Plaid Churn Dash Quilt in Blogger's Quilt Festival

This plaid churn dash quilt is my entry into the Scrappy Quilts category of the Fall 2015 Blogger's Quilt Festival which is created and hosted by the very creative Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side.  Thank you, Amy.

I was very new to quilting when I saw a plaid quilt in a book and decided to make one similar to it.  Of course, the only similarities between the two are the use of plaids and the setting arrangement.  I chose the size randomly by cutting squares, cutting them in half diagonally, then pairing the triangles and stitching them back together into squares.  Then I determined the sizes of the other parts of the block based on those squares.  The blocks became 7½" squares.

All the fabrics come from re-purposed plaid shirts.  I loved making the blocks.  I combined colors and fabrics I thought looked fun together and arranged lights, mediums, and darks for contrast or similarity, depending on the block.  A variety of churn dashes emerged which I think gives interest to the quilt.

I quilted free-hand Baptist Fans across the quilt, one of my first hand-quilting experiences.

The quilt in different, slightly warmer lighting.

While it's not a perfect quilt, it's an immensely comfortable quilt and speaks to me of home, family, love, and warmth.  It's one that I hope will be durable and well-used.  I hope loved ones will cuddle in it, sleep under it, and picnic on it until it's worn threadbare.

Please go to Blogger’s Quilt Festival–Fall 2015 Edition! to see all the categories with links to each, and/or to Blogger’s Quilt Festival–Scrappy Quilts Category to see more scrappy quilts.  You can nominate a quilt for Viewer's Choice Award at the individual links until October 29.  Between October 29 and November 5, you can vote for favorites in each category (and there are many categories!).  Return often, especially if you visit today or in the next few days.

For anyone who wants the details about this quilt, continue reading.  Otherwise, thanks so much for stopping by and reading. 

--Nancy.


Details about the Plaid Churn Dash Quilt

Dates
The top was finished sometime between 2006 and 2010.  (I didn't keep records then.)
June 1, 2014:  hand quilting begun
October 30, 2014:  quilting finished
December 27, 2014:  binding stitched
June 2015:  machine washed and dried (and ready for wear and tear)

Batting
Mountain Mist Cream Rose 100% cotton
This batting is easy to hand quilt, wraps and cuddles easily, but is not super warm.

Measurements
66" x 92 1/8"  top before quilting
65 1/2" x 91 1/2"  top and back pinned
65" x 90 1/4"  quilted and bound
64" x 89 3/4"  after machine wash and dry
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All the Reasons to Love A Churn Dash

Straight up,

or in any of its variations,

I love churn dash blocks.

--Nancy.
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Four Corners Bound - the Last Finish of the Year

I finished very few quilts in 2014 -- maybe only this one -- but that's okay.  The pleasure of playing with fabric, of planning and sewing a quilt top, of hand quilting, are enough for me.  But I do like to share finishes -- and this one was a long time coming.  I began hand quilting it June and finished the quilting in December.  A long time!  I added the binding during the 2nd week of December but because of work and Christmas activities I wasn't able to finish it until last Friday night.

This is the quilt I stewed over because I knew the binding would cut off the points of some of the squares around the edges.  It did but now that it's finished, I see that it's okay.  It's just another step in my learning.

After I wash, dry, and take some decent photos I'll write another post with all the stats and what I learned in making it.

I'm linking this post to

• Friday It Up Finish at Crazy Mom Quilts,
• TGIFF at Quokka Quilts, and
• Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Thank you, ladies.

Happy New Year!

--Nancy.
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Binding Uneven Edges

The hand quilting is finished on the the Plaid Churn Dash.  It only took about five months - for better or worse.  I wasn't in a hurry and it was a little warm to sit under a quilt during the summer months.

When I laid it out to cut off the extra batting and backing I remembered the unevenness where some of the edge triangles join, shown at the bottom of the photo below.

I asked you readers in an earlier post what you would do in the case of a quilt made years ago before you had enough experience to be successful and whether you would try to fix those large triangles around the edges.  Most of you recommended leaving it and chalking it up to lack of experience, which is exactly what I did.  I think I'll be doing some fudging when I stitch the binding on.

I hope to stitch the binding on tomorrow and then I can begin hand stitching it to the back.

I'm linking this post to WOW at Esther's Blog and W.i.P. Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.  Thank you, ladies for hosting.

--Nancy.
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Baptist Fans by Hand

The hand quilting is finished.  Hurray!  It took about 5 months to quilt but there were days I didn't stitch and days I stitched very little.  Some days I stitched a fan or two.  I wasn't rushing to get it done.

I've never seen Baptist Fan quilting in person.  I've seen drawings of the pattern in books and online but they never say how far apart the quilting lines in the fans should be.  Or how many lines per fan there should be.  Without a frame of reference I chose to make these between an inch and an inch-and-a-half apart with 5 lines per fan.  I didn't mark the quilting lines, just stitched free-hand. 

I'm pleased with the fans but now I wonder how the quilt would have looked with a different quilting pattern.  If I do another churn dash maybe I'll try a different pattern.

If you've quilted Baptist Fans before, how large were they and how far apart were the lines of the fan?

Happy quilting to you!

--Nancy.
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Strings and Churn Dashes

Yesterday I finished sewing all the blocks for this string quilt. 

I was uncertain about whether to stitch the corner squares on every corner or on alternating corners.  I decided that every corner needs them.

I think light/medium tans will look better than very light fabric on those little corners.  I'll choose the fabric tonight or tomorrow and begin cutting and sewing.  I think the corners help unify the variety of colors, plaids, prints, and plains in the quilt.  I'll probably use the same fabric for all the squares to add more unity.

The finished blocks will measure 6".  There are 99 of them which equals 9 blocks x 11 blocks and 54" x 66".  It seems a little squatty and I may add more blocks.  I'm planning to add a border or two which will increase the finished size.

I'm almost finished hand quilting the plaid churn dashes.  Two or three more fans on the row with the hoop and another row of fans and I'll be done.  You can see only about a third or a quarter of it in this photo.  I love this quilt!

It's interesting how some fabrics quilt more easily than others.  I was very new to quilting when I made the blocks for this quilt.  There's a great variety of fabrics, even though they're all plaids, which are not woven the same.  It was fun to sew them and it's been fun to learn about how different fabrics quilt.  When I buy plaid shirts for quilting now I lean toward some kinds of fabric and leave the others behind.  (But first I look for color when I buy shirts -- or any fabric, for that matter.)

That's the current state of quilting affairs in my world.

I'm linking to WOW on Esther's Blog; WiP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced; and Scraptastic Tuesday at She Can Quilt and Mrs. Sew and Sow.  Thanks, ladies!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.

--Nancy.
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Cherubs, Fans, Ancestors

Much of my summer has been devoted to enjoying these two sweet grandbabies and their mom and aunt.  They've been home several times over the summer and I've enjoyed every minute.

But who can sew or do much of anything else when there are grandbabies to hug, cuddle, play with, and spoil?  Not me!

Between times, when neither daughters or babies were visiting, I worked on this plaid churn dash.

It's about one third quilted.  I went with Baptist Fans, after all.  It was a little challenging at first because I didn't mark the fans.  It was hard to ignore the lines to make the curves.  I think I've got the hang of it now.  The other challenge with this quilt is that the top is laid out on the bias and the back is straight grain.  There's more stretch on the top than if both were laid out straight grain.  It's all good, though.

My ancestors have also been calling to me, nudging me to find them and the rest of their families and our joint ancestors.  So I've been spending time searching for them instead of sewing more quilt tops.  That's probably a good thing since I have plenty of quilt tops awaiting a turn to be quilted. 

Of course, whatever else I'm doing, my mind may also be considering the next quilt to make.

I'm linking to WiP Wednesday on Freshly Pieced and WOW (WOW = WIPs on Wednesday) at Esther's Blog.  Thanks you, ladies, for hosting the link-ups.

Happy August to you.

--Nancy.

Baptist Fans on Churn Dashes?

I thought Baptist Fan quilting would be perfect for this plaid churn dash quilt.  I always think of it as old-fashioned and comforting.  But now, with a few fans quilted, I'm not so sure.  Maybe outline quilting would be better....  I do this too often:  begin, hesitate, reconsider.  I'd be set if I could see the finished product before I had to make any decisions.  (Chuckling to myself at the idea....) 

It took me a while but I finally chose fabric for the back.  The little 1" squares are printed on the diagonal:  I like how the diagonals echo each other on the front and the back.  The colors in real life work well together, maybe not so much in the photos.

Scrappy backs appeal to my use-it-up sensibilities but when I think of hand quilting through more seams I reconsider and then try to find a larger piece to use for the back.  I impressed myself by successfully matching the print at the seam on the back.  It's easier with a small print than with a large print. 

I love the adorable little scallop border printed along the edge of the fabric.  (Click on the photo to enlarge if you want to see it in detail.)  Of course, it's an extra inch or so of unusable fabric -- at least if you want to use it for quilt backing and have it match the rest of the quilt.  On the other hand, it might be a great ruffle for a little granddaughter's dress....

Speaking of my granddaughter, she and her family were here for a week's visit in May.  I'm teaching both of those children early about sewing and quilting.

Here's Olivia sitting with me as we scrolled through my feedly reader.  She was a little unsettled several evenings so while her mom was helping her brother, I invited her to learn about quilting with me.  My daughter said she could see little Olivia's head moving up and down as she watched the images move down the page.  I'm sure it wasn't just the photos or sitting with me that helped calm her:  I asked Pandora to play some lullabies.  Come to think of it, she didn't really learn much about quilting that night because she fell asleep within a few minutes.  No matter, she'll have other quilting lessons the next time she visits.

Little Malachi, at nearly 2, was beyond interested in what I was doing at the sewing machine.  He couldn't get close enough to see what was going on from the ground so I lifted him into my lap to watch the process and help.  He wanted to know what everything was and how it worked.  I showed him the thread and how it was threaded through the tension mechanism down to the needle.  I showed him the presser foot and the lever and he helped me lift and lower it.  He helped me guide the fabric through the machine.  Then we wound some bobbins.  He was very taken with the light.  One thing I did not show him was the knee lever!  I have no trouble imagining his little hand pushing it to full speed sewing up a storm of knotted threads!  During the week they were here, if ever I sat at the sewing machine, he was right there to sit on my lap and watch or help.  Boys love machines, don't they?

It rained this afternoon -- one of those wonderful, steady, drenching rains.  It was so dark at 3 p.m. that we had to put the lights on to see. 

I'm linking this post to
--WOW at Esther's Blog
--W.i.P. Wednesday at Freshly Pieced
--Let's Bee Social #23 at Sew Fresh Quilts
Thank you, Esther, Lee, Lucy, and Lorna.

Wishing you joy!
--Nancy.
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Choosing Backing Fabric(s)

I'm eager to begin quilting but I don't have a back ready for this quilt.  I've been considering the fabrics along the top of the photo below. 
 

They're in the color range I think might work.  Except maybe the light one is too light; I think deeper tones might be more comfortable for this quilt.  I don't have enough of any one of them and would have to piece the back. 

I'm fine with piecing a back but haven't had been too happy with the ones I've done that way.  I only have two leftover blocks from the front which I could incorporate into the back. Then too, I'm trying use up fabric instead of add more to what I have.

On the other hand, hand quilting through even more seams with a pieced back isn't quite so much fun. 

I've been doing some online shopping for (= looking at) fabric but haven't made a decision yet.

I'm linking this post to Really Random Thursday at Live a Colorful Life.

I hope you're enjoying your day.

--Nancy.
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Novice Quilt, New Eyes

The reason I shouldn't leave a quilt top too long between finishing it and layering and quilting it is this:  I notice all the problems and begin to reevaluate and reconsider.  If I think too long I'll have the whole quilt taken apart and redone. 

I see more obviously the side setting triangles and ...

... corner triangles that don't line up.

On the shortest pieces at the seams there is not a quarter inch to be sewn.  If I pretend there's no problem and sew the edges, the corners of some squares will be cut off.  I'm debating with myself whether to rip out and restitch those seams or chalk them up to inexperience and consider them "character."

This is the first quilt I set on-point -- made about 7 or so years ago.  Somehow, I think this will be a bear to quilt.  Even so, I'm eager to get it layered (though I still have to choose a backing) so I can have something to quilt.  I'm at loose ends with nothing to do with my hands when I'm sitting talking to my husband or watching TV.

Do you ever look at your earlier, unquilted tops and decide to make changes to them?

I'm linking this post to WOW = WIPs on Wednesday at Esther's Blog and to W.i.P. Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.  Thank you, ladies, for hosting.


Happy quilting!
--Nancy.


P.S.  I'm just remembering that this quilt was inspired by a series of quilts by Nadi Lane called "She Did the Best She Could."  Maybe (maybe?) I should just take the title as a lesson and leave the quilt alone.  Maybe she had a challenge with the triangles, too. 
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Two Corners, Plaid Churn Dashes in Waiting

I'm so excited to be nearly finished hand quilting this quilt.  I have just two corners to go -- 14 blocks -- and the binding.  I'm to the point where I can just hardly wait to get it done.  It's my Q2 Finish-A-Long:  I hope there's little doubt that it will be done by then!

In the excitement of being nearly finished I've started looking at my quilt tops in waiting to see which I'll quilt next.  This one! 

As with most of my quilts, I've had a love/unlove relationship with it.  I loved it while I was working on it 5 or 6 years ago but I folded it away because I couldn't quilt it at the time.  As the years passed I decided it probably wasn't as great as I remembered and that I probably didn't like it as much as I thought.  When I pulled it out a few weeks ago I realized once again that I love it.

I think it will be a bear to hand-quilt though (at least for me) because the layout is on point, which means that the blocks seem very stretchy.  We'll see how I can manage.  I still have to choose a back for it.  I had something in mind before but I'm reconsidering.

I'll work on this as I can but a grandbaby girl will be joining us in early January (or the end of December if she decides (or needs) to come early).  So I'll be interrupting everything soon to begin a quilt for her and, of course, getting it stitched and quilted will take priority over any other quilts.

I'm linking this post to
WOW (-WiPs on Wednesday) at Esther's Blog
W.i.P. Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

--Nancy.
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