I’ve been playing with Electric Quilt 6 design software all day today. I’ve working on quick and easy quilts to make for kids.  These would also make great quilts for charity.

I have several more designs I'm working on so I won't post these EQ projects on my web site just yet, but they'll all be up there soon. (On the EQ Library page.)

Here is a sneak preview of the ones I've finished:

The Electric Quilt project file for my newest quilt design, Skinny Frames, is available for download on my web site.  Click here to go to the web page.

Here’s a really fun thing I found over at The Quilting Gallery. They have a weekly themed quilt contest with prizes!

Here is the link listing the 2011 weekly themes: http://quiltinggallery.com/quilting-fun/weekly-themes-2011.asp

You make your quilt and post your photo, then everyone votes and the winner takes the prize.

I finished the 4th braid today, and added 4 more strips to each braid to make them a bit longer.

Next I'll trim the edges so I can sew the 4 columns together. Since I've never made this kind of quilt before, I'm not sure of the easiest way to trim them... (And I ALWAYS want to do things the easiest way.)

I don't have many 7.5" strips left so I hope there's enough for the border of square patches I have planned...


(The Electric Quilt 6 project file for this quilt and a link to instructions for assembling the Braid block are posted on my web site: www.chickenladyquilts.com/dlpastelbraids.asp)

I spent my sewing time yesterday mostly sorting and cutting strips for my Pastel Braid quilt. Today I really wanted to get some more actual sewing done.

It took a little rearranging of my sewing area, but I finally got things situated so that I could proceed smoothly. It seems to work best for me by choosing a strip from the colored-sorted sets on my left, then sewing it in place, and finally ironing the seam at the ironing table on my right.

I just finished the second column, and I hope to get another column done before bedtime.

This is just going to be a baby quilt for testing purposes. I eventually will make a twin size one for me to use in my reading chair. (I keep the thermostat high to save $$ so it’s cooollldd in here.) 

I cut lots of 2.5”x7.5" strips yesterday, but now I'm wondering if 2.5”x10" might be better since the columns will be wider. That will probably work best for the twin-size I intend to make. Tomorrow I’ll make a test block of 10" and see how it looks.

I decided to use many of the scraps left over from the strip slicing for the quilt border. I'll frame squares or rectangles with 1/2" white sashing. I think it'll be spectacular!

I posted my Electric Quilt 6 project file for this quilt and a link to instructions for assembling the Braid block on my web site: www.chickenladyquilts.com/dlpastelbraids.asp

I like how my Braid test block came out yesterday so today I've been sorting my 2.5" pastel strips and cutting them into 7.5" lengths to get ready for a weekend of sewing.




I posted my Electric Quilt 6 project for this quilt and a link to instructions for assembling the Braid block on my web site: www.chickenladyquilts.com/dlpastelbraids.asp

Almost 10 years ago I saw in a magazine a “braid” quilt made out of pastel strips. I’ve been collecting pastel 2.5” strips ever since. Today I finally began the quilt…

You can see the instructions for making this type of quilt at www.quilterscache.com. It is a fast and easy quilt to make. I'm just zipping along. The most time consuming part is cutting my 2.5" strips down to 7.5" in length.

Here’s the one I drafted in EQ6.

You can download my EQ6 project file for Pastel Braids HERE.

(Many thanks to Patti Anderson at www.patchpieces.com for her tutorial on drafting this in Electric Quilt 5. It was a big help.)

Here’s the block I finally made with the yellow flying geese scraps. I pulled in some scraps of this minty green 30’s print and I think it came out very well. I couldn't make it work with the other green fabric I posted yesterday because the center square was not large enough to make a square in a square block.
Here’s another block I made with some more of the flying geese scraps. I ended up reversing the square in a square, and pointing the flying geese inward.  (The light green fabric is actually much brighter than it appears in the photo.)
I've still got a few flying geese left to play around with...

Here is the design I settled on for the challenge from my last post. Thanks for the ideas in the comments.

I like this block now, though it only uses half of the yellow flying geese.(This isn’t sewn together yet, the pieces are just placed on the cutting board.)

The square in a square middle adds interest, but I think it needed the half-squares on the corners to tie in the green. Yesterday, I found these 4 green half-squares already sewn and also the large green square.

Actually, yesterday I also found 3 more purple-yellow flying geese and 4 yellow-green-flowered flying geese, so now I have to come up with more ways to use these up!

I need some help. I’m trying to find a way to use these leftover flying geese patches to make a 12” block. The catch is that I don’t have any more of the yellow 1930’s print used in the geese. (You can see the fabric better in the bottom right photo, the bottom right corner.)

 
I don’t want to do a Dutchman’s Puzzle block (left), because I already have one of those in 1930’s prints.

I thought I’d do the “Another Star” block (right) from www.quilterscache.com. That works well with 6 of the flying geese, but the problem is that I don’t have any more yellow for the 4 half-square triangles that need to go in the corners. (If I cut the flying geese in half to make fake half-square triangles they aren’t tall enough – they come out to 2.5” by 3.5” but need to be 3.5” x 3.5”)

I could just use solid squares of the background fabric in the corners, but I was looking for something more exciting. I’m looking for suggestions of some other block patterns that might work.

On the right are the 1930s prints I have that could go in this block. The yellow on the bottom right of the photo is the fabric that is in the flying geese patches.

Please leave a comment with your ideas. Thanks!

As I’ve finished organizing my scraps, I’ve been looking over my collection of quilt magazines and books with a new eye towards scrappy quilts. (I really never paid attention to scrap quilts, thinking they would be way too much trouble to make.) 

I have a tub a bit bigger than a big shoe box full of a different type of scraps: These are odds and ends of sewn scraps. Lots of strip sets, parts of 9-patches, and tons of half square triangles that were cut when making flying geese blocks and snowball blocks, and others that you cut the corners from. I sewed most of these leftovers together in half-square triangles already so they are ready to make into blocks.

Yesterday I laid out some fall colored half-squares with some 2.5 inch scraps, and 4.5 in scraps in fall colors to make a 12” bear tracks block. I also laid out some 1930s reproduction flying geese scraps into a king’s crown block. I got them sewed and ironed tonight and they are up on my design wall.

I have about 10 or 15 other twelve inch 1930’s reproduction fabric blocks from a swap with Faith Quilters so this block will go nicely with those. :)

I really love the bear tracks block made in fall colors. I may make several more of those and have a quilt someday. I’ve always wanted a bear tracks or bear’s paw quilt…

I’ve added a couple of new projects to the EQ6 Project Library on www.chickenladyquilts.com.

Popping Pooches is the pattern I plan to use for a dog quilt I’m making for my middle child. I’ve been collecting dog fabrics for years for this, but I’ll probably end up using only 1 or 2 in the quilt. I love the way the rail fence blocks make the dog fabrics really pop out.

Falling Stars is the pattern I designed for the 12” sawtooth star blocks I’ve made from autumn fabrics. I want this to be king size to fit my bed. I’ve got about 25 blocks done.

Good morning! I'm slicing and dicing fabric today. I'm taking my big tub full of unloved fabric (1/2 yard or less pieces) from my stash clean-out and slicing them into 2.5" and 1.5" strips, plus 6" squares, Then the rest of each piece I slice off the largest size strip I can get from it. I'm surrounded by baggies with sizes marked on them, but am finding that it is too slow to have to stop and put the pieces in the appropriate baggies. I need to get some lunch bags set up that I can just toss the pieces in as I cut them.

I will be using the 1.5" strips and 6" squares to make diagonal bar blocks for a scrappy quilt. For the block you cut the 6" square diagonally, then sew a contrasting 1.5" strip between the 2 resulting triangles. I got the idea from the Trading Patches quilt in McCalls Quilting August 2007. For the last 2 years this tub of fabric has sat waiting to be sliced. Well, this week-end I hope to make a good dent in it. :)



Download my Electric Quilt 6 project for this design:

Found this quilt photo at the Spring Water Designs blog. It was made by Dawn Burchett from civil war fabrics.

The layout is almost like the Gathered Over Time quilt that I mentioned in a previous post, which gave me the idea to set my 9-patch blocks on point with alternate plain squares.

I just love the appliqué border that Dawn added to her quilt, and I think I’ll add one to mine as well. It will add a pretty touch to an otherwise plain quilt.

Today I’ve been playing with these odd 9-patch blocks I have from old swaps. I’m going to make pillows out of them for the sofa.  I’m using the light greens, grays, yellows and browns. It look very “fall-ish.”  The blocks are actually looking nice together. :)

I’m also playing with several 6” bow-tie blocks I have from swaps. I’ve already used lots for a baby blanket for Cami. I may make pillows for my bed out of these.

I finished the 9-patches I’ve been working on all week. Now I can pull out all my projects and try to figure out what I want to work on next. It’s been so long since I’ve sewed I don’t even remember what I have. (It feels so good to be sewing again.)

Here's a photo of just a few of my WIP's (works in progress). I found (top left) about fifteen 12" un-matched blocks that I've made over the years. I'm thinking I'll put them together in a sampler with a checkerboard sashing made from scraps of the fabrics I used in the blocks. Hopefully that will pull together all the dissimilar fabric. (You can see photos of all these blocks on the chickenladyquilts Flickr page.)

I also have (top right) about twenty 12" sawtooth star blocks made out of fall fabric. My plan for these is to make a king size quilt for my bed. I think these will be what I work on next since I already have another 10 of these blocks (bottom left) cut out and ready to assemble. I remember now that I have an EQ project of these “Falling Stars” because I was playing around with how to put them together. I’ll try and find that project and post it on chickenladyquilts.com.

In the bottom middle of the photo is a stack of about 20 or 30 9-patch blocks that I've gathered from various swaps over the years. They are different from the 9-patch project I just finished because these are made with 2 focus fabrics, instead of a focus fabric and a muslin. I have no idea how to use these. I have enough to make a large scrappy pillow out of them. That might work...