THE PERFECT BABY QUILT

 One of the original "Sunday Sew and Sews" had a pattern she created for the perfect baby quilt. Janet Noever called this her SAWTOOTH STAR BABY QUILT. 

Here are two of her creations. Janet usually started with a panel or kid themed fabric for the center:

As simple as it gets, one star block, one border

Janet loved Seminole Piecing and often added it to the baby quilt

Donna D, one of the Sunday Sew and Sews has made several of these, here is her latest, designed for the newest ALABAMA fan:

At the time of Janet's unexpected death in 2020, Janet was in the process of making 50 baby quilts to donate to Huntsville Hospital to be given to children patients. The Sunday Sew and Sews took on completing this project and several months later Janet's quilts were presented to the hospital. I wrote about that here: A Quilter's Legacy

The other quilt Janet loved to make for donations was this one, she called it "My Favorite Donation Quilt". Various strips/widths of kid-themed fabrics couldn't be easier so I am not providing instructions here, but I do have a TUTORIAL:

A little Seminole Piecing for interest makes this a bit more work

When I make this quilt, I start with backing and batting, then "flip and sew" each fabric in place through all three layers. This means it is quilted as it is created. I did a TUTORIAL for my method here: STRIPPY QUILT 

Here are 3 mockups I made in EQ8 to give you ideas for Janet's SAWTOOTH STAR BABY QUILT:

Janet's original design, 36" x 43"

Super Simple, 36" x 36" 

Border Variation, 32" x 44" 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR JANET'S SAWTOOTH STAR BABY QUILT,  36" X 43" finished

Fabric Required:

Center Focus Fabric                Fat Quarter

Star Points                                Fat Quarter or 1/4 yard

Background Fabric                     2/3 yard

Top/Bottom Accent Border          1/6 yard

Border Fabric                             1/2 yard

Cutting Instructions:

Center Focus        cut 14.5" square

Star Points            cut FOUR 8" SQUARES for Half Square Triangles

Background          cut FOUR 8" SQUARES for Half Square Triangles

                              cut FOUR 7.5" SQUARES for Corners

                              cut TWO 2" x Width of Fabric (WOF) strips for top and bottom borders

Accent Border      cut TWO 2.5" x WOF strips for ACCENT BORDER top and bottom

Outer Border        cut FOUR 4.5" x WOF strips for outer borders

QUILT ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Make  8 HALF SQUARE TRIANGLES:

 Pair 8" squares of STAR POINT and BACKGROUND fabrics, right sides together

On the WRONG SIDE of the BACKGROUND fabric draw a diagonal line 

Sew 1/4" from BOTH SIDES of the DIAGONAL LINES 

Cut apart on the drawn line, press toward the Star point fabric, OR press the seam OPEN, your choice

Trim to 7.5" square

2. Sew the EIGHT Half Square Triangles into PAIRS:

3. ASSEMBLE THE QUILT CENTER using the quilt diagram as a guide:

 Sew the Star Block by adding corners to TWO of the Star Point Pairs, press toward corners

Sew Star Point Pairs to each side of the Center Square, press toward center

Join the THREE rows to create the middle of the quilt

4. ADDING BORDERS--from here on MEASURE YOUR QUILT to determine what size to cut the borders:

Accent Borders: Cut TWO borders from strips previously cut 2.5" x your quilt measurement. In a perfect world it is 28.5" wide, yours may differ a little

Attach Accent Borders to Top and Bottom of Star Block, press toward Accent Borders

Background Borders: Cut TWO borders from background fabric strip, 2" x your quilt measurement

Attach Background Borders to Top and Bottom Accent Borders, press toward Accent Borders

Outer Borders: Cut TWO borders for the Left and Right Sides. MEASURE YOUR QUILT to determine what size to cut them, 4.5" x your measurement. In a perfect world they are 35.5"

Attach Left and Right borders, press toward the outer borders

Cut TWO borders for the Top and Bottom. MEASURE YOUR QUILT. In a perfect world they are cut 4.5" x 36.5". It is MOST IMPORTANT borders be cut to the SIZE NEEDED so the quilt will be flat and square.

Feel free to change your borders, add more or less. Create Pieced Borders if you like. Keep in mind, it is best to keep the finished size to no WIDER than 40" so regular quilt fabric can be used as the backing without the need to enlarge the back. 

This quilt is fast and easy to make. It is easy to alter in many ways. We are all thankful to Janet for her friendship and her great organizational skills that made it easy for us to complete her important project.

 See the earlier post to see Janet's great notebook: Janet's Donation Quilt Project . See the post that shows all the finished DONATION QUILTS

Let's quilt!

Barbara

DIAMOND JUBILEE PROGRESS

 You may remember I decided to greatly alter my plan for my "Diamond Jubilee" quilt. It was begun 12 years ago in anticipation of my 60th birthday. This year I will be 10 +1 more than that so it was time to get this done.

Here is  where I am today:

Still to come is a pieced border of half square triangles and an outer border of the paisley print used in the center of each star and the sashing between the stars. 

Here is the original plan--to replicate a quilt made by Catherine Butterworth I saw in a magazine years ago. It won a big award at the Sydney Australia quilt show, where Catherine lives.  I tracked her down and we became "friends".  My colors would be much different but I LOVED her design. Her stars are almost 20", with 4 "feathers" on each side, mine is 15", with 3 feathers on each side:

"Julie's Quilt" by Catherine Butterworth, 96" square

A year ago I only had 4 stars done of the 13 needed. So I got back to this project in earnest. I made 5 more Feathered Star blocks, using the detailed color plan I developed 12 years ago.

Over time, things change. I decided I didn't need a king size quilt. And I didn't want to make 8 HALF STAR blocks and 4 QUARTER STAR blocks. I had 9 Feathered Star blocks done, 15" square each. So what to do???

I played around in Electric Quilt 8 (EQ8), quilt design software, to get an idea of what I might want to do. Sixteen Feathered Stars set straight would look like this:

That was ok, I already had 1 star done with the light yellow background. I would still have to make 7 more Feathered Stars. And 80" x 80" is still a pretty large quilt.

Ultimately, I settled on this:

BUT, the yellow stars look way out of place. I made 3 more Feathered Stars, each with darker backgrounds. Putting them on the design wall gave me this--the yellow one is still a problem:

SO, I made ONE MORE FEATHERED STAR: with a GREEN background. Now I had this and I liked it  much better:

OK, on to the sashing. I pulled one fabric after another out of my deep stash closet, auditioning many options: light, dark, striped, solid. Nothing seemed to work:

Sometimes you just need another set of eyes to help you see. My friend, Jan Davis, was out of state at the time but I was able to send these photos, and others, to her for her opinion. Jan is making several of these same stars to finish up her own "long brewing" quilt project. I knew she would understand my dilemma and how I wanted to get it "right".

Jan agreed with me about the yellow star--it had to be replaced. Then she suggested the idea I had been toying with: what about the big paisley print that is the "focus" fabric for all the fabrics included in the quilt? Would it be busy? Yes. Would it be unexpected? Yes. Would it WORK? Maybe... I have a BOLT of it so that wasn't a problem:

It's not awful

It was so much better than anything else I had tried I declared it the winner. The cornerstones really help to break up some of the "chaos" a busy print brings to the table:

Now it was time to make the half square triangle borders. I had designed them to be 3" so I made a bunch of the 80 needed. When I put them on the wall beside the top I knew they were JUST TOO BIG. I made a few that were 2" finished, much better.  I need 130 of those but they are quick to make so that is my new plan:

There will be a large outer border of the paisley once the half square triangle borders are done. The quilt will  be about twin size when done, significantly smaller than the original plan. But that will make it a good size as a class sample to teach the paper pieced Feathered Star block. I already have a YELLOW sample block done!

The pattern is FEATHERED STAR HEAVEN by Sue Garman--all the papers you need to make 9 blocks are included in the pattern. Sue's instructions are excellent. I recommend it highly. The Star is 15" finished. See my TUTORIAL on FEATHERED STARS here

So, you have to be prepared to change your mind on a long-term project when it no longer sings to you. Right now, I am happy to charge ahead to get this top finished before my Joyful Journey Retreat March 5-9. There I will be able to baste it so I can quilt it later this year.

I really look forward to having this BUCKET LIST QUILT finished.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

 

LAUREL RIDGE -- MONTH 2

Laurel Ridge is the 2025 Block of the Month quilt designed by Lynn Wilder exclusively for The Quilt Show.  Star Members have FREE access to the patterns starting January 1, 2025. Made in two colorways, the complete patterns are excellent. You will love making this quilt. Lynn supports the pattern instructions with Videos too. 

This month the pattern is for the 5" applique blocks. There are 4 sets of 3 applique blocks this month. Lynn has a Video for the applique and discussed applique in her show, #3601, FREE FOR ALL  to watch this entire year. Follow Lynn's excellent instructions for her applique designs. 

I chose not to include any applique in my quilt so I looked through Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns for ideas of what to substitute. 

BIG WARNING: if you are using either of the KITS,  my substitution Blocks and/or Fabrics were not part of the Kit calculations. I know there is a "little" extra fabric in each Kit, but there is NO GUARANTEE you will have enough Kit fabric with my changes. If this makes you nervous, just FOLLOW THE PATTERN INSTRUCTIONS with NO CHANGES. 

Here are 3 options I think will work. The first two I paper-pieced, the third is a regular pieced block.

Option 1: X Block 5", 3 in a row

One block 5" FINISHED: the yellow is an additional fabric I added

The pattern is drawn in EQ8 but it is very easy to draw with a pencil and paper. Each of the 4 squares are 2.5" FINISHED--draw a 3" square, this accounts for the seam allowance around the edges. The center white strip is symmetrical on the square and 7/8" wide FINISHED--OR whatever size you like. I wrote in the 4 colors I used for the triangles so I wouldn't get confused. Make 4 of the small squares, sew them together as a four-patch and the block is 5" FINISHED, 5.5" including seam allowance.

                                                            

OPTION 2: Rolling Block 5", 3 in a row: I like the circular feel of this one

One block, 5" FINISHED: the yellow and dark green are additional fabrics I added

Again, my pattern is drawn in EQ8 but is very easy to draw on paper. Each unit is 2" FINISHED, the outer white triangles are 1.5" on the outside edge, the smaller inner white triangles are 1" on the outside edge. My colored strips are 1" FINISHED OR whatever size you like. The white sashing and green squares are 1" wide FINISHED. NOTE: the center strip is NOT centered symmetrically on the block:

OPTION 3: Another X Block, 3 in a row: I love the simplicity of this. NOT paper pieced:

I simply drew a 5" square on paper, made the center white strip 1" wide and symmetrical on the square; what is left are the 4 colored QST triangles. Cut a 5" square of four different fabrics, cut on both diagonals and there you have the quarter square triangles (QST) needed to make 4 blocks. There are a total of 12 blocks in the quilt:

At this moment I am leaning toward Option 3, the easiest and fastest. I won't decide until much later in the year when a lot more of the quilt is done. 

If you want to substitute a pieced block for the applique, ANY 5" block might work. Try a few to see what you like. You can always make a "test" block with extra fabrics from your stash to see if you like it before using your "official" Laurel Ridge fabrics. You DO have extra fabrics right?!

Later this year we will have the other applique block to make, 5" x 7.5" FINISHED. I have some ideas on what I plan to do there too. Stay tuned...

I have written about paper piecing with Freezer Paper several times. Find one HERE if you are new to using Freezer Paper for foundation.

I have also written about applique, both machine and hand, quite a few times. THIS ONE might be helpful for this month's applique if you are doing that. 

Share your progress on the FORUM we want to see what you are doing!

Next month we move on to a very easy block that will get us further along on the journey.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

FOLSOM QUILT AND FIBER GUILD

 Jobs to teach around the country are often two years in the planning stage, from the first contact, to  contract signing, to the actual event. My recent trip to Folsom, CA was no exception.

Airline travel was set last summer. It didn't occur to me then that this is what might happen in Huntsville AL the day before my 5:30 am flight to sunny California:

Having to be at the airport by 4:30 am when roads were likely to be treacherous meant getting a hotel room close to the airport the night before. Up at 3:15, my husband had me at the airport on time, where it was packed for this early flight. Once my big purple suitcase was checked in and I got through TSA, I was all set. 

Alas, the crew didn't arrive until 6:30 am, so we left an hour and a half late. My layover in Atlanta evaporated. We made up a little time, and I was off the plane with 10 minutes to get from gate A6 to B24. 

I RAN, dragging my small carryon and traveling backpack. Not sure how but I made it! The gate agent saw me running as she was set to close the door--I was on the flight to Sacramento. They closed the boarding door as soon as I walked on the plane. Phew!

We sat on the runway for 3 hours. Weather meant each plane had to be de-iced--this takes time. Then Ground Radar went DOWN--nothing moves when air control can't see where each plane is on the ground. That was fixed after a while, we moved a bit, it went down again. Long story short--we took off 3 hours late but got to Sacramento at 2 pm local time.

I had built in an extra travel day to visit my friend Jenny K Lyon, spending the first night at her home. She has recently done a big beautiful kitchen remodel--check out her blog for photos Quiltskipper:

                                   

Her backyard, lovely landscape, 38 degrees, no swimming this trip

The front of Jenny's home

The view across the street

Being able to text while onboard was a big help. I let Jenny know about the delay. She kept her eye on the flight's progress so was able to see when we would land. 

Do you know? It is so easy to find flight information in real time. Google the airline/flight number, mine was DL904. I also sent this code to Jenny and my husband in texts--they simply had to click on PREVIEW FLIGHT to see the full information--when we took off, how far into the flight we were, what gate we should be landing at, etc. 

About halfway through the flight I realized my big suitcase was almost certainly NOT ONBOARD--I ran to catch the flight but the baggage handlers didn't. Using the Delta App I was able to "TRACK MY BAG"--sure enough, my bag was scheduled to be on the next flight to Sacramento, landing at 11 pm.

When I landed I went to the Delta Baggage office, where a very helpful agent named Margie explained my big suitcase would  be delivered the next day, Monday. As it had most everything I needed to teach on Wednesday I wasn't too worried. It did arrive about 1 pm to Jenny's house, sure was glad to see this:

At least my carryon had my toothbrush and a change of clothes. And my masters for teaching should the worst happen--at least I could make 20 more copies. Once I had my stuff I was all set. 

Jenny and I spent time discussing a quilting plan for a small quilt I am working on--it was in the big suitcase but we worked from a photo. When we were able to look at the actual quilt, the plan was approved--she had great ideas that helped me a lot:

                                      

Jenny and I took a long walk in her very hilly neighborhood. We kept up with each other and I was so happy to be moving again. Then it was time to get me to the hotel in Folsom. 

I found a nearby Chinese place for dinner: Andy's Kitchen. My fortune was so appropriate: "The Journey Forward is the One that Matters".  

The next day I was thrilled to get my power walk done on an amazing walking/biking trail that goes all the way to downtown Sacramento. I did more than 7 miles in 1.75 hours, and saw only a few other people. Those who commute by bike on this trail were already at work, while those who exercise there waited until the day warmed up. It was 38 degrees when I started and 49 when I finished:

 At lunch time my guild contact, the wonderful Eileen, picked me up for lunch and a tour:

Salmon Salad from Karen's Cafe and Bakery

Eileen, a civil engineer, showed me the sights, including Folsom Dam and Folsom prison--as a Johnny Cash fan, that was fun. Eileen is a delightful person and I enjoyed our time together. After an afternoon break that allowed me time to make phone calls back east, Eileen picked me up for dinner. Dos Coyotes was good too:

Finally, on to the guild meeting. The FIRST THING that happens is we get the technical side all set--connecting my IPad to their projection system. Easy and we were ready. 

The guild is preparing for their annual quilt show, January 31-February 2, 2025. Here is their Facebook Page with the details. It is sure to be great, don't miss it if you are anywhere in the area. 

After a brief break for refreshments it was time to give my lecture "Time Management for Quilters". Probably my most informative lecture, it is always well received. There was a very large crowd, quite a few guests, and I enjoyed meeting everyone. Some know me from The Quilt Show, many follow this Blog, and it is always good to see real people in person. 

Wednesday morning I did an hour on the hotel treadmill, not nearly as enjoyable as walking the trail but it was too dark and too cold at 6 am. After breakfast, Eileen picked me up for the Workshop Western Sun. I  love teaching this because I love this  quilt and it offers lots of "teachable moments". The students did well and it was a good day:

Student work beside one of my class samples

110" square, too big to travel but students get to see photos

Wild Western Sun, 45" square, class size in bold fabrics

Too soon the day was over. I had a little hotel break, again for phone calls back east. Then Eileen and her husband picked me up for dinner at Crawdad's by the Lake. No photos because we all  loved our meals and just enjoyed eating them. I highly recommend this place. My grilled salmon sandwich was so good and the Calamari appetizer we shared was the best I've ever had.

Thursday morning Eileen picked me up for the 45 minute trip to the Sacramento airport. I was checked in and at the gate in 15 minutes, two hours before my flight. This is a beautiful airport so I decided to "power walk" for an hour instead of just sitting. Four miles later, I had "gotten my steps in" and I was able to relax and wait to board:

Lots of comfortable waiting areas, with power 

A River Runs Through It--follow the blue tiles all around the Terminal

We left on time for the 5 hour flight to Atlanta, landing at 8 pm local time. Here is my one guilty pleasure:

No travel issues with my last flight, we left Atlanta at 10:45 pm and arrived in Huntsville at 10:45 pm. This time my baggage was onboard and we were home about 11:30 pm.

It was a great trip and reminds me why I do this. Getting to meet great people, see places I've not been to before, and hear from  quilters that they learned a lot. The enjoyable meals don't hurt either. 

My next trip is the middle of March when I fly to Austin TX for time with the Georgetown/Sun City quilters.

Let's quilt.

Barbara