January Joy

Before I retired over ten years ago, I hated the month of January with its thirty-one days of the worse Winter weather involving commuting to work. If there was a month for me to hibernate, now that I’m retired, it would be January where there would be no traveling or leaving the house but with the GP House and weekly visits to the Chiropractor and fitness center, it’s not possible. With the freezing cold and snowy weather during the middle of January, the only good thing was that it made for great sewing conditions and I appreciated this long month. After my Happy Bubbles Quilt was finished, there was only one flimsy, the Sherbet Pips Brick Rows (the one on the left) I planned to finish which was for the January Country Threads Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge. As a result of finishing Sherbet Pips, three more flimsies came across the finally finished line, which brings a total of six finishes for January. There is an explanation as to how these four were quickly finished and, if you noticed, I did not refer to them as quilts because they’re all Patchwork Throws/Baby Boomer Blankies or all backed with Minky/plush fabric with no batting in between which I have always said are quick makes. 

The Sherbet Pips Brick Rows has been a flimsy since August, 2022 but it seems longer than this because this fabric line designed by Aneela Hoey for Moda was purchased at least ten years ago and  had been a mind bug for me to finally make something with the stash.

I purchased thirteen half-yard cuts of whatever prints were available out of the forty-two (I’m thinking maybe they were purchased from fabric.com before Amazon bought them out and 1/2 yard cuts could be ordered). My first thought was to make a simple one patch quilt of rectangle blocks set vertically.

I somehow realized that some of the prints had movement and would look better cut horizontally. Twelve  prints were paired and cut into 3.5” strips, sewn together in strip sets, then subcut into 6.5” x 9.5” rail blocks and set with an alternating layout. Six blocks were needed for each row and was repeated  again. After the flimsy was sewn, my plan was to back it with minky/plush as I was glad to have finally made something with the Sherbet Pips fabric. I set it aside as I wasn’t in any hurry to finish it since I really didn’t want to use any of the remaining gray Chenille Plush by David Textile which is no longer available. It is my favorite plush which I have used for several patchwork throws, as with Carrie Bloomston Throw which is the darling granddaughter’s favorite bedtime blankie. I am saving the remaining Chenille Plus for another bedtime blankie in the hopes of finally getting my Carrie Bloomston throw back and I may succeed since it will be made with Carrie Bloomston fabrics which has rainbows and leftover from the Happy Bubbles quilt.

After becoming reacquainted with Sherbet Pips Brick Rows, I realized that this was a fun and easy pattern for 3.5” strips. I did rethink my idea of backing it with Minky/plush and instead making it a quilt but decided I needed a patchwork throw more than another quilt. I used a gray Minky Fleece Fabric Dots recently purchased and I have to say is now my new favorite plush and also comes in several shades of gray.. I machine quilted straight lines on the edges of each 6” row and then did a wavy line between the rails. Any reservations I had with Jinny Janome sewing plush are no more. The binding was one of the stripes. Sherbet Pips Brick Rows measure 54” x 72”. Since I had almost two yards left of the Minky I thought I would save it for one of the flimsies below.

I have lovingly referred these flimsies as the Three Bear Trip as the focus print used was named Bear Trip and I made three flimsies with a little tongue in cheek with the Three Bear name. My plan was to always finished them together at the same time and finished them as quilts. These were the last of the twelve flimsies made in 2020 and I am glad they are finally finished as patchwork throws/Baby Boomer Blankies. The quilt on the bottom right is the one I thought I could used the leftover Minky from Sherbet Pips Brick Row and was just going to set it aside. But Eunice, my alter-ego of quilting the right thing in my Studio, thought since Jinny Janome was already set up with a Jersey Knit Needle used for quilting plush fabric and gray polyester thread that I could easily finished the Three Bear Trip flimsies since I had other Minky fabrics in my stash. I thought it was a good idea until once I started I realized I would only have six days before leaving for the GP House and during this time had laundry, housework, chiropractor appointments, a get together with the Peeps and our hubbies and a band gig was planned. Like I said, backing a flimsy with Minky is a quick finish and was able to bind Sherbet Pips and finish the Three Bear Trip in three days. I spent the remaining days, before leaving for the GP House, recovering and playing with fabrics along with the household chores. I did send Eunice to the time-out corner.

I thought I would share some details behind the Three Bear Trip Patchwork Throws/Baby Boomer Blankies. The Bear Trip fabric was purchased in January, 2020 during a Texas vacation at Sew Crazy in Cedar Park. I fell in love with the prints which came in two color ways, one with a pink background and the other with a gray/white and the prints are slightly different with the motifs. I did purchase some other prints but for the most part used what I already had in my Cotton+Steel, Art Gallery, etc. stash. The Bear Trip prints are so interesting and there are so many international landmarks and features like Big Ben, Roman Coliseum, Tower of Pisa, the Golden Gate Bridge, Taj Mahal, temples, yachts, water fountains, etc. Sadly, a few months later, travel became restricted due to COVID-19 and there was a travel lockdown in our state. The Three Trip flimsies were made in May, 2020, right after the first visit with the darling granddaughter after two-months of not being able to see her. Each flimsy was made with a combination of  4.5 5” and 2.5” cuts to make either 4”x8”, 8” or 8”x16” blocks. Since finishing the Three Bear Trip, I have named them according to the Three Bears story. Another note is that after deciding on backing all three flimsies with Minky/plush, I used the same brown and white polka dots fabrics used as an accent in all three flimsies for the binding. It’s a good thing I found enough of this print in my stash to make fifteen yards because I must have forgotten to set aside any fabric in the binding drawer.

Baby Bear (40” x 48”)

This was the first flimsy made but the last one to be finished. I machine quilted it the same way as Sherbet Pips, straight and wavy lines. Baby Bear will be saved for the Baby Boomer Blankie vault as I think it would be perfect to give to someone who will be retiring and have travel plans.

Mama Bear (40”x48”)

When I made this flimsy with the focus print which had the pink background and dominant reds, I had planned on giving this to the baby daughter of our new neighbors whom I thought were of East Asian descent with their dark hair and skin tone so I made sure to include the Taj Mahal and other Asian landmarks. Later, Hubby learned that they were Venezuelans so another quilt was given. I backed Mama Bear with a brown dot Minky which I found to be stiff like vinyl/pleather and not as snuggly as other plush/Minky. Maybe after washing it will become softer and this is my reason for wanting to keep this one for myself.

Papa Bear (48”x64”)

Papa Bear was the last flimsy made because the 8” blocks were sewn from leftover blocks and patches from Baby Bear and Mama Bear. The fluffy pink plush used was a piece that has been sitting in my stash for maybe five years and I have been trying to use it for several other flimsies but was not the right shade nor the right size. Luckily or do I say serendipitously, it was the right shade of pink and the right or exact size needed with nary a 1/4” to spare. One of the nice things about using plush is you don’t need the extra 4” width or lengthwise as you would for fabric backing. Papa Bear is so soft and cuddly and when it’s folded or rolled up, it feels like a giant stuff animal. I quilted with straight grid lines around each 8” block and then a diagonal wavy crosshatch across each block. I should mention that I used the same gray polyester thread for all three Bear Trip. Papa Bear has been given to the darling Granddaughter and has been enjoyed these past few nights on her bed; but not enough for her to surrender the Carrie Bloomston throw back to me.

I am so happy to have these four once upon a time flimsies now made into patchwork throws. I cannot say enough about using Minky/plush for backings. I am now on a hunt for purchasing more fleece dot Minky since it’s a nice alternative to the plush chenille and comes in wonderful colors (some I already have) especially when it goes on sale for 40% off. And I also need a new supply of Jersey Knit Sewing Machine needles which I have ordered.

Adding to the January Joy is that all of my Baby Bullseye Blocks are sewn and ready to be laid out. There are 140 blocks finishing at 5-1/2” and I need to hustle. My Quilt Peeps already have their tops sewn which is due to them not following the instructions/pattern exactly to which I confess I did not also but mine is more truer. I can’t wait until mine is finished so I can do some narcing.

I am hoping for another productive month in February but with warmer weather please. Not that I need any more new projects I do have a few must-sew lined up. With Eunice in the time-out corner, the Studio Squirrels have been let out.

Linking up with My Quilt Infatuation