It's been well over a month since I last posted and yes it's been that long since I've been able to finally finish one quilt, let alone two quilts, one being a DrEAM (totally unexpected make) and the other, an UFO from several years ago. Between several visits to see my granddaughter and her family and dog sitting, there wasn't too much time spent on quilting plus several heat waves in the Midwest didn't help. This past weekend, I was focused on finishing the DrEAM quilt and much to my surprise I was able to finish the UFO quilt which seems apropos seeing that these quilts share a common link of both being made with some Japanese Woven fabrics coming from the same source which I am happy to share the details.
Scrappy Sixpatch was the first finally finished quilt which came about courtesy of once again Squirrel Mail. Back in July when I was working on a baby quilt which needed to be made since the baby is now several months old, I found out that my friend Mary of Country Threads was sending me a box of scraps which much to my surprise turned out to include some Japanese Wovens and Cottons. Needless to say, I abandoned the baby quilt to play with the scraps which were like puzzles pieces waiting for a quilt to be made.
After sorting through the Wovens and Japanese Cottons, I separated the large half rectangle patches and the 2-1/2"x4-1/2" rectangles which were already sewn together.
The half rectangles were sewn together and then trimmed to 2-1/2" to 8-1/2" and the rectangles were separated into two patches also measuring 2-1/2" x 8-1/2". From there, four different six-patch blocks measuring 6-1/2" x 8-1/2" were made; three half-rectangle blocks pointing right, three half-rectangle blocks pointing left, six rectangle patch blocks which included a red print and another one which does not.
The half rectangles were sewn together and then trimmed to 2-1/2" to 8-1/2" and the rectangles were separated into two patches also measuring 2-1/2" x 8-1/2". From there, four different six-patch blocks measuring 6-1/2" x 8-1/2" were made; three half-rectangle blocks pointing right, three half-rectangle blocks pointing left, six rectangle patch blocks which included a red print and another one which does not.
With a limited number of the half-rectangle blocks and way more rectangle blocks, this is the layout I came up after drafting it first on graph paper. When I initially laid out the blocks, I did not like the movement which I resolved by putting the half-rectangle blocks pointing left in one row and the ones pointing right on another row. When they were mixed together on the same row, the movement made my eyes crossed which half rectangles does to me. Also, the rectangle blocks were laid out with the ones with red patches on one row and the ones without on the alternate row. You wouldn't think by looking at this that much planning went into this layout. There was a point that I thought these blocks were not going to play well with each other but I'm glad they decided to get along.
Machine quilting was a breeze, I think my Juki JuneBug was happy to be sewing once again and I think it shows in the 3/4" straight line quilting with Connecting Threads in Natural. The backing and binding was from a Jan Patek collection which went perfectly with the top.
While I was sewing the Scrappy Six Patch quilt, my Three Patch quilt was brought out since this quilt was also made with Japanese Wovens and Homespuns. If some of these fabrics look familiar, I used them in my Kiwi and Mango Tango Bundle Buster Quilt made earlier this year. Who would have thought I would have three quilts made with Japanese Wovens done in one year and the year is not over yet. The Japanese Wovens in this quilt was purchased four years ago from Mary when her Country Threads shop was opened. The top was made over three years ago and was on my UFO List to one day finish. I thought of using the top as a backing for the Kiwi and Mango Tango quilt but much to my surprise, this top was only 48" x 60" which was way too small. I didn't think it was fair to finish the Scrappy Sixpatch and not the Three Patch, which if you're wondering why it's called this, it's because the 6" blocks consisted of two 3" squares using the same orange and gray fabrics with a 3"x6" rectangle patch. Once the blocks were sewn together, alternating the block orientation, it looks like four patches with a rail block. Getting back to finally finishing the Three Patch Quilt, I was wondering why I made this quilt so small and then accepting that it was meant to be a lap quilt, I then had to figure out how I wanted to quilt it. I wanted to do something fast and simple and thought diagonal quilting lines on the four patches would work but maybe would be too far apart. I resolved this by putting fleece instead of batting in the middle which meant I didn't have to quilt it as much.
Juki JuneBug once again obliged me with some wonderful machine quilting done with me just eyeballing the diagonal lines with the Natural thread already loaded up. Quilting with fleece in the middle, which I've done several times already, is no problem as long as you baste well which I did with basting straight pins. I used yardage of a teal homespun from the backing vault and the binding was the gray homespun used in the top. The other nice thing about using fleece besides not having to do a lot of machine quilting, is how soft and cuddly it makes the quilt, especially after it has been washed. I recommend this if you want to make a simple and fast quilt.
Now that these quilts are finally finished it's time to start quilting the Baby Quilt. I like to give a shoutout to Mary for once again inspiring me to make another quilt. I seriously can write a post of all of the quilts that "Mary Made Me Make". Between her and the other mmmPetus, Sandra, these two keep me busy. Last, but not least, I'm participating in the 2019 Online Quilters Meet & Greet hosted by Benita Skinner of Victoriana Quilts which starts on September 3rd. Last year's Meet & Greet had over thirty bloggers participating and was an opportunity to meet new bloggers and be eligible to win great prizes. This year's promises to be the same and I'm glad I am able to participate this year. Now that I am back to writing posts and Hubby is back as being the Master Quilt Holder, I will be ready after another visit to see the granddaughter.
