Using up Charm Squares

I have used up every charm square in the house on my latest quilt top! At least I hope there aren't any stragglers that I missed.

That includes 2 different charm packs and half a dozen leftovers including a flannel square (in one of the corners), a 30's style square and one square that just doesn't quite belong with the rest.

Both charm packs were traditional prints. One was in darker colors and a formal style. I never found the right project to use them in and never came up with any good ideas. The second was lighter pastels and a whimsical style. Every time I looked at it I was able to come up with a different plan that I wanted to start right away.

Instead I combined them both. I think the two styles go together in an uncoordinated way. Or at least they don't clash too badly.

My usual tactic is to come up with a design and use all the squares I can. Which always leaves a few orphans. This time I tried a new plan. A crib batting is about 45 x 60. So, I figured out how big I could go which in this case is 9 x 13 blocks or 40.5 x 58.5. As an added bonus I won't have to piece a backing.

I used the darker squares around the borders and the lighter squares in the center. I had to add about 20 or so background squares that came from my stash and not a charm pack. But, no leftovers after this quilt is done.

I like the result. The outside is filled with brown, burgundy and other dark colors and reminds me of fall. The center is light and bright with sherbet colors and reminds me of spring.

My sewing machine is now being serviced. While I'm waiting I'll get the quilt top basted and in a few months when it is cold and dark in the evenings I'll have a quilting project all ready to go.

Comments

It's about time - the big reveal

My bright quilt was finished in June but I wanted to wait until both were done before sharing the pictures. Quilting the blue quilt didn't take long but finishing the binding sure did. I did procrastinate a bit as it was too warm to have a huge quilt on my lap for most of the summer. After this, I'll probably do all the binding on my sewing machine (and stick to smaller quilts). Notice the cut-out corners? That was a challenge. I found instructions here and it looked easy enough but I wished I had practiced some. After a lot of finessing I finally got good miters but I could have done much better. The cut-out corners allow the quilt to hang nicely over the edges of the mattress and it's a perfect match for a full sized mattress. But, the top edge isn't even close to the pillows. I wonder how the quilt fit on the bed it was made for. Here, at last, is the original quilt that I was copying. I just noticed - all of the baskets are

Basted

A few weeks ago I was at the Local Quilt store basting my bright sampler. It's been ready to go for a while. I've been working on a baby quilt and it's now done. It's been a while since I've quilted so I'm glad I had a quilt to warm up on. Next I need to pull a folding table out of the garage and re-arrange my quilting space. This quilt will have a lot more drag than the baby quilt. I've also been looking at pictures of similar quilts looking for quilting pattern inspiration. I'm thinking of taking the easy way out and u se wavy lines like this quilt . I should start quilting next weekend!

The last 2 blocks and the tops are done!

I needed 2 more blocks to finish the gray version of the quilt. I ended up making simple 9 patch/half square triangle blocks. One is the yellow block in the lower left. Here it is closer up. When I made the half square triangles I had the red fabric going the wrong way so you are seeing the backside of the fabric. So the red in the triangles is a little lighter than the red in the center. It wasn't worth redoing. The other corner has a blue block and I managed to get the front of all the fabrics showing. So, here's what it looks like almost complete. And here's the blue version of the quilt. I've got the backing and the batting for the gray quilt (the backing is in the washer now) and I'm working on the thread to use for quilting and how to quilt it. They are too big for me to free-motion quilt. I don't have the space. As it is, quilting with the walking foot will be a challenge. These tops deserve so

Erica's Stitches

Search This Blog