Vintage Holiday

This modified log cabin block pattern is found in Heart & Home "Quilt of the Month". I used many fabrics from the Oak Leaves and Reel fabric line, plus a few others. The pattern is written so one can use a jelly roll or 2.5-inch strips. I used yardage, since that is what I had, and just cut strips as needed. It was a fun pattern to do and was given as a gift.

Hey-It's still February isn't it???

This is the Valentine wall hanging I did a couple of years ago.

It is an enlarged version of Cotton Way's

Table Topper of the Month for February.

My stairway needed something to hang there, and hanging a rod was out of the question lest someone impale himself upon descending the stairs too carelessly. So I just tied it up to the posts, using rings that are sewed to the back of the quilt, about an inch down from the top.

i went scrappy. (and i'm happy).

Thanks for all of your advice.
In the end, I opted for FREE (and to stay in my pjs all day).
It feels good to know I finished the girls' beds without spending any money.
(Now I can spend money on the rest of the room.) :)

This is the end result.

My girls LOVE to show everyone the pillows that they designed.

I LOVE the sense of self confidence they get whenever they look at their bed.

I just made a basic Log Cabin. I cut all of my bright scraps/stash fabrics into 2.5 inch strips (or you could use a jelly roll). I started with a square 2.5 x 2.5 and added to it, sewing, cutting, ironing, sewing, cutting, ironing. I put a square of white as my last log cabin layer. I made 63 of these blocks and sewed them together in rows of 7 by 9. That's it.

Here's my tip. I didn't realize that you could sew a log cabin wrong. But you can. See my picture above. Be careful when you sew the 4th fabric on. It should be touching the 1st and 3rd fabrics, not the 1st and 2nd.

One thing I liked about this process was that I had a lot of 2.5 inch strips. I pieced them together for the binding. Overall it turned out to be a great way to use up fabric that I've had forever.

i need help (with the back end).

I made these two quilt tops for the new girl's room.

(Remember the pillows I showed you?)

The best thing about these quilts is that so far I haven't bought ANY fabric... it's all scraps/stash.

once again i opted for fast, cheap and easy.

(yes. I have been called a QUILT SLUT before.)

But.

Now I'm stuck.

I found PERFECT back and binding fabric at Hobby Lobby, but it wasn't even on sale.

I had planned on piecing the back with scrap pieces... but I don't know.

What do you think?

Can I back them without spending money?

or

Should I just go buy the fabric that I already found and love?

And, help #2... I'm NEVER real good at naming quilts. Any suggestions?

plus. I'm sick so I'm kinda all around poopy today.

and i want to finish this.

I just need to put the BINDING on this one.

I'm even finished quilting it.

I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

[FINISHED-- January 5, 2009]

"Put the Lime in the Coconut" OR "Lime & Licorice"

A few weeks ago, I was in the car with my kids and their friends and the song "Put the Lime in the Coconut" came on the radio. I cranked it up and sang along (yes, my kids were embarrassed, but I think I'm cool and that's enough for me). It was a Saturday afternoon and I was in the mood to create.... so I thought HEY! What about a quilt called Put the Lime in the Coconut?

Once I started working on this black & white quilt, my nine year old let me know, quite emphatically, that the quilt should NOT be called that since coconuts are brown. She named the quilt Lime & Licorice. I'm not sure who eats limes with licorice, but for now, this quilt has two names. Comment below and let me know which name YOU like!

I do not write quilt patterns (which means this may not be accurate), but here are my measurement notes from this quilt:

Finished quilt measures 62"x76. There are 20 log cabin blocks. Each block has a 2 1/2" lime square in the middle. I used a variety of black and white fabrics for the blocks, trying to alternate light and dark for each row. Finished block measures 8 1/2 x 8 1/2.

A Block (make 6): Fabric 1 (2) 2.5 x 2, (2) 5.5 x 2
Fabric 2 (2) 5.5 x 1.5, (2) 7.5 x 1.5
Fabric 3 (2) 7.5 x 1, (2) 82 x 1

B Block (make 7): Fabric 1 (2) 2.5 x 1, (2) 3.5 x 1
Fabric 2 (2) 3.5 x 2, (2) 6.5 x 2
Fabric 3 (2) 6.5 x 1.5, (2) 8.5 x 1.5

C Block (make 7): Fabric 1 (2) 2.5 x 1.5, (2) 4.5 x 1.5
Fabric 2 (2) 4.5 x 1, (2) 5.5 x 1
Fabric 3 (2) 5.5 x 2, (2) 8.5 x 2

White Sashing: (15) 8.5 x 6.5 to go between verticle rows. Then cut (4) strips 6.5 ' wide and long enough to attach each row. Then sew 6.5" white border. Binding was done in solid black.

Since I have loads of black and white fabric in my stash, but no piece large enough for backing, I used six pieces 12" wide to make the back. Looks great either way you see this quilt!

Red & White Courthouse steps

Anything for you, Jen! Here is the picture of my red/white quilt. It is also the courthouse steps pattern and uses red/white stripes for the vertical strips and shirting material for the horizontal strips.

I did this quilt with Grey a few years ago - so we may want to see if she still has the pattern. I tried to measure blocks/strips etc., but I did a terrible job (it was one of my first quilts!) and I don't want to give you wrong measurements.

Variety is really what makes this quilt fun. Grey had been collecting shirting fabric and red/white stripes for some time. (which is why she had enough for me to make one as well!)

Here is a close up of the blocks so you can see the material and my unperfectness.

old time courthouse steps...

This is my FAVORITE quilt!

I inherited it when Todd's grandmother was donating it to charity because it has some frayed areas around the edges. It was made BY HAND by her great-grandmother (I think). It is hand quilted and hand pieced. I'm not sure, but I think the some of the lighter pieces are just the darker pieces bleached. (Did they even have bleach back then?) Anyway, I think this would be so fun to make with your stash. Of course, I highly recommend using your sewing machine, and your rotary cutter.

Bliss has an adorable red and white ticking quilt that I think is also this courthouse stairs pattern. (The one hanging in your bedroom.) If we ask real nice she may post it for us. I REALLY want to copy it.

Quilt Stats--
The whole quilt is 5 blocks by 6 blocks.
Each block measures 13x13 inches.
The center brown square is 2.5x2.5 inches.
There are 6 strips around the block, each measuring 1.5x1.5 inches.

Cabin Tracks

Cabin Tracks was a fun, but time-consuming quilt. It uses lots of scraps--especially strips. This is the first quilt I had my friend Cathy quilt on her computerized long-arm; otherwise, it would still be in the stash of all my finished, but unquilted quilt tops! I entered it into our county fair this fall (2008) and got a blue ribbon. I was pleased! The pattern is from a 2003 Quilt Sampler magazine, made by the Stitcher's Crossing, a quilt shop in Madison, Wisconsin.