machine-quilt the outside border, finding it easier to see the marks that I made (using a plastic stencil and pencils).

Cotton fabrics, MSQC 80/20 cotton/poly batting (former wonderful daily deal purchase), cotton thread cone from Connecting Threads in silver.

Finished size is currently 60 x 66 inches.  I haven't laundered it yet, enjoying the silky smoothness of the nice fabrics on the back.

NO# 1 (possibly)of commission job of 3 --top only

 

Happy NEW YEAR >>>>2023 !!! (AFTERQUILT made)

 You know the saying, "whatever you do on the first day of the year is what you'll find yourself  doing ALL YEAR" ?          

Well, I took that to heart, and with this day falling on a Sunday, I went to church and worshiped the LORD ! 

Then to make it a doubly-good year, I came home and finished piecing an "after-quilt"

   These are FAVORITE fabrics that I have held onto for a long time (some of them), and a four-seasons panel, along with a bicycle panel (another of my loves--bicycles)

 

 for my most recent orphan-blocks quilt-top, (photo below)

 

  (I observe a Sabbath day of rest on Saturday).  

I realized as I was piecing this PUZZLE (that I designed), that I am not a traditional quiltmaker.  People will ask me, "what is the name of the pattern you're working on now? "  Well,...most often it's a conglomeration (such as this back) where I just make things up until I can call it a quilt.  I'm not big on repetition.  

But, anyway, I'm not staying at this post for long........just really wanted to document the making of this back, and what I was doing on this first day of 2023.

I hope you got to spend some time doing what you enjoy most, and that this year brings you closer to the LORD, which will naturally also bring you many days of joy !

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

ANOTHER FINISH???????????????? Purple, anyone?

 Squeezing in one more finish before year's end !

 Sashed Disappearing 9-patch blocks with binding made from same fabric as I used for back of quilt.  Final measurement is approximately 40 inches square.  Polyester batting, machine-quilted and machine-bound, front and back.

EDIT:  I offered this one, on Facebook, for sale for $45.  Cindy Mayle, James's (and my) niece, (Jean's daughter) responded that she loved it and wanted to buy it.  So I told her that I'd like to gift it to her.  I mailed it off to her address in Nashville the next day, and she received it the day after that, Dec. 29th.  She snuggled with it on the couch on her day off !  Happy there, happy here !

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS ! Give THANKS in ALL THINGS !

 Just a bit different Christmas Day this year.........first and foremost, it fell on a Sunday, and our church had a wonderful service, coming together to worship our LORD and Savoir, Jesus Christ.  Oh, the tears that came to my eyes as a young man, who is battling addiction with the help of our LORD, sang "OH HOLY NIGHT".

Breathtaking !  Glory to God !

 And I want to take this opportunity to blog about our cold blast we've had to welcome in Winter 2022/2023.  I witnessed my front porch thermometer showing 10 below zero on Thursday night, and a bit colder Friday morning.  We had probably 2 inches of snow mixed with sleet.  I was blessed to not lose running water, as I left a stream going at the kitchen and bathroom sinks, and at the bathtub faucet.  

The state did what they called "running blackouts" on Saturday, Christmas Eve, to try to alleviate the heavy toll on the electrical power system.  Many people were without power even before that, but I was blessed to only have mine down for the 35 minutes that they cut it off.

Waterwise, many people found that they were without running water yesterday and today, or that they had very low water pressure.  I had low, but sufficient pressure today and was able to share. 

The city announced that there is a problem with our water supply now, and we are all instructed to boil any water that we are going to consume (drink/ brush our teeth/ wash dishes).  So I've boiled some today for drinking and for washing dishes, plus, I threw out all the ice that my freezer had made........ But tonight, while taking trash to my outside can, I heard water splashing against the inside of my mobile home's underpinning.  It seemed to be coming from the area where my fridge with icemaker is connected.  My neighbor came right down and turned my water line off until he can have a look tomorrow to see what exactly is wrong.  

Thankfully, I got my dishes done earlier, and built up a supply of water to hold me over for awhile.

I thank the LORD for the good neighbors I have that help me and constantly check to make sure that I am okay since I live alone. 

Hopefully, I will update this blog as things progress.   God is good, God is faithful........HE'S NEVER FAILED ME YET !

  

FINISH--Twin bed quilt--Twinkling Lights (Triangle Quilt)

 This may or may not be my final finish for 2022, but it is a happy finish indeed.  

This has been my hand-quilting project for the last few months, done with a pretty big stitch and 30 wt. quilting thread from Walmart.  Not sure when I started the quilting, but it wasn't more than a few months, if that.  

All machine-pieced a bit at a time, it stayed on my design wall for quite a while.  To back it, I pieced together a grey print that I had yardage of for YEARS, and a magenta print that I obtained recently.  I don't 'do' collections or name brands generally so I can't tell you who these fabrics were by.   I just look through my stash and am thrilled if I have enough of something to cover the back of a quilt.  But I must say that the grey is the most wonderful feeling fabric that I have worked with in years.  I know that I got a fantastic buy on it from Fabric.com years ago, and it has been a difficult one to match to a quilt.  But this one being for me, I was fine with it, and it goes with the grey in the top, right???????

 Batting is 80/20 cotton/poly, probably Fairfield brand from Walmart, but not sure.  Finished measurements of the quilt are approximately 60 inches by 88 inches.  There are, including one half-square block on back for the label, 662 triangles in the quilt.  

So......Merry Christmas to ME, ...........and a very merry and joyous Christmas to you all, most especially those who live alone.  I hope you have wonderful friends and/or family in your life to show you the love of our savior, Christ Jesus, whom we celebrate at this time !  

Love from Dolly.

Gift for Widows' Luncheon

 This year I made two coordinating table mats from a charm pack that I received from Jodie Ann several years ago.  The colors in the pack were black, grey, yellow, navy, and cream.

 I just made up two different designs, and quilted them in two different ways, by machine.  This one is just a straight line grid parallel to the seams, 

 

and the second one was done with a ruler foot and free-motion quilting rulers that make different sizes of circles and fan-quilting.  I quite enjoyed doing that one.  The rulers pivot on a pin, which makes it much easier to keep the lines accurate.

 

Sister Faye wound up winning the two mats.  We no longer do "Dirty Santa", as there was some grumbling among our group the last time that we did that.  So now a number is placed on each gift, and then each person draws a number as well.  You then get the gift that matches your number.

The mats measured approximately 19 inches square, each, and included a wool/poly batting that was purchased from JoAnn fabrics online. The price was too good to be true, and the reviews were terrible, claiming fiber migration.  I took a chance, ordering three........two queen, and one baby-size.  I've used the baby-size to experiment, and sure enough, I noticed yesterday on a potholder that I made with it, and have washed and dried twice, it is bearding, for sure.  

Well......I've wanted to try making some pieced and quilted rugs for my bathroom floor, so these might work well for that, and I could use some pattern boards, like Lori Holt makes, so maybe I'll do something like that with them as well.  Hey, maybe even a few layers would make a good ironing surface as long as you have fabric to keep the iron from any polyester melting.

Lesson learned,.......but warning you.....if they still have them at JoAnn fabrics, don't buy them unless you have a use for them other than a beloved quilt.

New Orphan quilt top finish

 Over the last week, I've taken my orphan box and gathered enough blocks to make myself a throw-sized quilt top.  I added to or took away as needed to get them all to fit together.  I like it because these blocks contain many fabrics and memories of past quilts that I have made, and or blocks or fabrics contributed by a friend.

 

I'm pretty pleased with the results, and the top currently measures approximately 64 x 68 inches.  I hope to thread-baste it soon, and then machine-quilt it. 

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 I am currently hand-quilting this triangles quilt...

I am basically doing a bigger quilting stitch than I did when I was young, but it really doesn't go any faster, because I am still a stickler for trying to make the stitches all look alike.  I am gradually letting go of that strict standard though.  Just quilting a quarter of an inch away from the seams, inside each triangle.

FINISH---Baby Nines

My latest finish, "Baby Nines", after laundering.

 

(Before laundering) 

I pieced these little nine-patch blocks over a matter of weeks, accumulating enough to try a design for a quilt top.  I was inspired by this nine-patch quilt design (below photo) that was shared by Fons and Porter.

 Somehow, as time passed, the original design left my head, or I couldn't come up with the right fabrics, so I came up with my own alternate setting.  I was really surprised, after finishing mine, to run across this photo (above) and see how far I had strayed.

 Still, I think that mine came out very nicely, and with the cream-colored flannel back, it is really a snuggly love.  It finished at around 42 inches by 54 inches, and I gifted it as a lap warmer for a homebound friend of mine.  She loved it !