Friday Feedsack Quilt Finishes

With just a few hours left to Friday, I am posting my latest finishes of scrappy feedsack quilt projects which I just sewed the last stitches on some of them this morning so I could included Friday in the Post title. I started these in 2021 which seem to me was last year and much to my surprise was something I started two years ago. If you have read any of my previous posts, I do have a special fondness or am I a fanatic for feedsack fabrics. I think I may have made at least ten quilts with feedsack fabrics and can’t bear parting with even the tiniest of scraps, strips or bits so I’m always looking for projects to use them up.

I was happy to finally finish this table topper above which was a project I did whenever we were at the GP House. These were strips leftover from previous quilts and some them are vintage feedsack fabrics given to me by my dear quilt peeps and some are more recent reproductions that I’d purchased.

I started sewing strips diagonally onto 8”squares of newsprint from old prospectus back in 2021. Once thirty-six blocks were sewn, I then put them in groups of four for a barn raising layout to make nine blocks. Once the blocks were sewn together, for some reason, I didn’t like the way it looked and took it apart after seen a similar quilt but with sashing in between the blocks and thought I wanted to do the same. But after the blocks were separated, they languished in the studio for a year until I decided what fabric I wanted to use for the sashing. I added these blocks to my 2022/23 Country Threads Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge and this was one of the projects I could have worked on in November. I already had decided on a different project but decided to work on the feedsack quilt because it was an easier finish and I’m trying to catch up. I decided that I didn’t want sashing after all so I had to sew the blocks back together again and I’m pretty sure I didn’t sew it back in the same layout as the first one.

I mentioned in my previous posts that Juki Junebug is not sewing well and I had a bit of a problem when I machine quilted just simple grid lines with black thread the first time. Part of the problem could have been my fault since I used a #40 heavier weight thread in black on the top and #50 on the bottom which I have done previously. For some reason it caused beaucoup puckering especially since I didn’t have the tension set properly. So like having to sew the blocks together twice, I had remove the quilting to do the machine quilting again which the second time was a success since I used the heavier weight thread for both the top and bottom. You can see the quilt lays flatter in the photo above and does not have the peaks and valleys as the first time which I did not take a photo. I was considering hand quilting it but am glad I did not because it would not have been easy on the fingers with the dense weave of some of the fabrics as as well as the seams and the cotton batting.

This quilt measures 46” square and the binding is a black and white check which I love to use with feedsack fabrics. I also love the backing fabric which is perfect for this quilt and I have to share the story as how it was acquired.

Whenever I am at Walmart, I like to check out their fabric department to see if I can score any fabric deals and like I have done before I hit the jackpot with this print. Previously I found a bolt of a black and white splatter print which resulted in me having to climb up in order to get it down from the top shelf. This time, I found a bolt of this U.S. map print laying on the bottom shelf still wrapped in plastic. As I approached it, I checked to make sure this wasn’t a trap by looking up at the ceiling to make sure there wasn’t going to be a cage going to come down on me. I was so excited since I knew this print would be perfect for my feedsack projects and happily found a sales associate to write up this purchase. She insisted on unwrapping the bolt and measuring the fabric because sometimes the quantity is incorrect and it was. Instead of 8 yards there was only 7.5 yards but still enough and it saved me $4. Besides using this for my latest feedsack quilt, I also used it for my feedsack placemats which you will see below.

These place mats were also started two years ago and worked on when traveling to and from and staying at the GP House. Unlike the blocks made for the feedsack quilt, these placemats were made from scraps hand sewn onto to squares or rectangles of batting. This is a wonderful slow stitching project which I came up with for road projects and wrote about it This Post.

Once the placemats were sewn, I then hand quilted with straight lines 1/2” apart with either black perle cotton or black crochet thread which is detailed in the above mentioned Post. 

Once the placemats were quilted and space left for the tacking row,  the backing of the wonderful U.S. map print was added. Like the feedsack quilt, the binding was the black and white check print. I made seven placemats but only finished five for this post because I was thinking I could take a photo of a table setting with the five finished placemats but it has been so dreary for the past few days to take photos in the screen room.

These placemats measures around 12”x18” and if I had thought of it sooner I would have adjusted the size so it could fit more properly in this lovely black wire tray I just purchased this week from Amazon (not an affiliate link). I was thinking that in the future when I made more of these placemats that this would be a lovely Hostess gift which could be filled with food items or dishes. (Or for my blog buddies, I could see one of their cats sleeping in this.) This could happen if I can find another source for these wire baskets since it seems I purchased the last one available from Amazon.

As mentioned earlier in this post, I just can’t throw away even the tiniest scraps of feedsack fabric—aren’t these little balls or as I call them Quilter Marbles (because you have to be sort of crazy to make them) cute? I need to find a cute wire basket to put them in.

I could say that I’m happy to be now finally caught up with my projects for Country Threads Dirty Dozen Challenge but I may be able to squeeze in the quilt I originally wanted to finish by the end of February because my new Janome 1600P is in the house. She has been unboxed and set up in my studio but I have not done a test drive yet. I have named her Jinny Janome and will definitely have something to post about her.  I plan on machine quilting with her this weekend. Meanwhile, Juki Junebug may be feeling a little put out but I plan on having her serviced again with a different repair shop before she is moved to the GP House. I am feeling a little guilty about moving her there but I will be able to work on bigger projects once she is there.

Clamity Cloud Cluster Coverlet

My Clamity Cloud Cluster Coverlet is my May finish for the CT Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge. Like the other quilts which I’ve finished so far since July, 2021 for this challenge, this one has a story to explain how this quilt came to be or more precisely this pattern. BTW, since finishing Clamity Cloud Cluster and if I already wasn’t set on this name, I’m thinking Feedsack Fundae would have have been a good name also. The clouds are starting to look like scoops of ice cream now.

Back in 2006, I purchased a set of clam shell freezer paper pieces which I first had to cut apart by hand and then cut hundreds of feedsack fabric squares which then an individual clam shell was ironed to it and then trimmed and basted in order for the clam shells to be sewn together to make rows. Back then I didn’t have an iPhone so I have no pictures to show for this long and laborious process. The above coverlet was finished in 2014 and this was what I considered a forever project which I worked on during many road trips. Would you believe after I made this, I then made one with 30’s fabrics which has been waiting for me to add the borders for at least eight years now. After I made these, my good Quilt Peep Linda asked me if she could borrow my clam shell freezer paper pieces which were still useable so she could make one.

After she was finished with her clam shell top in 2015, Linda returned the freezer paper pieces to me along with the extras she made with feedsack fabrics as well as 40’s and 50’s fabrics. Not wanting to let these clam shell blocks lay idle, I came up with an appliqué block which I thought was different but fun.

After that, I had to separate Linda’s clam shells either by two or by one for the clam clouds and then appliqued them to rectangles of Springmaid Natural Charm muslin. Once these were finished, I then sewed strips of black/white gingham to feedsack rectangles and made around 81 of these blocks. This was an on and off project for almost seven years. Last year, I decided to add this to the UFO challenge since I hated seeing these blocks laying around my studio.

I needed to trim all of the blocks to 7” first before laying them out on my design board. I initially was planning on a 9x9 or 66” square layout with one vertical row of clouds going up and the next row going down. 

After I sewed two rows together and they were laying on the table ready for me to press the seams, I noticed that I liked the look of the clam clouds and feedsack rectangles butting up against each other. I thought the new layout would look better as a 7x10 rectangular layout which meant removing two blocks from the two rows already sewn and eliminating the blocks which contained mostly brown fabrics.

Once the blocks were sewn together, I knew I needed to add a border and didn’t think I had anything in my stash. Luckily, while I was looking at photos in my Clamshell album, I saw the Clamshell Coverlet and knew the border I used would be perfect for Clamity Cloud and I still had a length of it leftover which was enough for a 2.5” border and binding. I was planning on quilting Clamity Cloud but decided against it and made it a coverlet by just sewing a fabric backing (no batting) like I did with the Clamshell Coverlet. (FYI, when I just back a quilt top with just fabric, I call it a coverlet and when I back it with a plush I call it a throw). Because I used Natural Charm muslin for the appliqued portion of the block which was thin, I could not use a print for the backing since it would show through. I had yardage of Kona Snow in my stash which I ended up using and am pleased with how it looks backing the appliqué. I quilted in the ditch along the vertical rows and in the borders with a 50 wt. Aurifil thread in Natural. The binding was hand sewn and because there was no batting, it was slow because I had to make sure the stitches did not go through to the top which can easily happen. The Clamity Cloud Cluster Coverlet measures approximately 52”x 70”.

And now I have a couple of Clamshell Coverlets. Despite not having any batting in the middle, the first Clamshell Coverlet folded up nicely and did not have any deep creases from sitting on the shelf for the past eight years. After finishing the Clamity Cloud Cluster Coverlet, I pulled out the 30’s clamshell and decided it is time to finally pick a border fabric. I’m thinking green. If I participate in the 2022/23 CT Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge, this should be one I list.

Pat Yamin Feedsack Star Quilt #2

My Pat Yamin Feedsack Star Quilt #2 (PYFSQ#2) is my February finish for the Country Threads Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge and I’m a few days late which is understandable once you read my explanation(s) in this post. So far in 2022, I am not doing so well with getting my UFO quilts finished in time, especially my quilt for January which was delayed because of a shipping problem with the white batting ordered which will be a post for another day. For a quilt which involved a lot of time, handwork and  some machine piecing, this quilt looks rather quiet, don’t you think?

This was a quilt I planned as a roadtrip project in 2015 which I first die-cut paper pieces of kite blades using a Sizzix die for EPP along with 4” squares cut from mostly Pat Yamin’s Come Quilt With Me Feedsack Fabric line which I think was released in 2010/2011. There are also other feedsack prints used, some of them old favorites. Once the EPP of the blades were basted, six of them were sewn together to make a star. The only problem with these stars were the very small hexagon circle in the middle which could be seen once the stars were appliquéd to an 8.5” square of muslin (Springmaid Natural Charm). I figured I could cover this hole with a button once the blocks were sewn together and ready to be quilted since I have done this before with Two other Appliquéd Quilts. I finished the appliquéing of 67 blocks in 2016 and they languished in my studio for over five years until I decided this would be a project to finish for the 2021/22 UFO Challenge.

A little side note here that I had to mention is about Pat Yamin and how after I started working on the PYFSQ#2 is remembering how much I loved the Come Quilt With Me fabric line. I just could not buy enough of it when it first came out since it was inspired by her love of feedsack fabrics which was one of my first fabric crushes when I started quilting. I had gone to a Quilt Show after the the fabric line was released and saw that Pat Yamin had a booth so I went in to see if she had any of this fabric. I quickly walked in, saw a lady behind the counter looking down, said “Hi” as I flew by her, circled her booth, saw no fabric, and by the time she lifted her head, I was saying a quick “Bye” much to her surprise. I realized after taking a few steps out of her booth that this was rude of me, especially since it was Pat Yamin who was standing behind the counter. I went back in to apologize and explained what I was looking for and to tell her how much I loved her fabric line. After a few laughs, I ended up purchasing the very large acrylic tumbler template which I have never used but after gathering this and the other Pat Yamin products purchased over the past years, I’m thinking I could use this whenever I sew some of my pretty selvedges together which I have collected. Pat has designed many templates which are great for hand piecing projects and may finally use the Thimble template for a small quilt with Civil War/reproduction fabrics.

Once I found out this was going to be my February project and pulled out the blocks along with yardage I was going to use for an alternate block, I first was at a lost since I couldn’t come up with a pattern. Since there were 67 blocks, I knew I didn’t want to make a twin size quilt so I decided to exclude the blocks that had brown fabrics which left 41 blocks of mostly red, black, green, blue, yellow, purple, pink and gray prints. Since the alternate blocks would be 7.5” (finished) rail blocks, the appliquéd blocks needed to be trimmed 1/4” on all four sides.

I made 40 rail blocks to alternate with the appliqué blocks for a 9 x 9 layout to make a 63” square quilt.

I knew I had the backing fabric which is one of my favorite print in the fabric line and had been patiently sitting in the backing vault. I wasn’t looking forward to piecing the backing so I was surprised to see it was already sewn. While ironing the backing and wondering why this was already sewn since I didn’t know what I was going to do with the blocks, I remember I did make another quilt with the fabric line and couldn’t picture it so I had to do a little search around the house and found it hiding underneath other quilts in a closet.

And here is the quilt which I am naming the Pat Yamin Feedsack Star Quilt #1 and it measures 78”x92”. This is the quilt the backing was meant for but the top was too large so I ended using a wide piece of muslin I had in my stash since my long armer was ready to quilt it. I never photographed this quilt, probably because of it’s size and only started using the garage door or screen room as a way to photograph my large quilts. I pretty sure I came up with this pattern in order to showcase the wonderful prints and am glad to be reacquainted with this quilt. As mentioned before, I just love these prints.

And now back to the finishing of the PYFSQ#2. After straight line and crosshatch machine quilting with an Aurifil Natural thread was done,  I needed to sew the buttons to the center of the appliquéd star blocks. I could have finished this quilt before the end of February but there was a slight problem. Remember the small hexagon hole in the center of the star blocks. I never appliqued them to the muslin blocks which needed to be done before the buttons could be added. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do this before leaving for a five day visit to the GP House last week and no way I wanted to take it with me—think of four dogs and the darling granddaughter laying it on the floor.

I was thinking that I didn’t need to sew the centers down if a larger button was used, but I found these small black hexagon buttons which fit perfectly in the centers. I wished I remember this small detail before sewing the top together and thankfully the finishing touch to this quilt was made a little easier by being able to do this by spreading it over my large dining room table. The black buttons really add a sweet touch to my quiet quilt. If I ever use the other blocks with the brown and teal fabrics, I’ll be sure to appliqué the centers.

Here are both of the Feedsack Star Quilts together. I am so glad I finally made a quilt with the appliquéd blocks. It brought back memories and the first quilt out of hiding and I now have another ensemble for my bedroom. I’m planning to use these two for the summer, the #2 to hang on the wall and #1 for the bed which is a little small but will be fine. Warm weather can’t come soon enough for me. I’ll be taking a little break from sewing in March since I’ll be working on taxes, reorganizing my studio since I finally bought a new sewing table and most important of all will be celebrating the Fifth Anniversary of being a Grandmother to the darling granddaughter.  It may involve the making of another Brown Bear Quilt which is going to be a post for another day.

Linking up with: My Quilt Infatuation/NTT

I Think I May Have A Feedsack Fairy Godmother

I’ve been meaning to post about my spending time during the month of February with my Feedsack fabric scraps which I haven’t played with for awhile. I’ve written several posts in the past about my infatuation with Feedsack fabrics, how my stash was acquired and the quilts made. Since we were spending a lot of time at the Grandparent House, I thought one of the projects I could do with the Feedsack scraps was to resurrect a project started over five years ago when traveling to Yosemite on a family vacation.

I always like to have a create-on-the-go project to do in a car and thought handpiecing feedsack scraps onto a flour sack would keep me busy and was doable since I had the entire back seat as my sewing studio. Here’s a photo of the start where I started sewing strips and can’t remember if I eyeballed the 1/4” sewing line or if I marked it. You can see the wooden stick used for pressing the seams down.

And this is where the project was left, still a lot of pieces to be sewn down to fill the flour sack foundation.

Here the top is finally finished and I decided this would make a nice size cushion since it’s the size of a standard pillowcase.  This would look so lovely sitting on a back of a wicker bench, wouldn’t it? Sad, I only have a chair and rocker.

Another reason for working on this project is that I’ve been seeing a lot of quilters online sharing their Kawandi, Kantha, Boro, Sashiko, etc. quilts and loved the idea of doing some big stitch quilting on this future feedsack cushion.  If you look closely, you can see my big black stitches which I’m using embroidery thread and hoping it won’t take another five years to finish. I’m also working on other projects inspired by the aforementioned quilts which will be another post for another day.

When I needed to take a break from the handquilting, I sewed some string blocks which measures 7” finished.  It’s a good way to use up the string scraps and the newsprint paper from old financial reports.  After making around twenty of these blocks I had to stop because I was running out of long enough strips and variety which made me sad because I am fond of so many of these prints.

Now to explain the title of this post and the photo at the top - I was going through my bins of Sandy Gervais fabrics today and didn’t find what I was looking for so in the process of putting the bins back on the top of the shelf, I came across a very long shoebox, 14” long, tied with a ribbon, which I don’t remember why this box was with the Sandy Gervais fabric.  I was really afraid to open it since my studio is in the basement and didn’t want to find anything creepy crawly in the box and much to my surprise and amazement, it contained lovely big chunks and strings of feedsack fabric, many of them my favorite prints. I don’t remember putting these scraps in this box nor why they would be separated from my feedsack stash which is on the other side of the studio. I do know the shoebox was mine since my feet are that big. So, as I was telling my Hubby of my lovely discovery and not knowing how the box was put in that corner of the studio, I decided I must have a Feedsack Fairy Godmother which makes sense to me since most of my Feedsack stash was given to me.  I’ve already separated the strings from the chunks and will be taking them with me the next time we visit the Grandparent House.

I’ve not posted since the first week of January and have been only writing a monthly post which I clearly missed February.  I can see why some bloggers write daily or several posts during the week since a lot of things can happen. So fearing that my next post might be as long as a novel, I thought finding the box of Feedsack Scraps was an impetus to finally write a post so I can keep track of what’s sewing around in my studio. I still have other posts to write about, especially my Country Threads Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge finishes which I hope to finally write about at the end of March. I’m glad I finally am biting the Blog Bullet and getting back on the Post saddle despite my problems of my posts not being picked up Bloglovin’. You might read me sooner than later.

Farewell to Fassett February

February was a funny month for me which I can best describe as I was in a mood for not staying on task and felt kind of bad that in less than two months into 2018, I wanted to throw my project lists, which I spent a lot of time planning, aside. After all this was my year for Making it Easy and I was feeling pressure from my project lists so there's no better way to relax is to sew something you want to sew and that's what I did with my Kaffe appliqué quilt.  I finally started working on this quilt, after six years of fermentation which the blocks and leaves were ready for appliqué, when we were vacationing in Texas at the end of January.  I appliquéd 36 blocks in around a week which is doable when you unexpectedly don't have access to WiFi. Once I was back home, I sewed the alternate blocks which I am happy to say I had the fabrics in my stash to make them and once I was ready to assemble the blocks into a quilt, I was pleasantly annoyed that I needed to appliqué four more blocks in order to use the same setting as its fraternal twin quilt.

There are a few quilts patterns which I have made several times and an appliqué quilt pattern would not be one I would want duplicate unless maybe I thought it would be a fun road project.  When the Darlene Zimmerman Going Green pattern was first published by American Patchwork and Quilting in February, 201l, I was inspired to make two versions of this quilt; one with Feedsack fabrics and one with Kaffe Fassett fabrics.  I finish the Feedsack quilt top in 2013 and finally finished it in 2015 as part of Country Threads' UFO Challenge and I was in no hurry to work on the Fassett version even though the pieces were ready.

Although I'm participating in Tish's Adventure in Wonderland's UFO addition this year, my Kaffe quilt did not make the list so finishing the top was an unexpected surprise and what would even be more totally unexpected is if I finally finished it this year so it can join the Feedsack quilt. I'm already planning on ordering the coconut buttons so there's a good chance, especially if I get into one of those moods again. 

BTW, Feedsack and Fassett fabrics are some of my first fabric crushes and I have even used them together as you see from the quilt above.  You can read about this combination in my last week's Throwback Thursday post, Feedsack and Fassett Fabrics Go Together, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, here.

I don't know if March is going to be any better for me to get back on task seeing that I have taxes to prepare, yuck, annual doctor and dentist appointments, big yuck here, and a very big and happy deterrent, Micah, my very precious granddaughter will be celebrating her first birthday at the end of the month.  This means if any quilt is going to be finished, it's going to be hers and it has to have bees because she is the Micah Bee.

Linking up with:  My Quilt Infatuation, Needle and Thread Thursday, Crazy Mom Quilts, Finish It Up Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop Friday, Busy Hands Quilts, Finish or Not Friday, Tish Adventure in Wonderland

Throwback Thursday: Fassett and Feedsack Fabrics Go Together-Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

Well February definitely flew by and I was just finishing up a project for this week's Friday link-ups and I realized that today was Sandra's mmm!quilts Throwback Thursday link-up so I thought I better post since I missed last month's.  I do like participating in Throwback Thursday (TBT) since it gives me an opportunity to show and explain some quilts which were made many moons ago and may explain why I sew things the way I sew.  Sandra, in her last month's post mentioned that when she and her friend first started quilting around the mid 1990's and went to buy fabric for their first quilt class, her friend said "Well, apparently in quilting you can mix prints, no problem...." which is the same thought I embraced wholeheartedly when I started quilting right around the same time, so something must have been in the water back then.  And for me, there were no better fabric mix than Kaffe Fassett and Feedsack fabrics which at the time the above quilt was made I was accumulating a nice stash of both.

I made my Flower Bed quilt in 2003 after seeing this quilt in  Pamela Mostek and Jean Van Bockel's Quilts from Larkspur Farm book and absolutely fell in love with it and as you can see I pretty much duplicated it without a benefit of a kit but a lot of fabric searches on foot before online days. Fortunately, I worked at a quilt shop at the time and was able to buy the Piece of Cake's stripe and some of the floral prints along with some greens and found the Kaffe Fassett lattice print through one of my many quilting jaunts which is what you did before buying online.

I was needing some more floral prints and I found some in my Feedsack stash which I have accumulated through the generosity of my quilting peeps, Mary and Linda, yes, the same friends from the Aunt Amy's Bullseye QAL which I posted about in January's TBT.  I am pretty sure that the original quilt did not have any Feedsack prints and I always chuckle to myself when I think about the fabrics I used in my quilt "Feedsack and Fassett together, who would have thunk."  Another takeaway from this quilt is that I discovered Pat Mostek and after the Quilts from Larkspur Farm book, she published Just Can't Cut It!, Quilts From Fabulous Fabrics, which validated my feeling of not wanting to cut up my large focus prints and started my love of making quilts with big blocks.

I'm still keeping my tradition of Feedsack and Fassett (F&F) fabrics, although separate now. For the past few weeks, I have been working on the Fassett version of Darlene Zimmerman quilt which I made in Feedsack fabrics and finally finished in 2015 during Country Thread's UFO Challenge. When I first saw the pattern over ten years ago in American Patchwork and Quilting, I decided that I wanted to make two versions of it and after finishing the feedsack version, I wasn't in a hurry to finish the Fassett version. I just need to add the borders to this quilt and will post about the latest F&F quilts later.

And now for some stats for my Flower Bed Quilt:

Size:  68" x 82" (approx.),  Ninety-nine  7.5" Square in the Square Blocks, funny I just mentioned the other day that Square in the Square Blocks were not my favorite and now I may know why.  Also, the original quilt was 84" x 98" and I probably made it smaller because I didn't have enough of the Kaffe Fassett Lattice fabric but bought more after the quilt was finished.

Pattern:  Flower Bed by Pam Mostek and Jean Van Bockel, 2001

I've been going a little bit modern in my quilts for the past few years but after pulling out the Quilts from Larkspur Farm, there really are some lovely quilts using floral prints in this book, and I could easily make another quilt from this book--after all I still have lots of floral prints from the 1990s in my stash.  And finally, for a few days this week after the announcement of Free Spirit Fabrics closing and the uncertain future of Kaffe Fassett fabrics, I thought my stash was going to be a real treasure chest but am glad they found a new home with Jaftex.  Yay.  More Kaffe Fassett fabrics to buy!

I'm linking up with:  mmm! quilts Throwback Thursday