Sidetracked to UFO

I posted my sidetracked project a couple of weeks ago.  After I finished the top, I went out to get a tutorial in spray basting.  I am quite taken with the ease of spray basting over pinning.  As a result, I've decided to finish up a couple of projects and then spray baste two to three projects in a single setting.

I started this project a couple of years ago using leftover fabric for a friend's daughter.  I've made all her children and grandchildren quilts (the yarn tied off type).  One daughter really wants a second quilt ... 28 years later, the first is long gone.  For a variety of reasons, I decided to make her one more.

This one will be backed in an old purple sheet pretty much by request.  I haven't decided if I'll tie this one or machine quilt.  If I machine quilt it will have to be wide, as she remembers the softness and drape of the original quilt.  The flannel backed ones I made for her nieces and her children are not the same!

Sidetracked

I was volunteered by my husband to work on a quilt for someone retiring in his area.  This was fine by me as I tend to get bored rather easily when I focus too long on one project ... so I was given the fabric to make 17 squares in three days. Okay, husband is out of town at a conference, son is not a picky eater, I can definitely find the time to finish and have the weekend for family ... Mission was accomplished, and since I was so quick, I was asked to put them all together.  Okay, there went the weekend.

Here's the near final project, the last column still needs to be attached as the last row, but all in all I'm fairly happy with my "rush" job.  I know that I will not be working on it anymore and hopefully the other person can disguise my less than perfect points.  

This quilt is definitely going to have a relaxing watery feel.  I rather like the calming effect it has.  That said, back to my Cacophony quilt and my Galiano quilt (friends quilt) with the bright colors I so love.

Cacophony Continued

Last weekend I plowed ahead and finished the top of the Cacophony Quilt.  I took Joanna Goranson's advice and used a solid color for the sashing.  I really liked the blue of the dotted fabric I had originally chosen so went with a similar solid for the sashing.  I am very pleased with the results.

Even though the picture shows it differently, the quilt is fairly square.

Blame it on being too short to evenly hang it on the wall, stood at an angle around the furniture to get the shot and painter's tape is not the stickiest!



Here's a close up of the quilt.  A co-worker told me she could stare at it for hours, looking over the different fabrics.  That was my hope as I'm planning on giving it as a baby gift.   

Cacophony: a discordant and meaningless mixture of sounds

Cacophony was the word that came to mind tonight as I finished the last of my 4x4 sets of 3" squares.  

I went for the mismatched look as the idea of organizing color and patterns escapes me.  One day I may find the time to learn more about color, but for now I am happy with the results.  

Going through the fabric and cutting it up took me down memory lane, Harry Potter Halloween Costumes, my kids' quilts, Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, pillow cases, curtains, quilts for friends, and fabric from my daughter's projects.  I must confess some of the fabric mystifies me as to how it ended up in my fabric bins.
 



 I learned a lot about precision cutting (I still need more practice) and matching seams/corners up (I'm pretty pleased with my seams/corners overall).  My 4x4 squares are not all equal and I think if I try to put them all together the seams will not match up very well.  

 



My solution will be to add borders to each square and then trim all squares to the same size.  In the end each square will be approximately 12".  With 30 squares the top will finish out around 60"x72".  This blue dotted fabric seems to work with the squares and add a little pop!