Saturday, September 26, 2009

Harvesting Quilt Fabric from Pillow Cases: Part 2


Let's pick up where we left off last time. Remember that I had a second pillowcase set aside. From that second pillowcase I cut 4.5" square alternate blocks, and I set both these, and some of the 4-patch blocks, in 4.5 x 2.5 rectangles with 2.5" cornerstones. I wanted to put some "air," or breathing space in all those scraps.

When I made the 4-patches I was trying to coordinate the scraps with the colors in the first pillowcase's fabric, but I pulled a lot of contrasting colors for the outer parts of the blocks to spice it up a bit.


Once I had the blocks made, I cut 2.5" sashing strips and 4.5 inch wide outer borders from the remaining pillow case fabric, and from odds and ends of neutrals that will blend in. A lot of the sashing was cut from some thrifted shirting fabric that someone had cut out with a pattern to make a shirt, but never sewed together. You can see it in the first photo: it has tiny running dogs on it. The neutral border strips make the scrappy blocks appear to float.

I had a lot of 4-patch blocks left over, and these will go in the outer border.


While I was doing all this, it was Bunny's turn to guard the cutting table. She doesn't leave me much space to work. I may have to make my next quilt a miniature. She thinks I should just stop complaining, tidy up the table and put away my piles.

Now all I have to do is sew everything together. I hope to grab a few hours to do this over the next week. Have a wonderful weekend.

6 comments:

Judy S. said...

Nice work, Barbara! Cats sure are funny; I am always picking cat hair off my projects... BTW, I saw some Madonna fabric in NM and immediately thought of you: a large panel and coordinates!

Finn said...

Great quilt Barb! I wish we could make your blog required reading for the new and younger quilters. They could learn so much from you. Hugs, Finn

Debra Dixon said...

I always enjoy your thrifted fabric quilts. If you shop thrift stores with an open mind, there are many treasures hiding in easy to find spots. It can be a bit addictive-as we all know!

Libby said...

Love the pillowcases...they are such a great source of fabric!

allie aller said...

Your quilt looks new and old at the same time...that is quite a feat!
I love it, and all the decisions you made, especially letting the scrappy blocks "breathe".
Wonderful...

Deb Hardman said...

The oldfashioned feel of this reminds me of my own baby quilt when it was still new. I love the scrappy nature of it, it's so warm & homey!
I love how Bunny wants to help too. My Broc is always guarding my chair in my studio when I'm working on my longarm. Aren't fuzzy little friends lovely?

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