Last Hurrah for High Five for Brenna

Now that Brenna's High Five is completely finished, I wanted to post details about it.

The quilt took 7 months from start to finish.  (Am I slow or what?!!)  I began making blocks in September, 2012, and bound, washed, and dried it on April 1, 2013.

The blocks are cut at 5" and are 4 1/2" finished.  There are 16 x 20 rows equaling 320 blocks.  Each block has 5 pieces of fabric and four seams.  All fabric was pre-washed.

The backing is a tone-on-tone natural/creamy print.  (Brenna said she liked plain backs best.)

The batting is a Mountain Mist Cream Rose 100% cotton bat.  Shrinkage was about 9%.  It was hand quilted with an all-over arching pattern that, if it had been more orderly, might have been a clamshell or Baptist Fan pattern.  The arches are about 1" - 1 1/4" apart.    I used Connecting Threads all cotton "Cream" and a size 7 needle.  The stitches are 4-6/inch.  (I'm still a beginner but improving.)

Measurements:
before quilting:  72" x 90"
after quilting:  71" x 88 7/8"
after binding:  71" x 88 7/8"
after washing and drying:  68 3/4" x 85"

Reminders to self:

• When choosing quilt size, make the quilt larger to account for shrinkage, especially if using a cotton bat.
• Everything takes longer than you think it will.
• If you haven't quilted recently, it will take a while to build up quilting callouses.

I don't think any photo will show the richness of this quilt (at least not any photo I take!).  I love it.  I love looking at individual blocks and seeing what fabrics worked together to make an aqua or a tan or a red or a blue block.  It's such fun.  Some of the fabrics were scraps that were left over from someone else's project and I have no more of them.  Some, I wonder where they came from because when I look at them they I can't remember ever seeing them before.  Part of me wants to keep this quilt for reference. . .  but I suppose I should give it to my daughter, huh?  Especially considering that I made it for her.


I'm linking this post to the April 5 edition of Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts, hosted by Amanda Jean.  Thanks so much, Amanda Jean.

--Nancy.
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Procrastinating a Binding

Brenna was home over the weekend and chose the above fabrics for a scrappy binding on her High Five.  On Saturday I cut and stitched the fabrics into one long strip but didn't get any further.  I don't sew on Sunday so Monday was the day to get the binding onto the quilt and get it finished.

On Saturday night I had a dream about the binding.  There it was all cut and ready to be sewn on the quilt.  I picked up the quilt, sat at the machine, laid the binding along the edge of the quilt and began to sew.  Great progress, almost done.  I awoke with a start.  Oh, no!  That's not how to sew a binding on a quilt!  (I know because I've tried that before and ended up with a ruffly-edged quilt.)  Whew!  I'm glad it was only a dream.  When I came downstairs the next morning, there was the quilt on the floor exactly where I'd left it.

Bindings are my least favorite part of quilting.  I think a binding can make or break (or at least enhance or detract  from) a quilt.  A fabulous quilt will look less than its best with a poorly measured and sewn binding.  Thus, my trepidation.  Even though my goal was to completely finish the quilt (binding sewn and stitched) on Monday, I found myself coming up with ways to avoid it.

• Better check on Airedale Hannah.  She might be out in the yard digging.
• Oh!  That load of laundry's finished.  Better go change the washer.  (Repeated every half hour or so, at least four times.)
• Look at all those threads on the floor!  Gotta vacuum.  (You know it's bad when I choose cleaning over quilting.)
• Look at all those crumbs.  Someone forgot to clean off the counter after breakfast....
• Breakfast.  I forgot to eat breakfast!  I need to eat so I'll have energy to do that binding.
• Gosh, I'm sleepy.  Maybe a nap will help.
• Etc., etc.  

Determined to meet this goal and be finished with this quilt, I measured the binding, laid it on the quilt, measured again, pinned, and sewed each side.  By late afternoon the binding had been machine stitched in place and I spent the rest of the evening folding it over and blind-stitching it on the back.  I think I got it right.  I don't think there are any ruffles but we'll see after it comes out of the dryer.

The label on the the Mountain Mist Cream Rose batting bags says, "Washable with care, when quilted properly".  What care, exactly?  Regular wash, gentle wash?  Dryer, no dryer?  The quilt is going through a regular wash cycle, and will dry on moderate heat.  If I were a superstitious person, I might cross my fingers....

I'm linking this post to Small Blog Meet, a link-up for bloggers with fewer than fifty follows.  It is hosted at the beginning of every month by Lynne at Lily's Quilts.  If you're a blogger with only a few followers and would like to meet more, please link with the rest of us.

I'm also linking this post to Let's Get Acquainted! Monday Link Up by Plum and June which is hosted this week by Taryn at from Pixels to Patchwork.


--Nancy.
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Should I Be Concerned . . .

. . . that this bat isn't even?  It dips downward on the right corner.  (This is the Mountain Mist Cream Rose bat I wrote about yesterday.)

Is it common for cotton bats to be irregularly shaped? The cutting line looks "straight" but not perpendicular to the side of the bat.


I'd love to hear from you if you know more about cotton bats than me.  Thanks!

--Nancy.

Layering a Quilt

A softly printed off-white fabric for the back, plus

a Mountain Mist Cream Rose double sized bat

plus a 72" x 90" Sunday Morning quilt top

will become my younger daughter's quilt when finished.

She liked this pattern and wanted a cotton bat.

I stitched the pieces for the back together tonight.  I hope to layer and baste the quilt tomorrow.  My husband wonders how I will do it.  I wonder, too.  My  layout area is my living room floor.

I had foot surgery in October which was mostly healed.  But two weeks ago I started having a different pain in my foot.  The doctor tells me that if I don't rest and elevate my foot, I will have a stress fracture.   Nearly three months of rest with an elevated foot has been a long time.  I've read books and blogs, researched on the internet (all sitting with my foot elevated), stitched at the sewing machine a little, watched a few movies and when the doctor finally said I could go out, very carefully went to the thrift store and the grocery store.  Can I tell you that I'm bored?  I want my body and my mobility back!

I believe I could have had this quilt quilted if I'd been able to get it layered and basted before the surgery.  Now that I have to rest for 3 more weeks, I know I could get a good start on quilting it -- if I can only get it basted.  How much do you think my husband will help me with it tomorrow?  He will probably -- very kindly and generously -- help me smooth the layers out on the floor.  But I know he will not pin.  Do you think I can sit on the floor and pin-baste it?  Or can I bend over and do it?  We'll see. 

I'm looking forward to hand-quilting with this Cream Rose bat after reading a review at The Tulip Patch.  She says it shrinks more than some other cotton bats but, to be honest, I was concerned that this quilt was a little too large.  I hope it will be the perfect size after it's washed.  Lucy at Quilting with the Past said Cream Rose is very easy to quilt, which is just what I need as a newish hand quilter.  I'll report back later.

Happy stitching!
 --Nancy.
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