Christmas Carolina Chain

I made this from Bonnie Hunter's Carolina Chain pattern which, at the time, I found in her "Addicted to Scraps" column in Quiltmaker magazine. The pattern is now available in her newest book, Addicted to Scraps.

Christmas Carolina Chain 75" x 88"

I used a constant red print and a constant white print to form the chains and add some cohesiveness to the very scrappy top.

Christmas Carolina Chain (detail)

I set off the scrappy foundation-pieced border with a narrow black border.

Christmas Carolina Chain (border detail)

Black binding and a snowflake-type print for the back completes the quilt.

Christmas Carolina Chain (detail)

This is a Christmas gift for my Mom. I had her open it early, so she could use it this holiday season, instead of having to wait until next year.

Happy Holidays!

I'm linking with The Quilting Room with Mel for Fiber Tuesday 90 and Jo's Country Junction UFO Progress.

Bright Stars

I've been working on gift quilts for my youngest nephew and nieces. The quilts are now in their hands, so I can now share my work without spoiling the surprise.  


I didn't have a pattern for this one--I just made it up as I went along.

Her mom told me my niece likes bright, bold colors. I think the colors stand out well against the black and white background.

I created the stars based on 4.5" squares with an 8.5" square in the center. The background squares in black and white scrappy fabrics are also 4.5" squares. (These are all unfinished measurements--in the quilt they finish .5" smaller.)

I assembled this quilt in columns (vertical) rather than rows (horizontal). This way, I could work with complete star blocks; this made it easier for me to keep things in order.



Because I wanted to draw the colors of the stars out toward the edge, I made a border of four-patches with 2.5" squares.

I went with a simple black and white backing fabric and a black binding to tie the colors in the quilt together. The quilt finished at approximately 66" x 85".

I like the way this one turned out. Sometimes, you just have to experiment!

I'm linking to Busy Hands Quilts: Finished or Not Friday and Fiber Tuesday 80 at The Quilting Room with Mel.

Dashing

The layout for this quilt was inspired by Bonnie Hunter's "Random Ohio Stars." When I was making that quilt, I loved the layout and thought it would work well with other blocks. The chosen block would need to be easily done in two sizes (one half the size of the other), and it would need to rely heavily on contrast for effect. Churn Dash was my first choice.


Here is my "Dashing" experiment.

Dashing--75' x 88"

Two borders--a blue and a floral

A few more blocks--there is a bend in the quilt; I promise the blocks aren't wonky!

Tye-dye type backing

The backing leads me to a lesson I learned from this quilt--never assume WoF! The tye-dye was much narrower than I expected, and at the last minute, I had to add a strip to the bottom to make it long enough. Whew!



I'd like to try this with other blocks--there is something about this asymmetrical layout that really appeals to me.



I'm linking with Jo's Country Junction UFO Challenge and  Fiber Tuesday 66 at The Quilting Room with Mel.

Old Tobacco Road--Ready for Final Border

I've been working steadily on this quilt (Old Tobacco Road--A Bonnie Hunter quilt), and I'm ready for the outside border.

I auditioned two types: straight strings like I did for Jamestown Landing and string squares, which would produce a zigzag effect. I liked the zigzag, but in the end, I thought it was too busy. I have started stitching the borders. Here is one, placed at the edge of the top to check its effect:

Stay tuned! I'll show the finished quilt as soon as I get it done.


 I am linking with Fiber Tuesday 54 at The Quilting Room with Mel.

Jamestown Landing--Part 6

I got the borders on, and I think they work well.

All that I need to do now is baste and quilt it. I'll post when it is completely finished.

I'm linking with Patchwork Times.

Jamestown Landing--Part 5

I have been piecing the string borders for Jamestown Landing.

I usually use telephone book pages, but since I need long strips of strings, I decided to buy a ream of newsprint paper (12" x 18").

I split it lengthwise and had two long strips for foundation piecing. The paper was inexpensive, and it has saved me a lot of time. It peels off easily as well.

I marked the top and bottom edges to help with the straight placement of my first strip.

String piece as normal. For a tutorial see THIS POST . Here is a quick recap:

Secure first strip somewhere near the center with a little dab of washable glue stick.

Sew second strip to the edge of the first and fold back.

Add the third strip to the other side of the first.

Continue adding a strip to each side and pressing them back until your paper is filled.

Filled paper

Turn it over

Trim to size

Ta-Da!

Remove paper

Two finished strips of border

These will be sewn together to create the correct border length for my quilt. I'll post pictures when I've got them on. Making progress!

I'm linking with Fiber Tuesday 52 at The Quilting Room with Mel.