Not novelty but long time projects that deserve some acknowledgement

I wanted to share these are two applique projects that have been MANY years in the making - or should I say completing.

This first was started in December 2016.  The pattern is Rose window by Eye of the beholder quilts.  I had made a table runner from one of their patterns several years ago and really enjoyed the reverse applique method.  It is constructed where the pattern outline is basted.  Then gradually you cut away the fabric and needle turn under the edge while removing small sections of the basting.  This makes it very portable and easy to work on while traveling.  I started it on a skiing trip to New Mexico with my family.  The applique was finished  in late 2020, then I hand quilted outlining the applique and a simple grid.  I wasn't sure exactly how to finish - it needed something special.  So I asked for suggestions from some quilting friends.  They suggested a corded looped binding.  Hmmm, I had seen those finishes at quilt shows but never attempted one.  So I search the internet, found some blog posts about how others had done it and decided to give it a try.  It wasn't as difficult as it looks, but I doubt I'll ever try one again.  I was definitely glad it was a small piece.  It looks great on my mothers round coffee table in our living room, I am very proud of how it turned out.  

The second quilt was started in 2012.  I wanted a take along project when my daughter and I went to Canada - a trip to celebrate her 21st and my 40th birthday.  The pattern is Fiesta de Talevera designed by J. Michelle Watts who is from Roswell, NM.  I loved the pattern as it reminded me of our time living in Santa Fe where the Talevera style tiles are everywhere.  The pattern has 12 blocks.  But after finishing 4 of them I realized how repetitive they were and decided I didn't want to do any more.  Instead I modified the border blocks to make a corner design and made a medallion layout instead.  The question then was how to quilt it.  I felt I had spent sooooo long on the applique but my quilting skills are pretty basic.  So I packed it away.  Then about a year ago I was visiting with some quilt friends about how many unfinished quilts each of us had.  I mentioned this applique and a friend who does amazing custom quilting said she would like to quilt it for me.  I knew I could trust her to take a good quilt and make it amazing.  I was not disappointed.  It now hangs in the place of honor in my sewing room.

some details of the quilting:

Some Summertime Ideas

 As I'm sure I've mentioned before, ideas of novelty quilts seem to come in bunches.  Discovering that one of my favorite pattern designers had a couple of books I had missed got my creative engines going again.  I discussed the fun secondary designs in my last blog post.  Here are those two finished tops along with a couple of others.  

This pattern is called Windmills from Kim Brackett's book Scrap-Basket Strips and Squares.  The hardest part of this quilt was remembering which corner to put the white triangle.  I have 4 blocks that spin the wrong say in my scrap basket now.  I tried constructing that corner triangle a little differently than I usually do.  Rather than sewing on the triangle then trimming the waste from the rectangle, I trimmed the small triangle away first.  Then I sewed the white triangle using a 1/4" seam on the bias.  It worked pretty well as long as I remembered to cut all the rectangles with the right side up.  My windmills spin the opposite way from the book because I cut from the backside.  Oh well.  A good reminder that rectangles are NOT reversible.  The layout was very critical on this one.  I'm proud to say I only had to resew one block.  My numbered flannel flags were lifesavers.

This quilt, also from the same book, had a similar challenge  - you have to sew those triangles on the same corners EVERY TIME.  But by this time I was paying attention and put a sample block right in front of my machine as a reminder.  Since the color placement was random, this quilt went together very fast.  I did put them up on the wall and try to scatter the different colors - planned random.

This quilt is from another one of Kim Brackett's books, Scrap-basket surprises.    Initially I was going to use black in the corners but it felt like the contrast was too harsh, so I used a dark gray tone on tone instead.

This pattern also uses 2" strips and 2" squares, but the pattern is by Cluck Cluck sew, called Shortcake #122.  It was fun to use up a bunch of left over squares in the 9 patch section.

None of these have borders yet.  They are hanging in the closet aging a bit until I know what I'm going to do with them.

This last one isn't a novelty quilt, but since I've been running on about Kim Brackett, it seems appropriate to put it here.  This is another of her patterns from Scrap-basket surprises, called Bali Sea Star.  I had decided to use up some of the pre-cut 2.5" strips I had in my stash.  This quilt officially used up the last of the black & white strips given to me by my cousin (I think this is the 3rd quilt I've used them).  The bright strips were a door prize from the AZ retreat from years ago.  This quilt is for me, just for fun.  And I did enjoy it, except for how badly those strips had raveled after being handled so much for years.  

I was especially pleased with how the binding turned out - I've had this fabric in my stash for years and it fit perfectly for this quilt.

Fun with Secondary patterns

One of the things that I love most about quilting is the secondary patterns that frequently result when putting together simple blocks.  I think that's why I love Kim Brackett's books so much, so many of the blocks are ridiculously simple but result in wonderful secondary patterns.  I just recently bought my 3rd & 4th copies of her books and decided to draft a couple in EQ.  Such simple blocks, but look at the magic that happens when you put them together!  Both of these are from her Scrap-Basket Strips and Squares book.

The block is very simple.  And I'll be able to use some of those waste triangles left from previous projects for the white corners.

Here is the full quilt drawn in EQ.  This one will take some effort to keep the colors in the right places.  I'm still figuring out how to get organized.  The pattern is called Windmills.  Cutting is very fast but putting it together is going to take some thought.  Also normally when I use waste triangles I draw the sewing line on the back of the squared fabric to help me align the triangle.  But I think I may trim the block corner instead with a quarter inch seam and save some time.  I'm going to try that on a few and see how it works.

Here is another block from the same book- very simple.  And I can use some waste triangles from other projects.

And here is what it looks like drawn in EQ.  Since this one is scrappy, the colors can go where ever they end up.  It kind of reminds me of woven candies.  It took me a bit to figure out the blocks on this one, but when I saw how she had done it, I laughed at how simple the block is.

  Such fun.  I'm cutting out strips now for these two and a couple of others.  Stay tuned for the finished tops.