Two More Quilts

Blue Squares Charity, 89” x 64.5”

I really like how this simple, just blue squares quilt turned out. Rather than make a light/dark checkerboard, the various values were laid out on the design wall in diagonal strings. It was a fun way to design.  Some colors in the photo came out very grey though all were blue or blue/cream.  Quilted with Leaf Carpet.

Blue-Green Offset Strings 90” x 67”

The orca print batiks were scraps from a friend's quilt (as were most of the batiks and backing in this  quilt.) I am so pleased with the finished quilt that it will now live on my guest bed. The Civil War reproduction quilt that had been on the bed is in good enough shape to move on to a new home. Quilted with freehand wavy lines across the width of quilt.

The blue/green batik tub mysteriously still has enough fabric for another quilt.

Finishes and Starts

Quilting - I'm starting on quilt #13 on the longarm. Still having some tension issues with thread, usually when I change weights. Here are some of the finished quilts:

Half-Rectangles 46" x 37.5"

Blue Strips for Justina 87" square

Double Trouble 60.5" x 49.5" Class Quilt

Rose's Quilt 76.5" x 60.5", charity

Charms Plus 80.5" x 67", charity

Purple Gingham 55" x 55", charity

Roses & Rails, 78" x 66", charity

Piecing - I've been cutting pieces for several quilts from a box of blue/aqua/green scraps, and as I kept pulling in new pieces to the mix, the box is never empty! As I cut, the pieces were sorted by size Most of the tops are twin sized, the size requested for two of the charities I quilt for.

First pull - Plaid-ish from Kitchen Table Quilting, a free pattern. It's squares and strips, and needed all values, so some darker prints found a home, and some purples were brought in. This will be a twin. All pieces cut and ready to sew. 

2nd pull - a bright lime paisley and a lime/blue batik were cut 6.5" for center squares, and strips cut for 3" finished Thangles, 8 per block. This will also be a twin, so 84 Thangle strips have been stitched, trimmed and pressed into 336 sub-units. There are some matched sets and some mixed colors in the half-square triangles. Cornerstones are scrappy. This will be a twin and it's ready to sew.

3rd pull - "bricks" cut 3" x 5.5", only six per block to make a rectangular block, medium to dark values. I played with the design in EQ8 as a column quilt, every other column is rotated. This will be a twin. 420 pieces cut and ready to sew.

4th pull - smaller "bricks" cut 2.5" x 4.5", eight per block for an 8" finished square. This quilt has some lighter values. Still cutting through the leftovers, size of quilt TBD.

5th pile - all the scraps too small for the specific sizes, including strings, gathering in the box for a future scrap quilt (or two.)

Knitting - cast on a new sweater, Gridlines by Susanne Sommar. It's an interesting construction, knit side-to-side starting at the center front. It has many options for length, neckline, and sleeve length. I'm using Svale by Dale Garn, cotton/rayon/silk blend, a light green DK weight.