Little blocks

How cute is this? 

The finished size is 17" x 22". Each little strip is 1" x 2".  The quilt has 188 pieces. (I'm into quilt statistics.)


I made it because I was cutting strips from fat quarters and kept ending up with a strip that wasn't wide enough for the quilt in progress.  I cut 1 1/2" strips and set them aside for later.  Later came before the other quilt was finished.  I pieced this top over the last few days.  It isn't quilted yet, but we already established that I can show works in progress (WIPs). 

So here is an idea.  Imagine that you are making the zigzag quilt for a little girl in baby quilt or larger size.  How much fun would it be to make a miniature quilt for the little girl's doll? 

I'll tell you.  It would be SO MUCH FUN.  Try it.

Disappearing zigzag

No stone will be left unturned!  I decided to try another version of the same design shown in the previous blog entry (Diagonal Zigzag - the multi-pastel quilt with the blue border).  For this new version I made all the 8" blocks the same.  The zigzag disappeared and the result was more of a basket weave. 

This is one block.

I thought this might appeal to a brand new quilter who wanted to focus on piecing and not worry about how to arrange blocks that are scrappier.  I found all but the blue fabric in my stash.  I selected the border print first.  It is from a great old Laurel Burch line called Jungle Songs.   Next I found four fabrics to go with it.  I cut enough 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" strips of each color to lay out several blocks.  I played with them for awhile to decide where each color would be placed in the block.  In the end, I liked that two warm colors went in the one direction and two cooler colors went in the other direction.  I also liked that there were floral, geometric, dotted and marbled prints in the mix.

Some baby will be happy to own this quilt.

Diagonal zigzag

It is a little out of character for me to make a whole bunch of the same quilt, but I am enjoying
1 - using fabric in my stash and
2 - making samples to (hopefully) inspire members to make baby quilts for a guild project.

There were 3 zigzag quilts posted earlier where the blocks were set on point to make a vertical zigzag.  Here are 2 variations where the blocks are not set on point, resulting in a diagonal zigzag.

The pink one has twenty-five 8" blocks.  The other has sixteen 8" blocks and a 4" border.  Both are 40" square.

I had everything for the pink one and all but the green for the othe one in my stash.  If I look real hard, I can see that I made a tiny dent in my stash.

Work in progress

It occurred to me that I've fallen into the habit of only blogging when I have a finished quilt to show.  That was really not intentional.  In general, quilters get a little too concerned about productivity and having things finished.  And maybe we're a little too sensitive to the fact that we have UFOs.  Many, many UFOs.  We worry about getting them done.  We think we would be better somehow if we immediately finished every top we made.  I kind of like the idea that a hundred years from now some woman will hold up one of my UFOs at a guild meeting and say, "I found this quilt top in a trunk that belonged to my husband's grandmother..." 

I am quilting something right now.  It will not be the top in the trunk.  It may actually be finished this weekend.  But here it is in all its unfinished glory - a work in progress.

There.  The ice is broken.  I can show works in progress.

This is another of the zig zag quilts.  Why, you might ask, is she making so many of those?  This will be the suggested design for our guild's 2011-12 baby quilt project.  I want to have a lot of samples to show to get members fired up about the project. 

The earlier ones had the blocks set on point.  This one does not, which makes it a perfect project for a beginner.  So we might use this for new quilters in our guild's mentor program too.

This is what I am doing for the quilting.  Quilting in the ditch between the white and the pink zig zags.  This was done free motion due to the number of turns that would have been required.  Now I am quilting wavy lines in the center of each zig zag.  I like baby quilts to have substantial, but not heavy quilting.  To make the quilting more substantial, I use fairly short stitches.  I think longer stitches are more likely to break if tugged or pulled.  Tugging and pulling is a given if the baby becomes attached to the quilt and continues to use it for a long time.  I am always happy when a baby quilt is used.  I feel kind of sad when it is saved so nothing will happen to it.