Make A List Monday: What's In Store For March

With the month underway it's time to assess what's in the quilting queue for March.  

National Quilting Month

First up, it's time to celebrate!  March is National Quilting Month and every year, the third Saturday is National Quilting Day which is on the 18th this year.  

Check out the websites of your favorite quilt designers, museums, industry companies and vendors as most will probably be offering special projects, programs and sales in honor of OUR holiday!  

My DH has a vacation coming up later this month and we have already made plans with my MIL to go down to North Carolina to visit her.  That's doubly good news for me because it means an opportunity to have another mini Quilt Retreat with her that week.  

March Block A Day with Pat Sloan

Pat Sloan's March Block-A-Day series continues this year.  She is offering a block called "Cheerful".

I have enjoyed doing these the last two years, each time with my own twist on what block I piece.  I really wanted to do this year's blocks but couldn't choose between a couple of fabric themes I could see myself doing them in.  So once again I decided on a pivot:  since I already have blocks for two projects that I need to finish up and both needed about an additional fifteen blocks each, I decided to make those the blocks I will sew up daily for the month.

So for March Daily Blocks sewing I will finish piecing the blocks for "Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll" in the first half of the month and continue working on my APQ "Scrap Happy" QAL blocks for the second half.

This will keep the "RRCB" project on the front burner for another month thus improving the possibility that I will finally get it to a top this year.  We'll be down in NC for part of the period I work on the "Scrap Happy" blocks.  I'll be returning to the scene of the crime with them since I had worked on them down there last year too.  It's also another chance to dig through my MIL's scraps to help "fund" the remaining blocks.

In other related Block-A-Day news, I also hope to quilt my "String Beans" quilt (that used a Log Cabin variation block) this month.  It was last year's B-A-D project (pun intended!) which I basted together last month.

Top and basted bundle showing the pieced backing.

Focus projects:  Raffle Quilts and a Memory Quilt

I have two projects that I also need to focus on this month: first is to resume work on the basket blocks for the two quilts I want to make to raffle off at my community garden's opening day.  

Technically, I can see this being another "block a day" project if I am going to have any hope of getting this done by the end of April deadline.  

The second quilt I really need to work on is a photo memory quilt for a long-time friend of mine.  This is a project that has been in discussion for at least three years now.  Last year she gave me the last of all the pictures I can choose from to put in it.  I found a pretty fabric line for it that had colors I know she'd like.  I also purchased some additional coordinating fabrics and novelty fabrics related to her life and interests.  

I did a preliminary layout in EQ8 but that's as far as I got.  I know I have procrastinated on this because it's such an important quilt and I want to really do something special for her.  It's time to face the challenge and get on with it!  

APQ UFO Challenge

This month's number to work on for the American Patchwork and Quilting UFO Challenge is #11.  On my list that is to finish quilting my "Modern Twist" project.

This is an oldie but a goodie that was a one of the three Planet Patchwork mystery quilts I worked on years ago.  They had been in the process of closing the website down around the time that I made this  one and it looks like the domain name is being used by another company now.  

This is not the first time this one has been picked for the UFO Challenge and in recent years I've frequently considered working on it.  The hold up has been that I always saw the piecing as "pipes" and the blues in it reminded me of water so I wanted to use various "flowing water" motifs in the "pipe" sections.  I only did so in one and then got stumped on additional motifs to use.  Over the years I've found a few more but have been working on transitioning to using different machines to quilt with so really haven't focused on getting back to this one.  Now that I've gotten a little more comfortable with my machines, I think I'm finally ready to resume quilting this one.  

Finishing up the Christmas Quilts:  Quilting Christmas Ribbons

Yet another on the "To Be Quilted" March wish list is to work toward finishing up the last of the Red & White Christmas quilts by quilting my "Christmas Ribbons" project that now also includes the bow applique I added.  

You can see the full top here.

The backing is ready and I also have the batting so at the least I'd like to get the next step done this month which is the layering and basting.  I also have already sketched out a preliminary quilting plan.  I'm actually thinking about taking this one down to North Carolina with me since I think I could quilt it on the Featherweight.  We'll see if that happens.

So what will you be working on in March?  I hope you also get to celebrate National Quilting Month and Day with some fun quilty projects or special things from your quilt supplies Wish Lists!

February Recap: Part 2 and Plans For March

In my last post I talked about the projects I worked on in February.  In this one I'll recap the rest of the things that were also developing throughout that month and are now going to "bloom" in March!  Let's hope that's also a harbinger for the Spring weather and season too!

Raffle Quilts for the Garden

As a quilter, I am always looking to try a new-to-me "quilty thing".  A big thing in the quilt universe are "raffle quilts" .  I am a member of a community garden and I was asked a few years ago if I might make one for the garden's opening day event.  Actually my garden President mistook a comment I made about "thinking about it" as me "volunteering" to actually do it!   Fortunately I was able to get out of the commitment that time.  For me, it seemed like a HUGE task with a firm deadline!  Not to mention that I didn't know what I could make that would have wide appeal.  After displaying my quilts at our garden's Art Show last fall and seeing the response to them, I revisited the idea of making a raffle quilt.  However, the "what to make?" still stumped me.  

Then at the end of January, I happened on a Jenny Doan Missouri Star Quilt Company You Tube tutorial:

The pattern she was demoing was their "Baskets and Butterflies" quilt showcasing Jason Yenter's new  "Elysian" fabric line for In the Beginning Fabrics.  Oh that is a beauty and a perfect garden theme!  I have made basket quilts in the past and have another one in progress but Jenny's baskets are larger and the construction very simple.  Hmmm, could this be doable?  

When I checked on the pattern and fabric in early February, MSQ had the pattern and the layer cake used to the make the baskets but not the butterfly border fabric.  As I went searching for it elsewhere, I discovered something interesting: at Keepsake Quilting they had the border print (although strangely, not the layer cake) but also had another Jason Yenter floral border print in white on clearance.  At that point, a plan was hatched!  

I knew that many people in my garden would love the bold and bright colors of the original quilt but there might be people who would also like a lighter colored quilt.  What if I used my own batik stash to make baskets to go with the clearance border print and made both from the same pattern for the raffle?  I told the garden President of my idea but also said it wouldn't be a definite commitment (aka something she could advertise) until I could get all the supplies in and make a few test blocks to make sure I could do this by our opening near the end of April.

Well it took a while (darn the supply chain!) but as of Sunday, everything has finally arrived in house:

Ironically, by the time I finally put in the order with Keepsake, they no longer carried the "Elysian" border print and I had to order that from someplace else (and thanks to Bear Creek Quilting for that!).  Also when I was ordering some batting during a "Friday Flash Sale" from Fabric.com for another project, they had a pretty garden themed panel on sale at half price.  It's the "Be Kind" fabric on the lower right in the picture above.  I figured that would be great for helping to fill out the backing although I also think it could wind up on the front.  I picked up a coordinating wide back from Keepsake for the rest of the back and that still has to come in.  For the black quilt, Jenny used the multi-squares print from the "Elysian" line for her backing but to save some money, I decided to just use the same black Kona used for the background.  

I've already cut the block sets from my batiks for the light quilt.  Now that the layer cake is in, I'm hoping to start on the test blocks over the next few days so I can make an estimate of what it will take to produce these and make a final determination of whether I can meet the deadline.    

Quilts for My "Kid"

The first and last time I made quilts for my two sons was all the way back in 2008.  

Kaye Woods "Six Hour Quilt" made with novelty fabrics and a serger.

I did start a string pieced project for some new ones the next year that started out with them helping to piece the blocks.  Those have been UFOs for a good while!  As my sons hit their twenties, I have asked them from time to time if they were interested in new quilts and while they said yes, I got no responses when I asked them to think about what they might like.  My youngest son often used my "Floribunda" quilt when picnicking with his girlfriend and took it with him when he moved out last year.

So you could knock me over with a feather when my oldest son asked me last month "for a favor".  He had come up with some colors he liked and wondered if I could make them into a quilt for him!  My son is also a big fan of the "Harry Potter" book and movie series and over the years when I came across Potter-themed fabrics on sale,  I often picked them up with the idea of making him a themed quilt at some point.  So when he came to me, I asked if he'd also be interested in that too.  So we struck a deal:  I told him I would make up the "Potter" quilt in the near term and once I could figure out fabric and a design for his colors, I would make that for him too!    

Last month, I was able to get some some additional coordinates and some "Potter" themed fleece for the back to round everything out.  I have already mapped out a simple design for the fabrics and hope to add a few paper-pieced designs from the book "Spellbinding Quilts" to the big central panel of the quilt.  My hope is to get this one started either this month or in April.  

My son's quilt colors.

I'll give the Quilt Muses a month or two to strike me with inspiration for the colors he gave me.  If I haven't found anything that sparks my interest by then, I will talk with him again about what he is looking for in the finished quilt to see if we can collaborate on a design idea.   

Back To "Daily Blocks"

Last month Pat Sloan announced she's doing another "Block-A-Day" sew along for March again this year.  When she made her "Hope" blocks last year, I was encouraged to also embark on a BAD project (seriously, no pun intended!!).  At the time, I had been eyeing Cathy's "Wishing Rings" projects and since the blocks looked similar to Pat's, I decided to do it too.  Since Cathy's blocks were way smaller than Pat's, I decided to make it a year long project.  Eventually, I added two more BADs to the daily list:  blocks to finally make a "Trail Mix" quilt (which I started along with the "Wishing Rings") and the Log Cabin blocks for the Country Threads quilt "Hometown USA" (which I started in April).  

I shocked myself in that I managed to complete the Log Cabin blocks in a month and subsequently completed the top and layered the quilt in May (and you can see the finished quilt here).   However after that I realized that trying to do both "Wishing Rings" and "Trail Mix" was proving to be too much (since I was also piecing baskets for another Cathy-inspired project) so I dropped "Trail Mix" in favor of focusing on the "Rings".   I managed to keep up on those in fits and starts right up until November when I stopped processing scraps for the blocks so I could focus on finishing projects for the end of the year.

Pat's announcement, reminded me that I only need to make four more months of "Rings" blocks to finish out that project.  So I am going to try to work on those while I also start this year's blocks.  Pat has updated her "String Bean" block pattern that she used back in 2015 for a similar quilt along.  Her block starts with a  2" x 8" finished center and 2" finished surrounding strips.  Since I love my Log Cabin die and have a lot of strips already cut, I decided I wanted to convert my blocks to utilize those as much as possible.  So I did two test blocks:

The one on the left stars with a 2-1/2 x 8-1/2" rectangle and adds 1-1/2" strips around it. The smaller block on the right starts with a 2-1/2 x 4-1/2 inch rectangle and does the same.  Reviewing Pat's quilt layouts, I've decided to go with the smaller block as it looks more balanced and I also have a die to cut the centers.  However because my blocks are smaller than hers, I'll need to make two a day for the month to get a lap sized quilt.  The plan is to work on these and finish the "Wishing Rings" blocks so that I can restart "Trail Mix" as Daily Blocks in April!

Dredging Up Another WIP

Last month I had planned to also re-start work on my "Emeralds" quilt project in the hopes of being able to have it ready early to put out at the start of the month for St. Patrick's Day.  

Well that didn't happen!  I still want to try to work on it and see if I can bring it to a finish or at least a top, if not by the holiday then at least by the end of this month.  If not, well there's always next year!  

So that's all that was occupying my mind last month!  Let's hope I can focus more on the actual sewing and quilting this month!

WIPS-B-Gone Update, Trip Review and New Flimsies

On Monday, Leanne of the Devoted Quilter blogged that as of today, the WIPS-Be-Gone Challenge is at the half way mark!  Yikes!!  

I won't be posting any finishes for this quarter unfortunately.   November is well underway but I'm still unpacking and getting re-settled after our two week trip to North Carolina at the end of October.  My DH and I went to visit his mother for the last two weeks of that month and using up the last of DH's vacation time for the year before the holiday shipping rush starts.  

As I've noted before, my MIL is also a quilter so for me, when I visit her it is also functions as an unofficial quilt retreat!   DH knows that when she and I get together he should be prepared to do a lot of chauffeuring and cooking.  He doesn't mind because when we're in the midst of quilt activities, he is free to binge watch his favorite TV shows and movies which is his favorite way to spend a vacation anyway!  

This was a particularly retreat-y visit for a number of reasons.  We had two planned activities:  first was that it just so happens that we would be down in NC just in time for this year's "All Carolinas Shop Hop"!!  The only other shop hop I've done is "Row By Row" back in 2016 (and which is now called "Quilters Trek").   The "Carolinas Hop" is a two month event that is still going on so if you are going to be in North or South Carolina this month, you can still participate.  We did the first day on Friday of our first week there and a second day the following Thursday.  Needless to say that was a blast!

We limited ourselves to going to shops in what was mapped out in the Shop Hop guide book as the "North Region" and only going to the shops within an hour's drive of where my MIL lives.  Unfortunately that meant that I didn't get to go to Pineapple Fabrics this trip although they are a participating shop.  I wish we could have also gone to some shops in South Carolina too --- maybe next year?  We visited five shops on the first day and four the following week.  There was one shop (Cary Quilting) that I had been to the last time I was in NC and one (Broken Needle) that is the favorite shop of my MIL's guild.  

Who could resist visiting a quilt shop with THIS painted on the side?!?

Every shop we visited was a delight and it's really encouraging to see that all of them are family-owned and headed by women.  Along with a bunch of other great finds (that will hopefully be revealed as I make them up), I picked up kits for three projects featured in the Shop Hop magazine that use fabrics designed specifically for the Hop.

The second planned quilty activity was for my MIL and I to get a coaching session by one of her quilt guild members who is a huge fan of the "By Annie" bag and accessories designs.  She has made most of them (some more than once) so is considered the "go to" person in the guild if you need advice or tips about making any of the patterns.  I had met her when we had visited back in August when I went with my MIL to her guild meeting on our last day there.  

My MIL already had one bag in progress and wanted to make another.  DH and I are strongly considering getting a particular RV which I've learned has a storage space that will accommodate my Featherweight machine.  It also has additional cubbies in the dining area which is where I would sew.  I was interested in making a bag to fit one of them and that I could use to store the machine's supplies.  I decided on making Annie's "Double Zip" bag.  Prior to the trip down, I found the perfect theme fabric for it and purchased all the additional supplies needed to make it.  When I got to NC, I cut the fabric and prepped the bag parts and my MIL's guild friend came by to answer any questions we had about finishing our projects. 

Now all I need is the RV!

The bag wasn't all that hard to make and I used some great advice the guild member gave me on starching my fabrics and how to finish the inside binding for the bag.  It turns out she and her husband are also planning to buy an RV so we had a great conversation about that process too!   This is my first "By Annie" bag and I'm pretty pleased with it.  The "Handmade" leather tag is from Flamingo Toes and I also purchased a Camper Needle Minder to go with it after seeing both on a Pat Sloan video right before the trip and had them mailed down to me in NC.

The bag was a new project so doesn't count towards the WIP list.  However, also while down south I did get a few more WIP things done:  I've FINALLY finished the top using the blocks I made for the GE Designs Hey, June! quilt along from back in June.

This picture is before I sewed on the final borders.

Just like with my MIL's blocks back in August, I tried a few different layouts at home before we headed down south:

In the end, I liked the right-pointing diagonal one (Layout #3 of 5 in the pattern) the best.  Surprisingly when we did my MIL's blocks back in August that too had been one of the layouts we tried (left, below) but ultimately we went with the "Trip Around the World" variation (Layout #4 in the pattern) for hers. 

I also FINALLY made my "Box Trot" top early in the morning on our the last day there (and seen here on my design wall at home).  

I've had this kit since 2015 so technically it's not a WIP but a "Hussy" - HSY - "Haven't Started Yet"!  However, I had brought it with me on the two previous visits to my MIL and now finally got to cut it out the day before the second shop hop day.  I was so tired after that second shop hop round, that I went to bed really early and then woke up at 2 AM the next morning wide awake!  Rather than trying to fall back to sleep, I decided to take up the challenge the kit pattern presented which is that it can be made up in 2-1/2 hours.  I timed it and excluding breaks for "design decisions" and pressing, it took me three which is still not bad.  Afterwards, I still had time to go back to sleep before we headed out on a trip to an Amazon/Target Liquidation Outlet in Raleigh that day.

I expect to do some more work on this one though.  I had changed the patterned layout to one more like the way it was pictured on the original listing for the kit.  However, those changes left me with the extra strip of pieced accent sashing at the bottom right and I'm not sure I like that.  The good news is that despite how long I've had this kit, I was able to find more of the fabric (from the line "Vintage Collection-Lady Claire" by Blank Quilting) that I hope will work for an idea I have for making some changes/additions to the top. 

The last bit of trip sewing I got done (I brought others but didn't get to them) was the last of the CW Scrap Basket handles that needed to be sewn down. 

The plan was to sew them on the drive down.  I had also brought another hand work work project that I was supposed to set up for the drive home.  However, DH and I took turns driving down this time (back in August, he drove the whole way) so I didn't sew on that leg of the trip.  But I did get all the handles done --- when? --- while DH chauffeured us around on the first shop hop day, LOL!  So the good news is that all of the basket blocks are now done and ready to be assembled into a top.  We won't be going back to NC until early next year but I'm already trying figure out what I'll bring to work on when we do!

Soooo, priorities on my list for the next WIPS-B-GONE quarter will be to finish the "Box Trot" top (and maybe even quilt it!), start on some Christmas quilting I still have to do, maybe get the Basket blocks to a top and definitely quilt up the Civil War Strippie top that I finished before we left.

We're not hosting Thanksgiving this year due to the lingering COVID issues so I'm hoping to really plan and focus my quilt work this month and the second-to-last WBG quarter!  Hope you are whipping your WIPS to a finish!!

Design Wall Monday

On the Wall Now: 

I've been working steady on these blocks for the start of October.  The blocks for my version of Edyta Sitar's "Cinnamon Stix" are up on the design wall (and I have run out of design wall space, Lol!).  I have already sewn five of the columns of blocks together so only have three more to go.  They don't take that long to sew together so should be done by tonight.  The sashing strips are cut but I'll need to add just a little more to the ends of the narrow strips.  

I'm also hoping to get the top border/backing fabric pieced together today as well.  I've also already sketched out my quilting plan for it (the paper pinned to the center of the wall) but since we'll be away for the end of this month, it probably won't get quilted until November. 

On the Wall Next:

On the first Monday of this month, I had finished up the last four blocks I needed to make for the GE Designs Hey June! (long-been-over) Quilt Along.  Once "Stix" is sewn into a top, I can put my "Hey June!" blocks up and start figuring out which of Gudrun's layouts to use.  We are headed to North Carolina again next Monday and I'd really love to have it to a top to show my MIL but it might wind up being another project packed to take with us to work on during the trip!

On the Wall Last Week:

I had also finished up my "Wishing Rings" blocks for the month of September the day after I finished the "Hey June!" blocks.  Since I spent September making the "Stix" blocks, all but one of the "Rings" block sets for that month came from the Civil War repro scraps.  I had a few partial block sets (just the center square and corner triangles) for three more sets when I had finished the month so have gone back to digging through the box of scraps I picked up from my MIL in August to complete them.  

The fabric for the rest of the block sets made to bring the October "Daily Blocks" sewing up to date have also come from the scraps box.  I have enough sets ready for sewing through to Monday when we leave.  

When I spoke to my MIL last week she asked me if I needed more scraps.  Of course, the more the merrier!  I'm going to check with her again this week to see how much she has collected.  I need to decide if I should make enough sets from what I already have to take to cover the time we will be away or if I can wait and just use what she has there while we're there.

On the Design Boards:

Speaking of sewing for the trip, I have die cut the last of the "Civil War Scrap Basket" block sets that I had picked out fabric for when I started this project.  It was inspired during last year's quarantine from a project I saw on Cathy's Sane, Crazy, Crumby blog.  I'm sewing up a pair a day this week which will finish up on Thursday.  

The blocks on the right below are all ready for sewing the handles down during the drive down.  The box on the left holds all the finished blocks that have had their handles sewn on other driving trips.  When these are all done, I'll be sewing them into four patches with two squares of their matching fabric just like in Cathy's project.     

I have another project I want to be working on for the drive back.  I'm hoping I can set up at least a block or two before we leave but that may need to be done while we are away.  What's on your design wall today?

Hey June, September's Almost Over!! --- Pt 2

In my last post, I talked about when we traveled down to my MIL's in August.  Both before we left and while we were away, I worked on blocks for my other "inspired during the quarantine project" by Cathy of the Sane, Crazy Crumby blog:  the Civil War Basket blocks:

Although the block parts are die cut (using an old discontinued Accuquilt BOB die) and machine pieced, the handles on these blocks are sewn down by hand.  I made up a bunch of blocks before we left so I could sew them up in the car on the drive down to North Carolina.  I then made two blocks a day during the week we were away to have more hand sewing for the drive back to New York.   

I also mentioned in that post that DH and I had gone camping this month.  We found a wonderful little campsite in Port Jervis, NY

The campground is up on that mountain!

Our campsite set-up

In addition to the campground, the park is full of hiking and biking trails.  We managed to hike three of the moderate trails (taking us both below and above the tree line!) and an easy straight trail in town on the site of what had once been an active transportation canal back in the 1800s.  The park has been managed by volunteers of the town's Outdoors Club since 2016.  We had booked a four night stay but wound up leaving on the third night due to an incoming heavy rain storm.  The CW Basket blocks came along on this trip too as they were perfect for working on by the campfire:

Stitching by the campfire

We will be headed down to NC again at the end of October, so I'll be die cutting and stitching together the last of the fabric block sets I have so they are ready for travel sewing by then.  I'm also realizing now that I had drafted a post about this project when I started it but never had a chance to post it.  I'll update that post which has the full back story of this project when I get this to a top.  That is another entry on the WIPS-B-GONE list!   

Another big thing that happened during this busy summer:  my youngest son left the nest!  He and his girlfriend had gotten a summer sublet in Manhattan that was supposed to be for the months of July and August.  Dutiful parents that we are, we had helped with the move-in at the beginning of July.  All was well and good until my son called to say there had been a change:  turns out the building owner had not been aware of the sublet and so they had to vacate at the end of July!  The good news was that my son and his girlfriend were successful in finding their own apartment in a nice area in Queens and were able to close on it right at the end of July!  So we were once again helping with moving duties and got them settled in for the start of August.   And even though my son hasn't taken all of his belongings to the new digs, needless to say there has been some project stash moving into the freed up space in his half empty closet!   I am also eyeing a move of our house computer and office files to his room to gain the space where it now sits.  I can use that for more quilt supplies storage since it is conveniently adjacent to my current sewing space.

With moving, the final resolution of our car repairs and garden activities keeping us busy in July, in Old News:  my "Hometown USA" project is still on hold (and for details on how this got started, see the "...Or Not Finished" section on this post). 

I was never able to really sit down and collect my thoughts and get a good plan for the stitching.  This one won't be part of my WIPS-B-GONE work unless I get a handle on how I want to proceed.  So this one may wind up being carried forward to next year.

However, having a project on hold doesn't stop a "Dreami" project from beginning!  So in New News: yet another CW repro project has begun.  I can once again blame this one on Edyta Sitar (I just can't quit her!!!).  I saw this design and then saw these fabrics on sale on eBay (top left) and Etsy (bottom left).

Seeing that it was a simple Strippy quilt made up of equally simple Uneven Nine Patch and Rail Fence blocks, my interest was piqued!  I still have CW stash that I'm (supposedly) trying to whittle down and then saw another great deal on Etsy for a scrappy bundle of CW repro 2-1/2" Strips to add to what I could pull from my stash.  So this is where I am now:

The plan for this one is that I have enough of the striped fabric for both that top border and the back so I'm planning to use it as a continuous piece and also attach it to the bottom of the finished center for the bottom binding.  After quilting, I'll bring the sides around to the front to create the finished side binding.  The blocks for this have been added to the "Daily Sewing Queue" along with the "Wishing Rings" blocks and finishing this is now another entry on the "WIPS-B-GONE" list.

Another result of working on this new CW project is that the "Wishing Rings" block sets I'm making up for the rest of September have a decidedly CW theme:

So that just about brings me up to date with regards to the summer.  I'll be spending what's left of September this week, bringing the "Wishing Rings" blocks up to date and using what I need to make for "Hey June!" and the "CW Strippie" blocks as leader/enders.   Happy Fall 'Yall!!

The Blue Baskets Mini is a Finish!

Finally!!  I'm dubbing it "Spring Basket Blues".

I had talked about the start of this little project back in May.  It's one of the monthly mini quilt kits from Piecing the Past Quilts.   For my version, I decided to add an embellishment of cut flower buttons I purchased from Aiming For Accuracy.  When I last posted, I had pieced  the basket blocks and some of the sashing....

Once I got the top finished....

...I needed to age the buttons.

I used some brown craft paint and lightly brushed and wiped off the buttons until I got the bright colors toned down enough not to contrast as much with the reproduction fabrics.

Before

After

Oh and the little butterflies?  I hope I'm not the only one that saves the plastic pin heads when they break off.... 

With the top done, next up was the backing.  I had noted in the previous post that I had plans for an elaborate back.  Unfortunately, the math and the amount of fabric I had left weren't a match and there was nothing in stash that I liked with it so I went with the solid cream back that had been provided in the kit.  Fortunately I also had a scrap piece of batting just the right size to fit.  One thing I love about making a mini quilt is that I can spray baste it and then it's on to the Quilting!

With everything basted,  I knew I wanted to find designs to fill the open corner and side triangles.  Looking through my quilt books, I stopped at Eva Larkin's book "Free Motion Quilting Made Easy".  In it she has stitch patterns that are designed for use in square blocks.  However, she notes that if you need to fill a triangle or a rectangle you can just stitch half of the design!  Brilliant!  I went though the whole book and narrowed about twenty potential designs down to two to stitch out.  Then the debate was whether to go for "subtle contrast" with the thread or use a matching one --- I admit I chickened out on this one and went with matching (especially since I was doing the stitching on my old back up Euro-Pro machine and not my Janome).  That makes it easier to hide the mistakes but harder for me to get a shot where you can actually see the stitching (as noted in the picture at the top of the post).    

In any event, it's done!  I did my usual machine attached binding although for this small quilt and per pattern instructions, it's single fold.  Here it is hung, the Spring replacement for my little Tucker quilt (that's Tucker rolled up in front of the basket, to see it in it's full glory, click here).

There's more to do and more to see, so back to stitching for me!

Edited 7/10/17 to Add:

In light of my posts that started at the end of last year on labeling quilts, I figured I should include the one I made for this one.  This was a fun way to use up more of the kit fabric and a chance to use my Accuquilt Go! Alex's Baskets BOB* die.  Still batting 100%!!

 *BOB = Block On Board

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