My Kaffe Fassett Blue Moon Quilt is Finally Finished

Even though it’s early in the month, I’m pretty sure my Kaffe Fassett Blue Moon Quilt is going to be my Oh Wow finish for the month of October. Although the Country Threads Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge was discontinued for 2024/25, Mary Etherington is still giving me a number each month for my 2024/25 Project List which I compiled sixty-five projects. Last month, Mary drew number four and one of the projects I had listed was to finally finish the Blue Moon quilt which has been a flimsy or a “top” since 2005. I was really happy to work on this quilt since I’ve been spending many hours watching Kate Jackson/The Last Homely House videos on YouTube on a daily basis ever since I discovered her. Kate is also a big Kaffe Fassett fan and the colors in the Blue Moon quilt reminded me of the quilt she made for her granddaughter.

Here is the top which has languished for almost twenty years, partly because of my indecisions on how I wanted to quilt it. Around ten years ago I read an article in one of the English magazines by Jo Avery on doing big stitch quilting and instead of batting, flannel was used. I intended to do that but never got around to purchasing the flannel. I’ve listed this top on my UFO Challenge list for the past several years and still never felt like quilting it. I finally was inspired to finish it after watching The Last Homely House videos and was planning on hand quilting since it was only 48” x 62”, almost the same size as my Smitten Quilt which was hand quilted by me. As soon as we returned home from the GP House last Saturday afternoon, I was revved up to work on Blue Moons and went downstairs to my studio, ironed both the top and the already made backing and pin basted the quilt. Then the doubt of whether I really wanted to hand quilt struck. There was a possibility I could hate Kate Jackson halfway through the hand quilting and I couldn’t let this happen. I then considered quilting in the ditch around each block and doing some hand quilting but that didn’t excite me neither.

When I made the Blue Moon top back in 2005, I also made another version of it in red fabrics and named it Red Moons. It only took me seven years after the flimsy was made to have it machine quilted. When I was hemming and hawing on the Blue Moon quilt, I pulled out the Red Moon quilt to remind me on how it was quilted and thought the machine quilting looked nice over the appliqued Moons. I seemed to have a hesitation when quilting over applique but am getting over it now.

While I was thinking about hand quilting Blue Moons, I thought of machine quilting it with wavey horizontal lines but t dismissed it as being something Kate wouldn’t do. I got over that notion and decided that although Kate saids that it okay to take five years to finish a quilt, I think twenty years is a bit too long although I have several quilts finished in this time frame.

It only took me around four hours to machine quilt wavey lines 1” apart in CT Essential Threads, teal for the top and a light teal for the bottom. I decided to use the light teal for the bottom since I already had five bobbins already wound and only need three. I used a Pellon Bamboo batting and the combination of this and the machine quilting gave Blue Moon such a nice soft, snuggly feel.

I did hand sew the blue Shot Cotton binding down while, of course, watching a Last Homely House video and it was a relaxing sew. I am quite proud that within 48 hours of coming home Blue Moon is a finally finished but really embarrassed that it took me only eight hours to accomplish this once impossible to finish flimsy of nineteen years. I can imagine hearing Kate still saying it’s brilliant and lovely.

I seem to make two quilts around the same time when I really love a pattern or fabrics. Here’s a pic of the fraternal twins: Blue Moon and Red Moon which is slightly larger by four inches in width and height. The Red Moon flimsy was finished first and the Blue Moon was made as a wedding quilt for one of my Peep’s daughter but then told she rather have a quilt made with gray and taupe fabrics. I glad Blue Moon wasn’t gifted now. You wouldn’t think these quilts are almost twenty years old; there’s something timeless about Kaffe Fassett fabrics, isn’t there. Now that my September UFO project is finished, I have another great project to start for October and it involves applique also. It’s nice to be home for at least ten days before leaving for the GP House again.

Linking up with My Quilt Infatuation/NTT

A Pokey Post for August

I consider the Squirrel to be my Spirit Animal for quilting but it seems the Sloth may be it for my Blog. I had two finishes since last week and was in no hurry to post about these two quilts despite being very happy with their finishes. Both of the quilts were listed in my 2024/25 Project List and had similar types of fabric designs with the appearance of birds, critters, fauna,etc. In my quest to write shorter Posts with brief descriptions, here’s a quick rundown:

What I really liked about both of the fabrics were what I thought were squirrels in both of the focus prints and they were definitely present in the Bluebird Park designed by Kate and Birdie Paper Co. for Moda fabrics. I had yardage and a charm pack of this collection for well over five years (I did include leftover yardage of the tan trellis print which was from the Autumn Woods Quilt made around seven years ago) and perfect to make another Fat Quarter Mixer which is one of my favorite patterns at the moment.  I previously finished one in May and you can see it and find details of this pattern in this Post. I did slightly modify this pattern by making the blocks smaller and making some of the blocks with only the large blue floral print since it was so pretty.

Once I determined and cut the fabrics, this quilt was a quick and simple make, a total of four days from start to finish. The machine quilting of wavey lines with CT Essential thread in Stone was a breeze. The pieced backing was made with yardage of the focus and solid green fabrics. I also used the solid green for the binding.  Can you see the cute squirrels and hedgehogs? Bluebird Park measures 60”x84” and is already hanging on the hallway bannister until next month when the Fall quilts will make their appearance. I just love the happy colors and prints and will happily display this quilt again come next Spring. It seems a bit early to be saying this but Fall is coming.

The second quilt, a door hanging for inside the hallway front doors, is the one made with a fat quarter bundle of the Sketchbook prints designed by Shauna Scicluna for Leutenegger.au purchased within the past five years and I’m pretty sure I bought it for the “squirrels” crossing the telephone wires

The focus print came in three colorways which I call morning, high noon and evening and it was hard for me to cut this print up. I decided to make a small quilt with large patches of these prints. I didn't use all of the prints shown which are background grid prints and used only the prints of leaves and fauna.

I first laid out the patches in a symmetrical layout and thought it looked too boring and then opted for an asymmetrical layout which is way more interesting.

In keeping with the asymmetrical layout, I only added a thin border of the lilac/gray mini check print on only three sides of the quilt to keep it 30” wide to fit on the door. I machine quilted with what I call telephone phone poles with straight vertical lines along the seams for the poles and wavey lines for the wires with silver CT Essential Thread. The binding which I hand sew down in the back because that’s what I like to do for for small quilts was the same check print as the border. I named this quilt G’Day which I thought was appropriate for this quilt. It measures 30” x 44”.

When I first purchase the fat quarter bundle I did not know these were Australian prints but came to the realization after seeing the .au after the Leutenbegger name and looking closely at the “squirrel with the funny ears”  and birds on the telephone wire. I couldn’t find any info on the inspiration for these fabrics so after the flimsy was made, I emailed my wonderful downunder tormentor Sue, PatchworknPlay to clarify what the birds and critter were so I could write an intelligent post and I’m glad I did. She said they don’t have squirrels in Australia so that is a common brushtail possum  along with magpies, sulphur crested cockatoos and maybe kookaburras, which they are. She thought the leaves would be Eucalyptus/gum trees and the sketches of fauna was too abstract for her to determine. Being the retired educator, she suggested I do further research on the Possum/Opossum names but being the rebel student which I am, I chose to discover the Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree song and there are gum tree leaves in some of the prints. 

I mentioned in a previous Post, that the Master Quilt Holder and I were taking pics of quilts made before I started blogging and never taken because they were too large. Before blogging, photos were taken inside and were not so great.  I sent a photo of this quilt to Susan while communicating about the G’day quilt and told her I made this twenty years ago and the pattern was the cover quilt for the book Fabulous Quilts from Favorite Patterns from Australian Patchwork & Quilting Magazines published in 2003. When I first started quilting it was always a treat to buy these magazines which may explain that I have an infatuation with anything Australian since I followed Kathy Dougherty and Sarah Fielke then and do not have a Jen Kingwell obsession. I like to mention again, Susan was one of my first Blogland friend and so fitting she lives in Australia and is living up my moniker for her as a downunder tormentor, who introduced me to Jen Kingwell. Susan said that I should post this photo of this quilt and sometimes I do listen to her. 

I thought I would close this once again a chatty Post of my two August quilts taken outside. September will be a busy month of traveling but I hope to be able to post my latest quilt still in the makings and my wonderful road trip project before we leave. But, dilly dallying seems to be in my Quilt DNA now with the help of the Studio Squirrels because I keep finding wonderful projects and forgotten fabrics in the Studio.

Linking up with:My Quilt Infatuation/NTT