Storybook Quilt

My quilt guild is trying to get the next generation of kids interested in quilts, so we started this project. It was not our idea, we heard about it from another guild. We gather picture books that have quilts in them. Then we make a small (36"-45") quilt that goes with the story. We write a letter to go with the quilt, saying what ever the maker of the quilt wants to say. Then we put it all in a Tupperware container together and donate it to Allen ISD Library system. They distribute them to the schools and rotate them around as needed. Teacher check out a box, read the story to their students and let the kids see, touch and hold the quilt. The teacher can read the letter to the students if they want.

I made a quilt for this program. The story I chose is called, In the Quilt of Night. I chose these colors from the illustrations in the book.

I'm still alive even though I haven't posted lately.

I have been sewing up a storm the past few weeks. Sadly I have taken few pictures but here is one. This will eventually be a tote bag. The pattern is called "Flutterby Tote" by Quilted Frog. I just added a butterfly to the bag but I have not down loaded the photo yet. I will attach photos soon.

Too Pretty to Cut Quilt

The inspiration for this quilt came from a book called Just Can't Cut It by Pamela Mostek. The patterns are for those fabrics that are just to pretty to cut up into small pieces. The design in the book is much more elaborate so I simplified it.





I like simple, easy designs so I tweaked it. I started off by sketching it in my book for quilt designs. (My drawing actually has 2 outer borders on it but the final quilt does not because I never made it to the Quilt shop to find a taupe fabric)




Materials Needed:
A 15" Squared of "Too pretty to cut" fabric
3 accent colors
Fabric A--1/4 yd for the thin border
Fabric B--1/2 yd for the triangle off set material
Fabric C--1/3 yd for the outer border
(I'd get a little extra of each just in case you have to straighten the fabric store cut or if you are like me, not too precise or prone to mistakes)

Cut:
Fabric A: 2" strips (I cut 4 strips but actually only used 2 or 3 strips so now I can make a fancy label with the extra)
Fabric B: Cut 2 10" squares. Then cut in half diagonally so you end up with 4 triangles.
Fabric C: Cut 4" strips




First sew strips of fabric A to one side of the "too pretty to cut" fabric.
Press toward the dark color as shown below.

Trim off excess material.
Repeat this process around all 4 sides. So is looks like this:
Set that aside and get Fabric B and C out. Sew Fabric C to the short sides of fabric B. Then trip excess of the strip. Like so:
Now you should have a piece like this:

You may notice in my picture and when you make your triangle that the blue border overhangs or is larger than the square. Have no fear, you are doing it right. You will see in a minute why I planned it this way.
When you have all 4 triangles pieced, lay it out on you design wall if you have one or lay on floor or table. Now you can jump up and down with excitement because you can see it coming together now. : )

Now choose one of the triangles and fold it in half like the picture below. Put a straight pin where the fold it.

Now do the same with the square. Fold it in half as shown below and put a pin in the fold.




























Now open the square and lay the triangle on it matching up the 2 pins. Sew them together.

Press this seam (towards the darker color) and trim off the point.
Sew the next triangle on using the same folding in half method for each of the other 3 triangle pieces. Now you will see (below) why I wanted that extra overhang of the blue fabric. The point of the brown will not get cut off when you even up the sides and square the quilt. Nor will the point be covered up when you bind the edges.

Your finished quilt should look something like this:

Lavender Quilter

I chose this name for 2 reasons 1) The color lavender is pleasing to my eye 2) The smell of lavender is pleasing to my nose 3) It sounds relaxing as quilting should be. Ok that was more than 2 reasons. So I am not perfect and I don't pretend to be.

I am currently reading a book called That Dorky Homemade Look by Lisa Boyer. Last night while reading the book I was laughing so hard I cried. In this book she teaches you how to say to yourself, "OOPS! Oh well, No one will notice" and then throw away the seam ripper. While I don't go to the extreme that she does (read the book to find out her philosophy) I do understand her point. Quilting should be something you enjoy not something you stress and fret over.

My mother is really good at saying "Oh well, no one will notice" when it come to mistakes I make. (I love her for that!) But I have been told (repeatedly) I have the heart of a Catholic because I am always confessing my mistakes to people. For example, one lovely afternoon I finished piecing my wedding quilt. I had been so careful to not make any mistakes. I mitered the border corners and everything. I was so proud of it and I had even finished the quilt top in time to take it with me to choir practice and show it to my mom and my quilter friend Charlene. I got to choir practice and as people were coming in I unfurled it so that my friends could see. Seeing it laid out flat on the floor for the first time was a glorious moment... until I realized my mistake!!! I screamed "Oh NO!!!" I was so upset I had to sit right down on the floor while 40 people or so turned to look at what was wrong with me. Instead of the 3 rows of offset 4 patches going Red, Green, Red they were Red, Red, Green! I explained the problem to the 40 people staring at me. My mom said, "It's not so bad, that could be where the pillows go." I didn't know weather to laugh or cry so I did both. Somehow I survived the night and went home. I ripped out the panel that got flipped around. I turned it and sewed it back in the hole from which it came. I was very pleased that I was able to do that without having to rip out the mitered corners. Now it is 4 years later and I am still working on the hand quilting part of it. (off and on when the mood strikes me) Maybe I will have it finished by our 50th Anniversary : )


Mary