Quilt in the Time of COVID

With apologies to Gabriel Garcia Marquez for the name of the quilt. Love in the Time of Cholera is one of my favorite books. This year of COVID has been very strained for everyone and has included other tragedies such as the wildfires on the west coast, many hurricanes, and plagues of insects. When will it end?

This top is similar to a quilt that Aunt Linda made and I quilted. See “Aunt Linda’s Dream Weaver” June, 2018.  I admired it so much I decided to make one like it. It went together easily and quickly. The only problem was a SNP (upside down black sashing piece) which I fixed with gene therapy (ripping out the upside down piece and replacing it right side up). I laid out the blocks on paper towels to aid in the piecing. You can see the paper towels in the first picture. This technique works well. I used a “Grunge” fabric jelly roll to make the quilt and black and off-white grunge fabrics for the background, sashing, and border. 

This quilt will be donated to the guild for CZU fire victims. I hope it is a bit cheery for the recipient.

• 68 1/2" x 88 1/2" Twin bed size
• Quilting: Quilted in a loose stipple with a COVID design in the center.  Used off-white 100% polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Light Tan").  Free form quilting. 9 bobbins. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Light gray and cream “screen” print from fabric.com. Wide fabric for a quilt backing.
• Batting: 80% cotton/ 20% polyester. “Comfort Blend” from WinLine.
• Binding: Orange-red grunge cotton print from my stash.
• Pattern: "Dream Weaver” from a MSQC tutorial.  
• Piecing by Patty
• Pinned into frame November 18, 2020. Quilting on long arm quilter November 24, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Spencer

Coronavirus in Center of Quilt

Aunt Linda’s Antique Quilt

Aunt Linda saw an antique quilt in a shoe store and decided to make her own version. So, she took a few pictures, went home, drafted a pattern, and visited her fabric stash. Her version is stunning.

The Original

To quilt it in a similar fashion to the one Aunt Linda saw in the shoe store window, I used a walking foot on my domestic machine, Janome HD-3000. The original was quilted in closely spaced, concentric arcs. I used a sewing guide on the foot, what I call an “outrigger” or “side car”, to measure the spacing between the arcs. The first arc was drawn using the round plastic thing that is meant to hold a thread spool on the spindle with an air-disappearing ink pen. 

To make the quilt sandwich I used spray basting. I love that product. Progress through chemistry!

After quilting there were hundreds of thread ends to bury. In the parlance of quilters, the quilt was “very hairy”. It took me longer to bury the thread ends than to do the quilting. 

Because I can’t add a rabbit outline (my signature) when I use a domestic machine to quilt, I embroidered a rabbit outline for a quilt label. I left space around the rabbit for Aunt Linda to add what she may want on a label. I showed my first attempt to my friend Gladys who is a proficient embroiderer, as well as sewing educator. She was not impressed, gave me a quick lesson, and said to start again! My second attempt turned out a little better. Gladys suggests that I need a few more lessons, so we will meet outdoors in the park for socially distanced embroidery lessons.

• 40 1/2" x 52 1/2" Crib size
• Quilting: Quilted  in concentric arcs using my domestic machine. Used white 100% cotton thread (mercerized cotton for machine quilting from Coats). Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Pieced green print, very pretty!
• Batting: 80% Cotton/ 20% Polyester “Comfort Blend” from Winline
• Binding: To be done by Aunt Linda.
• Pattern: Inspired by quilt Aunt Linda saw in shoe store window.
• Piecing by Aunt Linda
• Quilting on domestic October 21-25, 2020. Thread ends buried October 25- November 4 (Patty). 
• Binding by Aunt Linda. 
• QC by Patty

Before and After Photos Below

Learning about the Buttons on Gigi’s Sewing Machine. 

Quilt in the foreground getting bound. Aunt Linda selected a white on white print for the binding.

Aunt Linda’s Mountains on Their Sides

Sally gave the quilt this name and I couldn’t think of a better one. It’s really a log cabin variation.

• 60" x 75" Single bed size
• Quilting: Quilted in a loose meander with spirals in the small squares. All quilting free form.  Started using a new bobbin case and it worked well. Used gold 100% polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Goldenrod").  8 bobbins. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Pieced gold, cream, and black print, very pretty!
• Batting: 100% cotton “Warm and Natural”.
• Binding: To be done by Aunt Linda.
• Pattern: Inspired by “Spice Market" by Vicky Wozniak from a McCall's advertisement, but the blocks were not set on point. This is really a log cabin pattern variation.
• Piecing by Aunt Linda
• Pinned into frame October 23, 2020. Quilting on long arm quilter October 27-30, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Aunt Linda. 
• QC by Patty

Aunt Linda’s Mountain Quilt

The Running Bunny

Aunt Linda made a quilt like Mother enjoys making. See Quid Pro Quo from March 2020 and the earlier quilts that Mother made. This quilt quilted easily.

• 74 1/2" x 85" Regular bed size
• Quilting: Quilted in a medium tight stipple. All quilting free form. Used soft green 100% polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Beach Grass").  9 bobbins. Quilting by Patty. Set in triangles had bias side where they should have had straight side along the outside edge, so I had to be extra careful with the quilting. One seam had come apart and the resulting hole “ate” the long arm foot. It was very time consuming to get it out, but I did and the hole can be easily repaired.
• Backing: Pieced green polka dot print, very pretty!
• Batting: 100% cotton “Warm and Natural”.
• Binding: To be done by Aunt Linda.
• Pattern: Inspired by “Spice Market" by Vicky Wozniak from a McCall's advertisement.  
• Piecing by Aunt Linda
• Pinned into frame October 14, 2020. Quilting on long arm quilter October 14-15, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Aunt Linda. 
• QC by Patty

Aunt Linda’s Quilt with Blocks on Foundation

Because the center of the quilt is heavier due to the foundation fabric and the borders are regular fabric the top did not quilt as smoothly as I would like. Also the center blocks being on point added extra fullness to the quilting process. Next time I have a quilt like this to do, I’ll use a polyester batting to fill in some of the fullness and fluff it up! Lessons learned! This quilt is very heavy and will keep someone very warm!

• 71 1/2" x 84 1/2" Regular bed size
• Quilting: Quilted in a loose spiral design in outer border, wavy design in inner border, and a loose loop-de-loop in center. All quilting free form. Used dark green 100% polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Palm Tree").  7 bobbins. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Pieced green and white leaf print.
• Batting: 100% cotton “Warm and Natural”.
• Binding: To be done by Aunt Linda.
• Pattern: Diagonal scraps on a cloth foundation. Blocks set on point to make a square design. Aunt Linda’s invention
• Piecing by Aunt Linda
• Pinned into frame October 7, 2020. Quilting on long arm quilter October 8-9, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Aunt Linda. 
• QC by Patty

Aunt Linda’s Flannel Quilt

Aunt Linda sent me 5 quilt tops to quilt for her. This one is flannel front and back and has a very modern-quilt look. So, I decided on a modern quilt design, unevenly-spaced horizontal and vertical straight lines. I had to remount the quilt to do the vertical lines, but that 90 degree turning of the quilt went smoothly. Overall, everything worked smoothly with the quilting.

• 45 1/2" x 58 1/4" Youth bed or crib size
• Quilting: Quilted in a parallel unevenly spaced horizontal and vertical lines. Used bright yellow 100% polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Mellow Yellow").  5 bobbins. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Pieced flannel.
• Batting: 100% cotton “Warm and Natural”.
• Binding: To be done by Aunt Linda.
• Pattern: Aunt Linda’s invention 
• Piecing by Aunt Linda
• Pinned into frame October 2, 2020. Quilting on long arm quilter October 3, 2020, both horizontal and remount for vertical directions. (Patty). 
• Binding by Aunt Linda. 
• QC by Patty

Alaska

Measuring for the Outside Border

This is another quilt story that begins, “Several years ago I was given fabric.” Ann gave me 2 fabrics, 3-yard cuts, from her vacation to Alaska. One was a cream background with black and red printed “bear claws”. The other was a black background printed with red sea creatures (fish or whales; I lean towards whales). I bought a bright red to coordinate with the 2 original fabrics. This quilt turned out so pretty (It speaks to me!) I told Narinder if we had a second bed I’d keep it for myself. I’m sure some lucky person in a homeless shelter will like it and use it. And I have enough fabric remaining, I can make myself a tote bag as a consolation prize.

Donated to the Guild for CZU Fire victims.

I used the same pattern as “Mary’s Dinette Set” but because I had more fabric I only had to make 2 borders. The quilt is a stunner!

• 66" x 88" Twin bed size
• Quilting: Quilted in a parallel wavy lines. Used bright red 100% polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Neon Red").  Free form quilting. 7 bobbins. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Black printed designs on a red background from fabric.com. Wide fabric for a quilt backing.
• Batting: 100% cotton “Warm and Natural”.
• Binding: Cream background print used in the quilt.
• Pattern: "Checkerboard" from a MSQC tutorial.  
• Piecing by Patty
• Pinned into frame August 11, 2020. Quilting on long arm quilter August 18, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Spencer

Mary’s Dinette Set—Fabric a Gift from Aunt Lucy

Several years ago Aunt Lucy gave me three 1-yard cuts of coordinating fabrics. She picked them out from a special fabric store when she was traveling to visit us. I always wondered how to make these special fabrics. Recently MSQC had a video about making quilts using three 1-yard cuts of fabric. Voila! I knew what to do! I added the aqua blue, black borders, and brown corners to make the quilt twin-sized for donation, but the main idea came from the MSQC tutorial.  Donated to the Guild for CZU Fire victims. It’s been a bad year: pandemic, wildfires, plagues, murder hornets, disgusting politics. We have to help where we can.

When I sent a picture of the top to Aunt Lucy, she wrote back, “Nice. The colors remind me of my sister Mary’s kitchen table and chairs. She had worked as a bookkeeper at a local furniture store in Hartford (Szymanski’s) and when she and Ralph married in Nov 1955, they had a houseful of new furniture. The kitchen set was turquoise Formica (boomerang pattern) and black metal frame chairs. Living room was Danish modern. I have vivid memories of it all. I thought it was so pretty.” Hence, the name for the quilt, “Mary’s Dinette Set.”

• 66 1/2" x 82" Twin bed size
• Quilting: Quilted in a parallel wavy lines. Used light gray 100% polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Silver").  Free form quilting. 6 bobbins. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Gray, black, and tan print wide back from a fabric.com sale. I love this fabric! I’d put the quilt upside down on my bed just to see the back.
• Batting: 100% cotton “Warm and Natural”.
• Binding: Aqua tonal used in the quilt.
• Pattern: "Checkerboard" from a MSQC tutorial.  
• Piecing by Patty
• Pinned into frame July 14, 2020. Quilting on long arm quilter July 21, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Spencer

Vortex Quilt Top from Guild

I agreed to longarm a top for the guild. The quilt is pretty and has a lot of movement.  So, I decided not to interrupt the movement with too much quilting and just do widely (3 1/2”) spaced vertical and horizontal lines. This quilt contains so many different scraps. Suprisingly, I didn’t find any fabric that we have had in our inventory. How many different quilting fabrics must there be!

• 65" x 94" Twin bed size
• Quilting: Quilted in straight vertical and horizontal lines. After the vertical lines were completed, the quilt was remounted to do the horizontal lines. Used light gray 100% polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Silver").  5 bobbins. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Gold and light brown plain fabrics. Supplied by the guild.
• Batting: Supplied by the guild.
• Binding: Dark brown print from fabric.com
• Pattern: Strips of fabric on a diagonal. Center strip was white or light-colored to form the vortex design.
• Piecing by someone at the guild 
• Pinned into frame June 24, 2020. Vertical quilting on long arm quilter June 26-27, 2020. Remounted horizontally June 27. Horizontal quilting begun and finished July 1, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. Did second stitching by hand.
• QC by Patty to keep dog hair away from a guild quilt.

Dog Bed Stuffed with Scraps

With Sheltering in Place (SIP) and looking for projects to clean out my closet, I decided to pick up making a dog bed to use up boxes of small quilt scraps. The object initially was to keep fabric out of the landfill. I did use up a lot of scraps, but this project was not easy-o! First off, I made the bed too big, 40” x 45”. This size took a tremendous amount of scraps and weighed a ton when finished. Next time I’ll try a cat bed size, if there is a next time! After this all small scraps get thrown away! 

I first made a canvas sack to stuff the scraps inside. Then I made a washable cover with zipper. The cover was made out of old jeans (took 6 pairs!) also to keep fabric out of landfills. I need to practice inserting a zipper. It’s been too long. Stuffing the filled canvas “mattress” inside the cover was like wrestling a whale! Not easy-o!

The result was a very firm dog bed. One friend on FB said I should market it as, “a handmade, organic, meditation pillow stuffed with reclaimed fabric!”  Another FB friend said I should have made it in the shape of a punching bag and have a piece of gym equipment when finished. It’s almost firm enough to be a punching bag.

I am very glad to have finished this project and lessons learned! Scraps go into the landfill from now on!

SIP hair! Ugh!

Two Neonatal Quilts (Quilted on the Domestic Machine)

I started these quilts for something simple to do at the Tuesday sewing meetings in Belmont. Then Covid-19 struck and the meetings ended while we shelter in place. I finally decided to finish them at home. The pattern is a simple strips sewn together with an insert of blue and white checkerboard squares.

Pink and Blue Neonatal Quilt

• 40" x 43" Neonatal size
• Quilting: Quilted stitch in a ditch on the Janome Heavy Duty Machine. Used light gray 100% cotton thread (Coates Mercerized ELS Cotton). Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Light gray flannel print left from Tomiko’s T-shirt quilts.
• Batting: 80% cotton/ 20% polyester. Comfort Blend from Winline.
• Binding: Green print from Patty’s inventory. Fabric left from Thomas’s baby quilt.
• Pattern: 19 Strips sewed together with an insert of navy blue and white checkerboard.
• Piecing by Patty.
• Quilting on domestic machine May 15, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Patty to keep the dog away from a neonatal quilt.

Pink and Green Neonatal Quilt

• 40" x 44" Neonatal size
• Quilting: Quilted stitch in a ditch on the Janome Heavy Duty Machine. Used light gray 100% cotton thread (Coates Mercerized ELS Cotton). Quilting by Patty. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Light green flannel print left from Daddy’s t-shirt quilt.
• Batting: 80% cotton/ 20% polyester. comfort Blend from Winline.
• Binding: Green print from Patty’s inventory. Fabric left from Thomas’s baby quilt.
• Pattern: 19 Strips sewed together with an insert of navy blue and white checkerboard.  
• Piecing by Patty.
• Quilting on domestic machine May 16, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Patty to keep the dog away from a neonatal quilt.

T-Shirt Quilt for Mother Made from Daddy’s T-Shirts

I started this quilt last year. Before my eye problems I got the blocks cut out. Between eye surgeries I got the interfacing (featherweight) ironed on the blocks. Then I didn’t get back to it until I finished piecing Tomiko’s quilt. Finally it came together.

The Tom Short Reunion t-shirts have functioning pockets. For some ill planned reason, the T.A. Edison submarine shirt throwing torpedoes and shooting a missile, wound up next to the Peace Corps shirt. Not all of the shirts were Daddy’s. To round out the quilt I used a few shirts from my collection, but my shirts were ones he had a connection to or gave me as a souvenir from his travels. 

• 58 1/2" x 71" Lap size
• Quilting: Quilted around the designs on the t-shirt blocks. Used light turquoise 100% polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Lt. Turquoise"). Free form quilting. 6 bobbins. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Light green flannel print wide back from my inventory. Bought from a fabric.com sale.
• Batting: 100% polyester. Knowledgeable quilters recommend polyester for t-shirt quilts. Also recommended by Frances who pointed out that t-shirt quilts tend to be heavy so a lighter weight batting is better. 
• Binding: Turquoise print from fabric.com
• Pattern: T-shirts fit together 
• Piecing by Patty.
• Pinned into frame May 13, 2020. Quilting on long arm quilter May 13-14, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Spencer