Sunday, July 23, 2017

The Disappearing Yellow Block Quilt

On Saturday, I continued to sew the crib quilt.  The big dining table wasn't wide enough to measure the backing (I wanted to bring it to the front to form the binding, as well), so I spread it out on my bed.  I had barely done so, before I had help:

"I'll hold it down for you, Mummy"

Since the quilt top was a square and I wanted to make it a rectangle, I had to made a wider border at the top and the bottom.   I cut the backing fabric so that it extended 2 inches out at either side and 5 inches at the top and bottom. 


"What do you mean I'm messing it up?"
While I waited for him to get off the quilt, I did a load of laundry and hung it up to dry! And I chatted with one of my aunts who called to say that maybe she and my cousin might visit me in the evening.  She called me later to say she's unable to come as my cousin was working till late.

Eventually, I cut out the backing, lint rolled the quilt top to remove Dancer fur, and pinned everything in place.  I brought the edges of the backing to the front to form a second border and the binding, and hand-sewed it down.  I had just enough of blue thread to finish it!  There was about an 18-inch piece of thread left!

 
Just Enough Blue Thread!

Sewing the binding down took most of the afternoon.   After that, I tried to do some "in the ditch" quilting in the machine, but my machine was having a hard time with the thickness of the batting (I just have a very basic sewing machine bought for under $100).  So, I unpicked the bit that I did and decided to tie the quilt, instead.  I couldn't find the blue yarn I know I have (it's probably in one of the bags with one of the in-progress knitting projects).  So, I decided to use 4 strands of pearl cotton in various shades of blue, instead.



The Ties

Each knot is tied twice and each bow is tied twice, too, to make it difficult for little fingers to untie the knots.  

I had tied most of the quilt when I decided to take a break for dinner.  I left the quilt top on the table and this is what happened:



Product Testing!

 I chased him off and finished tying the quilt.  Now I'll have to lint roll it, all over again!


The Finished Quilt
The problem with using the yellow fabric for the border is, it makes the yellow squares along the edges disappear!  The same problem would have happened if I had used the red or the blue, too.  What I needed was a border of a different fabric color, such as green.  Oh, well.  You've no doubt heard of various quilt patterns called the disappearing nine patch and disappearing four patch, etc.  We shall call this the Disappearing Yellow Blocks quilt! 

 

Close Up of the Ties

The finished quilt measures 36 inches by 48 inches, which is the size of the piece of quilt batting I bought.

Tomorrow, I will go over it with the lint roller, again, to remove any fur I might have missed tonight, before wrapping it up and putting it into a gift bag.  I am planning to visit my cousin in the evening to give the quilt to the baby.

Today, I am grateful for:
- Being able to play with fabric the whole day.
- Having everything I needed for the quilt, other than the quilt batting, in my stash.
- My stash is now lighter by two pieces of fabric.
- There was just enough blue thread to sew down the binding.
- Getting my quilt "fix"!

 How was your Saturday? 

14 comments:

  1. You actually completed a beautiful quilt in just a few days. I am amazed!

    I have never see a quilt tied with bows before. Nice look. However, let me mention something. There have been problems occasionally with a baby/young child putting their finger in the tag loop of a stuffed animal and twisting it until it cut off their circulation. Sometimes this was not discovered by the parents until there was damage done to the finger. I'm sure it's probably a rare happening, but that's what I thought about when I saw the loops of the bows.

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    1. Live and Learn, thank you for warning me. Maybe I'll untie the bows and cut the ties short before I give the quilt.

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  2. It looks so nice, she's going to love it!

    And I can't stop chuckling at the pictures of Dancer... such a rascal, lol. He just wanted to make sure that your friend knew that it was a joint gift from you and him :)

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    1. Yes, he certainly made sure it's a gift from him, as well! I don't know if I can get all his fur off the quilt! LOL. He was looking for the quilt, later in the night, after I had taken it off the table. He jumped up on the table and was looking around as if to say, "What happened to my quilt?" And you know what I did, don't you? I put together a make shift quilt for him!

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  3. A true labor of love and so pretty. No doubt this gift will be well received.

    Saturday broke a record here with a high reading of 108 - did little of anything!

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    1. Thank you, Sandy. 108F is very hot! Especially if it was humid as well. I'm glad you just rested and took it easy. When the weather is like that, the best thing to do is turn the a/c on (if you have one), sit under or in front of a fan, and drink something ice cold or, even better, eat ice cream! :) Remember to stay hydrated, too. Hope today is cooler.

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  4. The quilt looks lovely and I don't see the yellow squares disappearing at all. I'm also amazed that you designed and finished such a gorgeous quilt in so little time.
    I do think that you should have a little tag which says "Approved by Dancer", or "Dancer Seal of Approval" to attach to all your projects!

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. I love the idea of having a tag that says "Dancer Seal of Approval" on it! After all, you know everything has to have his seal of approval! :D

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  5. Beautiful... Love the yellow border around it..[can not tell the yellow blocks are disappearing.. Know the mom will love it.
    I think Dancer is wanting him one too. smile

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    1. Thank you, Judy. I do think the yellow border brightened it up a bit. Yes, Dancer got a temporary quilt, late last night!

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  6. Such a gorgeous quilt, and I love the yellow and blue border. I don't see it as disappearing yellow blocks. I am totally enamoured with that quilt; and like everyone else has commented, you put it together so quickly. I also love tied quilts, but like Live and Learn has mentioned, it probably would be a good idea (for a baby's quilt) to cut the knots leaving little tufts of threads maybe a half inch long. This blanket will be dearly loved.

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    1. Thank you, Susan. Yes, I am going to cut the ties to shorten them.

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