One More Idea for Easy Quilts Using Homemade Precut Strips

Looking through my library of quilt books for another quilt pattern that could use our Guild’s precuts (2 1/2 inch and 5 inch strips, 5 inch squares and 10 inch squares) I found Tula Pink’s
”Lolly” pattern in Dear Quilty by Mary Fons and Team Quilty,

This pattern uses 2 1/2 inch strips to make blocks. The used jelly rolls for the quilt in the book, but I used strips I cut myself from donated fabrics and fabrics from my own stash. Some of my fabric was scraps from making dog bandanas and that was really scrappy!

I followed the directions for the quilt in the book, but you could cut the 2 1/2 inch strips any length you like and also choose a different number of strips in each block.

It’s a straight forward design, but I think it will be a fun Charity Christmas quilt when it’s all put together.

More Ideas for Easy Quilts using Homemade Pre-Cut Fabrics

The pre-cut Charity Quilt project I discussed in the last 2 posts was so much fun that I pulled out my stash of Christmas fabrics to make a another quilt. I made this one for my dog* but it will be an example to show at the Guild meeting when there is a discussion about ways to use the fabrics that were pre-cut this past summer.

This quilt was made with just 10 x 5 inch bricks and 5 inch squares. There are an equal number of each block in each row. There is a narrow strip of fabric at each end of the quilt to give it some definition.  The back has a large print Christmas pattern, so this quilt is actually reversible.

Reverse of quilt at top

*The Christmas quilt I use on my bed has a red Irish Chain with white blocks. I'm going to put this quilt son top of that quilt for my quilt-loving Lab-mix to sleep on!  Hopefully this little quilt will keep my quilt clean!

On a roll, I made one more quilt--this one doll size. An Etsy company sent me four 5 inch charm squares of space fabrics as a bonus to my fabric order.  Making a doll quilt seemed like a perfect way to use those squares plus some of the bits and pieces in my stash.  
 

Micah, a Bamboletta Cuddle Doll, with the Space Doll Quilt, 16 x 19 inches

I decided to cut the 5 inch space fabric squares in half and use 2.5 inch squares from my stash.  Good thought but....what works in algebra doesn't work in quilty math!  I didn't put 2 and 2 together until I had sewn all the strips of blocks for the quilt long to discover that they weren't the same length. Right:  in quilting a 2.5 square + 2.5 square = 4.25 x 2.5 block, not a 5 x 2.5 inch block!

It was too late to cut down the 2.5 x 5 inch blocks so I just added a bit of fabric on alternating ends of each row, making it a scrappy improv Space quilt. Problem solved, but I did have a good laugh....How long have I been quilting???  Long enough, but even an experienced quilter can get tripped up by not checking the math before cutting! 

Micah suggling under the Space Doll Quilt

Completed Candy Cane Charity Quilt

Here is the completed Candy Cane charity quilt I discussed in my last post.  It has a fairly thick polyester batting (what I had on hand in the right size) that makes it light and puffy.  I know it will be warm and snuggly!

The back is one piece of fabric with a Christmas/Dalmation Dog print.  Below is a close up of the quilting in the solid red strips.

This project was so much fun that I pulled out my stash of Christmas fabrics to make a another quilt. I'll share that quilt in my next post.

An Idea for Using Donated Fabrics for Charity Quilts

Our quilt guild has an active charity quilt program.  We make lots of quilts for children as well as some for veterans, seniors and even dog shelters.  We are blessed to get lots of donated fabric from a variety of sources.

This year our Charity Coordinator has decided to try something new.  We have been assembling kits using 10 inch squares, 5 inch squares, 5 inch strips x width of fabric or whatever is available width-wise, and 2.5 inch strips.  Several different small groups of members have spent some pleasant summer mornings hanging out and cutting up fabric using these guidelines and assembling kits to be distributed in the Guild this Fall.

Last time I went, my friend passed me a stack of 9 pre-printed cut and sew jumper patterns. JUST the bodice piece and printed sewing instructions, not the skirt! "See what you can do with these," she said. Hmmm.

Bodice of Cranston's VIP "Candy Cane Girl's Jumper"

I found I was able to cut a 9 x 5 inch block from the front bodice,  5 inch squares from the back bodice and a few 2.5 inch squares which will get used for something else.  I still had 2 panels left to cut when it was time to head home. So I took the set home to make sure it all stayed together.

I really enjoyed working with this navy blue, red and green pattern.  I've seen lots of light blue holiday quilts (think snowmen) but navy blue is unusual. I liked this fabric so much that I decided to go ahead and make a quilt.

The 9 x 5 inch blocks didn't meet our criteria so I needed to create a design.  I thought about adding a strip of fabric to make the blocks 10 inches but life is short!  I decided to put them in horizontal strips with an assortment of 5 inch squares I already had. I supplemented those by cutting some squares more from my own scrap stash. 

There is one 9 x 5 inch block in each wide strip and then assorted 5 inch squares to make the strip the desired width. In between the wide strips there is a solid color bright red 2.5 inch strip. Those bright red strips are eye catching and as a bonus, they also eliminate the need for perfect piecing!

I really like the quilt top.  Despite it's dark color, it's going to be a bright and happy quilt!

Yes, with a bit of imagination and ingenuity you can make a beautiful quilt from even unlikely fabric donations!  If you have fabric you aren't sure how to use, give this a try!  It's a lot of fun!

Summertime Doll Dresses

It's high summer and I've been having so much fun making summery dresses for the extended doll family! 

The dress patterns I draft are usually for dresses with short sleeves. I figured that if I skipped the sleeves and just overcast the raw edges of the fabric, turned it under the 1/4 inch seam and sewed it up, I'd have a perfect sleeveless dress.

That was a good idea, but doesn't quite play out perfectly in real life! It turns out, I really need to add some width to the front of the dress bodice, otherwise the dress have a bit of a halter look (see above).  For some reason, the bodice back is better than the front.

Here's a closer view to show why it would be better to use a bit wider pattern for the bodice of a sleeveless dress.  Not horrible, but it could be better!

Sleeveless dress with a bodice that's not quite wide enough. The doll is a Bamboletta Cuddle Doll.

I went back and redrafted the front and back bodice pattern pieces.  This version is better.

Revised bodice on the same Bamboletta doll as in the photo above

Here are a couple photos of dolls I made wearing dresses with short sleeves.

Little limbed doll, pattern in Mariecristin Sealey's book, "Making Waldorf Dolls"

15" Waldorf type doll made with my own pattern

It's been so much fun making dresses with these summer fabrics--sharks, crabs, sailboats, ducks (or maybe they are geese), frozen treats on a stick, tacos, and flowers!

Two 12 inch Traditional Waldorf Type Dolls

Even though I've drafted patterns for my own Waldorf type dolls, I particularly enjoy using the patterns for the traditional Waldorf Type Dolls in Mariecristin's book, Making Waldorf Dolls.  There is a lot of hand sewing in the assembly of these patterns.  That may be why I enjoy making them.  There is no need to try to get the joint of an already-stuffed arm or leg to run though the sewing machine.  That's  always been my nemesis with my own patterns!!

I made both dolls on this page, using the pattern for the middle size doll in the book.  Mine come out to be 12 inches tall.  I've shortened the arm length in the pattern because I think the pattern arms seem a bit long.

Josie, a doll made with fair skin, is shown above.  She has three different types of (mostly) pink hand spun yarn (purchased at JP Knit & Stitch, my local yarn/fabric shop) in her brown hair.

I made the other doll at a request of a friend. She wanted a doll for a child who has mixed Hispanic and Oriental heritage.  I had some beige De Witte  doll jersey which was just the perfect skin tone for this doll. I was so glad had some on hand since it's not a color I typically use. 

Her hair has three types of black yarn and a couple colors of dark brown yarns as accents.  I had so much fun making this doll and I just love how she turned out! 

Here is a bunny hiding in the tulips in the dress on the left. Can you see? 

My 10 inch Baby Waldorf Type Doll Pattern Grows Up

I spent the Dog Days of July, when it was too hot and humid to move much (or quilt anything!), making several dolls.

I've noticed that children play with my 10 inch Waldorf Type Baby doll as if she were an older child even though she has the bowed arms and legs of a baby.  Over the past couple years, I've drafted an extensive wardrobe of clothes for this particular doll, most of them not really baby clothes. It made sense to try and change the baby's pattern to make an older looking doll.

So that's what I did. In the new pattern, the arms have been straightened some and the legs are much straighter and the feet turned so they face forwards.

Little girl on the left, baby on the right. Phoebe has dark tan skin and Lucy's is skin is sunkissed

I altered the neck a bit in the new doll and inadvertently the torso became a half inch longer. That meant the dress patterns for the baby doll were just a bit too short for the new doll.  It's easy enough to lengthen a dress, but I've adjusted the child pattern so next time I make one it will be exactly the same size as the baby.

I did have a bit of trouble sewing on the arms of this doll. Her left arm is better than her right. But she's a prototype, so I'm okay with that.

It's so fun to have a new doll that already has a whole wardrobe of clothes patterns that will fit her!

Phoebe sitting in the Crab apple tree

Hunter's Star Quilt in Fall Colors

It's unusual for me to go to quilt classes.  I generally like to work things out by myself.  But I am so glad I decided to take a class offered by my Guild and taught by Kathie Beltz!  It was a Hunter's Star class (that's the quilt pattern above) using the Rapid Fire Hunter's Star Tool created by Deb Tucker (no relation).

I ordered the tool ahead of time. Looking at the instructions, I knew going to a class was the right decision! The instructions look a lot more complicated than they actually are. Kathie Beltz did a great job teaching our class how to use the tool. If you get I chance to attend one of her classes, I highly recommend her!

The smart thing to do with a Hunters Star design is to pick 2 colors. It makes assembling the quilt much easier. Unlike most star designs, the star in the Hunter's Star pattern isn't in its own block.  It's created when 4 blocks meet at the center.

I didn't grasp that when I picked out the fabrics. The handout said we could pick up to 8 light and 8 dark fat quarters.  Thinking each star could be a different color, I picked out 8 dark colors. Fortunately, I picked cream solid yardage for my light color.

I had already pre-cut all my fabrics by the time I realized multiple colors might NOT have been such a great idea.  Well, chalk it up to a learning experience. It could always be a dog quilt!

Fortunately, Kathie wasn't the least bit fazed by my fabric choices and had great suggestions about how to build each of the blocks in my quilt. 

As the day progressed, it gradually became clear that my quilt was going from probable flop to totally fabulous!  How often does that happen??

I'm thrilled with my scrappy fall colors Hunter's Star Quilt top!  I was going to add a narrow border and then piano key border.  I have the perfect backing fabric, but there are only 2 yards. So, it's going to be borderless!

Now, I need a stretch of cool days to get this quilt sandwiched and quilted!

Washing a Quilt: From disappointing to awesome

If you read my post on June 28, Scrappy "Plus Surround" Quilt, you'll know I wasn't thrilled with the quilting in the negative space. Even though I choose the quilting design, the free motion loops just didn't do much for me.

With nothing to loose, I tossed it into the washer and then the drier. (I have to admit, I do that to most of the quilts I make--IF I'm not planning to put them in a local quilt show),  When I took it out of the drier, the quilting had a lovely nubby texture, the loopy design had essentially disappeared and the quilt was soft and cuddly! 

I was suddenly in love!!  I actually do prefer my quilts to have that antique-like soft puckering that occurs when the quilt is washed and dried. But I can't think of another quilt I've made where washing and drying made such a big difference in how I felt about the quilt!

Detail of the washed quilting

Here's a photo of the quilt prior to washing.  I think the change is much more noticeable when you can feel the quilt. It's harder to see the change from the photos.

Here's a photo of the quilt before washing.

Improv Scrappy Block Project 2017 Completed

It's (finally) done:  My 2017 year-long Scrappy Block Project!  Every month last year I sewed 2-3 improv blocks from two bags of odd scraps I had collected. At the end of the year I had 30 blocks that were 12 1/2 inches square.

I set the improv blocks between rows of blue and white blocks which were "orphans" from another quilt which I never made. The result is a bit wacky, but this is a quilt that is going to be used and definitely not too precious for the dogs for the dogs to sleep on it!!

The quilting is as improvisational as the blocks themselves!  I took my clues for the quilting from the composition and the fabrics in each block.  The quilting is a mix of straight line walking foot stitching and free motion quilting.  It seemed to take forever!!  But I had a good laugh when I was done and put it on a bed....I'd forgotten how big this quilt is!  I had thought I was quilting a twin size quilt, when reality it's a good size queen!  No wonder the quilting seemed never ending!!

Here are a couple of close-ups of the free-motion quilting in this project. 

Bear Party "Cabin" Utility-Style Picnic Quilt

Sharon Holland has written a fun book of large patch, easy-to-piece quilts. The log cabin quilt above was made using her pattern "Cabin" in Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living.  The quilt is her book is a play on the stripes of the traditional Hudson Bay wool blankets. 

This pattern immediately drew me in--I think it's the perfect quilt for a picnic!  But I wanted to use a different palate and green was was on my mind!

JP Knit & Stitch, a yarn and fabric store in Jamaica Plain, MA, recently changed hands. The new owner brought in a lovely selection of fabrics, including a number of low volume prints. The black prints on white (animal prints and floral prints) and the solid colors are all from JP Knit & Stitch.  I added a couple new colored prints and some fabrics from my stash.

The quilting is all straight line done with a walking foot.
This quilt is really fun and happy!

Emmy and Greg, Bamboletta Forever Friends, took the quilt out to the garden for a snack. Turns out this 'Bear Party' quilt is also great for tumbling when the picnic food is gone!

Happy Summer!!

Scrappy "Plus Surround" Quilt from 'Modern Plus Signs Quilts'

This is my completed "Plus Surround" quilt from the book, Modern Plus Sign Quilts.  There is review of the book on my March 29, 2018 blog post and discussion about making the quilt on the two subsequent posts.

There is straight line quilting on each of the plus signs which I really like. But I really struggled with how to quilt all of the negative space in this quilt (the yellow background). The quilt in the book has quilting radiating from the center of the quilt. I knew I didn't want to try to copy that. 

Because of the circular design, I decided to quilt the negative space with free motion circular loops. About half way done, I wished I'd done a misty soft linear/loopy fog-like design instead.  But it was way to late to do that!  The circular loops feel a bit too traditional for my taste, but it's growing on me! 

What's the best thing about this quilt? The great design of this quilt. It captures the viewer's attention!

"Flying Economy" Finished Quilt

And here it is:  The completed "Flying Economy" quilt that I designed in Electric Quilt 8 (EQ8) using the custom set function. 

This quilt was so much fun to design, sew and quilt. It has fabrics by Alison Glass, Moda Fabric's Grunge, Westminster's Kaffe Fassett's Shot Cotton and even a bit of batik!  I wanted this to be a bright and colorful quilt and it was so helpful to see the colors in place as I designed the quilt in EQ8.  The placement of the final quilt does vary a bit from the original design. I changed some fabric choices will sewing and moved a few things around once the blocks were on the design wall.  I don't think I could have made this quilt without first seeing all the colors on my EQ 8 design.

Here they are side-by-side:  Design on the left, completed quilt on the right,

The quilting is all straight line done using a walking foot on my trusty domestic Bernina 440. It takes time to do straight line quilting but it was what this quilt needed!

Here's another photo of the finished quilt showing the peachy pink and white stripe binding and my neighbor's beautiful oriental dogwood!

At the beginning of June I had a stack of completed quilt tops waiting to be quilted. It was starting to feel like the take-off runway at Boston's Logan Airport!  So I set myself to the task of completing the four quilts before July arrived with its heat and humidity!

All four quilts are done!  The quilt above was one of them.  I'll be posting the other three in the coming weeks. I can't wait to show them to you!

Addendum June 22, 2018: Oops!! Cleaning up my workspace I found a quilt pattern way at the bottom of a pile.  Sam Hunter's "Fourteen on Point" was clearly an inspiration for the design of my quilt.  His quilt is different...he used 3 sizes of simple square-in-a-square economy blocks, while I have 2 sizes of double economy blocks (square-in-a-square-in-another square). The placement of my economy blocks is different than his pattern.  My quilt has 2 flying geese borders while his quilt has one narrow border and one slightly wider border on all four sides and it is wide and narrow.  While I had been thinking this was a completely original pattern, I can see a striking resemblance to the "Fourteen On Point" pattern. I had totally forgotten about having purchased Sam Hunter's pattern. Credit for inspiration for my quilt is definitely due Sam Hunter!

"Flying Economy": A Quilt Using Custom Set Blocks

And here it is: The quilt I designed for my Yankee Swap Fabrics (see May 31, 2018 post) using the Custom Set Blocks option in the Electric Quilt (EQ8) program.

The design is a combination of flying geese, economy blocks in 2 sizes and an assortment of rectangles and squares. The blocks sizes can all be divided by 4. That common denominator makes the blocks in the quilt all compatible and allows for piecing without odd seams.

It is important to check the design to make it actually can be pieced!! It is possible to design a quilt that is essentially impossible, or would be a nightmare, to piece!

The central panel of this quilt can be pieced in 4 strips--two wide ones and two narrow ones. Can you see how looking at the pattern? * The flying geese borders will be pieced and added after the central panel has been pieced.

I moved a number of blocks around as I was designing the quilt.  I found I could move one block off the work area, shift another block into that space and then move the first block back into the newly open space. It reminded me of those little plastic puzzles I had as a child where you move pieces around in a plastic square to put them into some sort of order to to spell words!

In the example below, I want to swap the location of the teal and gold rectangular blocks in the right side of the middle row. I lifted the teal block out of the quilt, moved over the gold block to the left and put the teal block in the place where the gold block had been originally.  How cool is that?  (I could also have just recolored them, but I wanted to show that you really can move blocks around very easily in this program).

The colors of the actual quilt won't be exactly the same as the colors in this pattern. But they are close enough so that I know I'll like the design and color distribution.

 Time to cut and start sewing!

* (The top and bottom strips are the wide ones).

Addendum:  I just realized today, June 22, 2018, that this quilt design was obviously inspired by a quilt designed by Sam Hunter. For details, see the addendum at the end of my next post, "Flying Economy" Finished Quilt.

Designing a Quilt with Custom Set Blocks in Electric Quilt 8

Electric Quilt has a blog that intermittently has hands-on lessons for using their revised program Electric Quilt 8 (EQ8).  The lesson posted on May 1, 2018 was exactly the tutorial I needed to design a quilt using the fabrics from last December's Yankee Swap...Custom Set Quilt!

This lesson teaches how to created a quilt with blocks of different sizes. This allows you to create a template all your own.  I've been puzzled how to do this in the past and have had only  modest success trying to accomplish this. Mostly I've given up because I just couldn't get the blocks to set together happily.

The key turns out to be a "Plain Block" that is written into the program. It existence of the Plain Block not readily apparent. You really have to know it's available.  I use EQ8 on my iMac. The drop down list with the Plain Block can be found by clicking on three light grey dots "..." in the bar over the blocks from the Block library.  (I gather that this drop down list appears in Windows when you click on an empty space between blocks the block tool bar).  

One of the choices in the drop down list is "add plain block".  This adds a plain square to the blocks you can choose from.  Once dropped on the quilt it can be moved around and changed to any size using the "adjust" button. When you have a block you like, you can copy and paste it as many times as you wish. Just brilliant...once you know how.  My design problems now have a very easy solution!

If you have EQ8 and are interested in designing quilts with custom set blocks, I highly recommend clicking on the link above and working through the tutorial. It's lots of fun and well worth the time.

I designed the quilt above working through the Custom Set Quilt tutorial.
Having worked through the tutorial, I now have the necessary skills to design a quilt that will use the Yankee Swap fabrics I showed in my last post on May 31, 2018. I'll show that quilt design in my post next week

PS: I did this tutorial in May.  Look what popped up on the May 13, 2018 Electric Quilt Newsletter!  It was fun to find my project quilt highlighted. I had shared this photo at the end of the lesson on their website. I don't have any business/financial ties to Electric Quilt--clearly they liked what I designed so they shared in their newsletter.  (The link in the photo below isn't active. But it is the same as the link in the first paragraph above).

Using Fabric from a Holiday Yankee Swap

Our quilt guild has a holiday party with a Yankee Swap.  It used to be a real high-spirited swap where you were guaranteed to have an awesome gift stolen away. But the guild now has over 100 members so in the past several years it has been musical chairs with packages. You get what you get when the music stops. No more stealing something you see on the far side of the room!

This year my package contained these 5 half yards of fabric. A creative, generous gift. One Alison Glass Handcrafted fabric, two grunge fabrics and one coordinating batik. Three of the colors are in my palette:  the maroon way out of my comfort zone!  What to do with them?

This is clearly just a head start on a fabric collection for a quilt. These 4 half yards need to be augmented with more fabrics. So I went searching in my stash. I found a whole stack of Kaffe Fassett Shot Cottons fat quarters that are a perfect complement to these feature fabrics. 

Feature fabrics with stack of Kaffe Fassett Shot Cottons

This looks like fun. So I'm off to my Electric Quilt 8 program to design a quilt. These fabrics are too special to be cut without a good plan!

Classical Waldorf Dolls in Two sizes

Classic Waldorf Dolls. They have simple bodies--a trunk and legs together without clearly defined feet, arms at reach out and a head. They typically stand up better than they sit down, but if stitched carefully at the top of the legs, they can sit.

I only recently started making Classic Waldorf Dolls. I have to say, they are fun to sew and they have charming character. I use the patterns in the book Making Waldorf Dolls by Maricristin Sealey.

I made Douglas, shown above, simply because I have been collecting fun doll clothes made by Bamboletta for a for a while now. I was planning to purchase one of their 15 inch Sitting Friend dolls but boys that size have been few and far between. So I decided to make a doll myself. Douglas is wearing all Bamboletta clothes except for his shoes (and undies)!

I was reading about hair styling in the book mentioned above. It said you can create curls by knitting yarn, dampen the knitting and let it air dry and then undo it. That sounded like fun!
 

I decided to just use straight yarn on the lower two layers of the hair and put the knitted curls on just on the outer third layer.  It gives Douglas a cute, sort of un-tidy, free-spirited boy look!

Here he is sitting. I managed to sew in decent leg folds on this doll.  He's wearing clothes made by the Bamboletta Sewing Mamas! (I made the shoes). 

NOTE:  Notice the difference in his hair in these two photos. The first humid day we had, Douglas lost most of his curls!  I used merino superwash yarn and it just relaxed in the humidity. Next time I think I'll use yarn that felts and smaller needles than the #10 US needles I chose this time!

Douglas in the crab apple tree wearing the red overall shorts and firefighter T shirt I made for him

Clementine is the another Classic Waldorf Doll I recently made. She is smaller at 11 inches.  If you have never made a Classic Waldorf type doll, 11 inches is a great size to start with.  it is easier hold and sew a smaller doll. And the finished doll is a great size for a child to take places.

11 inch Classic Waldorf

I used heavy weight loose mohair boucle yarn by De Witte Engle for her curly hair.  Unlike most of my dolls, I only used one type of yarn for her hair. I love how it turned out!

Here area a couple more photos of Douglas in his Bamboletta made clothes taken at the beginning of May when it was still chilly.  He is one super cute little dude!!

15" Waldorf Type Dolls, getting the neck right

You've probably noticed that I've been posting fewer quilts this year while there have been more posts about dolls.  I've been on a quest! 

I usually use doll patterns that I draft myself when I make Waldorf type dolls. But I've had trouble with nodding heads . Nodding heads are loved by some, but the best Waldorf dolls don't nod. So my goal for the year was to keep making dolls until I solved the nodding problem.  Making more dolls really does improve doll-making skills.

My initial pattern was cut with a neck that was about 2 inches high. That turned out to be the cause of the nod. While I turned it under when I attached the head, the neck was too long to hold up a heavy head of solidly rolled sheep's wool roving. Gradually as I cut down the neck length each doll got better. I've learned that NOT having a raised neck in the pattern results in dolls with very steady heads.  Just having just enough fabric at the top of the body to turn under 1/4-1/2 inch gives the best results. Finally figuring that out was really exciting.

Here are my three newest girls.

All the 15 inch dolls I've made have been gifts or commissions. That meant I never had one on hand to show as an example or to use to draft new clothes. The doll with the reddish brown boucle hair and the green shoes is going to be my sample doll.  I finished her on Patriot's Day (a Massachusetts-only holiday in April) so she is named Abigail after Abigail Adams, one of the true patriot women in Colonial New England.

Next week I'll share two classic Waldorf Dolls I've just made which should conclude the dolls posts for a while!

Quick Charity Quilts using Strips

Variation of Modern Textiles' Strip Quilt, approx 42 x 50 inches

The quilt guild I belong to, Proper Bostonian Quilters, makes dozens of quilts for charity every year. Quilts of all sizes and shapes are collected but quilts for toddlers and preschool children are especially welcome.

I was so excited when I saw the free tutorial and pattern for the Strip Quilt on Modern Textiles website. It's perfect for a small quilt that works up quickly. I especially love the way the wide strips can feature a special fabric. (The pattern has options for a variety of sizes. I made the crib quilt).

The pattern calls for 5 1/2 inch wide strips. I added 2 1/2 inch strips of solid colors to widen 38 x 50 inch pattern to that takes full advantage of a 42 inch backing.  3 extra strip seems perfect.  (The quilt above has 4 solid strips because the patterned strips were cut 5" wide).

I chose to do linear quilting and used some of the fancier quilting stitches on my machine. But free motion quilting would also be great.

Here's a another Strip quilt I recently made using a fabrics from a single collection. Sewing quilts using this pattern is such a happy activity! I really had fun.

Lavender Floral Strip Quilt Variation, approx 42 x 50 inches

Raw-Edge Dog Applique Pillow Cover

One of my friends has an adorable English Springer Spaniel. I've been squirreling away patterned brown fabrics for a long time with the plan to make some sort of Springer project some day.  That day arrived recently! 

Here's the drawing I made from a photo of my friend's dog.

Springer drawing, folded in 4 quadrants to aid placement of the components on the pillow cover

I scanned this to my computer and then flipped the drawing horizontally.  For fused applique, pattern pieces need to be a mirror image of the original drawing.  I made 3 copies of the inverted drawing so I could cut up the pictures to make patterns to cut pieces to make a raw-edge applique. It's important to have multiple copies as it's not possible to cut out all the parts from one copy. 

Here's a list of the patterns pieces I cut from the drawing: separate ears, muzzle with the white forehead blaze, tongue, nose, eyes, freckles, both halves of the face and a triangular neck piece. With raw-edge applique, the pattern pieces don't need any seam allowance.

I used Thermoweb Heat'n Bond Medium Weight to fuse the components.  I had the medium weight on hand, but Lightweight would have also been fine for this project.

First fuse the Heat-n-Bond to the BACK side of each fabric. (This product includes excellent directions for its use). Then using a pencil, trace around each pattern piece on the paper side of the fused Heat'n Bond. Cut out each component of the applique.  Remove the paper and fuse to the pillow cover. Stitch around each piece using either a narrow width zig-zag stitch with a very short stitch length or use a blanket stitch if your machine has one.  Before you start sewing:  Practice the stitching on some scraps of the fused fabric to see what works best on your sewing machine and which type of stitching you prefer. I used a zig-zag on this piece.

The sparkle in each eye is an embroidered French knot, and the lips were also embroidered using a back stitch. 

I added a border to my appliqued square. The back of the pillow is the same fabric as the border. I chose to use an envelope closure, but lots of other pillow finishes would work too.

Back of the pillow with an envelope closure