tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73003070383317678572024-03-13T14:00:18.787-04:00Studio DragonflyA quilting, sewing, and crafting journal written by a working mom who would always rather be sewing.Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.comBlogger380125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-79857565031924216992023-12-08T17:14:00.000-05:002023-12-08T17:14:25.792-05:00Dog Bandana Quilt For Mom<p> It has been a long time since I've made a quilt. I burned out for a while but recently found myself wishing for some time at the sewing machine. My mom's dog visits the groomer regularly and each time she comes out with a cute bandana. Mom had been saving them for years and asks me to make a quilt for her. I've been holding on to them for a while and I'm sure Mom has either forgotten about them or at least thinks I'll never sew again. This was the perfect project to refresh my quilting and sewing spirit.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_R3MLj7nUcJVhpW3ShqK2zIH7t-lfyKElkWCOHh0MIDyGmvL9MNns_3h5KCxh97yFP5eb8DYpJ9ttnKQgYM2pMvuFKHIwkOYmK1HrTnVCj1i775NSJBgBcGYDp8DrGfPB5bR-7icFTlQb2nXo0KAcyZPKIsMAS1bzWJtCPUy0mGiac561FX8kFAT6VU7U/s640/IMG_9012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_R3MLj7nUcJVhpW3ShqK2zIH7t-lfyKElkWCOHh0MIDyGmvL9MNns_3h5KCxh97yFP5eb8DYpJ9ttnKQgYM2pMvuFKHIwkOYmK1HrTnVCj1i775NSJBgBcGYDp8DrGfPB5bR-7icFTlQb2nXo0KAcyZPKIsMAS1bzWJtCPUy0mGiac561FX8kFAT6VU7U/w405-h540/IMG_9012.jpg" width="405" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here are all the bandanas. It's a mismatched bunch for sure.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgdMB2qGETcY_KTE4mVx5pHsRQaaO8DHfGW03aMBv-h6PWeupv3EzbD8MC2XLJe7Q_aMIYJwbXTv8Nk3u-j__wIDxHEf3AtuZfoCk5skZQ9ZYRI1JvLgxtnLaAY4GTbM5rhyWLOwpXerv5mH7E1Ho4vq0fvksURXLTztphAdfXramJIDVAtT4N9K-VRO1/s640/IMG_9013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgdMB2qGETcY_KTE4mVx5pHsRQaaO8DHfGW03aMBv-h6PWeupv3EzbD8MC2XLJe7Q_aMIYJwbXTv8Nk3u-j__wIDxHEf3AtuZfoCk5skZQ9ZYRI1JvLgxtnLaAY4GTbM5rhyWLOwpXerv5mH7E1Ho4vq0fvksURXLTztphAdfXramJIDVAtT4N9K-VRO1/w410-h546/IMG_9013.jpg" width="410" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's a little closer look. I tried to sort them dark to light to begin thinking about what I wanted to do.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This was going to have to be a super scrappy pattern to make this work. I recalled something that Bonnie Hunter often says... if the fabric is ugly, just cut it smaller! So, that's what I did. I went with a pattern from Bonnie's Free Patterns! page. It is <a href="https://quiltville.blogspot.com/2023/07/2023-leader-ender-challenge-oopsie.html" target="_blank">Oopsie Daisie</a> and was so much fun to make.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpD32q5ZxSILf67ZGy19wrA3jSJ-e6PxwSM-ydA9UFBRpfyWz46TaDjHezLGVndjfLuGLufBG23FjMIIW0fv7ahXHzzNzz0hH3MRenH2uj3RoMxtMCziqcjbm-WqQE9cM7EC4MnadoG4so1W8_-7YxuLM0sd-yU7ARssGN8DKAmRtPl2w5nwUx2D1lnbS/s640/IMG_9020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpD32q5ZxSILf67ZGy19wrA3jSJ-e6PxwSM-ydA9UFBRpfyWz46TaDjHezLGVndjfLuGLufBG23FjMIIW0fv7ahXHzzNzz0hH3MRenH2uj3RoMxtMCziqcjbm-WqQE9cM7EC4MnadoG4so1W8_-7YxuLM0sd-yU7ARssGN8DKAmRtPl2w5nwUx2D1lnbS/s320/IMG_9020.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5GYfEYytvb-rwg1cYcA07KfJBvdQLiX2T9OH46AdEeW4uPapQAyYban8clcsy-Gu_SGnxmtRLsOsdi47R2M16qBNKfjRZLqbPOvSU4kzLNeEHMkU5zu4rHGwH-gQxgCWfgpwn1ncUQdSDci9hfIdVY4bFmaeoX-sdoDcOEjWZfKs0W9v5Z7sXUP1_p1JA/s640/IMG_9021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5GYfEYytvb-rwg1cYcA07KfJBvdQLiX2T9OH46AdEeW4uPapQAyYban8clcsy-Gu_SGnxmtRLsOsdi47R2M16qBNKfjRZLqbPOvSU4kzLNeEHMkU5zu4rHGwH-gQxgCWfgpwn1ncUQdSDci9hfIdVY4bFmaeoX-sdoDcOEjWZfKs0W9v5Z7sXUP1_p1JA/s320/IMG_9021.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The first picture shows some of the blocks and the second picture shows all of them with my foot to help with the size. It's not a big quilt but very bright and fun. All of those bandanas get along great in this quilt.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBsX2iXqmY6KJxrHDkLd1GR8ig6VxnFT099H7wsyjJmkkMv5FL7FHyN1j8NKU2hi0iE5FUaXl7ARcLO96ZvDGcrdXakrjSDosuiJaRasBzB2EDHzNNOzwQTpeP29hXk8RvQXGIaNjPZ1P9tHiyKiUVXTbb3yyg2Ft2w-BCdq1rcRpDByKv7DkHbVSG_GN2/s640/IMG_9081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBsX2iXqmY6KJxrHDkLd1GR8ig6VxnFT099H7wsyjJmkkMv5FL7FHyN1j8NKU2hi0iE5FUaXl7ARcLO96ZvDGcrdXakrjSDosuiJaRasBzB2EDHzNNOzwQTpeP29hXk8RvQXGIaNjPZ1P9tHiyKiUVXTbb3yyg2Ft2w-BCdq1rcRpDByKv7DkHbVSG_GN2/s320/IMG_9081.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRITvh31XrnZPAqhTVrph7a0iKUQmdMAsYIJHERX7xZ97jQKRlzR2QERExqOYNdDw8Wa7nLiRytBfODHOpUcoM93vf7ZUElYjJg5_XzpNiUzeDq_Nm2wLBysx9h1-fBj0Fp4ih-wWLlsxRA8gjlEcvmn3U1h1HS_6QHHJ9EUoe6b3pAfqsawBD_zJh1Nfn/s640/IMG_9082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRITvh31XrnZPAqhTVrph7a0iKUQmdMAsYIJHERX7xZ97jQKRlzR2QERExqOYNdDw8Wa7nLiRytBfODHOpUcoM93vf7ZUElYjJg5_XzpNiUzeDq_Nm2wLBysx9h1-fBj0Fp4ih-wWLlsxRA8gjlEcvmn3U1h1HS_6QHHJ9EUoe6b3pAfqsawBD_zJh1Nfn/s320/IMG_9082.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I was out of basting spray so I pin basted the layers together and machine quilted a simple cross hatch pattern. I was happy to find such a cute paw print pattern for the back.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqZqGuToEoGGUOD_fkI82K6gQQSt97J-ZOiLp42dxDbkTEUpDixt9IoceUKjyPqENG9kHtWbNGN9LkkC1m-AhK0bKfTjBhDFxM74onsdCU2eZ6zRp-RLTImdW1cpCaIR2hf4CmL68uKeqZn5NodMoWQvmxNlnBdqJILJVc1TIpsyQbdlLUlRENzMGwD_M/s640/IMG_9083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqZqGuToEoGGUOD_fkI82K6gQQSt97J-ZOiLp42dxDbkTEUpDixt9IoceUKjyPqENG9kHtWbNGN9LkkC1m-AhK0bKfTjBhDFxM74onsdCU2eZ6zRp-RLTImdW1cpCaIR2hf4CmL68uKeqZn5NodMoWQvmxNlnBdqJILJVc1TIpsyQbdlLUlRENzMGwD_M/s320/IMG_9083.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I had to make a fun label for the back with Kaylee's name on it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjtwc4LHdsKCq3yxxPCCRzELVeD0iVrLrMnmEmN_CpCK5-Nhd7mdD6zmOVDpiQsX8IuWKP0fkKCfOlWpY3scRUFAsMC_OIjCkll9PAZf8Sg_POIE-5Pty7ejflxoHmZDy-Jh4meNlbgtAKDIU1GYC6Jw9Nx5_okWMaJMX2o_NqoLPw-DcpYpC01CeDvt93/s640/IMG_9085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjtwc4LHdsKCq3yxxPCCRzELVeD0iVrLrMnmEmN_CpCK5-Nhd7mdD6zmOVDpiQsX8IuWKP0fkKCfOlWpY3scRUFAsMC_OIjCkll9PAZf8Sg_POIE-5Pty7ejflxoHmZDy-Jh4meNlbgtAKDIU1GYC6Jw9Nx5_okWMaJMX2o_NqoLPw-DcpYpC01CeDvt93/s320/IMG_9085.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our cat, Bruce, approves, although he might not if he knew there was a dog involved!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinnhByfWyD59iSlOCHGJiZcmmYSaLpG5idCxQc6NX51w64AZjzbaUL3jOgzpujA15CZvODNsgx125n6a0J-tlfI3YN78yO9C0hh-Ngt3EiwtiYroe9RDz7Hj3piqaLp4Y_zZu4YZa4IIm7WilZqbYQvMYFZBhgMP44GOpQAbGnCQv8THnNJ_O_tbQra5Yd/s640/IMG_9086%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinnhByfWyD59iSlOCHGJiZcmmYSaLpG5idCxQc6NX51w64AZjzbaUL3jOgzpujA15CZvODNsgx125n6a0J-tlfI3YN78yO9C0hh-Ngt3EiwtiYroe9RDz7Hj3piqaLp4Y_zZu4YZa4IIm7WilZqbYQvMYFZBhgMP44GOpQAbGnCQv8THnNJ_O_tbQra5Yd/s320/IMG_9086%20(1).jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzbOWRT32sJRiPE3xxlSuou09Rn3qy8rYV4XaBQgAY3FQjpd46dU2PxauXappG4jelVCDr0-ywD-C_f91kxIzeUdMsKTaVNDaWkRcYv9GL7gUcohdgEGsxuT_wm2DqNZD5cu6thSUizS7U7_l8yObEqrKPogqV0vaNPbM6gcaxys0NWlzdJXCCN6bWn2ZT/s640/IMG_9088%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzbOWRT32sJRiPE3xxlSuou09Rn3qy8rYV4XaBQgAY3FQjpd46dU2PxauXappG4jelVCDr0-ywD-C_f91kxIzeUdMsKTaVNDaWkRcYv9GL7gUcohdgEGsxuT_wm2DqNZD5cu6thSUizS7U7_l8yObEqrKPogqV0vaNPbM6gcaxys0NWlzdJXCCN6bWn2ZT/s320/IMG_9088%20(1).jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's the finished front and back and a small photo dump below. I'm saving this to give to her as a Christmas gift. She will definitely be surprised!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyN-VNyxzn4h20Nqqhk2gz6K7s89NeastfARnyJqoEFw6ZsuwExfTj3bXWZPBnpT0W1iDIRpzEk4uZxor4yND_qiNMmXchbnfRLE0wpsLKjxq0J4crnTjf44LID0fGcY3xLVShp088s0eXJqN3ZVQcFChJYNIPRGNwNO3VYVYIzPL1G4NM1Feg9JsILkA/s640/IMG_9089.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyN-VNyxzn4h20Nqqhk2gz6K7s89NeastfARnyJqoEFw6ZsuwExfTj3bXWZPBnpT0W1iDIRpzEk4uZxor4yND_qiNMmXchbnfRLE0wpsLKjxq0J4crnTjf44LID0fGcY3xLVShp088s0eXJqN3ZVQcFChJYNIPRGNwNO3VYVYIzPL1G4NM1Feg9JsILkA/s320/IMG_9089.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSyEJdn_Zoj65sFleNH4mCJC4Mjenw7qQ2VYlwhArHQfIwHLbbGdHuM8hrAoy7MoOU-pGqfnH9K5ehcUd06q53wtRaMcB_1JfqkmKkJoIb6-mIiCBt15ap_7YGQ4X9aH4gVfUfjoEDtq-QZDANKGmZ6bgWoIXDImJqm0k28Sp_sgmZF68Ow0Xp6l4EALr/s640/IMG_9090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSyEJdn_Zoj65sFleNH4mCJC4Mjenw7qQ2VYlwhArHQfIwHLbbGdHuM8hrAoy7MoOU-pGqfnH9K5ehcUd06q53wtRaMcB_1JfqkmKkJoIb6-mIiCBt15ap_7YGQ4X9aH4gVfUfjoEDtq-QZDANKGmZ6bgWoIXDImJqm0k28Sp_sgmZF68Ow0Xp6l4EALr/s320/IMG_9090.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilsL3veLHc3hoBZXBShMdHaxeEtg4lrREHUcM2UKh9yP06xwVw_GS_UAngqmeBksviKmJhJEAv_Sbn5zjCyeyrEklotddnrtlUfrOOIHBNVwFJ-CXVkp_AY-tL9dNwiWJj-4e8yXYsqKOfX04PVC_kCTx_r5to0ixwNPUW7NdqvArk9WdM-thzbwKFvKP0/s640/IMG_9091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilsL3veLHc3hoBZXBShMdHaxeEtg4lrREHUcM2UKh9yP06xwVw_GS_UAngqmeBksviKmJhJEAv_Sbn5zjCyeyrEklotddnrtlUfrOOIHBNVwFJ-CXVkp_AY-tL9dNwiWJj-4e8yXYsqKOfX04PVC_kCTx_r5to0ixwNPUW7NdqvArk9WdM-thzbwKFvKP0/s320/IMG_9091.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghrdMTqneSLi3m-GHtC4ltYCYIqzUfcLz783qX_FQbpJD_uZZ92vpxag9-pZ4gTJo8KmPJFmhDSzLZOGcJh7pnpxcFtUHyGOCZ00CY9ls0IDLPSz1ffdKon7MhOeVla90cmMj-zWYnJaIrW9x1uIY1s2yBAN-BKD4MFwblLKc8e8WOhC4JXssN-It80oQv/s640/IMG_9092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghrdMTqneSLi3m-GHtC4ltYCYIqzUfcLz783qX_FQbpJD_uZZ92vpxag9-pZ4gTJo8KmPJFmhDSzLZOGcJh7pnpxcFtUHyGOCZ00CY9ls0IDLPSz1ffdKon7MhOeVla90cmMj-zWYnJaIrW9x1uIY1s2yBAN-BKD4MFwblLKc8e8WOhC4JXssN-It80oQv/s320/IMG_9092.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUng2jIl2LelPztd8IVQE6CTQTEaNEE7OQbFAcladBfyZZOFDTH4GZhqDU7GkiZ7AspPGU3HqJj6OOD_NRsnW5OObiw2J8PcWt_6PgLZPZMH-h1GZ9m_PcZws28RB7XSJnrVh7edmbjnIyHTbII4R9eOXV9oQU6NNLzEYOfIDcXBmINHxREYRGa_NOdyAO/s640/IMG_9093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUng2jIl2LelPztd8IVQE6CTQTEaNEE7OQbFAcladBfyZZOFDTH4GZhqDU7GkiZ7AspPGU3HqJj6OOD_NRsnW5OObiw2J8PcWt_6PgLZPZMH-h1GZ9m_PcZws28RB7XSJnrVh7edmbjnIyHTbII4R9eOXV9oQU6NNLzEYOfIDcXBmINHxREYRGa_NOdyAO/s320/IMG_9093.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcTBd8SeH46FqyOivDdaLlGpUYjpy7KS_U1wvpnWBIIvdCsC3FHM1NqyQkXZiqOOEqfxSKI1do2R3bn7BFl7og4sKwl7c1byG4h6mTG7-mcIJklFWRUZKWMM3WzK-aPJYNoKRq28gLGhYLd_bwWEeOeRAiecwoO2-OlasBPLdQdyhWNIvt9fqOUtBts2y/s640/IMG_9094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcTBd8SeH46FqyOivDdaLlGpUYjpy7KS_U1wvpnWBIIvdCsC3FHM1NqyQkXZiqOOEqfxSKI1do2R3bn7BFl7og4sKwl7c1byG4h6mTG7-mcIJklFWRUZKWMM3WzK-aPJYNoKRq28gLGhYLd_bwWEeOeRAiecwoO2-OlasBPLdQdyhWNIvt9fqOUtBts2y/s320/IMG_9094.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLkkAiFX9kH2x7dEOodEavZc6n5qIXaC7etntdwJNFikGXJTVXx8PowClL-XUrOa_XJq3mJsA2ZzL2bpcZ00ISZNVjEz9Gc9nh0Gj2sVMQU6SXl1cGMNU8HZ9TXLvmA1ZzuJ1vWLkLinIGPo-N5bQ9zoO7yyxcMwpNmACsvOjDpR_Xn6f4mcwKLghLPbv/s640/IMG_9095.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLkkAiFX9kH2x7dEOodEavZc6n5qIXaC7etntdwJNFikGXJTVXx8PowClL-XUrOa_XJq3mJsA2ZzL2bpcZ00ISZNVjEz9Gc9nh0Gj2sVMQU6SXl1cGMNU8HZ9TXLvmA1ZzuJ1vWLkLinIGPo-N5bQ9zoO7yyxcMwpNmACsvOjDpR_Xn6f4mcwKLghLPbv/s320/IMG_9095.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><br /></p>Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-81004296072510725942019-12-16T17:28:00.000-05:002019-12-16T17:28:11.698-05:00Baby Girl Quilt for Olivia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFFJP935yNA/Xe7GG7769MI/AAAAAAAAHV0/ptKrpmLteTkOTr1SKHo0Dbi93ikuiTzlACEwYBhgL/s1600/OliviaQuilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFFJP935yNA/Xe7GG7769MI/AAAAAAAAHV0/ptKrpmLteTkOTr1SKHo0Dbi93ikuiTzlACEwYBhgL/s640/OliviaQuilt.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This commission quilt was made for a coworker and friend who is expecting her first grandchild. One of the requirements was that it not have too much pink as the mom is not fond of all pink for her baby girl. However, purple was most definitely acceptable and I was fortunate to find this cozy cotton flannel fat quarter bundle by Studio RK for Robert Kaufman. Another request was to personalize the quilt with the baby's full name. I "purpled out" the last name for security reasons. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l6KcKPjFsiM/Xe6_FOiHnkI/AAAAAAAAHU4/hZ7A7x9MOco9Au4vODbWa2N_3ycAe96aQCEwYBhgL/s1600/file%2B%252817%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l6KcKPjFsiM/Xe6_FOiHnkI/AAAAAAAAHU4/hZ7A7x9MOco9Au4vODbWa2N_3ycAe96aQCEwYBhgL/s640/file%2B%252817%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Typically, I print a label onto fabric using my inkjet printer but the printer is permanently out of service so we went for something a little more rustic. I hand printed the message using a fine point Sharpie on a white broadcloth. It is a square of fabric folded on the diagonal and stitched into the binding. The printing is off center on purpose so that specific birth information can be added later. I included a scrap of the white fabric for writing practice and some tips for writing on fabric.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GODGK9Q2g5g/Xe6_FFYquTI/AAAAAAAAHU0/do5Fb-L7GJYwF_WSADql0tbT5HvOG1H5wCEwYBhgL/s1600/file%2B%252818%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GODGK9Q2g5g/Xe6_FFYquTI/AAAAAAAAHU0/do5Fb-L7GJYwF_WSADql0tbT5HvOG1H5wCEwYBhgL/s640/file%2B%252818%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The quilt design stayed simple since flannel is thicker than typical quilting cotton and I wanted to be careful not to create bulky seams. The name is fused and machine appliqued to the quilt top. Special thanks to Wendi at <a href="https://shinyhappyworld.com/" target="_blank">Shiny Happy World</a> who offers a free applique alphabet called Shiny Happy Words. It was perfect for this quilt.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F3SGMScX3UY/Xe6_QPokQdI/AAAAAAAAHU0/uKGuhSqHsMwOZmKWrNYFgxQvALwlCkFZgCEwYBhgL/s1600/file%2B%252820%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F3SGMScX3UY/Xe6_QPokQdI/AAAAAAAAHU0/uKGuhSqHsMwOZmKWrNYFgxQvALwlCkFZgCEwYBhgL/s640/file%2B%252820%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The quilt is machine quilted with flowers surrounding the name and a simpler meander over the rest of the quilt. If I were to do anything differently for this quilt, it would be to use something other than flannel for the binding. It was really bulky and difficult to work with.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFFJP935yNA/Xe7GG7769MI/AAAAAAAAHV0/ptKrpmLteTkOTr1SKHo0Dbi93ikuiTzlACEwYBhgL/s1600/OliviaQuilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFFJP935yNA/Xe7GG7769MI/AAAAAAAAHV0/ptKrpmLteTkOTr1SKHo0Dbi93ikuiTzlACEwYBhgL/s640/OliviaQuilt.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Since I have been on a bit of a sewing break, it was nice to spend some time at the sewing machine for this project. Every sweet baby girl needs a special quilt to welcome them to this world.Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-2852626987832537642019-12-09T17:02:00.001-05:002019-12-09T17:02:53.527-05:00Orphan Block PotholdersMaking new potholders usually falls into my schedule in the January time frame when all the organize, renew, and refresh vibe is going around. It's okay that I did not get to this until November. My poor old potholders from two years ago got a real workout. There were holes and a few good burns on them.<br />
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These orphan blocks came from a fun quilt I made for my son during the brief period of time he was interested in learning to play the electric bass guitar. And it made for a great shop sample back in the day as well.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-03NoRAwbDZM/Xe6_8Nrz2ZI/AAAAAAAAHVQ/pvAy42wfSs8WwaqF-RvUuUQEO038cHY9ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/file%2B%252827%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-03NoRAwbDZM/Xe6_8Nrz2ZI/AAAAAAAAHVQ/pvAy42wfSs8WwaqF-RvUuUQEO038cHY9ACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/file%2B%252827%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I love the colors and had a bit of fun with the quilting, making each one different.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w60-1gC3y1g/Xe6_73RMV_I/AAAAAAAAHVM/ZV8MkJmfAy4lSGqon67B1xaLLF4tQ8mnACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/file%2B%252826%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w60-1gC3y1g/Xe6_73RMV_I/AAAAAAAAHVM/ZV8MkJmfAy4lSGqon67B1xaLLF4tQ8mnACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/file%2B%252826%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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They all have the same backing, a classic fabric by Kaffe Fassett.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3TD2XAWJ20Y/Xe6_7K7EbuI/AAAAAAAAHVE/2sf8kKbtRIgrHFpop__K2KshIZXF_ahPwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/file%2B%252823%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3TD2XAWJ20Y/Xe6_7K7EbuI/AAAAAAAAHVE/2sf8kKbtRIgrHFpop__K2KshIZXF_ahPwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/file%2B%252823%2529.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Here's how I layer everything for one pot holder:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Fabric for the top</li>
<li>ThermaFlec</li>
<li>Batting</li>
<li>ThermaFlec</li>
<li>Fabric for the bottom </li>
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Sometimes I'll even do two layers of batting, but not this time.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ufdlNa9396M/Xe6_7oA5KKI/AAAAAAAAHVI/DKKyvtpOy-IDC6Ht8GG5aGGxN_CHbhDIQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/file%2B%252825%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ufdlNa9396M/Xe6_7oA5KKI/AAAAAAAAHVI/DKKyvtpOy-IDC6Ht8GG5aGGxN_CHbhDIQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/file%2B%252825%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I have one more project coming before the end of the year. I've been much more focused on family this year and have been spending my creative energy making art that doesn't require me to go off to another room to create.<br />
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I hope you all have been sewing and creating up a storm this holiday season and are enjoying all the special people in your lives, too.<br />
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<br />Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-13071137131265883952019-06-23T17:28:00.000-04:002019-06-23T17:28:55.122-04:00Scrappy Neutral Quilt For A Master Bedroom<script async="" data-pin-hover="true" data-pin-round="true" data-pin-tall="true" defer="" src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script>
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It is rare for me to make a quilt for a specific purpose in our home. I have wanted a new quilt for my bed for as long as I can remember. There is an old family quilt that has been on our bed in the winter for a number of years and this new quilt is a bigger, neutral version of that quilt.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xTbRopqVzIo/XQ_id0VxjDI/AAAAAAAAHSc/xQG6j1hwHr46PL_W1z1jCW7aemgGMQYJgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="240" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xTbRopqVzIo/XQ_id0VxjDI/AAAAAAAAHSc/xQG6j1hwHr46PL_W1z1jCW7aemgGMQYJgCLcBGAs/s640/IMG_5976.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Here's an old, blurry picture I found of the inspiration quilt. This quilt was made by my grandmother or great grandmother. There are some awesome fabrics in this old quilt.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v76BNwXbnos/WlerKpnpgeI/AAAAAAAAG24/7XxBOurPUXoiVEg5em8oB1ny0O5A6O3FgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/file%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v76BNwXbnos/WlerKpnpgeI/AAAAAAAAG24/7XxBOurPUXoiVEg5em8oB1ny0O5A6O3FgCPcBGAYYCw/s640/file%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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And here it is on the bed. I do love the mix of fabrics here but I needed a neutral and timeless quilt that would last through whatever crazy color scheme we wanted for our bedroom. This quilt also barely extends beyond the top of the bed so something bigger was needed.<br />
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Each scrappy panel finishes at 15 inches wide The quilt top is made purely from stash. It used up almost all of my neutral stash. There are six scrappy panels so the finished dimensions of the quilt are 90 x 90. This is plenty big enough to cover our queen size bed.<br />
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I spent a lot of time debating the quilting design. Part of me wanted to go for simple vertical wavy or straight lines over the entire quilt. However, I would always think that I had taken the easy way out to go that route. Instead, I went for free motion quilting each piece with a different design. It was a lot of fun and took a really long time to complete. I would work on it for 15-20 minutes each day before work and then an hour or two over the weekend.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aKcj1tBCqxE/XQ_gIL04EHI/AAAAAAAAHSM/ExngaCNx5G4uln5Y6kTuuQhgrenEYKh3gCEwYBhgL/s1600/file%2B%252853%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aKcj1tBCqxE/XQ_gIL04EHI/AAAAAAAAHSM/ExngaCNx5G4uln5Y6kTuuQhgrenEYKh3gCEwYBhgL/s640/file%2B%252853%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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For some sections I quilted around the print motif like with these birds. There are lots of hidden messages in this quilt, too. In the panel just under the birds it says "LISTEN to the birds sing!"<br />
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The back is Kona Dusty Blue, which does work with the upcoming bedroom color scheme but is also neutral enough to stand the test of time. The binding is the same as the backing. The back of the quilt has a graffiti quilting look to it.<br />
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Of course, all those messages are mirror image on the back so you either need a mirror or a careful eye to decode them. The center right of this picture shows an "I love U".<br />
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Even the front newsprint fabric is spreading the message of love.<br />
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These pictures were all taken before the quilt was washed. Funny thing is my dryer died the day I finished this quilt. Impatient me washed it anyway and it is hanging out on the clothes line to dry. Those summer afternoon thunderstorms need to stay away today!<br />
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Here's another look at the quilting, this time with the message "More Dreaming". I lost track of all the messages in this quilt. It will be fun to run across them as this quilt gets used on a daily basis.<br />
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I'm really excited to be adding this project to the finished list. My interests have expanded a lot this summer with food gardening, bird watching, drawing, and painting. Other than a few smaller projects, my sewing machine might get a rest for a while. No matter what other interests develop, my heart is always with quilting so I know I'll be back.Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-10898059286804229002019-05-05T15:45:00.000-04:002019-05-06T07:52:17.541-04:00Two tutorials - Quilts from Shirts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ukMY3huArlk/WOpb4RXo-uI/AAAAAAAAGkM/lfsrl1K4b9QK6EOe9nAtg84bcnUBDL-VACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/FiveQuiltsClose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1600" height="306" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ukMY3huArlk/WOpb4RXo-uI/AAAAAAAAGkM/lfsrl1K4b9QK6EOe9nAtg84bcnUBDL-VACPcBGAYYCw/s640/FiveQuiltsClose.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The <a href="http://studiodragonfly.blogspot.com/2017/04/five-small-memory-quilts.html" target="_blank">original post</a> for these quilts was just over two years ago. This set of mini-quilts was made for a family of five siblings to remember their father. I've received several questions about reproducing the design for the first and third quilts so thought I'd share that information here so that you can make one, too.<br />
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One frequent question is about how to size the finished quilt to be bigger or smaller. Both of these designs are based on an eight block by eight block grid. In other words, there are eight rows of eight blocks. To determine your finished quilt size, decide how big the finished block size will be and multiply by eight. Here are some examples:<br />
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<li>2-inch finished block = 16-inch square finished quilt top</li>
<li>3-inch finished block = 24-inch square finished quilt top</li>
<li>4-inch finished block = 32-inch square finished quilt top</li>
<li>5-inch finished block = 40-inch square finished quilt top</li>
<li>6-inch finished block = 48-inch square finished quilt top</li>
<li>7-inch finished block = 56-inch square finished quilt top</li>
<li>8-inch finished block = 64-inch square finished quilt top</li>
<li>9-inch finished block = 72-inch square finished quilt top</li>
<li>10-inch finished block = 80-inch square finished quilt top</li>
<li>11-inch finished block = 88-inch square finished quilt top</li>
<li>12-inch finished block = 96-inch square finished quilt top</li>
<li>13-inch finished block = 108-inch square finished quilt top</li>
<li>14-inch finished block = 116-inch square finished quilt top</li>
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That should cover every size from a mini-quilt up to a king sized quilt. The quilts hanging on the line are 24-inch quilts which means they have 3-inch blocks.</div>
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Here is the simple grid for both quilts. Forgive the low tech drawings. You would think that since my day job is all about technology, I would up my game but I really love the simple process of graph paper, ruler, and pencil.</div>
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Let's figure out the design breakdown for the first quilt. It is based on the traditional jewel box pattern which is made up of four-patch blocks and half square triangles.</div>
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It is a two value quilt, using dark and light fabrics. In my version, the dark is scrappy from the shirts and the light is a Bella solid (ivory maybe). If you look closer, the dark value is really both dark and medium values. I could get away with a wider range of values since my light was very light and also consistent within the quilt.</div>
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Each quadrant of this quilt is exactly the same so make one and repeat three more times. The upper left quadrant is drawn out for you. Each quadrant consists of eight half-square triangles and eight four-patch blocks. For three-inch finished blocks, each square in the four-patch blocks should be cut to two-inch squares. Here's the math for that:</div>
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Finished block size divided by 2, then add half an inch = cut size of squares for the four-patch unit.</div>
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And a couple of examples:</div>
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Finished block size = 4 inches</div>
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Divided by 2 (or take half if that's easier for you to think about) = 2 inches</div>
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Add half an inch = 2 1/2" cut squares for the four-patch block</div>
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Finished block size = 7 inches</div>
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Divided by 2 = 3 1/2 inches</div>
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Add half an inch = 4 inch cut squares for the four-patch block</div>
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There are many great tutorials out there for half-square triangles, so go to your favorite or check out <a href="http://studiodragonfly.blogspot.com/2015/10/seven-methods-for-making-half-square.html" target="_blank">this one</a> for help making those.</div>
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That's all there is to it. </div>
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Now let's take a look at the third quilt hanging on the line. In one way this quilt is easier and in another it is more complicated.</div>
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It's easier because it has simpler units. It is solid squares and half square triangles. It's more complicated because it uses three values: light, medium, and dark. The layout is a little trickier too only because it's easy to turn one of those triangle units the wrong way while sewing the blocks together. </div>
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Here's the grid for this one:</div>
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For the grid, L means light value, M means medium value, and D means dark value. Because I was working with shirts and had a limited colors/values available, this design was a bit tricky, but it worked out just fine. I had to be careful of placement for those fabrics that could pass for more than one value. The stronger the value, the stronger the design stands out for this quilt.</div>
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It's a busy drawing so here is the break down of the blocks you need:</div>
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Light squares = 20</div>
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Medium squares = 12</div>
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Half square triangle blocks with half light, half dark = 20</div>
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Half square triangle blocks with half medium, half dark = 12</div>
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We covered how the block size determines the quilt size way up at the beginning of this post and I've also shared a link to my tutorial for making half square triangles. <a href="http://studiodragonfly.blogspot.com/2015/10/seven-methods-for-making-half-square.html" target="_blank">Here it is again</a> just in case you skipped over the instructions for the first design and came straight to this one.</div>
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With these details, you should be ready to jump in and make your own version of this quilt, too.</div>
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I love how simple squares and triangles can be put together to make thousands of designs. Have fun creating your own quilts and please let me know if you have any additional questions or need more details for either of these quilts.</div>
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Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-55687654168573678742019-03-31T21:34:00.003-04:002019-03-31T21:34:46.331-04:00Eight Shirts, Three QuiltsLast fall, I made two memory quilts for a coworker who lost her brother. She gifted those quilts to her mother and her sister-in-law. You can read about those quilts <a href="https://studiodragonfly.blogspot.com/2018/11/two-memory-quilts-simple-and-special.html" target="_blank">here</a>. As soon as she shipped them off she started wishing she had one of her very own. Luckily, there was just enough shirt fabric to make one so that she would have her very own quilt to keep close.<br />
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If you look closely at this quilt, you will know which of the shirts were long sleeve and which were short sleeve. It was a challenge to even get one block out of a couple of these. I am very thankful for long sleeves for this project.<br />
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I had to use the pocket front for all but one of these shirts. The pockets could have been left unquilted but she requested them stitched down so a hand or foot would not get caught and tear the quilt. It would be fun to leave them unquilted if this were going to be hung on a wall, You could keep special notes or other memories in the pockets.<br />
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The backing is navy flannel just like the other two quilts. The first two quilts each had one of these photos on the back. This one has both! It will be easy to flip up a corner to see the picture. This photograph also shows the scrappy binding. I was not sure there was going to be enough shirt left for a binding, but there was. The binding scraps frame each of the pictures on the back.<br />
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All of the pictures are after the quilt was washed. The quilting is a simple meander in an off white thread to match the background fabric. This quilt was delivered earlier today and I could tell she was very happy to receive it.<br />
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I couldn't help but take a picture of our back yard bird set up. It's been so active lately, except when I scare them all off taking quilt photos.<br />
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Eight shirts, three quilts. So happy to have been a small part of saving these memories.<br />
<br />Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-75977682195911146312019-03-20T19:07:00.001-04:002019-03-20T19:07:29.725-04:00Easy Baby Quilt With Nature In Mind<br />
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I'm going to a baby shower this weekend for a coworker who is about to be a first time grandmother. When she first told us the news, she added that she had already purchased baby items with a camouflage and a John Deere theme. <br />
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That meant this quilt had to represent the outdoors as best I could.<br />
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This almost camo fabric was the inspiration for all the others. At first there were some bolder prints in there but they were too distracting. The subtle prints in browns, greens, and golds did the trick.<br />
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Each block includes a 5x8 inch rectangle of color and a 2x8 inch strip of background sewn to each side. The blocks finish at 7 1/2 inches square. Two inch strips of background are an added border. The quilt finishes at 39 inches square.<br />
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The quilting is a super easy free motion meander with a light green thread on top and a variegated thread on bottom. The backing is a light green stripe from one of Nancy Halvorsen's collections.<br />
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I did not have enough of any one fabric from the center to use for binding so I used two and alternated them to finish off the quilt.<br />
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Spring has decided to stop teasing us and hang around for a while. The backyard bird activity has really picked up. It's a great time of year to enjoy the birds and all things outdoors.<br />
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<br />Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-13295880734794643942019-03-11T19:49:00.001-04:002019-03-11T19:49:26.871-04:00Modern Geometric Landscape Quilt Finish<br />
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My son has a back to nature sort of room. His bed and night stand were made by his dad from reclaimed wood. He has plants under his windowsill, and collections of shells and rocks displayed from places we have visited. He asked me to make him a landscape quilt to add some color and continue his nature theme.<br />
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I expected him to want a small raw edge applique wall hanging, only because that is what I think of first when I think about landscape quilts. Our go to resource for design ideas is Pinterest, and that is where he found this pattern. The pattern is Welcome to Colorful Colorado by Katie Larson. I purchased it when it was available on Craftsy and see that she now has it available in her Etsy shop, <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheCraftingShell" target="_blank">The Crafting Shell</a>. I love the design, colors, quilting, and really, everything about the quilt. So I made one as close to hers as I could.<br />
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I'm normally a use what you have kind of quilt maker but in this case I invested in the solid fabrics required for the quilt. It is great to add the leftovers to my stash, too. The quilting was a bit challenging in the middle section since I used a close to matching thread for each triangle. I didn't think I would ever finish burying all those threads once the quilting was finished! It was worth it.<br />
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The back is made from two yards of text fabric surrounded by solid scraps.<br />
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Here's a closer look at the text print.<br />
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Rather than bind the quilt, it is faced. This is the first time I have made a facing for a quilt, and I like both the process and the result. I need to work on my mitered corners a little more but other than that, it worked well.<br />
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I knew this was going to hang on a wall so I had a little fun with the facing fabric. This is a Charley Harper print. Those owls are so cute. I also tried out a new hand stitch to finish off the facing. I had always used a slip stitch when hand stitching binding but because the facing is so much thinner and flatter than binding, I tried out the ladder stitch. I will definitely use it again. It makes those stitches practically invisible.<br />
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Here it is hanging in its new home. It adds so much color to his room. He is happy to have it and I am happy it is finished!<br />
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<br />Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-7923283924210246762019-01-18T07:41:00.000-05:002019-01-18T07:41:03.793-05:00Quiltville Good Fortune Mystery - That's A Lot Of Pieces<br />
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Every year when I am in the throws of gift making for the holiday season, I get this urge to make something for me. This year, I satisfied that urge by participating in Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt. I have participated in mysteries before, as a shop owner, when I knew the end result throughout the process. This is the first time it was truly a mystery from start to finish. I loved it.<br />
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The first step is the announcement of a color palette and estimated yardage. These colors made me think they were pulled straight from a basic crayon box. I thought about changing them up a bit but decided as a rookie I should stick with the instructions, and, these are not my go to colors when working on my own so it's great to use up this stash.<br />
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Each Friday starting in late November a new clue was issued. I liked going with the flow. All of the steps were straightforward and easy to complete. There may have been a few times where I thought, "You want me to make how many?!?!" The number of units for some of the steps was quite large but with a little Dori inspiration (just keep sewing sewing sewing), I persevered.<br />
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Each week's clue was saved in a bag. I loved the Instagram posts of participants trying to guess the end result. I did not do any of that. I completely gave myself over to the process and enjoyed every step. It was a surprise every single week.<br />
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When the big reveal finally came in mid-January, I wasn't quite ready for it. I was enjoying the drawn out pace of making this quilt top.<br />
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It took a couple of weeks to put it all together, but here it is. When the center blocks were assembled, I wasn't sure if I liked it. The outer border really pulled it all together for me. I absolutely love it now.<br />
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The thing that impresses me the most about this quilt is the sheer number of pieces. Since I went with strip sewing rather than string sewing for the orange in the blocks and the neutral borders, I was able to calculate the number of pieces in this quilt.<br />
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Bonnie does not allow counts and quantities to be published about her mystery quilts since they are converted into patterns for sale once the mystery is over. However, I don't think this number gives anything away. There are 2,936 pieces of fabric in my quilt top. Had the mystery been introduced as... join us in making a quilt with more than 2,900 pieces... I never would have joined in. A little bit every day made this happen. And even better, every single piece of fabric in this quilt came from scraps that I already had on hand.<br />
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It will be a while before this top is quilted, as there are a few ahead of it in line. One funny thing is that I hadn't been able to really see the finished top until I took these pictures. I have found two pieces turned the wrong way so far. Maybe I'll fix them before quilting and maybe I'll leave them for character. I have plenty of time to think about that.<br />
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I will definitely be joining in again next year. Thank you, Bonnie, for a fun initiation into the mystery quilt world.Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-76751204803769486522018-12-15T09:47:00.001-05:002018-12-15T09:47:35.165-05:00Making Stockings for a Growing Family<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kS_yT_1I-_w/XBUNOJP2M0I/AAAAAAAAHJE/_RN233_-KMMm4F624DYrZibDWSuT7nSqgCEwYBhgL/s1600/file%2B%252813%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kS_yT_1I-_w/XBUNOJP2M0I/AAAAAAAAHJE/_RN233_-KMMm4F624DYrZibDWSuT7nSqgCEwYBhgL/s640/file%2B%252813%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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For the first time in three years, all of my children will be together. That is the best gift I could ever receive. It was time to add to the stocking collection so that everyone would be included.<br />
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There was a point in time when I thought I would make everyone a cross-stitch stocking, but quickly realized that was going to take more time than I had available. I still have the beginnings of those somewhere and add a few stitches every now and then. Instead, we went with inexpensive, crafty stockings that could uniquely represent each family member. This is where we started in the mid-1990s. Erica was old enough to hand stitch the face on to her flower.<br />
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These are all constructed using inexpensive craft felt. Once I decide what should be represented on a stocking, I search for free clip art or photographs to mimic. Typically, I enlarge and print the picture, then use tracing paper to draw and cut all the pieces. For the original stockings I zig zag stitched around each piece, but now I use a simple straight stitch around the edges to hold the pieces in place. The edges of the stocking are both straight stitched and zigzag stitched for strength to hold all the goodies that will be placed inside for Christmas. Beads and sequins are hand stitched down depending on the level of bling desired. These are easy to make and fun to include family members in the process.<br />
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In 2000 and 2003, two more children joined us. We've enjoyed our six stockings for many years.<br />
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Erica has her own family now. This will be their first Christmas at our house. Zack and Amelia needed a stocking. Amelia turned two last September. We haven't had little kid excitement at Christmas for quite a while around here!<br />
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Evan got engaged just a month ago. They live on the beach and Gabi loves her birds.<br />
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My mom recently mentioned that she did not have a stocking so I made a pair for her and her dog to hang at her house, too.<br />
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It's going to be fun to watch our family continue to grow over the years. This project is the last of my "must finish before Christmas" sewing. Now, I can slow the pace and enjoy time with family, time by the fire, and the peace and joy of the season.Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-72779631167782494452018-12-10T18:03:00.000-05:002018-12-10T18:03:37.107-05:00Inspired by a Painting - A Quilt Gift<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sometimes a quilt takes time to evolve. This is one of those. Last year, we went to visit my son and his girlfriend. This was the first time I had met her. She is an artist and had a painting on the wall in their living room that I was really drawn to.<br />
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This was from a college class where the assignment was to paint something using only circles. I wanted to use the colors in this painting to make a quilt for them. The mixture of colors in the painting made me think about batik fabrics first, so a stash busting I went. In my head, I was going to do a literal translation with the color placement.</div>
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I did not have enough in my stash for that to work out and for some reason, I was sticking closely to the darkest of colors in the painting.<br />
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The next iteration had a few more medium tones added in and then came the experiment with pops of color. I had to look at this one a few days and finally figured out that it was because there were too many short scraps and no continuity of color anywhere. This was just too chaotic.</div>
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Then I finally got around to adding some lighter colors (honestly, the critique of my family is what it took to convince me to add the lighter colors), took out anything that was too floral or leafy, and continued to debate about whether or not to add the pops of color. There were other sewing projects mixed in to this process, but I bet this had been on the design wall for a month or more at this point. We went out of town for a few days.<br />
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This is what I came home to. I think our cat had a little bit of fun while we were away. It was time to start sewing or else this project was never going to be finished.<br />
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It wasn't until I started looking at this quilt vertically rather than horizontally that I thought maybe it was going to turn out okay. Maybe I would like it a little. To help it along even more, I decided to back it with a plush minky in navy. This was a first for me so I was nervous about quilting with a thick fuzzy backing.<br />
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I did a bit of reading for tips and learned that extra basting and using a larger size needle were essential to successful quilting. I use 505 basting spray for layering quilts and I was extra generous for this project. Both tips were very helpful. I kept the quilt design simple, using a large meander and then a rough outline of each triangle.<br />
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I knew there was no way I could accurately stitch around the outside of each triangle so intentionally went wonky with them. You can see a tiny bit of fuzz coming through on the lightest of the fabrics. That all but disappeared after the quilt was washed.<br />
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Here's another peak at the quilting.<br />
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The quilting shows up nicely on the back, too. I love the plush coziness of that backing.<br />
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The binding is machine stitched and is a lovely midnight blue batik. The girlfriend of a year ago is now a soon to be daughter-in-law. They were engaged last month and are planning a small spring wedding. I love my growing family.<br />
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The weather has been dreadfully wet and gray so I never got any great pictures of this quilt. It is now all wrapped up under the tree for them to open when they pass through on their way to visit other family this holiday season.<br />
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While this quilt is not at all what I pictured in my head when I first started making it, it evolved into a warm and cozy gift that will always remind me of the first time I met my soon to be daughter-in-law.<br />
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<br />Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-52243167546891872692018-11-30T09:56:00.003-05:002018-11-30T09:56:52.204-05:00Two Memory Quilts - Simple and Special<br />
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I've been on a bit of a sewing break, focusing more on time with my family and taking care of my health. But when this project came my way, I was ready to get back to it. Many months ago, a coworker had asked if I would be willing to make a quilt from her brother's shirts. I told her I would be happy to, but had pretty much forgotten until she showed up with shirts in October.<br />
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Eight shirts, four cool color, four warm color, all in excellent condition. We looked at quilts on Pinterest and she determined quickly what she did and did not want. She wanted simple throw quilts. Two, similar but different. She really liked meandering for the quilting. I like all those squiggly lines is how she put it.<br />
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I made this one first. Thirty simple blocks that are 6 1/2" x 10 1/2" shirt squares with a 2 1/2" x 10 1/2" strip of background fabric stitched on each long side. The resulting 10 1/2" block is rotated in the layout of 30 blocks. It took a little bit of finagling to get a layout where the color and pattern was nicely distributed, and I love the result. There is a 2 1/2" border of background to frame out the quilt.<br />
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For the second quilt, the blocks are the same style but smaller. Three borders, all cut 2", finish this version. I love the checkerboard border.<br />
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This picture makes it easier to see the difference in block size between the two quilts.<br />
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Here's a closer look at the meander quilting before the quilts were washed. This free motion quilting design goes super fast.<br />
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Sometimes a little too fast. Can you see the light colored thread poking through the back? That is what happens when I go too fast. I had to really pay attention to my speed to limit this result. Slow and steady wins the race, right? The good news is that this picture is before washing. After washing there is just enough crinkle going on to hide the light thread on the back.<br />
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The backing fabric is the same for both quilts, a navy flannel. I prewashed the flannel since I knew it was likely to shrink more than the other fabrics. The labels are two pictures. She did not want any words. I used binding scraps to frame out each one. They are hand stitched in place, although in this picture they are just pinned in place.<br />
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The binding is scrappy, and includes all of the shirts.<br />
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These quilts are being delivered today. One of my favorite parts is seeing the reaction of the quilt owners when they get a first look at the quilts. Some want to see progress photos all along but others, like this customer, want to see the quilts for the first time in person when they were completely finished.<br />
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One of the quilts will be gifted to the mother and the other will go to the wife of the man who wore these shirts. There are so many reasons to love quilting, but bringing joy and comfort to others is right up there at the top.Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-30194299954539913762018-09-26T07:33:00.000-04:002018-09-26T07:33:44.048-04:00Charity Quilt with Mom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A while back my mom cleaned out her hobby room and several of her quilt tops came home with me to finish. I'm slowly working through them. This was a quick fat quarter pattern that made a nice scrappy lap quilt.<br />
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I used a pink thread on both the front and back for the quilting and did an all over free motion flower design.<br />
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The backing is a solid pink Kona from my stash. I don't know the official color name for this one. This picture shows the color a bit stronger than it really is. This next picture is closer to the real thing.<br />
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It was not quite wide enough for the quilt so I added a row of teal squares down the center.<br />
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The finished quilt is about fifty inches square.<br />
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You can see the quilting motif a little better here as well as the solid blue binding.<br />
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Here is another attempt to capture the quilting design. All of the pictures were taken after the quilt was washed. I like the cozy, crinkly result but you really lose the distinctness of the quilting after washing for this quilt.<br />
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I left this quilt with mom last night. She is thinking about what she will do with it. It may end up in her church nursery, and she might keep it home for a while to cover up with while she is reading. I'm thankful for the quilting practice when she passes on quilt tops for me to finish. It's nice to have projects with no deadline, no rules, and no pressure, even though all of my quilts are really that way. Any deadlines, rules, or pressure are self imposed. Perhaps there is a lesson for me to learn here!<br />
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<br />Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-9154783482329255152018-06-13T11:49:00.001-04:002018-06-13T11:49:52.208-04:00Crazy Plaid Quilt<br />
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This bright and cheerful quilt was made in collaboration with the amazing stitchers and quilters that are part of the Believe Circle of do Good Stitches. It was my turn as quilter in May and I was inspired by a black, gray, and white buffalo plaid quilt that featured a small black square on the white.<br />
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Rather than go with the traditional three color plaid, I asked for very dark for black, very bright for gray, and white for white. The small black square floats to different corners of the white square for each block.<br />
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When I saw how bright the quilt top was, I knew the quilting needed to be just as bright and fun.<br />
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I had this rainbow thread in my stash. It has no markings of any kind on the spool so I don't know the brand, the weight, or anything else about it. The colors were perfect for this quilt and I was happy to have found a use for it.<br />
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The backing was not quite wide enough so I added a strip of bright squares down the center.<br />
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The quilting looks graffiti like on the back. How fun!<br />
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I tried several designs while deciding how I wanted to quilt this project. Each dark square has a big spiral, each bright square has large pebbles, and then each white square features a different design. Having to pause and think of a design each time I encountered a white square was my favorite part of this project. I thought I would go back and redo the quilting that was part of my experimentation but in the end it was such a variety, I left it just the way it was, so there are a few blocks that do not follow the overall quilting design. I kind of like having a few rebel blocks in the quilt.<br />
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The binding is an older Baby Genius print (from 2007 I think). It makes a fun, multi-colored binding.<br />
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This quilt will be on its way to <a href="http://mvob.org/" target="_blank">My Very Own Blanket</a> soon to be given to a foster child who may need a little something special of their own.Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-23882030148391960182018-03-18T11:51:00.002-04:002018-03-18T11:51:38.064-04:00Big Sister Quilt Finish<div>
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This is the third quilt for the third coworker expecting a baby. Her second child is due any day now. When I make quilts like this, I want them to be special and unique in some way, to best fit the receiver. It took me a while to settle on what I wanted to do. Julie works in another location from me so we don't interact often. I went in cahoots with other coworkers to try to get her to talk about the baby, the baby's room, her family, anything to lead to just the right idea. </div>
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What caught my attention the most were the conversations about her daughter Rebecca, and the preparations and adjustments that would be coming in her new role as big sister. Rather than a baby quilt, this would be a big sister quilt.</div>
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It was <a href="http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2018/02/lost-in-crowd-beginning.html" target="_blank">this post by Crazy Mom Quilts</a> that inspired the design for this quilt. My squares are not quite as small as hers. I already had some two-inch squares cut from scraps and plenty of scraps to go through for more. I did have to pull a few pieces from my stash to up my pink game, but other than those, these blocks are purely from the scrap bin.\</div>
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At first, I pulled all the pinks and all the blues and made some test blocks. After a bit of study, I decided to pull all the really dark colors out and stick with mediums and lights. I also pulled anything that introduced too many other colors, like the yellow and orange ones.</div>
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This has been a slow sewing project, with about 15 minutes of sewing happening each morning before work. However, there always seems to be a tipping point and once I started getting excited about the finish, things speed up quite a bit.</div>
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To make sure it was plenty girly (not that the pink wasn't enough!), it is quilted in a large free motion flower design.</div>
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Of course I had to add a sweet personal touch by quilting Rebecca's name in the quilt. </div>
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The back is cream and the bobbin thread is pink so the flower design will stand out just a little more on the back.</div>
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The binding is a pretty teal. The quilting thread on the top is a pastel variegated thread. The colors are soft and subtle and work well with the colors in the quilt top.</div>
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Each four-patch finishes at three inches. The sashing between the blocks finishes at 1 inch. The finished quilt is 41 inches by 33 inches. It is made entirely from stash. This quilt was started on March 4 and completed on March 17. It took 7 1/4 hours to complete. I doubt I will see Julie in person again before her baby is born so it will travel via a coworker or the mail. Either way, I hope it brings some comfort to a very special big sister.</div>
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Linking up to <a href="http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2018/03/a-hat-for-friend.html" target="_blank">Finish It Up Friday over at Crazy Mom Quilts</a>.</div>
Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-83156912603613546672018-02-18T09:10:00.000-05:002018-02-23T12:59:16.069-05:00Sleepy Fox - A Finished Quilt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This quilt started as a pursuit for a baby quilt for a coworker. She has a woodland themed nursery in gray and teal. This is her first child. When I was seeking out information about what she would like, the first animal mentioned in the description was a fox. I'm not even sure I heard any other animal that was named. A fox is what I wanted to make.</div>
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So off I went to find the perfect woodland fox quilt inspiration. I did not want cutesy or realistic. I wanted sweet. And then I found <a href="http://3rdstoryworkshop.com/sleepy-fox-quilt-thoughts-on-the-client-relationship" target="_blank">this blog post by 3rd Story Workshop</a>. Not only was I in love with the quilt but also drawn to the designer. I did not want to be inspired by her quilt, I wanted to make a replica of it. And fortunately, she generously shares her fabric choices and her techniques.</div>
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I typically like to use as much stash as possible for any project but this time was different. I went shopping and matched as closely as I could the quilt she made. The fox is paper pieced and was easy to construct. Fox colors are among my favorite so anytime rusts and oranges are in the mix, I am extra delighted.</div>
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The birch trees on the original quilt were improv pieced. There is even a <a href="http://3rdstoryworkshop.com/tutorial-improv-birch-trees" target="_blank">tutorial</a> for how to construct them. I was intimidated by these trees. I love some good improv but generally any improv I have tried before was abstract. This improv was actually supposed to look like birch trees. I studied the tutorial and studied her quilt. These trees were constructed at around one a day, and each day I had to tell myself to keep moving forward. A tree alone looks very strange but together in a forest, maybe it would work out. This is the pep talk I gave myself each day during this process. </div>
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It wasn't until the background was added that I started to see that it really might work out. The black strip was to show where the horizon line should be. Because the trees were gently curved and leaning one way or another, each background piece was scissor cut and carefully stitched in so the trees could maintain their natural stance in the quilt.</div>
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Finally, the top was completed. At this point, I was cautiously optimistic.</div>
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The next step was to hand stitch some eyes on the fox and then to layer the quilt. If this had been my own design, the is where I would have choked. How should this be quilted? The trees, the sky, the ground, the fox... so many elements to quilt. Thankfully, 3rd Story Workshop went with an all over design using wood grain quilting. Please, yes, and thank you for that.</div>
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This is a quilting design I had not tried before, but as the quilt was evolving, I was studying. There are quilts on Pinterest, and tutorials galore. The most helpful one for me was <a href="http://www.quiltingismytherapy.com/2018/01/28/fix-3-common-mistakes-machine-quilting-woodgrain-design/" target="_blank">Angela Walter's Three Common Mistakes When Quilting the Woodgrain Design</a>. I bet I watched that video five or six times, which is good because I made all three mistakes at some point on this quilt and was able to quickly correct them. </div>
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I was even able to find the same backing fabric as the original quilt. It is so perfect.</div>
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The only aspect of the quilt that I did not copy was the binding. Andrea of 3rd Story Workshop used white binding just on the corner where the fox is sleeping. I liked the design element, but I knew the recipient of this quilt would not appreciate the extra effort so I kept it simple and bound the quilt with the same blue that is the sky. You might also say I was being a bit lazy with that step. I was ready to see the finished quilt.</div>
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What I love most about this project is that it pushed me to try new things. This one helped me grow as a quilter and conquer some of that irrational fear that creeps into my quilting world from time to time.</div>
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This quilt took 19 hours to complete. It was started on February 1 and completed on February 17. It is 39 x 46 inches. Sleepy Fox will be gifted at a baby shower on March 5.<br />
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Linking to <a href="http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2018/02/small-projects.html" target="_blank">Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts</a>.</div>
Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-61899808550560239932018-02-15T19:57:00.000-05:002018-02-16T11:47:15.051-05:00Explore - A Finished Word Quilt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Have you ever been in the fabric store minding your own business and then you walk by the cutting table and see something someone else is purchasing and suddenly it becomes a must have? That does not happen to me often, but it did with the map fabric that borders this quilt.<br />
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My husband loves old maps and I knew this fabric would be perfect to use in a project for him.<br />
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We live in Georgia so I made sure to fussy cut the border strips to capture our home state.<br />
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That map fabric has been hanging around for a couple of years and right after I brought it home, I paired it up with this dark brown solid. At that time, I was taking a Craftsy class about quilting with your walking foot. One of the techniques was to matchstick quilt around letters, causing the empty space for the letters to stand out. I loved the result but was not such a fan of matchstick quilting. The result is beautiful, but it is a slow and kind of boring process. I decided to try a small free motion meander for this project.<br />
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The first step was to choose a font. I chose something straight from the selection in my word processing software and blew it up to a size 500 font. I printed the letters, then traced them on wax paper with the shiny side down. I centered and lined up the letters and pinned them in place. With the letters pinned, I cut the dark brown to the right size and cut and stitched the borders in place. Once the top was complete, I removed the pins from each letter, one at a time, and pressed the wax paper to the quilt top.<br />
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Next, the quilt was layered using two layers of batting. Once the letters were pressed down, I had to be really careful. The wax paper is just sticky enough to stay in place but it comes loose quickly if manipulated too much. The quilting is stitched in a dark brown thread. Each piece of wax paper was removed once the outline of the letter was completed.<br />
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I am very happy with the result. The biggest challenge was to keep the meander small so that the letters would really stand out.<br />
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If I could change one thing on this project, it would be to choose a lighter fabric for the letters. The light has to be just right for the letters to show.<br />
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Without the right light, it looks like a boring dark brown rectangle.<br />
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See how much more the letters stand out on the back? Part of this is because of the lighter fabric and part of it is because the thread is much darker than the fabric so all of the quilting stands out more. The lighting is terrible in this picture. The fabric looks gray but it is really a pretty blue.<br />
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I thought this would hang on the wall but after seeing it on our living room coffee table and knowing that this room gets lots of light throughout the day, I think we will leave it right there as a table runner.<br />
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This project was on my list for both 2017 and 2018. It was a last minute decision to take the plunge and get it made. I knew my husband would like it so it became a Valentine's Day gift for him. We don't generally go for all the commercial hoopla surrounding holidays so sometimes there is a gift and sometimes there isn't. We know we love each other all the time and that is what really matters. This year seems to be an exception though as he surprised me with two mugs to add to my growing Fiesta ware set of dishes.<br />
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This project was completed in six hours. The finished size is 34 x 15 inches.<br />
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Linking up to <a href="http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2018/02/abbys-sunset-quilt-complete.html" target="_blank">Finish It Up Friday with Crazy Mom Quilts</a>.Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-5673538697533330382018-01-31T21:16:00.000-05:002018-01-31T21:16:23.451-05:00Modern Red Rectangles - A Finished Believe Circle Quilt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In December, it was my turn to choose our design, and I chose simple blocks in red and neutral.<br />
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They don't look like much individually, but put them all together and they form a stunning modern design.<br />
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I love how, with some general guidelines, a group of blocks made by ten different quilters can result in such a lovely finished quilt. And I also love that these projects help use up fabric stash that may have been around for quite a while.<br />
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Sometimes it is more than fabric stash that gets used. Thread stash needs help from time to time as well. As you can see, I have tried a wide variety of thread over the years. I'm a fairly die hard Aurifil fan these days and I was ready to see some of these older threads go, especially the ones with such a tiny amount left on the spool.<br />
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Normally, I lean toward neutral colors for quilting but for this project, it was going to be all red all the way. What a great way to use up some of that lingering thread stash. The wavy horizontal quilting lines have become one of my favorites for adding texture without overwhelming the quilt.<br />
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It's always a tension risk to mix up weights and brands of thread and I thought I was being careful each time I changed thread, but apparently I was not being careful enough. Fortunately, this only happened for a few rows, so the unsewing was not too overwhelming.<br />
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Look how much thread was used! Now there is more room for trusty Aurifil.<br />
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This is why I don't like using most other thread brands. The lint and build up is so heavy. This is not good for your sewing machine. A good cleaning is in order before the next project begins.<br />
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The quilt back includes two extra blocks from the twenty blocks made by our circle.<br />
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There was enough extra from one of the backing fabrics to use for binding.<br />
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Now to throw this quilt in the wash with three or four color catchers. Hopefully, they will keep those reds right where they belong. The Believe Circle of do. Good. Stitches sends most of our quilts to <a href="http://mvob.org/" target="_blank">My Very Own Blanket</a>, an organization that gives quilts to foster children so that they will have something that belongs just to them and can stay with them no matter where they go. That is where this quilt will be shipped later this week.<br />
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Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-39280686976037392282018-01-26T20:20:00.000-05:002018-01-27T12:27:16.203-05:00Scrappy Pineapple Quilt Finish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This quilt originally started out as a gift for my mom. She wanted a quilt. I wanted to make a pineapple block. Perfect match, right? Well, no. This crazy, bright, bold quilt is very much my style but not so much hers. I set this aside to make a quilt she would love. You can read about that one <a href="http://studiodragonfly.blogspot.com/2017/12/a-quilt-specially-made-for-mom.html" target="_blank">here</a>. I knew when I got back to working on this one, it would be for me.<br />
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I had never made a pineapple block before and I used the <a href="http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2014/10/how-to-make-pineapple-block-without.html" target="_blank">tutorial from Crazy Mom Quilts</a>. It was a little slow going at first as so many new things are, but once I got rolling, I knew this would be a scrap buster extraordinaire.<br />
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The digging through scraps round by round was not a lot of fun, so I hunkered down and cut them all. All 1,140 of them. Yep. There are 1,140 pieces of fabric in this quilt top. I probably should not think about that too much.<br />
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The more blocks I made, the more bold and crazy the blocks became. I considered redoing this one because it is a bit over the top, but in the big scheme of the quilt, it fits in just fine.<br />
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And once I knew this quilt was for me and not for mom, the nerdy fabric came out.<br />
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This quilt finishes at 60 x 75 inches. It is quilted in big, loose, elongated loops using Aurifil 50 wt thread. Light gray (2900) on the top and a khaki tan (2600) on the back.<br />
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I did not want the quilting to be too heavy, and it is extra fluffy and crinkly after washing.<br />
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The binding is teal pearl bracelet fabric. I could not decide on a color for the binding and at breakfast one morning my husband said, "Teal. Make a teal binding." And so I did. The newsprint fabric on the back matches the backing fabric of the quilt I made for my mom. I like that the two quilts are connected in that way.<br />
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This is going to be my cozy sofa quilt for a while. I may take it to my office to hang on the wall after the weather warms up. There are lots of stories in those fabric scraps and it would be fun to be able to see it from my desk throughout the day.<br />
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I don't have full stats on this project since I only started tracking that at the beginning of the year. Here is what I know:<br />
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Size: 60 x 75 inches<br />
Purchases for this quilt: Backing fabric and thread<br />
The quilt top is entirely stash, the batting was on hand, and the binding was gifted in a give away from Pink Door Fabrics.<br />
Time spent quilting: 3 1/2 hours (that big loose pattern went really fast!)<br />
Binding: 1 1/2 hours<br />
<br />Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-60937316090831894842018-01-18T07:38:00.001-05:002018-01-26T11:49:28.756-05:00Orphan Block Pot Holders<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was time to make some new pot holders and my favorite way to make them is by using orphan blocks.<br />
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This is just two of the old ones. They had stains that would not come out and burn spots. I wrote about making these in <a href="http://studiodragonfly.blogspot.com/2015/11/pot-holders-perfect-project-for-orphan.html" target="_blank">November 2015</a>. Two years is a long life for something that is used every single day, although I probably pushed a little too long with these.</div>
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This is my younger boys bedroom back in January 2011. We had just converted their bunk beds into twin beds and these were new quilts for their beds. One of my <a href="http://studiodragonfly.blogspot.com/2011/01/boys-grow-up.html" target="_blank">very early blog entries</a> shares their room transformation.</div>
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This long panel was part of the planning that went into those quilts. It was perfect to cut into squares for new pot holders.</div>
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Each pot holder has six layers. The heat resistant fabric is Therma-Flec and two layers of batting make each pot holder more sturdy. Since there were so many layers, each binding strip is cut 2 1/2 inches wide (normally I like 2 1/4 inch binding strips). Each pot holder finishes at a little over 8 inches.</div>
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The stacks are layered and ready to go so that I can sit and sew them up without stopping between each one. </div>
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The machine quilting is simple with straight lines along each seam line.</div>
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The old ones have been disposed of and these fresh new pot holders are ready to go to work. I love finding purpose for orphan blocks.</div>
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Linking up to <a href="http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2018/01/two-things.html" target="_blank">Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts</a>.</div>
Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-16627677421877881762018-01-15T15:18:00.001-05:002018-01-19T13:03:55.189-05:00Purple Baby Heart Quilt - First 2018 Quilt Finish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This sweet quilt was not even on my list of quilty goals for the year, yet here it is. Two of my coworkers are expecting babies this Spring. One of them is having an early baby shower since a super big work deadline is approaching for her team and time for baby showers will become scarce. I don't know her that well so I asked some of her closer work buddies what she might like. Without skipping a beat, I learned that "she really likes purple". That is all I needed to know.<br />
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My purple stash is not large so I pulled all of them and sorted them into blue purples and red purples, then I asked my teen design expert which set I should use. He told me to go with the red purples as they were brighter and more fun for babies. Originally, this newsprint fabric was going to be the background but I changed my mind once I decided on a design.<br />
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As often happens, there was a quilt on Pinterest I liked. It was all half square triangles and four-patches so it would be easy to scale to a good baby quilt size. Each half square triangle finishes at four inches. There are 114 half square triangles in this quilt so there was lots of squaring up going on.<br />
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Once the squaring up job was complete, I played around with the layout for the heart. All those trimmings were loosely tied into two bundles and hung from trees in the backyard. The birds like them for nest building and they will certainly be weathered and soft by the time the birds are ready for them.<br />
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Here's the full layout of the quilt. The color placement is random and there was enough variety among the purples that hardly any rearranging was required.<br />
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This was so much fun to quilt. I think I say that about every quilt I make and it is so true. There is a cross hatch grid on the heart, straight lines to echo the purple rows, and swirls in all the white space.<br />
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I was even brave and used a lilac thread for the swirls. It shows just a little more than a matching thread would show. In fact, I ran out of the lilac thread and had to quilt the top and bottom triangles with cream thread. It is not noticeable in the finished quilt.<br />
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This quilt is made entirely from stash. The fabric for the front and back, the batting, the thread, and the binding are all stash. I was very excited about that.<br />
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I love the heart. It is a perfect welcome for a new baby.<br />
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The pieced backing was a surprise as I originally thought I had enough in one piece of fabric. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to pull it off, but I found the darker purple pieces on a late round of stash hunting.<br />
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For the first time this year, I am tracking my time in the sewing room. Sometimes, I think it is best not to know exactly how much time I am spending there or how long it takes to make a specific project, but decided it was worth the experiment for a year. So, here are the stats:<br />
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Start date: January 3, 2018<br />
Finish date: January 15, 2018<br />
Finished size: 40 inches x 48 inches<br />
Time invested: 17 hours<br />
Purchases to complete: None. All stash and all supplies were on hand.<br />
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The combination of the heart and the purple rows make me think of a heart beat, especially the ones that touch either side of the heart. I'm looking forward to gifting this quilt to a special purple loving mama.<br />
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Linking up to <a href="http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2018/01/arithmetic-quilt-complete.html" target="_blank">Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts</a>.Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-69426984629080512082018-01-11T14:09:00.001-05:002018-01-12T10:39:17.732-05:00Neutral Stack and Slash Quilt TopFor years I have wanted to make a quilt for the master bedroom. It is always more difficult for me to decide on a design and color scheme for a quilt with a very specific purpose than for one I am making for fun (well, they are all fun to make, aren't they?!). The quilt that is on the master bedroom bed in the colder months is one that was made by my grandmother or great grandmother. It could have even been both of them as they lived together for many years of their later adult lives.<br />
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It is five fifteen inch wide columns of scraps sewn together in a seemingly random way. Some are fairly straight rectangles, some are quite wonky, and others are pieced.<br />
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I love this quilt, but it is not quite big enough for the bed. There are only four inches or so that hang down on either side. I had been thinking about replicating this quilt for a long time, and recently we started talking about painting this room. Since I really want this quilt to be timeless, I decided that the wall needed to be the focus for color and that a quilt for this room should remain neutral. That way it can live on through whatever color schemes come our way.<br />
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These pictures are a little on the yellow side as it was early morning and the sun was not all the way up yet. My family has been watching skeptically from the sidelines. One bit of advice from one of the teens... mom, don't put too much pee colored fabric in it, okay? Ha. He does have a good eye, and he was correct in his assessment. There is white, cream, gray, brown, black, taupe, and all sorts of other neutrals. There are a few pieces with other colors but not enough to take away from this truly neutral quilt.<br />
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This is the largest quilt top I have ever made and it put quite a dent in the neutral stash, and it is made entirely from stash.The amount hanging over the sides is just perfect. This quilt top is made of six fifteen inch wide strips that are around ninety inches long. The finished quilt as it is will be ninety inches square. The width is perfect.<br />
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The length may be a bit too much. I'm going to think about that and may trim it back a little. I've never had a quilt long enough to cover the pillows. I could always fold it back at the top. It would be nice to have extra covers to burrow under on a cold night.<br />
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See that rose fabric, the black and white one? That came from my grandmother. It had originally been cut out to become a blouse or jacket. I love that there are fabrics old and new in this quilt top.<br />
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I am excited about quilting this one. It will be easy to go quilting crazy so I will have to be careful not to take it too far. The original quilt has simple hand quilting. I am definitely going the machine quilting route and will likely vary the quilting design every few segments of the quilt.<br />
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I left the quilt top on the bed this morning when I left for work. I'm usually the last one home at the end of the day so we'll see what the family thinks about it now. I am happy to be making progress on this long desired quilt.<br />
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Linking up to <a href="http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2018/01/scrap-and-stash-projects.html" target="_blank">Finish It Up Friday over at Crazy Mom Quilts</a>.Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-17517319938363469702017-12-29T10:56:00.001-05:002017-12-29T13:29:01.438-05:00A Quilt Specially Made For Mom<br />
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My mom wanted a quilt for Christmas. Not a quilt I had made and decided after the fact to give to her. She wanted one that was made especially for her, with thoughts of her filling every inch of fabric. It took two attempts for me to get it right. At first I thought, sure mom, I can do that. And I thought about a design I had wanted to try (the pineapple block) and how great it would be as a scrap busting quilt. So off I went, and I loved it. About four blocks in I realized I was making and loving that quilt for ME. Not for mom.<br />
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So, it was back to the drawing board. Mom likes things to match. She likes symmetrical, and she isn't super big on florals. First, I found a fabric collection that would work. This is Authentic by Sweetwater for Moda. Her sofa is gray. Her chairs are cream. One of her kitchen walls is in this family of green. The pattern is from the Moda Bake Shop. It is called <a href="http://www.modabakeshop.com/2011/11/etchings-quilt.html" target="_blank">Etchings Quilt</a>, which is named for the fabric collection from the original quilt. Mom has a throw pillow in her living room with a very similar design to this quilt. With those decisiions made, I was finally on the road to making a quilt that was truly for mom.<br />
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I love how you can actually see some of the pineapple block work on the messy table in front of the design wall. It took a bit of playing to get the blocks an a pleasing arrangement without too much of any one color in any given area of the quilt.<br />
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Once the blocks were assembled, it was out to the garage to layer it up.<br />
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This is a great picture of the dueling hobbies. My husband was working on a new bed as a Christmas gift for one of the teenagers. That reclaimed wood is so beautiful.<br />
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The quilting is wavy vertical lines using my walking foot. Each finished strip is two inches wide and there are three lines of quilting in each one.<br />
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When the pineapple quilt was in play, I had ordered a few different green fabrics to use for the centers of each block. One of those went very nicely with this quilt so it became the binding.<br />
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It rarely snows here in Georgia, and it is even rarer for that to occur in December. I am often envious of my fellow quilters who capture awesome photographs of their quilts in a snowy white background. This is as good as it gets here. All that was white was completely gone in a couple of hours. At least you can see there were some pretty flakes during the brief flurry.<br />
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Here are my teenage quilt holders on our second attempt at pictures. They are such good sports about holding quilts for me.<br />
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The quilt back is this fun news print. I purchased enough so that mom's quilt and my pineapple quilt can have the same backing.<br />
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And love. We should just add that to everything we say and write.<br />
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Of course a special quilt deserves a special label so I quilted a message along the edge of the quilt.<br />
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The finished size is 72 inches by 84 inches.<br />
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I think mom likes it. She asked me to come over and help her arrange it so that it looks nice and shows some of the front and the back while draped on her sofa. We'll do that next week.<br />
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I'm happy to have learned what it meant to really make a quilt just for mom.<br />
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Linking up to <a href="http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2017/12/maine-socks-and-stash-organization.html" target="_blank">Finish It Up Friday over at Crazy Mom Quilts</a>.<br />
<br />Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-67977586188728517162017-12-22T13:45:00.000-05:002017-12-22T13:45:04.623-05:00Believe Circle - The Year in ReviewOh, Believe Circle, I love making quilts with you. You pull me from the depths of the projects that I want to make or the deadlines that I want to meet, and help me try new techniques and new color ways. Sometimes you keep things simple and sometimes you really shake me up. It is a pleasure to participate with this very special group of quilters. We made some great quilts this year and our finishes will continue to unfurl into the new year.<br />
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In January, I was in charge, and coming fresh out of the busy month of December, I kept it simple.<br />
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Laura asked for an X block for February. The quilt turned out great but I could only find a picture of it on Instagram. Better than no picture, right?<br />
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In March, Tiffany asked for green Monkey Wrench blocks.<br />
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Jennifer wanted a plus and cross block for April. Jennifer likes to refer us to photographs for color inspiration which I love and find especially challenging.<br />
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It was my turn again in May, I chose these blocks because individually, they reminded me of a kite with a tail.<br />
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Robin was up in June and asked for these scrap bin flying geese blocks. These are going to make a really nice quilt<br />
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Laura kept us going with more flying geese in July.<br />
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For the rest of the year, there are only blocks to share and I look forward to seeing the quilts they will become. Tiffany asked for these pretty star blocks in beachy colors for August.<br />
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The mod retro TVs were so much fun to make. This was Jennifer's request for September.<br />
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Natalie had us make pineapples in October. I really like how we moved into novelty quilts for the fall.<br />
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In November, Tiffany had us dive into our novelty fabrics to make blocks with descending applique circles.<br />
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It was back to me and back to simple for December. I chose red because I will probably be assembling and quilting this quilt in February, and that is the perfect month for making red quilts.<br />
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Almost all of our quilts are given to an organization that provides quilts to foster children. It's <a href="http://mvob.org/" target="_blank">My Very Own Blanket</a>, and it is wonderful that we are able to provide quilts to children who need comfort or sometimes just something that belongs to them and stays with them no matter where they are.<br />
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A special thank you to <a href="https://www.stitchedincolor.com/" target="_blank">Rachel Hauser from Stitched in Color</a> who is the originator of <a href="https://www.flickr.com/groups/dogoodstitches/" target="_blank">do. Good Stitches {A Charity Bee}</a>. She oversees eighteen circles of quilt making friends who support a wide range of charities with their quilt donations.Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300307038331767857.post-50529831353405495152017-12-21T10:14:00.001-05:002017-12-22T13:47:53.024-05:00Read Tote Bag - A Collaborative Project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Years ago (gosh, I can't believe it really has been years!), when my daughter lived at home, she would piddle with sewing and quilting from time to time. A few months ago when I cleaned out the sewing room, I found her box of fabric and projects.<br />
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There was this page of ideas.<br />
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And this piece as a beginning. Hers actually stopped with six yellow "books", I added the two on the right. Since I was certain she had long forgotten about this project, I decided to finish it for her Christmas gift.<br />
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I love those elephants. They had to find their way into this project.<br />
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I did not want to leave the other side of the tote blank so I found some letters and made an applique monogram.<br />
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My favorite part of this project was the quilting. From a distance, all the yellow rectangles look more like a cityscape to me, so I quilted the word "Read" to help them become the book spines they were intended to be.<br />
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The rest of the background is filled with flowers. The books are stitched near the ditch with a dark gray thread.<br />
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The letters are stitched down and outlined with a circle using matching yellow thread.<br />
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Then more fun flowers quilted all over the background.<br />
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I love the proportion of the monogram. It is just enough to keep this side of the tote from being boring.<br />
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The inside is lined with a green fabric pulled because of those cute elephants, which also had to be added as a pocket. The handle is some scraps sewn to a belting/handle base.<br />
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I put her original drawing in the bag with some other goodies before gifting it to her. She already has it as we got together a week ago since we won't be together for Christmas. She loved receiving it just as much as I loved making it.<br />
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Projects that connect us in a special way with people and events are the ones I enjoy the most.<br />
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Linking up to <a href="http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2017/12/a-sew-together-bag-for-emily.html" target="_blank">Finish it Up Friday over at Crazy Mom Quilts</a>.<br />
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Debora Exumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545469877968973364noreply@blogger.com8