Batik Place Matts for Christmas

I worked up some new place matts for our household, given as a Christmas present to my husband who cooks.   Used mostly batiks and batting scraps with this general pattern/technique from Night Owl's Fat Quarter Place Matts.  I did enlarge them with an extra piece of fabric at the top / bottom.

 

 

 

My poor sewing machine has some issues these days ...  There seems to be some give in the post where you attach the sewing feet.  When I move the fabric, it also shifts that post and the stalk where the needle attaches -- just ever-so-slightly.  I must have broken 7-8 needles in the process of free-motion quilting these place matts.  I can't use the 1/4-inch foot anymore because the needle comes down on the foot instead of through the little hole.   Hmmmh-- I may have to retire this one and take up one of my mom's fancy-dancy sewing machines.   Maybe I'm just too hard on it?  I did finish multiple quilts this year, and several more tops!  Maybe I can crack it open and tighten up whatever is loose ...

Extra practice with the bindings.  Even after all this time, I still get stuck on joining the beginning and ends of the binding.   

The batting was cut off of one of the quilts finished earlier in the year.  Wool, I think.

Before (left/upper) and after (right/lower) washing and fluffing.

 Before (left/upper) and after (right/lower) washing and fluffing, with a little more of that crinkle texture.

That wet finish has a way of making everything come together as a team, as one cohesive unit.  The stitching sinks into the batting and the fabric.  

It was a Christmas present, so I had to wait until the gift had been given before I could post it here on Sweet Leaf.  ;-)

 

Here's something else that arrived in time for Christmas.

I'm just so tickled and amused to see a killer whale wearing a sweater and advertising chocolate.

 LOL!

Fit to be Tied : Tying the Winter Roses Quilt

Winter Roses Quilt - Finished October 2018

Tied with a wool batt.

At Quilt Camp, back in October, I had the space to work on a project like this.  I can spread out on 2 large banquet tables to work, and don't have to worry about picking everything up for the sake of meals.  And there's no dog hair (an important factor when you live with a big, black Newfie!)

[NO PHOTO -- Sorry, I was so intent on doing the task, that I forgot to take a picture.  This photo is from a quilt I tied a few years ago at a different Quilt Camp.  The process is the same, though it shows a thick poly batt.]

Here I have the Sandwich layered and ready for stitching.

         Top Layer : Quilt Top - Right Side Down
         Middle Layer : Backing - Right Side Up
         Bottom Layer : Puffy Wool Batting (from my friend Karla Seaver).

Pin all the edges, and sew with a 1/2-inch seam.  Leave about 20 inches open for turning.
You may need some safety pins in the middle to keep it all together as you work.
Trim the batting and backing to size BEFORE turning right side out.

Turn.

Top stitch a faux binding at about 1-1/2 to 2 inches from the edge.   It's kind of like a French seam.  This helps to keep the batting out at the edges of the quilt as you use it.

I decided to add a few more stitched border rows, before I start to work on actually tying the quilt.
This step secures the batting at the edges of the quilt, otherwise, it has a tendency to pull in, leaving you with some parts of the quilt with no batting layer, just fabric.

You can also clearly see the faux binding here. 

I use wool yarn in a matching color.  I don't want the ties to be the focus here.

 Tying is done, you can see the puffiness as it is laid out on our bed.  

[Sorry for the bad winter light.]

Here are a few of the blocks close up ...

A quilt is never truly done until I've added the label, the very last step.

Shade Tree Quilt is Done Tied with a Fat Wool Batt

 Show and Share at Quilt Camp, Silver Birch Ranch, November 2016

Here I am explaining the Shade Tree comes from the green blocks, a batik with a curly leaf pattern on it.  This fabric reminds me of the curly willow outside our living room windows that lends such nice cool shade in summer.  

At Quilt Camp a few weeks ago, I sandwiched and enveloped this Disappearing 9-Patch Quilt with a fat woolen batting that had been taking up space in my closet.  I thought it was about time to give it a final home and put it to good use--on our bed!

I had acquired the woolen batting for  a mere $24 at a rummage sale at my local quilt guild several years ago.  That's a pretty good deal for a wool batting, even 10 years ago.   It was carded by The Courtney Woolen Mill in Appleton -- I think (hope?) they are still in business.  It turned out to be the perfect fit for this particular quilt.

For info on how to envelope and tie a quilt, see my previous post on it.  It was very helpful for me, too, as I used it as a reference when I needed to do this one. 

After the first night of Quilt Camp, I had the edges sewn, and turned the inside out, re-pinned it for temporary basting, and brought it back to the cabin to keep me warm that night.  I was grateful to have it as it was cold enough to snow that night.  Chilly!  It kept me toasty and war -- such a treat!

I've been going back and forth about whether to quilt it or tie it.  In the end, I quilted the borders, but tied the middle part after I got home.  Quilting something this thick just makes it stiff, so I opted to tie it.  It was difficult to find a matching green yarn in wool.  The green I wound up with is as close as I could get, and it's not wool.  We'll see how it wears.

Lessons learned :
The wool batting seemed easier to work with than the poly batting I used last time, as it was easier to push the tying needle through -- or maybe it was the needle itself?  This time, I purchased a long needle for making dolls--the packaging said it was great for tying quilts, so I took a chance.  It does work well!

The ties are in the cream-colored crosses and where the little back squares meet. I used a matching wool yarn so as not to take away from the quilt blocks. I did also quilt the border and edge blocks to add some stability.

 

Tied quilting from the back.  Nice puckers!