Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL Parade/Glass Houses

Today is the Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL Parade hosted by Sandra, mmm quilts. This is the 7th QAL of Sandra’s which I have participated in and this year’s pattern was again a fun make. I previously posted about my progress on April 1st, which was the start of the QAL and then on April 10th when my nine blocks were finished. It was nice to have 2.5 months to finally finish my Glass Houses Quilt, so named because I used Allison Glass fabrics, although I waited until the last week to finally finish it. 

Part of the delay was due to two vacations and several trips to the GP House and my indecision on whether I wanted to machine quilt with vertical straight lines, my first choice, or horizontal wavey lines. As you can see, the vertical straight lines, 1” apart, was decided. Since Glass Houses is going to be a wall hanging, I thought the straight lines would add a more graphic look but used #3817 variegated Aurifil thread so the quilting wouldn’t look too stark. The binding is the same black Cross Stitch fabric used in the sashing. My original plan was to used the multi-color print as in the cornerstones for the binding but after machine quilting, I realized it needed to be the same fabric as the sashing to better frame Glass Houses.

If you read my Previous Post about becoming a happy pieced backer now, I had to make one for Glass Houses since I had three leftover quilt blocks made with Allison Glass fabrics from my Ernie Express Quilt #2. This is my third piece quilt back and I’m now at the stage in which I feel guilty if I don’t make one. Normally, for a wall hanging I prefer the backing to be the same fabric and light colored too.

Glass Houses was finished four days before the parade and we’re having iffy pic-taking weather besides unprecedented poor air quality with heavy smoke from the Canadian Wildfires both here and at the GP House. The front bench was moved so Glass Houses, Petal Pop and Ernie Express #2 can be taken together as this is going to be the darling Granddaughter’s new bedroom ensemble at the GP House. The Master Quilter Holder was glad to be standing behind the bench so he didn’t have to crouch down to hold the 54” square quilt but he did have to hold it up as high as he could which wasn’t too much easier.

I had fun with this year’s Collage of all the quilts I made to Celebrate A Famous Canadian’s Birthday. While I was making Glass Houses, I was thinking that this would be the 7th one which is a lucky number and Sandra must also have some sort of magical powers for me to participate in all seven of her QALs plus making other patterns of her’s. I like to come up with “mmm” names for her and “magnificent” came to mind which quickly changed to “Maleficent” the powerful fairy in Sleeping Beauty. Note Maleficent is a fairy, albeit a powerful one, and not a witch or as I say magically wicked which makes “mmmicked” a fun word, don’t you think? So, I thought it would be “mmmicked to add a graphic to this year’s Collage which was  easy for me to come up with my MMMaleficent. All I needed was to grab Sandra’ blog photo, which is very nice by the way, then the Maleficent pic with Angeline Jolie, apply a few apps like PicMonkey and Voila AI Artist and then iPhone photo editing to draw the hair and make the lips red on my iPhone. Fun, right? I thought I should explain this so Sandra doesn’t think this graphic was already available on the Web, although I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was.

The Rainbow Neighbourhood theme was very fitting for this year (one last pic of Glass Houses amongst an actual rainbow neighborhood in Allentown/Buffalo thanks to Google and picMonkey). I want to thank Sandra again for another wonderful QAL and if she isn’t going to banish or turn me into a mouse, I look forward to participating again next year.  I’m sure it will be mmmagically fun.

Wishing every one a safe and Happy Fourth.

Linking up with MMM Quilts Parade of Rainbow Neighborhood Quilts

Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs Book Review and Book Blog Hop/Unruly Safari Moon

Today is the book launch  of Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs, the latest book by Kelly Young, My Quilt Infatuation. I was asked back in March if I would be interested in reviewing her book by making one of the thirty patterns designed specifically for quilt backs and participating in her Book Blog Hop. It was a  Big Yes from me. Kelly wrote the book for Quilters, like me, who aren’t comfortable with making pieced quilt backs or for those Quilters, definitely not me, who need new pieced quilt back ideas. 

It was rather serendipitous that I would be asked because around that time I was thinking my scrap fabric overload was caused by having too much leftover after a quilt finish and that I maybe ought to start making pieced backs which is something I avoid like catching Covid. Also at that time, Linda, Texas Quilt Gal, had posted about her latest quilt being a mullet quilt and since it didn’t remind me of Billy Ray Cyrus, I had to find out what she meant by that. Well, I learned that a mullet quilt means that the business or the seriousness is in the front and the party is in the back which I take it to mean the back of the quilt has the more “fun” fabric or approach. My quilt backs tend to be on the quiet or bland side and not much time is spent planning or making it, so in the terms of a mullet quilt, my backs are definitely party poopers. When I first started quilting over 25 years ago, quilt backs were not important to me, I didn’t want to use the same fabrics as in the front, especially at that time $9/yard and I used a fabric purchased on sale which is the reason for my backing fabric vault. Another caveat I had for backing was that it had to somewhat complement the top and not look like I sewed any old fabric(s) together.  

I was thinking the reason why Kelly asked me to participate in her Book Blog Hop was because several years I participated in her Book Blog Tour of Scrappy Improv Quilting but then I realized that she may have seen some of my backs and sensed that I needed to stop being a pieced back resister and come over to the party side. Like Kelly saids, she has your back.

It was no surprise for me to that Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs is just as inspiring and resourceful as Kelly’s previous two books, Scrappy Improv Quilting and Stash Statement.  It definitely is a Scrap-Smart Guide. The thirty patterns are divided into three sections depending on whether you want to use Small Scraps, Medium Scraps or Large or Mixed-Sized Scraps/Fat Quarters. It may have exceeded my expectations being that as you read my Post, I have been converted to a happy pieced backer and my days of whining and resisting are over. Planning  a quilt back beforehand and not as an afterthought is the way for me to sew now. As Kelly mentioned in her book,  a pieced back adds a little something extra or lagniappe as the French would say.

From the thirty patterns presented in Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs, I chose to make the Double Bar pattern, page 64, because it made the best use of my leftover blocks and scraps which were large or mixed-sized scraps and fat quarters.I just needed to purchase yardage of the dark blue fabric.

The leftover blocks and scraps were from my Safari Moon  quilt using a modified version of Kelly’s Unruly Pattern (not an affiliate link) and I made especially for the book blog hop. We had a choice of either making a quilt back for an existing flimsy or just a simple top but I saw it as another reason to make another Unruly quilt as it is one of my favorite patterns.  I was planning on making this quilt and have been stashing the fabrics for several years now. 

The name of this quilt is also the name of the Art Gallery fabric line designed by Frances Newcombe which I had yardage and fat quarters of the wonderful prints. I modified the Unruly pattern so I could feature the Zebra and some of the other larger prints. Little did I realize that this would also be enough to use for the pieced backing and it helped that I originally made thirty blocks and decided to only use twenty blocks.

Three Quilt Backing Sizes (Lap (72” square), Twin XL (80”x108”) and Queen (96”x108”) are given for each of the thirty Quilt Back patterns. You can easily modify the dimension to fit your quilt which is what I did for the Double Bar pattern since my top measured 60” x 75” and I needed a backing to measure 68”x 83”. Using leftover blocks and scraps, I made three panels measuring 15-1/2” wide by 83”long and I cut the solid blue fabric 12-1/2” wide by 83” long. 

I should point out that I may have made a mistake with the block panels made for the sides. I thought I was being smart for putting the bright rectangles vertically to avoid having too many seams on the outside but you can see once the backing was trimmed, these bright rectangles were almost cut off just leaving skinny pieces on the sides. At first I thought it was awkward looking but then as Kelly pointed out in her book, you are not making double sided quilt, to which I add, you still want to be able to tell which side is the front and which one is the back. Although my back is pretty, it still looks like the back but Unruly Safari Moon does have two-sided appeal.

Some of the things I learned from Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs are:

• Patience as I used to think sewing a pieced quilt back was like sewing another top but it’s really not because you may just spend an hour piecing scraps and to me is it makes for a nicer finish. Rather than seeing the top and backing as two separate pieces, there is a connection now between the two with a pieced quilt back.
• I was making my quilt backs too large as I was using the measurement of adding 8” to both the wide and length which is what you do if you were sending it out to a long armer which I do not do 99.5% of the time. I can get by with just adding 4-6” on both sides now that I’m…..
• Taking the time to measure both the quilt top, batting and backing and marking the center of each piece in both directions.
• I am no longer eye-balling centering the backing on my big 48”x76” table where I baste my quilts since I have now marked the centers on the table.
• More confidence and less stress now that the layers of the top, batting and backing are centered and no surprises if one of the layers is  too close to the edge after the majority of the pin-basting is done. I may have been surprised more than once and salty language was definitely used.
• Making pieced backs is fun and using up leftover fabrics does feel good.

Here’s a pic of the leftovers which could have been more if I hadn’t made a pieced back. This is  enough to make a pillow to go with Unruly Safari Moon. A fun thought is to send these to Kelly so she has an idea for her next book like When Quilt Friends Give You Scraps.

And just to show how much Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs converted or inspired me, after I finished Unruly Safari Moon, I made a pieced back for my Sushi Shuffle Quilt. It is a version of the Double Bar pattern but with only one pieced panel in the center. 

Sandra @mmm quilts

Diann @ Little Penguin Quilts

Laura @Slice of Pi Quilts

Jayne @Twiggy and Opal

Anja @ Anja Quilts

Nancy @Grace and Peace Quilting

Vasudha @Storied Quilts

Kris @Sew Sunshine

Leanne @Devoted Quilter

Rebecca @Rebecca Grace Quilting

Preeti @Sew Preeti Quilts

Susan @Quilt Fabrication

Kate @Katie Mae Quilts

Sarah @Sarah Goer Quilts

Linda @Flourishing Palms

Anne-Marie @Stories From The Sewing Room

Michelle @From Bolt to Beauty

Gail @Quilting Gail

Kat @Scrapbox Quilts

Julie @Julie’s Quilts and Costumes

Jan @The Colorful Fabricholic

Rose @something rosemade (that’s me!)

There are twenty-two (including me) Quilt Bloggers who are joining in the Perfectly Pieced Quilt  Backs Blog Hop by reviewing this book and making a pieced quilt which I can bet theirs’ will be perfect. We are all posting today so be sure  to check out their posts by clicking the links on Kelly’s Book Launch Blog Hop Post.

Besides the thirty quilt back patterns in Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs, when you purchase this book, you will be able to download 18 bonus quilt patterns for the tops which went with the quilt backings. I already have a collection of Kelly’s patterns (I already made her Tinkering quilt, which I named Kaleidoscope Krosswalk) and to think I now have 18 more just make this book so worthwhile to purchase.  Kelly’s patterns are fun and easy to sew. There are already a few that I want to check out the pattern because I may already have the fabric. I will say now that most of the quilt back patterns I would consider making them as tops. (Please note that the Unruly Pattern is NOT one of the 18 bonus patterns but is a pattern so worth purchasing—not an affiliate mention). You can purchased this book directly from Kelly, through Etsy, which you will receive a signed copy or from Amazon Prime, Barnes and Noble, Connecting Threads, Missouri Quilt Co. and Fat Quarter Shop. (Not an affiliate link).

Just some closing “glamour” pics from of Unruly Safari Moon quilt, front and pieced back which I enjoyed making for the Book Blog Hop. I want to thank Kelly for inviting me again to participate in promoting her latest book. You are always an inspiration to me.  Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs is definitely a book you would want to have in your library and maybe you want to mention it to Pieced Back Resisters or Party Poopers which I am happy to say that I’m no longer a member of this group.

Remembering Ernie, My Quilt Muse

On our way to Colorado last week, we stopped in Iowa to visit Mary Etherington, Country Threads, which we usually do when traveling West.  A visit always includes spending time with her four-legged babies. I was able to take a picture of Ernie, her American Farm Tiger, who during this visit, was very receptive to some scratching and petting from me, which was unusual. Mary mentioned that Ernie was not himself and was worried. I was so sad  to receive an E-mail several days later that Ernie had crossed the Rainbow Bridge. A lovely Post by Mary about Life Without Ernie can be read here. I had to write a post about Ernie who was the inspiration for the many Ernie quilts I have made since 2016 which was the time I started blogging. My Ernie Journey about the making of these quilts was one of my first Posts. 

In this Post, I wrote about Mary making a quilt top with a Denyse Schmitz Jelly Roll and I had given her the backing which was an Orange Cat print purchased from IKEA which reminded me of Ernie so we named her quilt the Ernie Quilt. This quilt was the inspiration for my Ernie quilts and is a very versatile rail fence pattern made with 2.5” strips.

I’ve made  thirteen versions of the Ernie Quilt and is one of my favorite patterns and one that I always love making. It’s an easy make plus a quick finish with straight line quilting. The one I made with Kaffe Fassett’s Shot Cottons and Woven Stripes (lower right corner) is my most popular quilt on my blog with over 10,000 views.

Here’s a photo taken several years ago of Mary with Ernie, the Quilt Muse with my Ernie Express Quilt II. I was fortunate to have several of my Ernie Quilts be blessed by him.

And here is one of me holding Ernie in 2016 and he was one big dude. Mary and I are thinking we could remember Ernie by making an Ernie Quilt on National Sew A Jelly Roll Day which is “celebrated” every third Saturday in September.  I think this would be a wonderful way  for me to thank Ernie for bringing me so much quilt joy.