My Strawberry Fields doll quilt top is together and ready for quilting!
This was a fun little quilt to make. I know it looks big in the pic, but it’s only about 19″x26″.
If you didn’t join us for this quilt along but like the look of a zig zag setting I thought I’d post the formula for figuring the size to cut the setting triangles for anyone that doesn’t know how to figure the cutting numbers. You can do the setting with any size block. You take the finished block size x 1.414 + 1.25 =the size you cut the square to cut the triangles from. In this case it was a 5″ block which would be finished 4.5″ x 1.414 = 6.363 + 1.25 = 7.613 (7 5/8″)
The setting triangles will be cut from a 7 5/8″ square cut on the diagonal from corner to corner or in an X through it.
I had my blocks pinned up on my design wall, so I pinned the setting pieces up as I cut them so I knew I had what I needed. The blocks are sewn together in rows. The triangles at the top and bottom of the row are cut a little differently so the grain of the fabric ends up where you want it. The formula for cutting those is finished block size (4.5″)divided by 1.414 + .875 =4.057 That’s a weirdo number. Always round up to 1/8″ on weirdo numbers. 
so cut that square 4 1/8″ and cut across on the diagonal once this time.
I had a fat quarter I wanted to use. I had to piece it to get all of the pieces I needed, but it worked. I had just a little scrap left.
Once the rows are pieced you will join them together. I like to fold the setting triangle in half and place a pin in that place. Then I line the pins up with the edge of a block and pin so everything lines up just right when I sew the rows together. Be sure to trim the “dog ears” from joining your pieces. You don’t want that extra bulk in there when you go to quilt your top.
Once I got my top together I had to decide how to quilt it.
I quilted a zig zag setting before and just quilted the blocks in the ditch and did lines down the zig zag. This time I wanted to something a little fancier so I went through my stencils and found a design I could cut in half and flip flop along the zig zag to get a flowing design.
While I was marking, I decided to add a little to the blocks too. I won’t know until I start the quilting if I’ll quilt those lines or just stitch in the ditch? That will have to wait a few days because I have a quilt in the hoop. 
Thank you Lori! I really had fun making this little quilt.
Posts Tagged ‘quilt along’
Strawberry Fields together and ready for quilting
Saturday, May 8th, 2010Another Quilt Along?
Friday, April 23rd, 2010Yes! Absolutely yes!
Lori of Humble Quilts is posting another quilt along on her blog. I had so much fun with the Cheddar and Crackers doll quilt she did a while back that I made two versions, so I’ve been anxiously waiting for this one.
This doll quilt will get it’s color scheme from an antique quilt. Lori has posted fabric selections and hints to choose fabrics with a similar feel to the original.
Lori is using scraps but I’m just lopping off pieces from yardage I have. I bought these fabrics with nothing in particular in mind and haven’t used them yet..so didn’t have scraps. Either way is fine.
If you’ve never done a quilt along before you might like to give this a try? Lori gives wonderful instructions with pics. You wouldn’t have to use the antique color scheme she has posted, if that’s not your style..you could do holiday colors or themes, or something that suits you and end up with a cute little quilt for decorating.
A New Project!
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010Julie at Jaybird Quilts is hosting a quilt along.
I bought a couple of jelly rolls and a layer cake of a fabric line I fell in love with last year and this project will be perfect for it.
Julie will be giving several options for setting the pieced hexagons and her list of materials needed includes a solid that will go with the fabrics. For my solid I’m going to use one of the three fabrics on the right. They aren’t from the line, but look nice with it?
Originally, I had planned on piecing a quilt similar to the Merry-Go-Round quilt I pieced last Summer…or maybe like the antique Hexagon Web I posted about a while back.
I’m not sure which setting I’ll use for this quilt along..but there are some fun options!
Cheddar and Crackers
Friday, January 8th, 2010I *should* be quilting. I have a quilt in the hoop, the top I made for my husband for Christmas is waiting, and numerous others waiting too. BUT I can’t hand quilt all day. Each stitch comes with a tiny pin prick on the finger that’s on the bottom side of the quilt and after a while my fingers get too sore. For now I’ll just quilt in the evenings.
So there you have it. My excuse for starting something new.
Lori of Humble Quilts has a vintage quilt that’s made with cheddar. I love it. It’s kind of a cross between a Double Irish Chain and an Ocean Waves. It’s made scrappy. What’s not to love?
Well…she decided to make a scaled down version. A doll quilt..AND she’s doing it as a quilt along! How could I resist?
I pulled some fabrics out of my stash.
I wasn’t sure about the shirting that I pulled, but it was white with a bit of blue so I thought it would work?
Step one.
Step three is supposed to be posted next week. Lori is giving us plenty of time to keep up.
Once I had this done and pinned up on the wall it was clear what the next step would be and I couldn’t resist. I went ahead and pieced the setting blocks.
My blocks aren’t sewn together yet, I just had to see how my doll quilt looked.
Hmmm…I’m not sure? That shirting is a bit bright..too blue..I dunno? I may want to tea dye the quilt to make it look older?
I sew in the dining room and it looks nice with my Blue Willow dishes…maybe it will become a table topper?
I loved doing this little quilt top. It’s kind of like eating potato chips. .. I can’t stop at one. I want to do a second that has lower contrast and warmer colors.
Basket of Flowers
Monday, November 30th, 2009
I’ve finally finished the quilting on my “Basket of Flowers” quilt. The binding is done too, and it’s hanging in the family room.
The center portion of this quilt was designed by Rebecca Hoffmann, a member of a yahoo Primitive and Folk Art applique group that I belong to. Some of us did this as a group project quilt along. I’m using this as a Christmas quilt, because the branch with the bird and pears remind of that verse from the well known carol..”and a Partridge in a pear tree..” (sung just a little off key..)
I wanted the quilt to be a bit larger, so I added several borders. The borders I selected are from another project..a Medallion Quilt Along posted by Anita (RhubarbPatch). This also gave me the opportunity to try out the quilting designs I thought I might use when I quilt the larger top.
The Large Medallion Top…..
Anita saw an antique quilt and wanted to recreate it. She drew it up in her EQ program. It looked like so much fun she decided to invite others to join her and do it up as a quilt along. She posted a new round each month, along with the instructions and step by step pics, to her blog.
This is my version. Several of us did this quilt, with each of us choosing our own center design. Anita set up a photo pool and it was fun to see how the different fabrics used made the quilt look so different. Some of our group stopped before doing the entire quilt. That’s the fun of a medallion styled quilt. You can stop whenever you want..and you have a completed top that looks great. My version measures 90″x90″.
When I pieced my version I did the piecing like was done in the past. When the quilter ran out of a fabric she substituted with something similar. I wanted that vintage look.
As you can see in this pic I used quite a few different light fabrics in the piecing, not using just one light for the piecing in that month’s round.
You can also see that I used several reds in the bricks that look like Dominos that have fallen…and several burgundys for the zig zags. To me, the variety of fabrics make the quilt more interesting…as well as giving it a more vintage look.
The quilt top is quite heavy and has a lot of small, intricate piecing. When I quilted the wall hanging I learned that quilting a pieced section as one unit made it difficult to have an even stitch length on both front and back.
The seams get in the way of doing a nice rocking stitch, but I like the look of the cables. In quite a few places I had to do a punch and stab stitch…which leaves me undecided as to how I’ll quilt the larger top.
On the one hand…I like the look and can’t think of what I’d do differently. On the other hand…the quilting will take longer and if I ever enter the quilt in a show, the judges will take points off because they want the quilting stitch to be the same size on front and back. Oh what shall I do?