Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Stashbusting Paddlewheels
Here's my stashbusting quilt, the Paddlewheel Quilt. This is a fast to make stashbusting pattern. All the blocks and the border were finished, from cut to sewn, in a weekend. The quilting always hangs me up, but there is no reason why you can't tie this quilt. This pattern uses a surprisingly small amount of background fabric. I enlarged this quilt to nearly a queen size and used just over a yard of background. One fat quarter of paddlewheel fabric makes 3 blocks. I know this pattern dates back to the 30s (a windmill variation), but this one has been simplified to minimize seams. The pattern can be found in Thimbleberries Book of Quilts by Lynette Jensen. This is the second quilt pattern I've made from this book. Clear instructions, goes together quickly. This quilt features 9 inch finished blocks and I just made more blocks to fit my bed. Stash usage: about 17 yards.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Stashbusting Tip - Block Of The Month
I'm still working on my stashbusting Paddlewheel quilt. I will have the borders on by the weekend.
Every January, oodles of online places (as well as quilt stores) start a Block-of-the-Month series. Why not join one and use your stash!? Even better, plan on joining one and quilting it at the same time with either a Quilt as you Go or Reversible quilt options. That way, when you are done, it's already quilted and you just put it together. I'll have to make a decision once the first blocks are revealed. If I want to do a lot of quilting, then I'll have to buy a solid or muslin for the backing. If not, then I have plenty of fabric for backings. Either way, I'll be using Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 batting. (tip, it helps to precut your batting squares and border pieces and just keep them in the same bag. Cutting one at a time is a real pain).
So, in the spirit of that, and getting some immediate use out of my Christmas present (EQ6), I am joining QATW (MSN group) 2007 BOM. I chose a Debbie Mumm fabric that I've had for a few years (heck the store closed and I still haven't used it in a tote bag which is why I bought it!). I plan to primarily use this fabric in the border, but will include small amounts in some of the blocks. I only have a little over 1 1/3 yards, so I have to be creative in carrying it over.
Here are my selected fabrics. Backgrounds in front. Some of these fabrics are also being used in another project, but I only need small amounts, so it's not a problem. Note that I have few darks. I'm trying to avoid having more overly dark quilts and using more mediums and a few jewel tones to add spark. We'll see how that goes.
These are the fabrics where I have enough yardage to use for sashing and border fill-in. The sashing is best with an allover pattern, so my best choices are the blue and the goldish/red (on top). Decisions based on yardage...Hah.
Every January, oodles of online places (as well as quilt stores) start a Block-of-the-Month series. Why not join one and use your stash!? Even better, plan on joining one and quilting it at the same time with either a Quilt as you Go or Reversible quilt options. That way, when you are done, it's already quilted and you just put it together. I'll have to make a decision once the first blocks are revealed. If I want to do a lot of quilting, then I'll have to buy a solid or muslin for the backing. If not, then I have plenty of fabric for backings. Either way, I'll be using Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 batting. (tip, it helps to precut your batting squares and border pieces and just keep them in the same bag. Cutting one at a time is a real pain).
So, in the spirit of that, and getting some immediate use out of my Christmas present (EQ6), I am joining QATW (MSN group) 2007 BOM. I chose a Debbie Mumm fabric that I've had for a few years (heck the store closed and I still haven't used it in a tote bag which is why I bought it!). I plan to primarily use this fabric in the border, but will include small amounts in some of the blocks. I only have a little over 1 1/3 yards, so I have to be creative in carrying it over.
Here are my selected fabrics. Backgrounds in front. Some of these fabrics are also being used in another project, but I only need small amounts, so it's not a problem. Note that I have few darks. I'm trying to avoid having more overly dark quilts and using more mediums and a few jewel tones to add spark. We'll see how that goes.
These are the fabrics where I have enough yardage to use for sashing and border fill-in. The sashing is best with an allover pattern, so my best choices are the blue and the goldish/red (on top). Decisions based on yardage...Hah.
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