Artful Homemade Quilts Have A Way

[freedombecki]

This morning was fun. I worked on turning point blocks last year. here's one completed:

And well, it's plain to see, my work today is cut out for me.

 

[freedombecki]

Turning point blocks look like little propellers all lined out. I worked some yesterday and some today. There are now at least 40 completed propellers, and I've been trying to square them up into 8" squares as I go. Here's another couple of pics of turning point. Do you think they look like little toy propellers, too? I've been looking everywhere for a name for these. I used to know it, too. *sigh.*

 

[freedombecki]

More of this and yesterday's blocks, turning propellers

 

[freedombecki]

More thinking about sashes. Maybe some of the trillion little squares I have cut out in a box would be a good way of getting rid of them and making an unusual quilt, too. I just kept stacking up the cuts of propeller squares like the above in every color plus neutrals, brown and black. I'm starting to love this quilt. By doing only 10 squares a day earlier this week, it still racked up a goodly amount, and this morning, I made the triangles around a huge pile of propeller squares (for lack of a better name). I really do need to find Barbara Brackman's book and figure out what she named it or found in a resource at her disposal. I did not find the squares in Jinny Beyer's encyclopedia nor British author, Maggie Malone (2 of my favorites).The works today were fun!

 

[freedombecki]

And some more...

 

[freedombecki]

And some more I enjoyed the outcomes more than others:

 

[koshergrl]

I am digging out the quilt I've been working on tonight and I'm going to finish it...

 

[freedombecki]

I am digging out the quilt I've been working on tonight and I'm going to finish it...

That's so cool, koshergrl. I worked 10 hours and got 12 of the squares sashed with 1.25" squares. I was up at 4 am and worked on it until just a few minutes ago, stuck it on the printer, and came up with some pics to share

 

[freedombecki]

Sorry for the not-the-best show-n-tell. It so far measures about 28x38" give or take an inch or two, and it looks like an ok scrap quilt. It can be made at this point for a larger child, as it only has 12 blocks, each being almost 10." I can either add more rows for a taller child or just leave it as is, adding a couple of borders for a truly small child. Two borders 3 + 5 inches are 8" per side so it would add 16" to the width and 16" to the length, which would be about 42 x 52". hm If I added one more row of 3 blocks and the borders, it'd be the same approximate width but 60" in length. That might be a good compromise, considering the time investment being made in this silly little quilt.

If I leave it as is and settle for just the two borders, I know I have enough leftover blocks to make 4 small quilts, and at least 3 the same size. When you compare the propeller squares to the sashing squares, that's where the time is, in the sashing on this quilt. It likely overrides the propeller pattern, which is so simplistic, it doesn't matter. I love this little quilt & am pleased with the way it turned out overall. When I'm not so sore (sewing in the same position for numerous hours + fibromyalgia = achey) even though I have great supplements that knock out the big stuff. I can't think when I'm like this, so will wait till tomorrow to make a decision. I could quilt it if it were small enough, but if it gets much bigger, someone else will have to do that.

 

[Sunshine]

Should you ever find yourself in this area, don't pass up the National Quilt Museum.

The National Quilt Museum

 

[freedombecki]

Should you ever find yourself in this area, don't pass up the National Quilt Museum.

The National Quilt Museum

Thank you, Sunshine. I'd love to get to see that museum every day of the week! A few years back, we represented our little quilt store at a national convention in Knoxville and rented a car to go to Paducah. What a joy to see all that quality, excellent work of other quilters. The day we went, Caryl Bryer Fallert had half a dozen or so of her dazzling works of art hanging that were pure eye candy. There was also a very unique display, doh, can't remember the exact reason, but there was a group of extra-charged quality quilts made by women from around the country. We're talking half-inch postage stamp work akin to counted cross stitch and many other types of precision work you don't see in every quarter.

You have a treasure there, and I'm honored you'd like for me to see it. It's one of America's proudest museums anywhere, I only wish it had as many square feet as the Hermitage museum near St. Petersburg, Russia. There's a lot of talent in this land, and Paducah Ky's National Quilt Museum takes the cake imho. Their staff must be wizards of dedication and strongly wise persons.

 

[Sunshine]

Should you ever find yourself in this area, don't pass up the National Quilt Museum.

The National Quilt Museum

Thank you, Sunshine. I'd love to get to see that museum every day of the week! A few years back, we represented our little quilt store at a national convention in Knoxville and rented a car to go to Paducah. What a joy to see all that quality, excellent work of other quilters. The day we went, Caryl Bryer Fallert had half a dozen or so of her dazzling works of art hanging that were pure eye candy. There was also a very unique display, doh, can't remember the exact reason, but there was a group of extra-charged quality quilts made by women from around the country. We're talking half-inch postage stamp work akin to counted cross stitch and many other types of precision work you don't see in every quarter.

You have a treasure there, and I'm honored you'd like for me to see it. It's one of America's proudest museums anywhere, I only wish it had as many square feet as the Hermitage museum near St. Petersburg, Russia. There's a lot of talent in this land, and Paducah Ky's National Quilt Museum takes the cake imho. Their staff must be wizards of dedication and strongly wise persons.

Ah, so it seems we are better known that I realized!

 

[freedombecki]

My shop's in the least populated state. I'm next to anonymous, therefore. I had to leave the state due to my health a couple of years back. I left it in capable hands, told helplers to continue doing all the good in the community they could. They've hosted educational classes in quilting and start up a charity quilting event any time there's a need. Last I heard, they'd sent a dozen quilts to earthquake-stricken Japan and probably twice that many locally per year. They're the best women I know. One spent years making quilts for the new baby in her Church, the other spent years in her church serving elderly members who couldn't do for themselves any more. They also do so many things for the community, I couldn't start to count their commitment to do good things for everyone they meet. Makes me feel good to think about them.

 

[freedombecki]

Today, I played around with some postage stamp squares of which I have one bazillion sewn into "twosies" (a light and dark strip of 1.75" quilter's cotton fabric) and then sliced the same width (1.75") which finishes into a 1.25" postage stamp. Not sure where I'm going with this, but it is a beginning spiral. The last row was by far the most challenging. I made so many truly space cadet errors, and had to rip out squares by the twelves, then sewed the last row on upside down, ripped, redid, and proceeded to sew the squares weirdfully, somehow, sewed them all back on. I thought I saw an easy fix whereby one square could be removed, carefully sewn back in ( a real pain considering how small they are and how small the stitches had to be to make them "stay" at the edges. So after that was done, one of the pieces was a light instead of a dark, and oh, after sewing several pieces together over and over, I was really not pleased, considered daubing dark fingernail polish over the bloody yellow carnations, except I'm allergic to nail polish, too, so I no longer stock nail polish among my souvenirs. Finally, got it sewed back on with a dark replacing the yellow carnation to continue the maze-like spiral it turned out to be. Also, the many resewn and trimmed and retrimmed piece didn't fit very well, but I was beyond caring. Maybe tomorrow I'll do better than today. Smarter quilters than me use 4" squares, and they have a quilt after a few hundred squares are sewn together (390). If this one becomes a couch-potato sized quilt, (60x80") it will have over 3000 squares in it (they finish to be 1 1/4" across) *sigh*

Below is my current nemesis fun Sundays project (measures 8x10.5" so far):

 

[freedombecki]

I completed borders on 8 more of the little blocks, so now, it's sew them together, tack on a couple of borders and try to find a way to get a picture of them onto the computer to share here and with a couple of pals of mine.

 

[freedombecki]

After sleeping on it, I decided that children need quilts to keep them warm in the wintertime until they leave home. I decided the quilt I was working on while precious in every way at 12 squares was too small to help the child through the later years of his or her childhood, and added 8 squares yesterday and completed three this morning. It now has 24 squares. I took it upstairs to the guest room where there is a full-sized bed. the small quilt without sashing covers the upper half of a double bed.

As it is it would take a small child to somewhere between 12-14 years old, depending on how tall. The quilt could be expanded by putting a 3-inch, a 1-inch, and a 5-inch border to add a couple of years to the child's age. 3 + 1 + 5 = 9. 9x2=18" all the way around so it would be 18 inches longer than it is now and 18 inches wider. The charity quilt people will be greatly nonplussed since I have requested my quilts go to a child whose family is on hard times. With thousands of state prisoners residing in cells in the county, there are probably families who have moved here to be near their incarcerated loved one. Some people are innocent of the crimes for which they were incarcerated as was found by Professor David Protess at Illinois Northwestern University. SteveLendmanBlog: Wrongfully Banishing Professor David Protess

The quilt is going to be 50% bigger than it was on Tuesday.

Time for a nice walk around the lake out back. We had an egret and a heron there already today. I'm not seeing a lot of ducks this year. Maybe they are shy of the huge great white egret and great blue heron.

 

[afraidcrrazy]

Some tips for creating handmade quilts fascinating home
If you know how to make beautiful handmade quilts, then you will not find any need to buy quilts in shops. Homemade quilts are wonderful and make you love yourself. To measure the degree of ease of doing a quilt handmade quilt is advisable to make a beautiful baby at first. This will help provide comfort to make a handmade quilt complete and attractive without any stains.

It is easy to make a homemade quilt will be very easy and comfortable if you make one or two baby quilts. You must select some old sheets that are no longer in use or lost its luster. Use this bed sheet or Turkish bath towels or to make a baby quilt. However, do not forget to join the courts if there is any order that gives strength to the subject.

The next step is to decide the size of the quilt that you will do and cut the bedding accordingly. Trying to cut the leaves as minimal as possible and verify if it do not need to cut the bed sheet or a sheet of extra long bed. If too long, just fold and cut the one hand, while spreading the linen on the floor.

With simple tools, you can make great homemade quilts in different patterns. You can use any type of tissue or a cloth to pad if it is strong enough to adjust for wear. You will be able to transform different types of fabrics in stylish handmade quilts. However, georgette or satin is more suitable for the manufacture of homemade quilts. It's good to do a bit of embroidery if you are skilled with needle and thread to increase the sale value of homemade quilts.

The best feature homemade quilts is that you can fully customize. If you make the quilt at home gives you the freedom to decide the thickness of your handmade quilt, plus the choice of size and design. Once you decide the size and design, you can join the leaves with long diagonal stitches and borders. You must repeat the points leaving enough gaps based on the outline and the total size of your quilt. You can search the Internet to find some famous and attractive patterns.

To make beautiful quilt designs, instructions and the basic steps are almost same in all cases. There are different types of patterns to make your quilt more attractive. If you apply the technique of quilting, you can create stunning plaid patterns. Checks can use different sizes and color according to your taste. Floral designs are common in quilts and bed sheets and it is good to make a flannel quilt. The borders are very simple and easy patterns for quilting. With one color, you can make wonderful quilts with patterns of the border. Kids love the colorful designs and embroidery and much can be used in baby quilts. It is interesting to make your quilt attractive patch work. You can use this pattern implemented through the use of cutting pieces of fabric itself.

 

[freedombecki]

Welcome to USMB, afraidcrazy. So glad you dropped down here to talk about your quilts, and it sounds like you love quilting so much you want to share your techniques with others. There are so many ways to use things one already has or procure for free (such as everyone in the family and neighborhood's old turkish towels for batting.) Back when I found a sale on hand rags of towelling, I got 18 for $3.00 somewhere, and am still using them for layering with other cotton materials for making stay-cool potholders for the kitchen. I've also used towelling as batting for pillows with pieced orphan blocks to cheer up a senior nursing home resident or two. It's all good and fun!

Please feel free to share pictures here on this thread of your work/process/finished quilted items. I've posted a lot throughout the thread, and hope you will, too.

I'm right happy you showed up here! Welcome, I'm sending you a rep and hope you come back many, many days.

Do you like crazy quilts? I had a crazy block around my stuff somewhere, and am sure it will turn up in the next week or so, especially if I go on a much-needed kick of sorting my sewing areas in the house out and recategorize colors after cutting a bazillion strips for my never-ending postage stamp projects.

Again, welcome!

 

[freedombecki]

The little start before I finished the last one is now growing, row by row, and it's grown now to be about 30" wide and 40" long, which would be approximately 25 by 33 rows wide and long or about 825 postage stamp squares. I like them to be a little longer and a little wider than that, but it's a lot of work to attach a row of light and darks all the way around a center, and I must've ripped out every corner twice until I finally caught on that you have to have 3 darks on the outside of each 4-square corner. That way it looks like a big maze, with a light trail to the center after going around and around the rectangular area. (Putting the center block back up that shows the start. The lights keep going, and the darks keep going to the outside row. Yesterday, I did the dark and light rows around the world, and this morning, I almost finished the same. It'd be a real feather in the cap to do another full round by nightfall. After a couple of more rounds (or just the next complete round, I can decide if that will work for a small child's quilt. I don't mind going to 1,000 squares, but it would take 2,000 squares to approach the size of the last "older child" quilt I did, and a couple of more weeks. Not sure I want to go there.

 

[freedombecki]

Think this current project will never get big enough. I added another couple of rows, and it just is too much work. The trouble with donating to good causes is management. They see a treasure, and it is decided it would be a good seller in a gift shop. So they put a price on it that does not begin to approach the amount you spent on getting enough different pieces of fabric together to make a charm postage stamp quilt.

Definition of charm quilt is the crux of the issue. A charm quilt never replicates the same fabric twice, unless it is composed of 9 or 10 different prints to make a cheater quilt. Then you have to cut the 9 or 10 pieces out, leaving your original quarter of a yard looking like someone's target practice, not flattering to the amount of money you spent now that quilt fabrics are $10 a yard plus shipping. lol

So, what I think I'll do is save up my postage stamp efforts for a one-woman quilt show some day and use them to pattern larger quilts after I go through the agony of piecing the first 4 rows by ripping and redoing.

That will hopefully save me from overzealous managers who "wisely" make money with your travail, a rich person gets a huge bargain, and the poor kid you were hoping would get a treasure from an artist gets a cheater cloth polymonster someone could buy at a junk store for a song, wash, and ship off to the nearest orphan or shelter service on -barf- a polyester batting. barf-barf-barf.

So you didn't improve the poor child with your two months' agony and ecstacy of creating a quilt due to middle managers set between giver and recipient.

I worked on a foundation for my church once. They taught that if the giver put a limitation on the gift, it was to be respected. If he gave $1,000 to be sent to tsunami victims when they had the great earthquake, the church is to find the appropriate receiver to go towards its designation--say, digging a new well where people can get uncontaminated well water rather than salt-water savaged wells near the coast that got ruined in the disaster.

In the 23 years I ran a quilt store, 2 times I was approached by various charitible organizations--one a museum, and one a retirement home for the disadvantages about showing a quilt that would be returned. Both times my quilts were "lost" and the people asking for the donation left within the 6 months I was to allow my quilts to be used for aesthetic enjoyment of their visitors.

If you spent 6 months making 3 quilts, you'd be pissed off, too, since somebody relieved the agency of the responsibility of returning my quilts, and the paperwork got convenient lost.

So, I guess I will now focus on replicating the quilt in larger squares that will result in a quilt that looks ok but not so ok a middle manager of gifts would like it for herself or one of the people she owes a favor to, to be purchased for 40 bucks in the charity quilt store by someone looking to pay nothing for something another person spent several months making and over a thousand dollars at various quilt sales, shops, and wherever she could find the right print for a certain hub in the charm quilt that would define a corner or prevent a visual blob from appearing where a blob was not wanted.

One thing's for sure, I sure got a lot of leftover fabric to make big squares with, having to buy a half yard for every little square represented in the quilt. Since 800x $5. for a typical half yard of quilter's cotton is there, I spent $4,000 getting there, and the work is not done yet. Last month, I had the misery of seeing one of my quilts donated for the benefit of a shelter child being sold in the local artist's gallery for $40. It consists of a matched collection of Maywood studio Western prints from a collection of about 14 years ago that cost my shop $3,000 to carry the complete collection of 40 fabrics for customers who didn't have the slightest inkling that matched collection quilts sell for ten times what a regular quilt sells for, provide the quilt collector knows the collection.

But I'm not going to let my anger grow, I'm just going to do some not-so-hot quilts that still look pretty good but do not have collector features I was hoping would benefit a child. The real problem is nobody donates money for batting for these projects, and batting costs have gone through the roof in the last 3 years, and we're talking 75% inflation for pure cotton, well-behaved battings that do not separate during the heavy-duty wash cycle of an article that was urped on, either.

*sigh*

Well, I have to go plan the new quilt and try to get the other one into a semblance of art form for a 1-man show. If it makes any money whatever, maybe I can become a donor to the batting project, and they won't have to sell someone else's treasures to raise enough money for 3 quilts by selling a masterpiece quilt for nothin'.

/whiney rant