C8's Quilt

Finally, it's all done. It was done before Christmas, which I think is pretty good--only 6 months after graduation. :)

We took this picture north of Dallas. Pretty fence on a muddy morning.

And, Caitlin loves it--that's the best part.

C8's Quilt--Adding More Borders--Might as well!

Here are a few pictures of the finished border. C8 wanted more piecing in the border and so I used the scraps and this is what I came up with.

I wanted the wider border to add to the overall size of the quilt, but I thought it looked a little bit odd to go from 1 1/2" strips in the blocks to 4" strips in the border. So I added that middle border strip made from leftover scraps from the blocks. I think it ties the blocks to the border a little bit more.

It is a totally random pattern with regard to the blues and greens and what fabric is next to what fabric. I mostly like the way pure randomness turns out.

I added the strips exactly how I added the pink strip. I measured the width of the quilt and cut my strips that size and then added them. Then I measured the length and cut my strips that size and added them.

Here's a picture of the entire quilt top, finally finished and ready for the quilter. Finished size turned out to be 68" X 84".

I'm upset with myself that I didn't take any photos of the back of the quilt. That would have been a great post/tutorial. I'll take some pictures when I get it back from the quilter! I have a feeling I'll be tacking down the binding on the airplane on our way to Idaho when I take her to college. :)

C8's Quilt--Border Patrol

This is it! All of the blocks are done! 48 blocks that have been tweaked, squared, and stitched together! Time to put on the border! I decided to put on a pink border first to bring out the pink squares in the middle and separate the blocks from the rest of the border.

First step is to measure the short side, right across the middle of the quilt. This tile floor is the biggest space I have in my house to lay out a quilt. And my knees are starting to feel it. Ouch!

It measures 51 1/4" wide. That's the measurement I use to cut the top and bottom pink strips.
I go with a 3" wide strip and cut 2 strips 51 1/4" long.

I find the middle of each pink strip by folding it in half and then pin the middle of the strip to the middle of the top and the other strip to the middle of the bottom of the quilt. Then, while I sew it on, I make sure the ends of the strips meet at the ends of the quilt. I use pins and bobbin tugging to make sure the fabrics (border and quilt) all match up. This will keep your quilt square!

Next step: Measure the length of the quilt, down the middle, including the new top and bottom borders. Cut 2 3" wide strips that exact length. Find the middle of the strips and pin it to the middle of the sides. This helps to sew the border strip to the quilt evenly. Make sure the quilt fits the border length when you sew it on.

Here's a pic of the first, pink border. I added 2 more borders to this quilt before I called it good! More pics of them in the next posting!

C8's Quilt: Squaring up your Blocks

C8's quilt is coming along--a little slower than I would like, but you know, life happens. Anyway, I was able to work on it for a while today and thought it would be a great opportunity to show how to square up your blocks.

Most quilts are made up of blocks and with most of those, the blocks measure the same size. The blocks in this quilt are 9" square. It's important to square up your blocks so you have a nice, even finished product and all of the blocks will fit together well.

It's a good idea to square up as you go. Add a strip and square it up. Add the next strip and square it up. Basically you're evening out all of the rough edges that happen through sewing and pressing. Make sure you have lined up your seams with the grid on your cutting mat and with the lines on your ruler and keep your ruler straight. Cut off as little fabric as possible when you square it up as you go.

When squaring up a finished block, it's best to start in the middle of your block. With my 9" desired size, I find my center and measure 4 1/2" on each side and cut off the extra. With this block it was easy to find the middle seam and I lined that up on a line on my cutting mat grid.

Then I measured 4 1/2" over from the center line and using my ruler and rotary cutter sliced off the extra fabric. That took care of side 1. Then I flipped it over 180 degrees and lined up the opposite side on any inch line on the grid and made a cut 9" over.

Then I do the same to the remaining two sides. I find the center, measure over 4 1/2 inches and using the lines on the grid, cut off the extra in order to make a 9" square block.

You should end up with all of your blocks squared and measuring the exact same. This will help you immensely when it's time to put it all together.

Soon I'll be sewing all of these into rows! It's getting there!

C8's Quilt-- I Love Fabric

When it comes to putting a quilt top together, fabric selection can be tricky and a little intimidating. I don't think you want to spend hours and hours working on a quilt that you end up not liking. And there aren't any specific rules to follow--it basically comes down to what catches your eye.

I'm glad that C8 wanted a quilt of blues and greens. She got to choose and I only had to focus on those two colors. For the pattern she chose, I needed to purchase 20 fat quarters of blues and 20 of greens. Since there were going to be so many different, random fabrics involved, I decided to go with fabrics that didn't have any white in them. This would help it to look less scrappy.

This is a fabric I chose for the back. There was only 5 3/4 yds left on the bolt so I got it all. I might use this in the border on the front but I haven't decided yet. It's an awesome strong print and the colors are perfect.


The wrench that C8 threw in last week was she wanted a bit of pink in the quilt. So, I went out and bought some pink. I'm guessing maybe pink is on its way out, I'm not sure, but there wasn't as much pink in the store as usual. The only pink I found that would work had a little bit of white in it. I thought it through and decided it would work because the pink is only going to be used in the center squares and in the inner border. It won't be sharing time or space with the blues and greens.

Sometimes I wish that there were a list of rules for choosing fabric. But, there's not. Of course.
There are a few tips that can be helpful, however.

First, trust your own style and what you like. Choose colors and patterns that please your eye.

Next, choose one fabric that you love and then find others that go with it. I've heard some quilt teachers that say not to do that because you might get hung up on that one fabric and have a hard time pairing it with something else. But, whatever you choose, there will probably be one fabric that really catches your eye and you'll want it in your quilt. Be prepared to abandon the love fabric if it's not working for you.

After you have your love fabric, pick colors out of it that you can find in other fabrics. I have a friend that makes the most beautiful quilts and totally ignores this tip. Her fabrics don't have anything in common color-wise except they're bright and busy. It's her style and it works for her. She does follow the tip about pattern size and I think that's what makes it work for her.

The tip about pattern size--This is a basic designer's tip that's used in everything from landscaping to rearranging furniture. Large, medium, and small. Have a fabric that contains a large print, have one that contains a medium print, and another with a small print. Try to find patterns/colors that are opposite in some way so they compliment each other. One thing that I always put in my quilts is a stripe or check. I don't know if that's a real tip or just me, but I always make sure that one of my fabrics has lines. Here are some of the greens from C8's quilt.

Another thing to keep in mind with color is how the other fabrics make them look. Do you see how that second fabric up looks yellow next to the other greens? I'm keeping it though because there are other yellow-greens in the quilt and I like the large print.

I think that the most important thing to remember when selecting fabric is to make sure you like it. Every quilt is different and it's OK to take a risk. Try a fabric with texture. Ask other people's opinions but remember that their opinion is just another option. Get ideas from looking through quilting books, up close at the fabric in the pictures.

I feel like I lucked out with C8's quilt. Since the quilt is for her, she chose the colors and gets to live with it. Not too much thinking required on my part.

But when I went to find the pink fabric, I found some other fabric that got me thinking about J's Eagle Scout Quilt. I definitely found a love fabric for that, too. More on that later.

C8's Quilt: Graduation Traditions

They say that you have to have three of something in order to call it a collection. Three antique watering cans--it's a collection. Three Beanie Babies--it's a collection. Three mini schnauzers--it's a collection.

So, how many times do you have to do something in order for it to be a tradition? I would say only once as long as it sticks. A few years ago on Valentine's Day, we had lobster. We had "do-it-yourself" lobster. It was really good, except for the fact that one of the kids named them all and then got upset when we put them in the pot of boiling water. The 'lobster on Valentine's Day tradition' didn't stick. The next year we had fondue on Valentine's Day and it stuck. We look forward to this tradition every year now. It's fun, unique, and the kids don't get upset because we aren't eating any pets.

Two years ago, when our oldest child, BJ, graduated from High School, I made her a t-shirt quilt. She had stacks and stacks of t-shirts and it was hard for her to choose because they all had good memories and hard for me to choose because of quality of the shirt, color, and size of the design. We ended up using over 30 t-shirts and it was a HUGE quilt--almost King size. Plenty big for a dorm bed. But she loves it and that's good enough for me!

Now, C8 is getting ready to graduate. I asked her if she wanted a t-shirt quilt. She said no. (Scratch the t-shirt quilt tradition.) Instead, she wanted a regular quilt made of blues and greens and maybe some pink thrown in there. Full size. This pattern, please.

New tradition--Making a quilt for the graduating senior with their choice of pattern/size/fabric.

Looking ahead, in two more years, we'll have a collection.