Quilting

Check out my new nephew! His name is Gavin, and he's snuggly, cute, and all kinds of awesome.

Such a perfect little person clearly deserves a quilt. He's going to grow up to be either a marine biologist or an avid fisherman, so he got an aquatic theme. Or my sister was doing his bedroom in brown and blues, and I complied with her colors. It's one of those.

Here's the pattern. I am writing this off my notes and haven't tested it, so you are forewarned that there might be typos. Please let me know if you have any issues.

The center of this quilt is comprised of one piece that is arranged to create a design that resembles seaweed.

Finished size

36" x 42" - I tend to make baby quilts larger than crib size, because babies aren't crib size for very long.

Supplies

Piecing

• Color A (fish prints): If you use one color, you will need 1/2 yard, but this would also be a good place to get rid of scraps.
• Color B (water bg color): 1/4th a yard - you will need a full 9" of width, so you might want to buy more to be safe
• Color C (turquoise border and binding): 1 1/4 yards
• 42" x 48" Batting
• Backing fabric - 1 1/4 yards of 56" fabric
• Thread and other common quilting notions

Cutting

• Color A - Cut five (5) 2.5" x width of fabric strips
• Color B - Cut two (2) 4.5" x width of fabric strips
• Color C - Cut three (3) 2.5" x width of fabric strips

Piecing

Center piecing

Sew one Color A strip to each of the Color B and Color C strips. Press seams.

Cut each of these down into 2.5" pieces. The pieces created from Color B should look like the below. This is 'Piece 1", which should be 6.5" square. Set aside those created from Color C for when you're read to work on the border.

Sew together an inverted and upright Piece 1 along the long edge. Press seam, and sew another Piece 1 to the block so that the squares alternate sides. Press seams. Your completed block should look like this.

Keeping all blocks upright, sew together six rows of five blocks. Press seams.

Alternate upright and inverted rows, making sure that the squares do not line up. Sew together. Press seams.

This completes the center of the quilt. It should be approximately 30.5 x 36.5 inches.

Borders

I don't cut borders until the center piecing is done, since size can get off. I recommend measuring and adjusting for your quilt's actual size.

From the remaining Color C fabric, cut

• Two 2.5 x 30.5" strips
• Two 2.5 x 38.5" strips
• Two 2.5 x 32.5" strips
• Two 2.5 x 40.5" strips

Sew the 2.5 x 30.5" strips to the top and bottom of the central block. Press seams.

Sew the 2.5 x 38.5" strips to the sides. Press seams.

Using the pieces you set aside ealier, piece the second border. Being sure to alternate the print and solid, piece together two strips of fifteen (15) squares and two of twenty (20) squares.

Sew the shorter strips to the top and bottom. Press seams, and sew longer strips to the sides. Press seams.

Sew the 2.5 x 32.5" strips to the top and bottom. Press seams, and sew the final 2.5" x 40.5" strips to the sides. Press seams.

This is the completed quilt top. It should be approximately 34.5" x 40.5"

Quilt and bind. I quilted it to emphasize the movement of the water, stitching in some little fish as I went.

I've been working on this quilt off and on for months. I fought the urge to completely scrap it and start over a couple times, and I'm glad I did. Below is how I made it. It's more of guidelines rather than a pattern, so feel free to ask if you have questions.

Finished size

44.5" x 52" - I tend to make baby quilts larger than crib size, since the babies are only crib size for less than two years. I like to give them things they'll be staining for years.

Supplies

Piecing

• Six fat quarters - I used batiks in red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet
• 1 yard sashing fabric (white). You might want to get a little extra, to be safe.
• 1/3rd yard border fabric (red)
• Thread and other common quilting notions

Finishing

• 1/2 yard  - Binding - I used the same fabric as the backing.
• 1.5 yards 56" fabric - Backing - I used a solid red.
• 48" x 56" Batting

Cutting

Cut each of the fat quarts into strips that vary between 1" and 2.5" at their thickest and thinnest.

Divide each color into thirds. Sew the strips back together, alternating one third with the color prior in the spectrum, one third with the color after, and one third with itself. Continue to sew them together, pressing the seams open, until you have one long strip of fabric.

• Cut this reconstructed piece of fabric into 5" strips, cutting the same directions as the seams.
• Cut each of those strips into pieces that are 2.5"x5"
• From those, select 22 and cut them in half to make 44 2.5" squares - C1
• You will need 60 5" x 2.5" blocks. You should have extras. - C2

From the sashing fabric, cut

• 40 - 1.5" x 2.5" - S1
• 55 - 1.5" x 5" - S2
• 8 - 1.75" x 2.5" - S3
• 10 - 2" x 35.5" - S4
• 2 - 2" x 46" (if you use standard 42" width fabric, you'll need to piece these) - S5

From border fabric, cut

• 2 - 3.5" x 38.5"
• 2 - 3.5" x 40.5"
• 2 - 3.5" x 12.5"

Piecing

Finishing

Create 4 short rows and 5 tall rows, pressing the seams.

Short row (SR):

S3 - C1 - S1 - C1 - S1 - C1 - S1 - C1 - S1 - C1 - S1 - C1 - S1 - C1 - S1 - C1 - S1 - C1 - S1 - C1 - S1 - C1 - S3

Long row (LR):

C2 - S2 - C2 - S2 - C2 - S2 - C2 - S2 - C2 - S2 - C2 - S2 - C2 - S2 - C2 - S2 - C2 - S2 - C2 - S2 - C2 - S2 - C2

 

Alternate color rows and sashing as follows. Press seams.

• S4
• LR
• S4
• SR
• S4
• LR
• S4
• SR
• S4
• LR
• S4
• SR
• S4
• LR
• S4
• SR
• S4
• LR
• S4

Sew the S5 pieces to the side.

Sew short border to the top and bottom. Press seams. Sew remaining border pieces to the left and right. Press seams.

Quilt and bind.

I was highly productive while avoiding writing my final paper. Now that I'm trying to finish my sister's Christmas present, I'm working on everything but it. Deadlines are crafting dementors.

I knocked out my first clapotis for a friend. It's about 3.5 skeins of Cascade Luna. I still don't know how I feel about cotton yarn, but this stuff was nice to work with, and seems to wear nice.

I think I only did two repeats, both horizonatlly and vertically. I finished it in a weekend, by far the fastest I've ever made a scarf.

 

All that's left to do is hand-sew the binding on the quilt I made from this fabric. I'm pretty happy with the result. The owner should be making her world debut in about 2 months, so I'll post the top after I give it to her folks.

I'm pretty pleased with my quilting, though. I did something other than stippling.

I bought fabric for the nephew's quilt. It's fishy, so I think he'll grow up to be a marine biologist. Hopefully, I'll start that this week or next.

I made Oliver some catnip toys using scraps from the quilt.

I have this.

I made it from cutting up 6 batik fat quarters and reassembling.

I was thinking about doing a paintbox-style quilt, and cut this up into squares and then put white sashing between the blocks. Not sure if I'm going to do that now.  I'm thinking vertical rectangles with white between.

Whatever it is, there will be lots of white. That much I know.

Finished a damson last night. I do like it, but I fear that it's one of those things that knitters love and wear and non-crafters think are weird. There is something about making things that makes you completely blind to whether or not you should actually wear them.

I'll wear it 'backwards', so that the back bunches up in the front. Can't quite do the shawl thing. It's a little too 1940's Poland for my tastes.

I also finished the quilt top for one of the baby quilts. I went with a slight variation of Layout #3. I don't have any backing fabric, so odds are this one will sit on the shelf for a while.

I can't really decide if I'll actually give it away. I kind of want to drape it on Pico's chair, but that's all but a death sentence for the poor quilt.

Two more babies coming. Babies everywhere!

This means quilts. Any opinions on which layout I should use?

I'm pretty sure I won't use 4. These are all layed out as squares, but I'll probably add two more rows to the bottom to make these a little taller.

This quilt was inspired by one I saw at the International Quilt Study Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska. Mom, my aunt, my grandparents and I went when I was home for Thanksgiving.

This version is for the newest little one in my life, Rowan. It's 40" square

I'm not going to write up instructions, but here's the Excel spreadsheet that shows construction and has some notes. If you have questions, feel free to drop me a line and I'll answer it here. Close up of the fabric is here.

Download Excel spreadsheet of pattern.

Supplies

• Main color (MC), white - 1 yard
• Color 1 (C1), green - 1/4 yard
• Color 2 (C2), blue - 1/4 yard*
• Color 3 (C3), yellow - 1/3 yard*
• Color 4 (C4), red - 1/2 yard
• Binding fabric - 1/3 yard (2.5" binding)

*You will need exactly this amount of cut fabric, so you might consider buying a little extra to be safe.

 

This was a quilt made for a friend's first born.

Finished size: 48" or 4' square.

This is a good size for a small child's bed or to lay on the floor where a baby can play.

Supplies

Piecing

• Main fabric (Monkeys) - 1 yard I used Monkey 'n Round by Erin Michael for Moda.
• Bars (stripes) - 1 yard (doesn't matter if the stripes run with or cross grain)
• Squares (polka dots) - 1/3rd yard

Finishing

• Binding - 3/8th yard. If you use the same as the square fabric (I did), you'll need 2/3rds of a yard total. (You might be able to squeak it out of 5/8th, but I wouldn't risk it.)
• Backing - 1 1/2 yard 56" wide. If you use a 44" wide, you'll need to piece, in which case you'll need about 3 yards. I used a solid red.
• Batting - 56" square. If you buy the pre-cut packages, you need a twin.

Cutting

• From the main fabric, cut seven 5" strips. Cut those down to 5" squares. You should have enough for 56 total. Block A.
• If you are using stripes for the bar fabric, you'll need to cut them slightly differently. If your stripes run parallel to the selvedge, cut fourteen 2.5" strips, and cut them down to 2.5" x 5" rectangles. If the stripes run perpendicular to the selvedge, cut seven 5" strips and cut them down to 2.5" x 5" rectangles. You'll have 112 total. You'll need all of these, so be careful. If you want, you might buy a little extra fabric. Vertical = Block B1. Horizontal = Block B2.
• From the fabric for the squares, cut four strips of 2.5", and cut them down to 2.5" squares. 64 total. Again, you'll need all of these. If you're using this fabric for the binding, you can cut five more 2.5" strips now. Block C.

Piecing

Piecing on this quilt is very fast and easy, but you'll want to take extra care that the seams line up well. There are two rows- Row A (create 8): C B2 C B2 C B2 C B2 C B2 C B2 C B2 C Row B (create 7): B1 A B1 A B1 A B1 A B1 A B1 A B1 A B1 Press the seams. Sew together the strips alternating Row A and Row B, ending with Row A. Press all the seams.

Finishing

Back the quilt. For the quilting, I stippled around the monkeys. On the corner squares, I outlined them and drew and X in the middle. Bind off.

This quilt was made to welcome my first niece to the family. It's inspired by an abacus, and I hope she'll be good at math. It also looks like lollipops, though, so she might get cavities. :) Finished size: Baby Crib - 32" x 40"

Supplies

I used 6 fabrics for the beads - 3 oranges, 2 pinks, and a yellow - but as long as you have 84 3" squares, you can stash bust. This could make a good scrap, I-Spy, or Memory quilt.

• Beads - Fat Eight (9"x22") of 6 fabrics
• Pipes (dark purple) - 1/4 yard
• Background (white) - 1 yard
• Inner boarder - 1/4 yard

Cutting

• Cut each Fat Eight into 3" strips, and cut the strips into 3" squares. You should be able to get 21 out of each Fat Eight, but will only need 14, so you have some wiggle room for mistakes.
• From the pipe fabric, cut five 1" strips, and cut those down to 1"x4" strips.
• From the background color, cut:
  • Five 1.5" strips. Cut those down to 1.5"x4" rectangles. These will become a part of the pipe blocks.
  • Eight 1" strips. Cut them down to 1"x3" rectangles. These will border the bead blocks.
  • Four 2" strips. Cut them down to 2"x3" rectangles. These will be the spacers for the border.
  • Three 1.5" strips. Cut them down to 1.5" squares, and then cut those squares on the diagonal to make triangles. These will be the corners of the beads.
• From the inner border fabric, cut four 2" strips.

Piecing

• Making the beads can take a little bit of trial and error to get right. Basically, we are just replacing the 3" square's corner with the background color. Take the white triangles and lay them across the corner of the bead. You need to give enough space to allow for the seam. Sew and press. Trim the original corner fabric away.

Front and back of the bead showing how to add the white corners.
• Repeat on all corners for 42 beads.
• After pressing the beads well, sew the 1"x3" white rectangles to either side. Press.
• Sew the 1.5"x4" background pieces to both sides of the 1"x4" pipe fabric. You will want to press between adding the pieces, or pressing them later is difficult.
• Sew the pipes to the beads to make a piece that looks like a lollipop. Press the seam.
• Sew the lollipops into eight rows of six.
• Press the seams well.
• Sew the strips of lollipops together alternating the direction of the strips. Press well.
• Sew the inner border to the top and bottom. Trim the leftover. Press the seam.
• Sew the remaining strips to the sides. Press seams and trim excess.
• For the outer border, alternate the 2x3" white with the remaining 3" squares. You will need two strips with eight colored squares ending in white for the top and bottom. For the sides, two strips with 13 blocks ending in color.
• Sew the 8 block strips to the top and bottom. Press.
• Sew the 13 block strip to the left and right. Press the seams, and then press the quilt well.
• Back, bind, and quilt.

Finished size: 49"x55" This is a good size for a blanket for a baby to play on and works well for a toddler bed.

Materials

• .25 yards of 6 colors
• .5 yard white (includes .25 yard for the border)
• 2/3 yard Border 2
• 1/3 yard Binding
• 1 2/3 yard 60" wide Backing
• Batting - if you buy pre-cut pieces, you need twin size

Cutting

• Cut each of the six .25 yard pieces of fabric in 1.5" strips. You should have enough fabric for 6 strips per color (36 total).
• Of each color, cut 2 strips into 1.5" squares. 26 squares per strip.
• Cut the remaining four strips of each color into 3.5" x 1.5" pieces. You should get 11-12 per strip.
• From the white fabric, cut six 1.5" strips. Cut them down to 1.5" squares. You should have 144 total.

Piecing

 

For all the colored 1.5" squares, sew them on either side of a white square, like the pic below.

 

Press toward the colored square. You now have a 3.5" x 1.5" rectangle.

 

Sew the 3.5" x 1.5" piece you cut in the matching color to the top and bottom.

 

Press toward the outside.

 

You now have 3.5" squares, like this one.

 

Now comes the fun part! Layout the blocks in different ways until you find the one that you like. Here's are some of the alternatives I played with.

 

Once you have the layout you like, sew the blocks together into rows.

 

Press the seams.

 

Sew together the rows

Borders and Finishing

Depending upon the layout you decided to use above, you might need to make some corrections to the amount of fabric needed for borders, binding, and backing. My pieced center was 12 x 14 blocks (37" x 43"). Borders are routine, so I'm going to slack on my explanations. Let me know if I need to explain more.

• First border: 1.5" finished width. You need four 2" strips of white.
• Second border: 5" finished width. You need five 5.5" strips (2/3 of a yard)
• Binding: Six 2.5" inch strips.

Finished size: 34"x41"