The Artful Dodger

Quilt Block Swap

I joined a beginner's quilt block swap on Swap-bot.  I'm not a beginning quilter, but I haven't done much quilting lately and thought this would be a good start.  These are a few of the blocks I made.  They are simple nine-patch squares made of 4 inch patches.  I'm supposed to receive 6 squares, 3 each from 2 different people.  We shall see what surprises lay ahead.  I've joined several swaps this year and so far I've received nothing on two of the swaps.  What surprises me is that the coordinators of these swaps haven't even sent me a sympathy email.  In the past when someone flaked on me I was contacted and angeled - in other words someone else was kind enough to make up for the swap I missed.

Baby Quilt

The baby quilt I started a few weeks ago is finally out the door and on its way.  I cross stitched a label for the back of it last night and then cut it too small.  I didn't have time to redo it (I'm flying out today), so I printed one on fabric and sewed it on the back.  Since it's for a little boy and I started it around the 4th of July, it's made mostly with patriotic prints.  I got the 40 pre-cut 4 inch squares in an ebay auction and cut another 40 in stripes, plaid and mini polka dots.  It's about 36 x 43 inches and machine pieced and quilted, but I always finish the binding by hand.

Ribbon Log Cabin Square

 

I buy bags of ribbon ends whenever I see them for sale and over the years I've collected a pretty impressive amount - a 66 quart container full.  I've been trying to think up a project made up just of ribbon and I made this test square using gold metallic thread and all of the fancy stitches on my sewing machine.  While it's a start I'm still not sure what to do with it - make a small purse, use it as the center of a tote bag or make an entire victorian lap quilt or something entirely new?  One thing's for sure - I'm going to have to work on getting it squarer.

Ebay 'Cutter' Quilt

 

I'm always cruising Ebay looking for something I can't resist.  When I saw this cutter quilt for sale I had to bid on it.  I paid $20 plus shipping.  It's hanging on a 6 1/2 foot fence and it's top row of squares is draped over to the back side.  The bottom is about an inch from the ground.  It's enormous and hangs to the floor on both sides of my high queen bed.  Since I'm redoing my bedroom in cottage style this is going on my bed, not in the closet of old quilts to be cut up for other projects.  The picture doesn't really do it justice, the splotchiness is dueto the sunlight dappling through my oak tree.  The quilt is in perfect shape and is tie quilted.  I can't believe someone thought it was only good for cutting up.  The one thing I regret is the fact that I have no idea who made it.

More Lap Quilts

 

Here are two more lap quilts I made with the intention of donating them to charity.  The center of the yellow and blue one on the left (up to the second green border) is actually a napkin.  I had purchased several in different color schemes when I was deciding what color to redo my kitchen in and I thought this one would make a perfect quilt center.  I undid the hem and started adding borders.  It's machine quilted in a diamond pattern and bound by hand.  The blue and white nine patch on the right is made from my decades old stash of 5 inch squares.  I added a scrappy border. It's also machine quilted in a diamond pattern and bound by hand. 

Square Lap Quilts - Fish and Fat Quarter

 

I thought I would show you a couple of the square lap quilts I have made.  I like to make them about  43 to 44 inches square so I don't have to piece fabric for the quilt back.  The bright one on the left is made from large squares with two strips on the right and bottom, added log cabin style.  After joining the squares I added strips of the main fabric to the top and left side to make it balance.  I machine quilted it and added binding.

The quilt on the right was inspired by the fat quarter in the center.  I squared the fat quarter to 18 x 18 inches and started adding borders, pulling colors from the fat quarter.  I used the last of the fat quarter in the center of each side border.  It, too, was machine quilted and bound.

I love making these small quilts with fabrics from my stash.  I always feel good when I make something without having to buy anything new.

Grey and White Patchwork

   

A dive back into my box of pre-cut 5 inch squares has turned up 2 shades of solid grey and an interesting grey on white floral.  Instead of just using the squares as they are, I think I'll go with half square triangles this time.  The center square above looks good.  I tried to go even smaller in the square in the upper right corner but the cuts aren't precise enough to go so small.  I think I'll make a couple of bedside table toppers to give my bedroom a different look.  I've been thinking about going all black and white and grey.  Years ago I had a bathroom done in black and white tiles and I had grey rugs, towels and curtains and I quite liked the look.

Failed Donation Quilt

 

I often make donation quilts and afghans for various local charities.  This one was made up of some nine patch quilt squares I had originally made to cut up for stuffed animals.  I always like to take photos so I can remember the quilts.  It wasn't until I was actually looking at the photo that I realized I had inadvertantly built in a pink swastika.  The swastika is a symbol from neolithic times that is still used in Indian culture and Dharmic religions like Buddhism and Hinduism. So I hope who ever received this quilt never notices and isn't offended in any way.  This is all the more reason why you should always place a quilt on a design wall and look at it for a while before you sew it together.  Glaring errors in composition will jump right out at you.

Lavendar Patchwork Lap Quilt

 

Once again I've dived into my box of pre-cut 5 inch squares and started a new lap quilt.  The top is all done, now I just have to decide how to finish it - machine or tie quilted?  I think I might tie quilt it with little white buttons everywhere the corners meet.  The advantage of using buttons is it covers up any corners where the seams aren't a perfect match.

Cutter Quilt from Ebay

 

I was looking for a quilt I could cut up and use parts of in other crafts.  I got this cutter quilt on Ebay for a few dollars but when I saw it, I couldn't bring myself to cut it.  It's completely hand sewn and tie quilted and stain and damage free.  It's a good size for a lap quilt and now I use it to cover my legs when sitting reading in the Arctic temperatures we keep in the house.  It's made of traditional bowtie blocks and I love how scrappy it is.

Bedside Table Topper

 

I got out my box of hundreds of 5 inch squares I bought back in the 80's and decided to make a lap quilt.  It was going to be 9 by 11 squares, but I fell in love with the colors and decided to make a  9x9 table topper instead.  It looks perfect under the glass on the round table by the side of my bed.  I'm making another for the other side.  Since it's a tablecloth, I'm not going to quilt it.  I may just hem it or trim it with bias tape.

Cats in the Moonlight

 

I haven't posted for a few days because I spent the weekend manning a booth for my husband's videography business at a bridal symposium.  I was able to work on this little wall quilt, though.  It's about 16 x 22 inches and is paper pieced.  It's a pattern from It's Raining Cats and Dogs by Janet Kime.  I've had the book for several years and have been wanting to make a project out of it for a long time.  Getting the tails pieced right took a few attempts.  All I have to do now it quilt and bind it.  I also want to add a few beads and a bit of embroidery for some stars in the night sky.

Small Star Quilt

 

Years ago I purchased several hundred 5 inch squares from a fabric outlet in Ponchatoula, LA.  Most of the squares are cut from sheet and bedding fabrics, so many of them are on the subdued side.  I'm trying to use some of them up.  This is a little quilt design I've made many times in lots of color combos.  It looks great in Christmas fabrics with bright gold stars.  It's from a book called "Two-Hour Quilted Christmas Projects" by Cheri Saffiote, published in 1997.  I've made many of the projects in the book, many times.  It's worth tracking down a copy.

Fairy Quilt

 

I was looking back through my pictures that I take for the blog and realized I never showed the fairy quilt I got in an exchange on swap-bot.com.  After all this time I can't remember who sent it to me, but it's so cute.  It's about 5 x 9" and has little crocheted flowers on it.  And it even has it's own pillow.  

Yo-Yo Fairy Quilt

 

A few months ago I took part in a fairy quilt swap at swap-bot.com and I had trouble deciding what to make.  I started this little yo-yo quilt and decided it was too plain, but I finally finished it and thought I would show it off.  It's about 5 x 9 inches.