Back to Front

Here's the Front (top) that went to the back in the last post.  I still look at it and think hmmmm,  But I've got it quilted and half way bound now and It's a nice feeling to check another UFO off the list.

It was fun to quilt.  All those different borders provided lots of opportunities to doodle around!

 

I should have practiced my 'Japanese' water quilting pattern a bit before attempting this blue section.  I have not quilted that pattern in a long time I don't think I quite caught the flavor of it.   

Here's the back again.

The quilting resulted in some interesting effects on the back. 

I was going to donate this to Hospice but a friend came over and commented on how pretty she thought it was so I think I will surprise her on her next Birthday!

Hope you are all well and safe,

Peace, CW

Backings

I recently finished a top with a Japanese / Geisha theme.  I was not real thrilled with the project.  I'd saved the fabrics for a long time but when I finally got around to making it I could not really remember the original inspiration, except that I liked the apple blossom print that I intended to use in the border....Oh well press on!  I got the top finished and stuck it away for several months.

Meanwhile it made me think about my stash and how I have a stack of Asian fabrics that I've collected over the years and yet how few Asian themed quilts I've actually made!  Not to mention my collection of South East Asian Batiks and indigos from around the Pacific Rim and then there's the Yukata fabrics from Japan.  All of which I love to pull out and look at but rarely use.

I think the large Japanese prints are really beautiful, but who wants to cut them up?  The're so pretty just the way they are!  I decided maybe it was time to give them away or find another way to use them!  Which brings me back to the afore mentioned top.  What better way to use up some of those large scale prints than to use large pieces of them to make a backing for that Top!  Sounds like a win-win!

I know this is nothing New,  but I've always had what I might call 'backing fabrics' that were not great for one reason or another and I used those to put together backs.

But I always considered the fabrics pictured above 'to good' for using in backs.

But good heavens I have more fabric than I can use in 10 life times of sewing, so  I told myself get over it and use the 'good stuff' on the backs!

Going through my Asian fabrics yet again was a lot of fun.  And the simplicity of sewing the pieces together was fun too!  Win-Win!

Stay safe, Stay Healthy!

Peace, CW

More Orphan blocks

This project developed quickly and I'm happy with the results!  A cheerful kid quilt!  I might have to redo the lower left corner.  I think I should of put the coping strip on the inside of that block inside of on the end.  It looks like a dangling participle!  (Not sure that applies here but it sounds good!)

The boat hull was this really ugly brown so I just sewed the nice red over it and that tied it in with all the other  red blocks.  I wish all of my orphan block designs came together as easily as this one...or maybe not.  It's fun to struggle a bit and then work things out. 

Parting shot:  another of my favorite Spring blooms, Apple blossoms!

Let's hope for blue skies ahead for everyone!!

Stay home, stay safe!

cheers, cw

Two from One

I hope this note finds you all well and safe!  We continue to be "Sheltering at Home".  We stay busy.  We walk most days and we continue to garden.  And Of course I continue to SEW!

Last week I sewed a bunch of Masks.  Not really fun sewing but I thought I'd do my bit.  This week I spent more time in the garden and did some quilting.

Two from one refers to the fact that I took an old top and cut it to make 2 quilts.  The original top dates from 2012.  Barbara Brackman was writing a Blog about the 1812 War and quilts that were made in the early part of the 1800's.  A gal in Canada (sorry I don't remember the name of her blog)  decided to host a quilt challenge.  The details are a little sketchy in my memory now but I think the idea was to make a quilt the size of a soldiers bed roll.  It was suppose to be 36" x  60".

I thought I would make one and then donate it but when I finished the top I realized the dimensions were not really practical for a lap quilt. To long and skinny.  I put some more borders on it to make it wide enough to be used as a lap quilt but it still wasn't quite right.  So it joined the ever growing pile of UFOs.

Fast forward to Now and my resolve to finish that stack of UFOs.  I was determined to make something with this top.

It's just tooo long and skinny and then I thought maybe if I rotate it I can get two smaller lap quilts out of it?!

The middle part became one quilt and the two ends got sewn with another strip of the floral print to make a smaller quilt.

I tried several different configurations to join the two end pieces...

I finally settle on this one.

Since I've had a lot of sewing time I got both of them quilted and bound!

The one on the left is the right size for Wheel chair bound Vets (36" x 48") and the one on the right will go to a Hospice patient.

Using just two fabrics was kind of limiting for me.  But it was satisfying to solve the problem with the top and now it's done!!

Stay safe!  cheers, CW

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