Monday, August 8, 2011

here's what i've done today:

i actually haven't had a sewing day for a while, and with the start of school rapidly approaching, i thought i'd get some in before i'm drowning in homework.

i finally got all the squares sewn together for the hubby's quilt. it going to be a mass of crazy nine-patches like these:


and here's my big pile complete, and ready to be sewn into a quilt top. i would have soldiered on through sewing them all together today, but the lighting is so bad in here in the evening, i kinda don't like to sew at night.


i also had to catch up on my skill builder sampler quilt. this week (or rather last week, and i'm only just getting around to it!) was learning bow ties. these must be the easiest configuration to sew in the world. and i really like the look of them and the shape they give. now i'm thinking i want a whole quilt like this. oh dear...


coupled with a handful of movies, i'd say my day was nice and relaxing and productive on the sewing front. AND i managed to do the dishes and a load of laundry. not bad. ;)

3 comments:

Jennifer said...

I'd love to know how you did the wonky squares. I've done them with squares that were 42" on both sides, but have never done them small. How big were the squares you started with? How many did you stack at a time? I'm guessing 9? How many did you need to make all together? What size top will it make?
I really liked this post, and I think it was a wonderful day of accomplishment, as well. Jennifer B

Lindsay said...

thanks for your comment Jennifer. 42"!? that's huge! maybe i'll try that one day... what did you use those squares for?

well, i started out with squares that were 10". i stacked 9 at a time (brave since i hadn't cut more than about 4 at once... haha - it went well) and cut the first two wonky lines. then assorted the fabrics and sewed back together before cutting the next two wonky lines on the other plane. assort and sew again! making them this way means that the seams don't exactly meet within the square, which kind of bugs me since i'm a little OCD. but it's okay, because i can work a little faster and not worry about stuff meeting! :)

i made a total of 72 squares with the aim of completing a queen size quilt. that's a lot of squares! i had bought a huge fat quarter bundle of these fabrics and was able to cut 2 x 10" squares from each fat quarter, with plenty to spare for charm squares and 2.5" strips!

maybe i'll post all this information when i finish up the quilt and post about it... hopefully soon since i'm back to school shortly. :)

Jennifer said...

Lindsay, thanks for replying! I have made a bunch of quilts using those huge squares. You can make the top for a king size quilt in one day that way. I use 9 - 1 yard cuts (so there is a good variety of fabric, and enough cuts to make it interesting), stack them like you do, but make most of my cuts to create triangles instead of rectangles. I do my cut, re-arrange, then sew, nine times total. Then I square them up, pick out the six I like best, and sew them two wide by three long into a quilt top. I do one or two borders (a 4 or 5 inch, and a 2 or 3 inch), and the top is done. I use flannel for the back of the quilt. Each of my six children have at least one of these. Now all you need is a fitted sheet on their bed to protect the mattress, and they have a reversable sleeping bag that is almost big enough to share. My kids slept with the flannel against them in the winter, and the woven against them in the summer. The other three panels that are left can become a twin quilt or three lap quilts, or can live in your sewing storage until you have need of one of those, and then your work is almost already done. Most of my sons got one of these at about age 8, and the youngest is now 6'2", and it still works for him. My oldest daughter has one I made for her wedding, and it is big enough to hang to the floor on both sides of the bed, so when he hogs the covers, she doesn't end up freezing. Have a wonderful day!!