More Hourglass With Table of block Sizes

First step is to sew four blocks together. Sew around the outside all the way around.  This is a follow up to a post I did some time ago about hourgtlass blocks when I was just starting the quilt pictured at the bottom.

Cut diagonally.  You will have bias edges but I didn't find that a problem at all when sewing the blocks together.

This is the quilt I made using 4 inch squares to begin with.

This is a chart I put together showing the different size begining blocks and what size hourglass you get.

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A New Take For the Potato Chip Block!

I saw this version of the quilt on a Facebook post and really like using the white.  I did change it up a bit and used  4 1/2 x 4 1/2 squares to buiod on instead of sewing 2 1'/2 x 4 1/2 strips together.  It went really fast.  I had literally taken 3 bags of random left5oers from other quiots that I had made into 2 1/2 strips and cut them into 4 1/2 and 6 1/2 lengths (I use the longer ones for another quilt I made).  They are really random scraps.  All these baby quilts I have made are 40 inches by 40 inches as that is what is required for the club's neonatal quilts.

This is the backing fabric!

This is the beginning of a more controlled version using just blues and greens.  I am liking this but am actually beginning to run out of strips!!  I will have enough for this quilt but not sure if there is enough for others and I don't have enough of any other colors from these random leftovers.  May actually have to go into my color sorted bags of strips to cut up some more!!!  These were literally made from leftovers from other quilts that Ihad gathered up in overfull bags!

 

Lots of New Baby Quilts!

 

I have been very busy making kits of quilts for donation.  These are the baby quilts, all of which I put interesting backs on as well.  They are basically I Spy quilts utilizing all those interesting prints I have cut from leftover backs of other quilts I have made!

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This is the same kind as the above one.  Making good use of all those 2 inch strips as sewing three of them together 

I also have a ton of strips that I cut from black and white fabric.  I have an abundance of these fabrics as I used to overdye them.

I also use by 2 in strips to make the little 4 patches.  I am actually beginning to fun out of yellow two inch strips!!

Would you believe that the little blocks with the squares in the middle are made from leftovers of the strip sets used in the quilts above!  I actually like this design better as I think it shows off the blocks better!

These next three are some of the backs.

This was a much laarger quilt that I made for Handmade with Love,,  It had never ocurred to m that I didn't ned to sew to pieces of fabric together lengthwise to get a piece wide enough for a wider quilt.  You could have the seam vertically as the quilt police don't judge charity quilts..  That saves a lot of fabric and now I don't fear wide quilts except for the basting.

What To Do With Those Leftover Blocks and Bits!

This and the following are some of the many many potholders I made out of leftover blocks from different quilts.  I was trying out a new binding  technique as binding small things neatly is difficult. After about 30 tries, I became somewhat successful!!  Still need to be viewed from a distance but are functional as potholders at least!!

 

This technique starts as machine binding usually starts with a folded 2 1/2 strips folded in half and sewed around the outside of the back of the potholder.  How it differs is that you leave a longish strip that you don't sew down and then you sew all the way arond right up to where you started.  Then the fun begins!  You position the beginning piece perpendicular over the ending piece.  This is not for the faint of heart as there is a lot of fabric.  After about 10 tries, I finally started using a pin to hold it in place for sewing and made sure I had a lot of overlap.

With some luck, you sew  diagonally across and then trim.  Besides just trimming to 1/4 inch, I also lop off the top piece and don't open the seam but push it so nothing shows and then sew down from the front side as always!

I saw this technique on my quilt club FB page.  I had to reference it a couple of times to get it right.

This was another technique I picked up from my quilt club FB page!  The post just suggested you use leftover pieces of quilted fabric leftover from projects to make glasses cases.  

I had a seven inch piece of quilted fabric that has been lying around in my sewing room for years and years.  I ordered some seven inch zippers and made small bags and a glasses case using up every inch!!

This is not what a palm treed in SE North Carolina is supposed to look like!  Of course, there was nothing to do but sew as snow stops everything outside of your house!

Bags Bags, and More Bags -- a Little How To

This is the fabric I chose for the outside of the bag.  I cut as big a piece as I could from the fabric which I dye painted many many years ago!  It is about 23 inches wide and 18 inches long (sideways in the pic!).

Because this was fairly heavy fabric, I marked the squares in the corners that I needed to cut.  They were about 3 inches.

Here is the outside fabric with the squares cut out.  The next step is to sew the side seams after placing the fabric right sides together.  Then you sew the bottom seam.

Then you pull the two sides apart so that the bottom seems and side seams are on top of one another and sew.  This form the squared bottom.

I attach the straps at this tiime so they are laying against the front and back.  I make sure they are even.  If you don't have straps, you make them with the instructions below.

This is the Kaffe Fassett favric I selected for the inside.  You sew this slightly differently.  You sew the sides as you did the outside, right sides together.  However on the bottom seam, you leave a 5 inch opening.  You sew the squared part the same also.

Although not shown here, I made straps from 2 1/2 inch strips about 22 inches long.  I interface with a 2 inch piece of interfacing centered in the middle  I also iron over the 1/4 inch seams down to make the sewing easiers.  I fold it over and sew next the edge on both sides with matching thread.

  
You then place the outside bag insde the lining, pinning at the edges and where the straps are, making sure the straps are safely stored between the two layers.  Sew all the way around the top.

Then you pull the outside bag through the whole you made on the bottom of the lining.  Then you sew the lining hole up.  Stuff the lining neatly insde the outside piece  Then carefull top stitch along the top of the finished bag and voiila!.   

This is the finished bag..

This another bag.  I had to add some pseudo-suede as I didn't have a very larrge piece of the painted fabric.
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Finally Found a Good Use for All Those Dye Painted fabrics I Did Many Many Years Ago on Heavier Fabric!!

 

I have shown my methods for making bags before but this is a different version which basically requires very little sewing and cutting and can be made any size.  My younget daughter indicated she would like some so that has occupied me for a few days!  This is dye painted fabric on the outside on a heavier cotton fabric.  I delved into my extensive stash of Kaffe Fassett fabiics and picked out some that I was not crrazy about for the linings.  the bags are essentially reversible so if one side gets really dirty, just turn it to the other!.  Each of these three bags are about 18 x 20 x 6 finished.  I didn't put in amy pockets but they are easy to add also.

I made this one extra large and am keeping it for toting baby quilts to quilt club each month!  I have seven quilts folded in this one!

This is the fabric for one of the next ones.  Today I concentrated on cutting out the fabrics and linings and  handles for 4 more bags.  I will take them to one of our Open Sew events and finish them there.

My next post will contain the step-by-step directions on making each one!  It is really easy.

My next challenge is that I have some smaller pieces that I did in a class back in the 90s with .Elizabeth Busch.  The panels are each about 24 in x 24 inches so I am going to add some pseudo suede to each piece to make the bags.  I think I will do them using a combination of this technique and one i have shown before which uses more pieces but results in a similar bag.

More Baby Quilts -- and I Still Have Enough for Five or Six More!

 

I have finished another six baby quilts which I turned in on Monday.  I wanted to show the back of the quilts as well as I had really cute kid like prints on all the backs this time.  They all utilized my 5 in charm blocks of kid like fabric so they are really an "I Spy" of sorts although not as intricate as some I have done.  

I ended up really liking this one which was literally done with the leftovers from the stripe sets I cut for the other quilts!  I may do more of this one.  I had never realized before doing these quilts that sewing 2 in strips or pieces together 3 wide goes perfectly with the 5  in charm squares.  I am actualldy seeing a dent in my 2 in strips!  I use them for string quilts as well and have done a bunch of these.  

A New Neo-natal Quilt Pattern!

 

If you have seen my recent posts, you have seen a few baby quilts thar I have made alternating a plain white block with a 5 in child themed blockl

I saw this alternative on Pinterest and immediately knew it was perfect for the tons and tons of 5 in squares I have and the bags of two inch strips. So from now on, this will be my design of choice.  I just have to figure the best way to quilt it.  The blocks finish to 4 1/2 inches so nine of them make a quilt that ends up being 40 x 40  Bingo!  9 x 4 1/2 equals 39 1/2 plus the 1/2 inch that doesn't get folded on the outside!

I just sewed long strips of 2 in strips with the white strips on the outside -- full width of the fabric.  Then I cut them into 5 x 5 inch squares.  Easy, easy design and i am very thankful for the Pinterest inspiration.

This was a spectacular sunset the other night.  I didn't get to my usual place to take sunset photos but instead looked back from my 3rd floor porch.  The depth of color was incrdible and i don't think the picture even captures it.  I will use the juxtaposition of the colors as the inspiration for my RAFA challenge quilt.  We got three paint chips kind of randomly and mine were pink, lavender and a slate blue.  My foreground I will steal from another of my pictures.

I also did a challenge quilt for my guild down here which i am not posting until it is officially unveiled in mid January.  It had to be a least 50 percent red, white and blue and have 250 somewhere on it, either written or the number of pieces or fabrics.  Mine is very subtly potitical .