Innocent Crush Patchwork Throw

My Innocent Crush Patchwork Throw is my August finish for the Country Threads Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge. Like my July Finish, my August UFO was finished early and involved HSTs waiting to be assembled into a quilt. I knew once I decided on a layout for the blocks, I wanted this to be a quick and easy finish, so the plan was to make it a Patchwork Throw by only adding a plush backing and no batting.

This Patchwork Throw has been in the makings for over ten years when the Innocent Crush fabrics designed by Anna Maria Horner was released in 2010. I purchased a Fat Quarter Shop Designer Bundle of twelve fat quarters along with a yard cut of the red Mixed Signal print which came in handy once I decided on the layout. Whenever I purchase pre-cuts, I always try to remember to buy yardage of one of the prints for binding.  Since this project was started before I began blogging and using an iPhone to record my quilting activity, the best I can remember is the HSTs were probably made after the fat quarter bundle was sitting around for at least five years and I decided to use these mostly large prints for HSTs after I purchased an 8” HST die. To the best of my recollection and forgetting to look through my old quilt planners to verify the dates, these HSTs were made at least five years ago and the last time I looked at these HSTs was almost four years ago. Along with the twelve fat quarters from the bundle, I also cut a fat quarter from the red Mixed Signal print since it was not included in the bundle so fifty-six HSTs were sewn. I only needed fifty-four for the top.

When I started working with the HSTs, I couldn’t remember the name of the fabric collection and spent some time online searching the many Anna Maria Horner fabric lines to determine which one it was and of course had I looked at the yard cut of fabric I had, the name was was on the selvedge. (And then again I could have also found it had I look through my old planners.) This lovely group of fabrics has lovely shades of teal, lavender, pinks, blue and rusty reds so I decided to make flying geese blocks with the boldest colors which were mostly reds and blues for the points. These blocks measure 8”x16” (finished).

When I first started laying out the flying geese blocks point side down on my design board, my initial plan was not to match the sides but decided I liked the look of the flying geese blocks linking although some of the same prints are too close together for my liking. When the blocks were originally laid out with the points down, I thought of naming the quilt Half Hearted but decided I like the layout better with the points up. The remaining yardage of the red Mixed Signal print which I intended for the binding was used instead to add a four-inch pieced border on the sides so the top would measure 56”x72”.

Since my plan was to make a Patchwork Throw, the layout wasn’t too important and not so noticeable because once the plush backing was added,  it would look nice scrunched up on a chair or sofa. My favorite plush Chenille backing was used along with a black and gray mini check for the binding.

My first Patchwork Throw was made around five years ago when I wanted to make a quick quilt for my Godmother who had knee surgery from an accident and was going to be recovering in a convalescence home. I had HSTs already made with Amy Butler fabric, which were made the same time as the Innocent Crush HSTs, and some apple green Minky. It turned out great. The lessons I learned with this throw is to use sewing machine needles for knits, ball points, polyester thread and baste well. Also, you only need to do simple quilting since there is no batting in between and I find when I do too much quilting, it makes the throw too puffy. This is the only Patchwork Throw I’ve self bind with the Minky and I am wondering why I decided to start binding them. BTW, I made quite a few of these Amy Butler HSTs and have enough left to make another Patchwork Throw which I added to this year’s Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge so you may see it sooner or later.

Patchwork Throws really are quick and easy to make, especially if you already have a flimsy made. We’re in the midst of a heat wave as well as other parts of this U.S. so I’m thinking in around sixty days, my Innocent Crush Patchwork Throw will be very much appreciated and snug worthy. I’m hoping I will be able to see my friend by then so I can give her this very belated gift.

And speaking of gifts, this quilt formerly known as the Jolly Jinny Jungle Quilt has now been renamed as the Wetland Quilt and given to my favorite nephew, Jim, in celebration of his recent marriage and his new position as the Director of the James Kennedy Waterfowl and Wetlands Conservation Center in South Carolina. I’m so glad I had just the right quilt to give him and although I miss it, I can always make another quilt with these fabrics since I still have some leftover fabrics and blocks.

Before I end this post, I thought a share a peek of the secret sewing I’m doing in preparation of an upcoming Blog Hop in September for a new quilt publication to be released on August 23rd which is absolutely wonderful. More details and peeks to follow.

I’m glad my August commitment  is finished because the rest of the month we will be busy traveling to and from the Grandparent House and looking forward to an upcoming road trip to Colorado. Hoping to stay healthy and for you too, as well as having an Awesome August.

Linking up with: My Quilt Infatuation/NTT

 

Jiffy July

I thought the end of my freakishly fast July would be these two quilts but decided that I could do one more Finally Finish with my Flour Garden Table Runner.

All three of these were 2020 Flimsies and also happen to be the last of the quilts in which the color Citronickle makes an appearance. I also decided to switch calling this month Jiffy instead of Freakishly Fast because I like the alliteration of Jiffy July. Here are some deets of each of these Finally Finishes:

Kiwi and Mango Tango (KMT) Slinky

If the prints in this quilt look a little familiar, it’s because I made this from the leftover strips and squares from the Kiwi and Mango Tango Bundle Buster quilt made in 2019. 

The Kiwi and Mango Tango Bundle Buster Quilt was given to the darling Granddaughter’s parents and I always wanted to make a quilt for myself from the scraps.

Usually, only squares are used in “Slinky” quilts but since I had some strips leftover, I didn’t want to cut them into squares which would result in some waste. Plus, some of these strips were my favorite prints of Pam Goecke Dinnorf’s Figment Fabrics. I think the Charcoal Aged Muslin setting strips by Marcus Brothers accents these fabrics nicely.

I machine quilted with a combination of straight and wavey lines in an Essential Thread in Charcoal Gray on the top with a variegated Gray thread in the bottom which I thought would go well with the fun backing fabric. The binding is the same Charcoal Gray fabric used in the top which makes it look like I faced the quilt. KMT Slinky measures 55” x 75”.

Ernie a Go Go (previously named Urban Ernie)

I thought the name Ernie a GoGo fit better with the colorful VeloCity fabric line by Jessica Hogarth, P&B Textile since the focal prints has a few things with wheels that say “Go”. 

I can’t remember the idea behind this quilt which the rail blocks of various widths were paired with plain patches of the focal print and black and white rails which sort of remind me of prison stripes and jokingly thought of renaming this quilt Ernie Goes to Prison. Additional fabrics used in this quilt were from Art Gallery and Cotton+Steel.

My favorite way to machine quilt the “Ernie” Quilts is to combine straight lines with wavey lines and I used Charcoal Gray Essential Thread. The backing is the splatter print which I purchased a bolt of just for backing the modern quilts and it complements this top well. For some reason, I did not set aside any fabric for binding and spent some time hunting the stash to find a print which went with the other other fabrics. I chose a Jackie Shapiro black and white stripe. This quilt measures 56”x72”.

After Ernie a GoGo was a Finally Finish, I thought a photograph with Banana the Bike would be fun so I asked the Master Quilt Holder to take it down from the rafter in the garage. 

I thought I would include a collage of the Master Quilt Holder who thought I should take Banana for a spin but I rather use her as a quilt prop for just the right quilt. Banana has been gathering dust hanging in the garage for the past several years as you can see from the dusty Swifter that’s stuck in the Master Quilt Holder’s back pocket and laying on top of the back seat; sort of looks like a bunny tail, doesn’t it?

Flour Garden Table Runner

If I haven’t already plan for this quilt to be a table runner, it would make a nice bench seat cover, wouldn’t it? I just love the happy color combination of teals, grays, navy and Citronickle.

I mentioned in a previous post that I seem to like collecting the fabrics received in the Fat Quarter Shop’s Sew Sampler box but here is a rare instance when I was perusing through an old quilt magazine and I was inspired to make a log cabin table runner with Linzee McCray’s Flour Garden Honey Bun Mini Roll. I added additional prints from other fabric lines for more variety.

Simple diagonal quilting with Aurifil #2920 thread on top and smoke gray on the bottom went easy-Thank you Hera Marker. Binding was, no surprise, the Citronickle Kimberly Kight print. This table runner measures 24”x48”.

Just two more days left for the month of Jiffy July and I think five Finally Finishes makes it a pretty productive month. I’m going to spend the last days starting on some secret sewing and I’m going to be slab happy. I’m looking forward to an Awesome August which may not involve a lot of quilting since we will be traveling and Hubby with his band, The Fossil Tonez have several gigs planned.

Linking up with: My Quilt Infatuation, NTT

Citronickle Canyon

I’m having a good string of Finally Finishes since the beginning of June and my Citronickle Canyon Quilt is the tenth one in seven weeks. So far this year, it’s my twentieth Finally Finish and my sweet sixteen UFO-I guess almost weekly travels to the Grandparent House helps me to stay on task. The Citronickle Canyon was an UFO from last year and finished in March around the start of the lockdowns. I thought I share the idea behind this quilt and the influences of good quilt friend Wendy/Pieceful Thoughts.

If you read any of my past posts, you will remember that Citronickle is the name Wendy came up for the yellow green color which is a combination of Kona’s Pickle, a beloved color, and my liking to call any yellow green Citron. You can see in the quilt that Citronickle makes an appearance. The Canyon portion of the name is from Violet Craft’s Palm Canyon fabric line which Wendy and I both received a mini roll of 20 strips in a Fat Quarter Shop Sew Sampler Box. I can’t recall the conversation which transpired between us that prompted her to send me the remaining strips she had left after making a lovely bag with her roll of Palm Canyon. It wouldn’t surprise me if I had mentioned that I very rarely use any of the fabrics included in the Sew Sampler Boxes which I’ve been receiving these since the beginning of this wonderful program and, yes, I have a wonderful collection. In order to make this quilt I needed to buy some fat quarters and yardage of the focal print of Palm Canyon plus I added some Michelle d’Amore Contempo prints which I purchased during a Colorado vacation in 2018 along with (not shown) a Art Gallery print and a gray and white Pick up Sticks print which I purchased after seeing this in some of Wendy’s quilts.

The pattern is a variation of my Staggered Strips and Squares Quilt Pattern and the Big Cat Crossing Quilt  shows larger patches of a focal print and vertical rail blocks used in this quilt.

The Citronickle Quilt is made up of 8”x16” patches of the focal print, 8” rail blocks set vertically and various sizes of strips sets made of 2.5” strips and 4”x8” rectangles. One difference with the strips is that some of them were sewn with diagonal seams to complement some of the angular prints.

Here’s a close-up showing the focal print which shows the wind turbines with the rail blocks and strip sets and you can see the all of the fabrics I mentioned above. I like to mention I really love the focal print and it was hard for me to cut which is why these patches were 8” x 16”.

Upon my return home last week from the Grandparent House and with a few days in between before we left again, Citronickle Canyon was quilted with diagonal straight line quilting 1” apart and some spots a little wonky which I thought would work  since this quilt seem to have an angular look. I quilted it with a 50wt Silver Aurifil thread and the binding is the gray and white Pick up Stick print dutifully saved in the binding drawer. The quilt measures 56”x72”. I forgot to take a photo of the backing which you can see on the left side of the fabric photo above. I mentioned this print in my June Unexpectations Post as it was the backing used for the Zingy Zebra baby quilt.

Here’s another photo of the Citronickle Canyon hanging around the fence at the Grandparent House. It’s too bad there are no canyons around.

Last of all, I want to mention that I’ve finally switched to Follow.it after reading so many posts from other bloggers who recommended this as a way to advise followers when I publish a blog post. At first I was hesitant and stubborn about making the switch but I really like this site not only for announcing new posts from me but also for reading other posts from my blog buddies, the news and other points of interests. I’m still learning how to navigate this site but so far no problems and I can’t say enough about their customer service. It’s so nice to communicate with a person in real time and am so thankful they converted my subscriber list. It was so easy and I am amazed that I was able to do this. Thanks Suz, Janine, Nancy and Sandra for writing such great posts about this new service and helping the poster child for being technically challenged on Blogging to finally go with the flow.

Last night after returning from the Grandparent House and enjoying the start of a six-day hiatus from the darling granddaughter and before I started quilting another 2020 UFO, I thought I “treat” myself by playing with the Alison Glass fabrics I been accumulating/purchasing lately. I decided that I am going to make another Ernie Express Quilt but only using two fabrics instead of four fabrics in each block. This is the start of something fun and will be doing a “somewhat” tutorial on the making of these blocks. They do sew fast or as I am saying during the month of July “freakishly fast.”

If you’re looking for inspiration or need something to get your sewjo sewing, check out to see what Wendy is doing. You might see some Citronickle.

Linking up with:My Quilt Infatuation\NTT

The Flying Geese Frenzy Quilt

This is my July and first Finally Finished for the 2021/22 Country Threads Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge and I am off to a freakishly fast start. Once the blocks were laid out on the design board, The Flying Geese Frenzy was a quilt in less than 48 hours. But then on the other hand you can say it was six years in the makings.

The inspiration for the Flying Geese Frenzy quilt was the Fat Quarter Shop’s Fat Eighth Frenzy quilt made in 2015 with BasicGrey’s PBJ and Persimmon fabrics, some of which I purchased from Country Threads when the store was opened. This is one of my favorite collections which I made several quilts, one of them was my youngest son’s Wedding Quilt and scraps of it have appeared in other quilts like my Gypsy Wife and Smitten. These fabrics will be making another appearance in the Dirty Dozen Challenge since I have another UFO with these fabrics in the queue. 

After the Fat Eighth Frenzy quilt was finished, there were around fifty+ bonus HST (just under 8”) made from the parallelogram blocks. I like the challenge of making quilts with leftovers and with what I have in my stash. Last year, I decided I wanted to finally make a quilt with these HSTs and grouped them with yardage of the blue zig zag print and the prettiest blue floral print. I paired the HSTs which were the same and there were around 25 of them which matched. My thought was to make flying geese blocks and sashed them with 7” high cuts of the blue floral print and side bordered with a 7”width  of the zig zag print thus making a 70”x96” quilt, a super twin size. It’s a good thing it fell to the wayside because once I started planning to make this quilt on July 1st, I made a smaller version of 58”x78” by changing the size of the sashing and borders.

Before we left for the Grandparent House, the HSTs were laid out on the design board and upon my return this past Tuesday, they were sewn together. I realized after the flying geese were made and deciding that each block would be sashed individually instead of using one long strip, I was trying to determine the width of these blocks. I realized the flying geese were not what I considered an even size because I did not trim the HSTs to a consistent size of 7.5” square prior to sewing them together. Truth be told, since I use either my die cutter or triangle paper to make my HSTs, I never trim them. I should have trim these HSTs since they were cut offs when the parallelogram blocks when they were sewn together. Lesson learned, so I trimmed each flying geese blocks to 7.5” x 14.5” which resulted in some of these blocks having their points cut off once the top was assembled but otherwise the sewing went well.

You can see I alternated the sashing strip with either the floral or zig zag print because some of the flying geese blocks had either one of the prints in them. So in order to give good contrast and to avoid what I call globs, they were paired with either one of the prints and those that had the zig zag print were paired with the floral, and vice versus. The middle blocks had the floral sashing and the side blocks had the zig zag sashing since the border was now going to be the floral print. This is the reason why the quilt ended up being smaller since I only had an 80” length piece of this print and thought the zig zag border would be too busy. Also, I changed the size of the finished sashing strips from 7” to 3.5” high.

Sewing the flimsie went fast and it helped that the flying geese blocks were trimmed and that the sashing was pieced and not one long strip which I originally envisioned. I know I have a hard time lining up blocks when the sashing is one long strip which is the reason why I don’t make quilts without cornerstones. The sashing strips were cut 4” x 14.5” and the border strips were 7.5” wide.

Fast decisions were made for the quilting, vertical straight lines, 1” apart with #2610 Aurifil Light Blue Gray and the backing is a 2004 RJR stripe found in the newly organized backing vault. Another tip I learned and now going to follow is you can avoid quilting over safety pins by not quilting when it’s 3AM in the morning. Thankfully, my Juki Junebug survived and I did replace the needle right away.

When I sewed the binding with the zig zag print, I used a tip which Linda, Texas Quilt Gal just posted about who learned it from Janine, Quilts from the Liittle House and that is to use a folded post-it note to get nice, sharp corners by lining it up with the edge, sewing up to it and then angling off.

Here’s a somewhat close-up of the quilting, binding and backing. I’m especially pleased with how everything went together so nicely and freakishly fast. I wish this would happen more often.

I brought the Flying Geese Frenzy Quilt to the Grandparent House this weekend to take photos of it around the porch and fence. Unfortunately, the skies were overcast, which supposedly is great for quilt photos. The only Sunshine was provided by the Master Quilt Holder’s very sweet Assistant and yes, she was wearing her pajamas.

I couldn’t resist including more photos of the Flying Geese Frenzy Quilt since the Grandparent House is a wonderful place to take photos since I don’t have a fence nor railings at the other house. I even have a clothesline here but have yet to put it to use. I’ll be bringing this quilt back to the other house where once the other quilt from the Challenge is a finally finish, these two quilts will be part of the new Master Bedroom Ensemble. Yikes, I hope that quilt could be a fast finish since it will be king size and I’ll be quilting it myself via QAYG.

I’m glad my Challenge quilt for July is a Finally Finish because I’ll be spending some time preparing for some secret sewing which I will posting and providing “peeks” of my project shortly. The final reveal won’t be until mid-September. Is it me, or is this summer just flying by but not freakishly fast, right?

Linking up with:My Quilt Infatuation NTT