Lone Star Tote Bags

 

Lone Star Totes 

Remember those lone stars I was making back in April at a local quilting class?  I finally decided what to do with them!    It's the perfect solution for orphan blocks.

I bought some sturdy blank $3 tote bags from Hobby Lobby. 

  

The faded glory Americana Star, in honor of America 250.

 

Here's a clearer picture of the free-motion (freehand) quilting as seen from the back side.  

  

There were 2 "Green Fire" Stars like this one.  I love that center fabric! 

 

 

Here's the Blue Star version.  

 

 

All 3 stars were quilted with this general design.  

I free-motion stitched the star blocks to some felt I picked up on the FREE table at Quilt Guild one night.

The felt doesn't unravel which means you can leave the edges "free" with no special treatment.  This also makes it easy to sew it to the tote bag.  

 

I left to top edge open so it can act like an extra pocket, too! 

I may donate a few of these to the Boutique for the Fly In Quilt Show in July.  

I'll keep one for myself, too. 

The Koi Pond Duckworth Quilt is Complete

 

Koi Pond Duckworth Quilt 

I thought if I worked on quilting this for just 1 hour a day, I could finish it in just a few days--less than a week.  And it worked!

 

Traditionally, Duckworth Quilts get quilted with a simple grid.  Easy enough to do at home!  This is from the back.  I used a Dream Wool batt -- I love the way it puffs so nicely, but stays light and airy.

JoAnn Duckworth, who developed this scrap pattern, recently died.  Thank you for her color inspiration and sharing this pattern so freely.  May she rest in peace. 

  

Here's a detail shot of one of the "fish" on the front side.  The log cabin centers are all orange -- the fish.  The water is any blue scraps I had in the stash.  I did not buy anything to make this quilt top. 

The theme is Koi Pond, but it's pretty abstract.  My friend Laura gave me some koi fish fabric, and I worked that in with the label on the back side. 

This was so much fun!  I will very likely make another one some day. 

Previous posts about this Quilt:

Koi Pond / Duckworth Quilt Top Finished

Progress on the Koi Pond Scrappy Duckworth Quilt

Planning a New Project: Duckworth Scrapbuster Quilt (Koi Pond)

 

 

 

 

Koi Pond / Duckworth Quilt Top Finished

Koi Pond Duckworth Quilt Top

This one didn't really take long to pull together -- and I used up some scraps from the stash.  I've really been chugging along getting quilt tops together this year!  That said, it may be YEARS before any of them are actually finished.  It will come ... 

I made 6-1/2 blocks / 6 inch finished blocks, set in 4 quarters (4 6-inch blocks set in a 4-patch).  Then 5 quartos across and 7 quartos down.  I think that's about about twin size.  I considered adding 1 more row, but I think this will be big enough.  

 

Planning a New Project: Duckworth Scrapbuster Quilt (Koi Pond)

Example of a Duckworth Quilt from Podunk Pretties.  I love how this one turned out -- it reminds me of my Koi Pond from years ago.

I've been seeing these quilts on Pinterest, but usually there was no info about the pattern other than the designer.  But I finally found an explanation!

These are made by a quilter named Jo Anne Merrill-Duckworth, and are meant to be a scrapbuster, usually in a single color way with a contrasting center.  

• It's a wonky log cabin block. 
• Blocks are trimmed to a finished 6 inches (or use a 6-1/2 in square ruler to make it easy on yourself)
• 192 blocks in 1 quilt
• Set 12 x 16 blocks

Now to see if I actually have enough scraps in a single color way to make a whole quilt like this! 

Here is a video that explains the Duckworth technique:

Easiest Scrap Quilt Ever - The Duckworth Quilt - video from The Jelly Roll Club

From Podunk Pretties Blog

Scrap Quilt Enthusiasts - FaceBook Group.  I finally got into it!  The creator of this technique provides a document answering questions and explaining how to make a Duckworth Quilt.

I worked up a test block, to see how the technique works, and if I could stand it (I can!).

Here are the steps for the text block at the top of the post.

 

First, I pulled some orange scraps, ironed them flat and cut them down to suitable centers.  

These really are leftover scraps.

This didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would.  

 

You start with 4 centers.  They should vary in size and shades / textures. 

 

Then you start adding the strips, round and round each block until they can be trimmed down to 6-1/2 inches. 

 

Round and round ... 

 

... and round some more.

You don't have to be too neat or precise about it.  They are meant to look scrappy.

 

 

 

 

When they grow to be big enough, you trim each block down to 6-1/2 inches.

 

Decide on the desired orientation, and then ...

 

... Stitch it together.

 

Only 191 more blocks to go!  [Or is that 191 divided by 4?]

Pumpkin Spice Overshot Throw

Detail - Star of Bethlehem weaving pattern in the Pumpkin Spice Overshot Throw.

It looks like October, doesn't it?  Warm apple cider and pumpkin spice.  Crunchy fall leaves under foot.

Saw this on FB Marketplace last week listed as:

Groovy diamond print retro orange fabric.  Looks to be attached at the center with thicker abstract outer edges. Could be used for clothing, sewing, or even as a tablecloth. Feels like a thicker more double knit style. No condition issues. 

It was local, and the price was right at $25 (including shipping).  I felt like I needed to rescue it because I knew someone made it -- Someone took the time to hand weave it line-by-line.  The seller didn't really seem to understand what it was.  Double knit? Nope!

I don't think it's antique -- it seems much newer than that.  I think it's all cotton and wool.  It's made in 2 panels with a seam down the middle.  Borders all around.  Might be a baby blanket or a throw from one of Tom Knisley's books?  

 

 

 

I recognized the Star of Bethlehem overshot weaving pattern from Anne Dixon's The Hand Weaver's Pattern Directory [full color] book of weaving drafts.  Or you can get this pattern from Heddlecraft, attributed to Josephine Estes’ publication “Original Miniature Patterns for Hand Weaving”  as seen above.

 

Detail of the fibers and the overshot.  Maybe the orange is wool after all?  It looks hairier than cotton tends to be.   

[I should have turned this photo 90 degrees, as the orange would be woven on the horizontal, but on;ly a weaver would know that!]

 

Here's a detail of the border design.

Here are the photos from the Marketplace listing (for the record and the sake of documentation): 

 

  

 

  

 

 

  

Embrace Your Curves - EAA Quilt Challenge 2024: Clyde the Octopus is Complete

Clyde the Octopus

EAA Quilt Challenge 2024 - Embrace Your Curves

What has more curves than an Octopus?

 

Detail of a tentacle, and the "buttons" that are standing in for suckers. 

 

Here's a detail of the quilting in the borders.  Free-motion swirls, indicative of the sea, waves, or fiddlehead ferns (akin to seaweed).  I should have waited to quilt the borders AFTER doing the binding.  Some of the swirls got lost under the binding.

I also added a flash of color with an orange-y flange with the binding. 

 

 

After cutting out the pieces, I fused them together as 1 unit, and then fused it to a piece of black fabric.   Don't worry-- This is only to stabilize the applique.  The black won't be visible in the final quilt.  

 Next, I added tear-away stabilizer on the back, and started stitching.

I used invisible thread and a zigzag stitch to sew down all the edges to the black background fabric.

 

Then I used a satin stitch and the glossy embroidery threads to finish those edges properly, so that nothing pops up unexpectedly in the future.  Above, you can see some of the thread colors involved. 

I did not satin stitch around the suckers. That would have been utter madness!  Instead, I free motion stitched the edges of all those circles.

 

Here's a detail shot of one of the tentacles, showing how all the edges are stitched and secured with satin stitch or free-motion circles. 

 

Here it is from the back as seen from the tear-away stabilizer side.  As you might guess, the stabilizer is torn away before layering it with batting and backing. 

The next step is to cut out the applique.  The black fabric is not a background, but more of another stabilizer for the applique, allowing it to coalesce into a single unit that can then be appliqued to the green seaweed-y hand-dyed fabric -- I used Dream Wool batting as the stabilizer at this stage.   I cut the black fabric about 1/4 inch from the edges of the octopus, and then appliqued that to the dark green background using the invisible thread (again) and a nondescript zigzag stitch.

Once it was appliqued and stuck fast, I added the backing and outlined the Octopus by stitching about 1/4-inch away from it.  This helps it pop out for a 3D Trapunto-like effect.

 

Here it is from the back.  And again -- In real life, it is square.

 These are most of the thread colors used in this piece.  I wanted to have a record of this before I put them away.

Octopus (So Far): Embrace Your Curves - EAA Quilt Challenge 2024

I was trying hard to make this idea fit the March Madness Quilt Challenge with the Roman Glass fabric, but it just wasn't quite working ...  Since this challenge only required the curves (as a motif or technique), and no particular fabric, I had a few more options to make this one come to life.

My husband wanted it -- otherwise, I don't think I'd want to spend so much time with "all those suckers." 

Don't you think that button fabric looks like Octopus suckers? 

I thought the hand-dyed green background looks like seaweed, or deep ocean.

This is just the fused stage.  There will be a border, thread-painting, and quilting ...

More to come ...