Christmas Quilts

It would seem some of us are on a red and green or a Christmas quilt kick.  Marsha finished her Christmas quilt, just as our weather has finally changed and it truly feels like November.  We met at her and Astrid's place and had tea and apple pie, as we just visited for a few hours.  I knew Marsha was working on a red and green quilt, but then she surprised us with a fabulous Christmas quilt.  

It is a medallion quilt!  What an impact the color and design make!  Marsha has come a long way in her quilting skills and design ideas.

Edna's Visit

When Edna came in August, she brought some quilts she finished this year.  We have all been pretty busy, even after our quilt show was over.  We recently met at Marsha and Astrid's place for a potluck and a bit of show and tell.

Edna sent us a photo, in July, of this one when it was just a quilt top.  She managed to get it finished before her trip up here, to help us with the quilt show.  I like the earth fabrics and dragon flies on this one.

This quilt is called Spinning Star.  It seems there are some videos out there that instruct quilters to use a "right on the edge" seam to make these star blocks.  Edna just added a quarter inch width and a half inch length to the white strips that make the stars, so her quilt has quarter inch seams that won't pull out with the least bit of handling.

Finally, Edna made this stunning Christmas quilt with some yule-tide scraps given her by a friend.  We had a wonderful visit with Edna, and it was so nice having her with us for a while.  She promised to keep us updated on her quilt adventures.

Welcome!

With all the hard work, planning, making, and then running our "Good Friends Quilt Show", we forgot to post a photo of our amazing welcome sign.  It was the first bit, we completed, that made us feel we were really getting somewhere.  It is at the entrance of our show.  The first photo, below, is when we were working on getting everything set-up.  The second photo, below, is on the first day of the show.

Good Friends Quilt Show Taking Place in Garden City, Idaho

It has been a crazy few weeks, getting everything ready for our quilt show.  It has been up and running for a week and a half.  We have had tons of people come through.  I am wishing we had put a guest book out for comments from attendees. 

Here is Astrid selling raffle tickets for the quilt Kirsten donated.  

Jane was monitoring the quilts.

Someone admiring Kirsten's hand-quilted Civil War Nine-Patch quilt.

Norma and Edna having a discussion.  

So many quilts to see!  This pink and brown beauty is a Stack N Whack quilt.  

Good Friends Quilt Show!

Our "Good Friends Quilt Show" is a labor of love.  We have all been working tirelessly to get it going.  Tomorrow is opening day!

Astrid brought in a ton of clothespins, that Edna and Carol painted.  We want to display our quilts in style.

Flashy clothespins, oh yeah!

Marsha and Norma working together.

Astrid and Edna hard at work.

Norma helps Kirsten with quilt hanging.

Jane and Marsha hanging quilts.

We really do need a step-stool, but that blue chair worked out just fine.  We worked hard all day. We got the skirt on the table, the raffle quilt ticket collection box fixed up, and all the quilts hung.  Tomorrow, Friday, August 16, 2024, is the opening day of what we have named the "Good Friends Quilt Show."

It is at Expo Idaho in the South Exposition Bldg, August 16 thru 25, from noon to 10 PM each day.  Please come, we would love to see you there!

Kuna Days Parade!

Guess who made it back up to Idaho?  Edna got here in time to be in the Kuna Days Parade with us.   That was last Saturday, the third.

Kirsten and Edna waving to the crowd.

There were six of us on our amazing quilt float this year:  Edna, Kirsten, Norma, Astrid, Marsha, and Jane.

Here is Marsha and Astrid between Jane and Norma.

Kudo's to our driver, who did an outstanding job this year; gradual slow-downs and speed-ups, with no quick take offs or sudden braking.  It was a fabulous time, with lots of folks on the street-sides, with a genuine air of festiveness.  We all went out to lunch, with Carol and Annita, after we finished the route.

Someone's Quilt is Coming Along

We have been very busy gearing up for our quilt show, that is less than a month away.  Here is the information:  

Good Friends Quilt Show will be open on August 16 through 25, from noon am to 10 pm at the Fairgrounds in Garden City.  It will be in the South Exposition Building.

This is no kidding!  We are all so very excited.   nb: the Fairgrounds are also known (to new-comers) as Expo Idaho.

Edna is coming up for the occasion!  Edna e-mailed us this photo of the quilt she has laid out on her design wall.  She said she will do her best to get the blocks sewed to each other and have it completed to bring with her to Idaho.

This is a very exciting time for all of us.  To think about it being less than a month away makes me want to hyperventilate!  It is good to have friends to help out, so we can all support each other in our excitement.  Please, come to our show!  See you there!

Name Tag Update

Kirsten here.  I have decided the name tags need to be made of fabric and be quilted, so I have made quilted name tags.  I let Astrid know that I have now made a quilted name tag for her and the others.  Astrid and Norma came over right when I was finishing up the last one.  

They are much better than paper and brads.  I put all my paper working stuff away and put my creative fabric cap on.  Each one is unique, and Astrid and Norma were modeling them all, so I snapped a photo.  My name tag is the blue and yellow one.

We are Gearing Up for Our Quilt Show

OM Goodness!  Kirsten is making us all custom name tags to wear when we are working at the quilt show.  We have not really been working on any quilts because we are working on the show.  It is in August, and we are all so excited.  We have the venue, we have the pipe, we are working on the drape.  We have gone through our quilts and have determined exactly which ones will be presented at our show.  They are all made by Kirsten, Marsha, Jane, Edna, and I (Astrid).  We also have a quilt to raffle off!

Guess who?!! I am showing off my new, very special, name tag.

Jane's Confetti Quilt: Pockets Full of Posies

Jane here.  I have been looking through some of the amazing quilts that Kirsten has completed, and I got inspired.  One of my favorites is her confetti quilt.  The quilt is constructed by making the back, cutting the batting to fit the back, and making a solid top.  You sandwich those three pieces first, then you cut smaller pieces of fabric to just sew on to the top of the sandwiched layers.  The stitching that you sew around each small piece, is also the stitching that quilts the whole sandwich together.  This is known as "killing two birds with one stone", or "quilt-as-you-go".  

It is just another way to quilt-as-you-go.  The pieces, sewn on top, just have raw edges, and that is okay.  You could just use a bunch of small scraps to stitch on the top, and you would not have to cut any fabric down.  I used some scraps on mine, just the size they were, but I also fussy cut some flowers and some pocket shapes.  I, also, overlapped some of my pieces.  It is the same type of technique as Kirsten's, but they look completely different.  That is one of the great things about quilting.  You can add your own style!  To view Kirsten's confetti quilt, click here.

Marsha and Astrid Complete Their RWB On-point Four-patch Quilts

We have been busy quilting girls!  Astrid and I have completed our red, white, and blue quilts.  They are both the same design.  We each made our four-patch layouts with color differences.  Mine has two whites, and one red, and one blue.  Astrid made her four-patch squares with two blues and two reds.  It makes for totally different color and design-look outcomes.

When I cut the pieces for my quilt, I made the squares a little larger than Astrid did hers.  That has caused my quilt to be a little bigger than hers.  I think they both look awesome.  I particularly like the traditional sorts of fabrics that Astrid used.  Mine are a little brighter for a more contemporary look.  Be sure to try cutting out some squares and sewing them together; it may amaze you!

Red, White, and Blue Four-patch Quilts

Marsha here.  Astrid and I are making on-point four-patch quilts.  We decided to use our red, white, and blue stashes.  This quilt type of construction is great for string-piecing.  That means you feed the blocks, to be sewed together, through your sewing machine one immediately after another.  It saves a lot of thread and time.

This is Astrid and I holding up some of her blocks.  She has the cutest sewing room with a big design wall.

It was a great day for staying in and piecing quilt blocks, because it snowed today!  Now, we just have to snip the threads between each block and press them.  Then we can sew the rest of the white triangles to the other two sides of each block.  We are movin' and shakin'!

Kirsten's Scrappy Wonky Crosses Quilt

The weather has been weird, and it is winter, so I have been quilting with some of my fun fabrics.  These wonky cross blocks are pretty easy to make.  I only had one extra when I was finished, so I gave it to C, so she can put it in her personal flannel-backed snuggly quilt.

Jane took this photo of me and my quilt.  I think the next one I make will be a bit longer.  I guess I could have added another row.  Oh, well.  As long as it is chilly outside and there is no firewood to be cut, I am staying in and making fun quilts.

Jane's January Tutorial

This tutorial will teach you how to make a Kawandi quilt.  An important part of Kawandi quilting is using what you have on hand.  Use fabrics, thread, and batting that you have on hand, if at all possible.  You can cut up old clothing, if you do not have any fabric scraps.  Go to the thrift store.  If you have a sewing machine, use it.  If not, sew it by hand.  

The odd thing is, in 2023, I did my tutorial on "quilt-as-you-go".  It turns out that Kawandi quilting is just another way of quilting-as-you-go.  The great thing about Kawandi quilting is:  you finish the binding first!

This is a great way to use scraps.  If you have scraps, use them.  If you don't, ask for a bag of scraps from a quilting friend.  If you have no quilting or sewing friends, what a great opportunity to make some!  Trust me, there are tons of quilters out there, who would love to give you some of their scraps.  Ask on Nextdoor or the local quilt guild.

1) Cut a piece of batting the size of the quilt you want to make. (you can use good quality flannel, if you don't have batting)

2)Cut some backing fabric that is a half-inch larger, in each direction, than the batting.

3)Lay your backing fabric face-down.  Place the batting on your backing fabric so equal amounts of fabric stick out on all four sides.  You can either pin, stitch-baste, or spray baste the batting to the backing.

4) Turn and press the edges of the backing over, to the top side of the batting.  When this is done, you are ready to add your fabric scrap patches to the top.

5) Start with a full bobbin that matches the color of your backing fabric.

I recommend using a walking foot to make this quilt, particularly the first time around the outer edge.  Sew a 1/8 inch from the edge.  You will see how close I get (to the edge) in about six photos down.

6)  Decide which few fabric pieces you want to start with, then press under two sides of each fabric patch.  One will go on the edge of the quilt, and one will cover the raw edge of the previous placed piece.

This is my starting piece.  Flip it to match the corner, as in the next photo.

Making a Kawandi quilt is like putting together a puzzle: you start with all the edge pieces first!

I placed my first piece at the bottom left of the quilt.  I am always directional, and that is my hang-up.  You can start at any corner you want.

7) start sewing at the corner. See the photo, above.  It looks like I am about to run out of fabric . . .so I will add another piece.

8)  Place the next piece of fabric with one turned edge overlapping the raw edge of the prior piece, and the other turned edge along the edge of the quilt.  Then continue sewing along the edge of the quilt.

9)  Just keep going, in this same fashion.  When you come up to the next corner, you will need to turn under three sides of your patch, so you can effectively go around the corner.  After you have turned all the corners and are making the last patch to join up to the first patch, the last patch will have to have three turned under sides, so the last piece edge can lay over the raw edge of the first piece you sewed down.   nb:  you can always do it the other way round, as long as one of the pieces has a turned edge to cover a raw edge. 

Let’s pause here.  Back stitch and snip your threads.  Have a look at what you have so far. 

It should look something like this.  You can celebrate because the binding is all done!

This photo shows how close I got to the edge of the quilt.  Since the quilt was placed on my design wall, to photograph, it is hard to realize the fabric on the left is not part of the quilt.  It is my design wall.

I flipped up the edge of the quilt, so you can see what it looks like on the back, at this stage.  See how close the stitching is, to the edge.

10)  Use the width of your presser foot to create more quilting that runs straight and parallel to the previous seam you put down.  You can adjust your needle more to the right, if you wish to make it ¼ inch between stitch lines.  *I left mine a little wider, but next time I will not.

11)  Go all the way around, pivoting at the corners. Then start the next stretch of quilting, still using the width of the presser foot as a guide.  This photo makes it look pretty straight.

12)  Sewing up to the narrowest piece . . .  Just add another patch.  Snuggle the new patch around the turned edge of the one you need to extend.  

Just keep sewing around, placing patches as you go.

   

13)    Keep a few things in mind, as you piece/quilt your quilt top:

1) look ahead and see where you might want another piece of your favorite fabric. You can always safety pin it to the location you want it in, so it is there when you get around to that point.  2) be on the lookout for raw edges, make sure they are covered with a turned edge.   3)sometimes you need three turned edges on a piece.  4)  You can place a larger piece of fabric in the middle, like Astrid did on hers (below).  Then you continue to frame the central piece with turned edge pieces. 

Astrid used an interesting piece of fabric for her focal point, a little off-center.  If you choose to do this, just make sure the pieces that overlap the central piece, have turned edges.  You can click on the photos to enlarge them.

Here I just turned a corner, note how I did not put another long piece next to the brown and orange?  I put the pink mottled piece, then a b&w piece.  This is a good way to break up the design a bit.

Just keep going.

I feel like I am about half-way done.  As I add pieces, I think about if I need a light, a bright, or a dark next.  I practice "planned randomness".

I also practice “inventive stitching”, which one can use as an embellishment, if the need arises.  I decided the corners on this black bit of fabric needed to be secured, so I stitched a square here.  I used this maneuver as a reason to make four more, as embellishments, but I needed them.

Here is the end result of my labors.  As soon as I sewed the final piece of fabric on, my quilt was finished!  That last piece was a bit tricky, because I thought I could have one turned edge, and the other three would go beneath the neighboring turned edges, but it was not to be.  My final piece has four turned edges.

 If you look carefully, you can see I used three of the large orange butterfly prints in a random layout.  The one with the angle is my favorite.

Tools I found helpful with this quilting process: purple thang and unicorn tweezers

*Let’s talk about all the stitching we are laying down here.  I see it as having three ways to be handled:

1) just sew the seams straight and if they miss the edge of a piece of fabric, oh well.  That is character.  2) aim to snag as many of those edges as possible so they all lay flat, even if you end up having some not straight lines of stitching.  That is what I did on this one.  It is not that noticeable, and where it is just gives it character.  3) try to only put the next piece of fabric on where it will be “in line” to get that seam right on it’s edge.  I have not done this, but I feel it would remove a ton of character from the quilt.  It is worth a try.  One thing I whole heartedly believe in is “EXPERIMENTATION.”

This shot shows the stitching on the back.  It does not look so bad, even though I jogged a little, one way or the other, to make sure I sewed those turned edges down. 

I really like how this turned out.  I have thought of a couple other ways to vary my outcome, so I am writing them down.  I am excited to make some more.  Experiment!