Make Nine finish: a charity quilt in baby steps over 5 years

Sometimes a simple project takes years to complete. Life frequently steps in to disrupt the best of plans. 

Make Nine finish: charity quilt.

Baby step 1: This is a charity quilt whose blocks were started in 2016. Hey! Only 5 years ago. 

Make Nine finish. Completed charity quilt. Finished size 38.5" x 38.5".

Baby step 2: After discovering the pile of strip blocks and thinking "this quilt top needs to be finished," the alternate plain blocks were added in February of 2020. (Almost 4 years later.)

String quilt blocks for charity quilt.

Quilt top completed February 2020.

Baby steps 3 and 4: The quilting was done during a virtual guild workshop in the summer of last year. Then the scrappy binding was made and pinned to the quilted top in September.

Scrappy binding attached on the back to be machine stitched from the front.

Baby step 5: And, yesterday, March 27 of 2021... the binding got sewn down! (5 years in the making.)

Scrappy binding attached all by machine. 

Machine binding with 100 wt. thread

The binding was attached all by machine. This time, I tried a small zigzag stitch (stitching from the front of the quilt), with 100 wt. Invisafil soft poly thread in the bobbin. Invisafil is a thread from WonderFil Threads. Try it! It worked beautifully.

Can you see the bobbin thread? By choosing a thread color that matches the backing fabric... the stitching is practically invisible! 

Detail of binding from the back side. 100 wt. Invisafil thread in the bobbin. 

So, it might have taken 5 years to make this quilt, but it's finished! I'm checking off that project on my Make Nine 2021 list.

Documenting via digital camera

Thanks to my photo library that time stamps the photos I take. And a pat on the back to me and my iPad for documenting various stages of my work. Sometimes photos are taken for color and composition auditioning, sometimes it's for remembering a layout, or in this case, the on-going documentation of my work processes. 

It's good to take notes via camera!

The 100 Day Project: 50 days, 141 hexies

This is the halfway point of my 100 Day Project of 3/4-inch English paper pieced hexagons. 

141 three-quarter inch EPP hexagons. 50 days into The 100 Day Project.

There are 141 hexies. Each has a selective cut image. I have no project(s) planned for these. I'm just enjoying the hunt for fabric... and thread- or glue-basting each hexagon.

It's all about the process.

National Quilting Day 2021

Quilt made with fabric from M&S Textiles Australia.

Happy National Quilting Day 2021

We've got a colorful quilt made with Australian Aboriginal fabrics hanging outside in celebration of quilts and quiltmakers around the globe!

Since many quilts outlive their makers, The National Quilt Museum and Quilt Alliance are spreading the message to label quilts—whether you are the maker, recipient or purchaser.

Labeling quilts
The more information on the label, the better, since quilts can't talk. Consider including this information:

• name of the quilt
• the name of the maker
• the name of the quilter (if not quilted by the maker)
• date completed
• city, state
• description or reason or occasion for making the quilt—birthday, anniversary, commemorative, sampler quilt, etc.
• if purchased, where it was purchased
• any other information appropriate to telling the quilt's or quiltmaker's story.

Document your quilts and share their stories.

"Dominique" pattern by Villa Rosa Designs.

Here is the video with messages from the National Quilt Museum and the Quilt Alliance.

And an example of a quilt label for a purchased or inherited quilt.

Example of a quilt label for a purchased quilt.
Compliments of the National Quilt Museum, Paducah, KY.

Document quilts for future generations!

Pillowcases from fabric panels, a Make Nine finish

Fabric panels.
They come in a variety of themes, sizes, formats—horizontal and vertical—are ubiquitous, and easy to use for all kinds of quilting and sewing projects, both large and small.

Have you considered using fabric panels for pillowcases? 

Make pillowcases with fabric panels.

The Whispering Pines fabric panel
These pillowcases were made with the 28" fabric panel from the Whispering Pines fabric collection from Northcott. For all the campers, nature lovers and outdoorsy types, this panel is ideal for pillowcases! I've paired it with a glow-in-the-dark firefly coordinate from the Nighttime in Bluebell Wood collection from Lewis and Irene. 

The Burrito Pillowcase construction method
The Magic Burrito Pillowcase method is my go-to construction for pillowcases. It uses French seams and there are no raw edges... and it's fun too!

Burrito method for pillowcase construction.

Because I was making a pair of pillowcases, two panels were needed. The panels are the same orientation, but I prefer each pillowcase of the pair to have the cuff on the "outside" (toward the edge of the bed). You have to plan for this when making the burrito roll... one cuff on the head side of the deer and the other cuff on the butt side. (Yes, this is how I reminded myself.)

Make sure one cuff is on the head side and one on the butt side of the deer.

My pillowcases fit the extra long, king pillows. If you have standard size pillows, you can omit the cuff or trim the width of the panel (to make the body of the pillowcase smaller). 

The other side of the pillowcase (which is actually the bottom portion of the panel) has a beautiful, watercolor design in blue-greens and teals.

Whispering Pines pillowcase backs.

Pillowcases from large scale prints
Continuing with animal fabrics, I also made pillowcases with Kenyan Cats, a large format print by Alexander Henry Fabrics. No cuffs were needed on these pillowcases. I'm just letting those big kitties dance and tumble across the bed. 

Pillowcases from Kenyan Cats from Alexander Henry Fabrics.

Gotta love all the color and print on these big kitties!

Reverse side of the Kenyan Cats pillowcases.

A Make Nine finish
This is my second Make Nine finish for 2021. It checks off the "Easy and Fun" category. 

A third of the way through the 100 Day Project

My 100 Day Project with EPP Hexagons is about a third of the way through. I have 118 three-quarter inch selective cut English paper pieced (EPP) hexagons thus far. What?

118 hexagons for #100daysofepphexies 

At this rate, I could have over 300 little hexagons by the end of the 100 days. This batch is about 12 inches wide. 

Over 12 inches wide.

What would 3 feet of hexagons look like??

The pile of hexies grows daily. The 100 Day Project. #the100dayproject 

And what can I make with them?

Stitch Success Tracker on target for March 2021

January and February 2021 are a wrap and the 2021 Stitching Success Tracker is fully colored with stitching activities for both months. March is starting with a good track record.

January and February on my 2021 Stitching Success Tracker.

I'm enjoying and being challenged with both of my 100 Day Projects—EPP 3/4" hexagons and Slow Drawing studies. And I've completed one of my 2021 Make Nine projects. 

2021 Stitching Success Tracker calendar.

One of the popular EPP hexie posts was this one... which makes me contemplate potential patchwork or applique compositions once the 100 days are up.

From my #100daysofepphexies