Merrily I Design Along

This is a "Design As I Sew" Quilt

My quilty muse knows where we are going.
I am just following along...
and doing all the cutting and sewing.

I am thinking that the unfinished block size for this quilt may be 9 inches.

This is for the

  New Batik Quilt For My Guy Started Here

Block A 

My first block measures 9.5", unfinished, right now.

The plan is to cut it down to 9" to accommodate other stack and cut pieces

to make a few different blocks that measure 8.5" 

when sewn into the quilt.

Here is the cutting measurements for Block A

This is a layout for a baby size quilt with the 9.5" unfinished blocks.
The blocks are turned randomly to make a scrappy looking quilt.

With a 3.5" border this 4 rows by 5 columns quilt 

would measure 44" by 53" with binding.

It would actually make a nice quilt for a baby using a nursery print

layer cake, 1 yard of fabric for the outer border

and 3/4 yard for the binding. 

It could also make a cute I spy quilt with fussy cut prints in the 6.5" squares. 

To make my block I chose three of the hub's chosen batik squares.

I aligned and pressed the stack with a dry iron.

 Because these are hand cut swap squares, 

they are not all a perfect 10" square,

I used my Perfect 10 Ruler to trim then all to the same size.

Any ruler will work, the idea is to stack, press, trim and square

to uniform 10" squares.

From the the trimmed 10" stack  I cut

One 3.5" by 10" rectangle on one side

Then I cut the large rectangle on the right into:

One 3.5" by 6.5" rectangle

and

One 6.5" square

Then I swapped the pieces to choose the three pieces for my block.

I set my machine to sew a scant 1/4" seam and sewed.

Then I pressed all my seams open.

Using a 9.5" square ruler, I trimmed my block to 9.5" for now

and saved the other cut pieces from the stack
to mix and match for future blocks. 

I will be posting Block B and a layout for that block soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update:

Finished Quilt Here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I also sewed my Kinship Sampler Block of the Day this morning.

Here is Block 30 for my 

Kinship Fusion Sampler Quilt

Time to venture out and water the thirsty trees and bushes and flowers.

Have a happy evening wherever you are! 

I Like Thursday # 156 ~ 10 Quilts ~ Day 3

10 Quilts ~ 10 Days ~ Day 3

This is my

Batik Layer Cake Quilt for My Guy

It replaced an old worn out utility quilt made with scrap blocks 

and fabrics from an older batik quilt project. 

One day he brought the utility quilt that had been taken camping 

and lived in his car inside and it became his favorite indoor quilt. 

I repaired it a few times and he still has it 

but it is smaller and not as warm as this newer quilt.  

Now the kitties nest in the smaller quilt.

Today is also

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color 

For our post this week, LeeAnna has asked us to blog about

the things we do to show our love.

This is what I do:  I make quilts.

This one was for my best friend and husband,

who shows his love for all of us everyday and every way. 

I make quilts not only for people I know. 

I have made many quilts and blocks over the years to send them off to others 

in hope of making the world a little warmer and friendlier and full of love. 

This is an easy layer cake pattern, 

which Started Designing Here

All of the blocks were made with this size pieces.

Most were cut from 10 inch squares and some from scraps and strips in my stash.

In the end I made 11 different block layouts with these cuts

and scattered them randomly in my layout.

This is the finished quilt.

Mr. Scrapatch loves and uses his quilt everyday.

The kitties love it, too.

For me, quilts are love.

I find I am very much enjoying this 10 day walk down memory lane

 and revisiting some of past quilty accomplishments. 

Please share your love by sharing a quilt in my linky party:

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

A Man and His Quilt

Here is My Guy with his new quilt,

My shy guy was happy enough to hold up this quilt for me.

Now he can enjoy it!

This quilt was started when 

 My Guy pocked the fabrics for his quilt HERE  

 out the 10" squares from a stack of swap batiks 

that have been in my stash for several years.

 I designed this quilt as I sewed.

All of the blocks were made with these cuts.
Total fabric yardage for the top of this quilt would be:
about 6 yards of assorted batiks for the blocks,
2 and 1/2 yards of fabric for the sashing and binding,
1 and 1/2 yards for the outer border.

I used about 65 different 10" batik squares for the blocks
and I had some scraps left for another project. 

In the end I made 11 Different Block Layouts from these pieces.
I trimmed all the blocks to 9 inches so they would finish at 8.5 inches in the quilt.

There are a total of 80 blocks in this large bed size quilt

which measures 80" by 100"

I chose a Ro Gregg marbled swirl 108" wide backing for this quilt.

It is the widest I can make a quilt on my 8 foot frame.

I bound the quilt in the solid navy blue tat my hubby chose for the narrow sashing strips.

The border is a blue and black batik he picked out at our local quilt shop.

I loved making and gifting this quilt for the man who does do much for me.

my best friend and partner in life.

<3 

A Quilt For My Guy

A new quilt beginning!

These 10 inch squares have been in my stash since 2011 when I ran a

Batik Layer Cake Swap Here in 2011

Here is the sort for the quilt.

Those are my hubby's hands sorting and selecting these squares.

He piled, sorted, grouped colors and picked his favorites.

They are on the top of the stack in the first photo.

The other squares that did not make the final cut are stacked beneath,

in case I need more squares.

I am making this quilt for my hubby to replace his favorite cuddle quilt ...

... which is about 13 years old 

and the fabrics are getting worn out.
I did simple straight line quilting in the sashing
with my walking foot on my old Brother machine
which had a very small throat space.
The batting is cotton with scrim.
This was a quilt made easy.

This has actually been a "utility quilt" made from leftover blocks and fabrics ...

... from this larger, queen size quilt I made for our oldest son for his first apartment.

Jon's quilt is still in good condition after I quilted it on a rented long arm.

This is one of my first free motion quilting works.

The quilt I make for my hubby will be a similar block,

although the last one was made without a pattern.

The next one will be made without a pattern, too,

and it will be a queen sized quilt and quilted on my long arm. 

I am planning a stack and slice layer cake quilt.

Not all the blocks will be the same.

This is one of the things my hubby likes about the old quilt.

The one he loves now has a long history as a "utility" quilt.

I made it and took it with me on a cross country
 Drum Corps tour when I was a chaperone.

Then it lived in our car and went camping
and to the beach,

and mountains with us.

In the photo above it is a "comfort quilt" for our old

Mina kitty in her final days.

So even though it has holes in the fabrics

it will still be loved and used somewhere in our lives.

But my hubby deserves a new quilt with fabrics and a design he picks himself.

All I have to do is sew it. 

Here is today's block

Day 28 ~ Block 28 ~ Kinship Quilt

#100days100blocks2019

Ready to start a new quilty week!  

I Like Thursday # 23 ~ Family and Fabric

I like fabrics.

I like buying them, fondling them,  folding them, sorting them, stashing them, 

taking them out and arranging and rearranging them,

designing quilts with them,

picking the right ones for the right quilt,

choosing the right ones for the right block,

washing, pressing, cutting, sewing,

making a quilt with them.

Most of all I like cuddling under them in their quilt
and stroking them and admiring their

pretty colors and designs.

Fabric is love.

This is my big beautiful stash closet.

I call it "stash spelunking" when I search through this closet 

because it is a dark cave full of treasures and tight spaces,

some of which I rarely explore.

Mostly, I know where every fabric is.

My memory for my stash is very vivid with images

from fondling these beauties

and tucking them away in the best storage place.

There are shelves behind rolling carts,

bins under bins,

stacked and sorted and waiting.

The carts in the front are on wheels to roll them out to get behind them.

Usually I can find the fabrics I need.

Sometimes I have to un-stack  and re-stack things to find what I am searching for.

Sometimes a particular fabric eludes me. 

This was the case recently when looking for the "right" fabrics for the quilt that 

My Girl and I are sewing along together with 

This Quilt Started Here

Block #1 is Up @ Fat Quarter Shop

I have found and chosen my fabrics!

This is the one that was eluding me in my closet.

It was bought somewhere other than with the first stack of fabrics.

Maybe I did not at first recognize that it was the same line as the other 

Kringles Sweet Shop by Maude Asbury for Blend Fabrics, 
that I had stashed away together.
But I knew it would be a good fabric to add to this quilt.
I just needed to find it.

Yesterday I spent some time looking in my closet, literally with a flashlight,

while we were having strong thunderstorms and I had the electric lights turned off

at their power strips.

There was a bonus of unearthing three surprise fabrics,

the pink and the gray hot chocolate mugs and a piece of the cupcakes with white background
~ how did I forget I had these fabrics! ~ 

... and I found a nice green stripe from another fabric line that will be perfect for the binding.

Time to decide and cut and sew the first block!

I am also having fun choosing the right fabrics for the blocks for the

 New Batik Quilt For My Guy

I have six different block layouts now in the quilt from those four layer cake cuts.

This will be a very colorful quilt

and both my hubby and I are happy with the progress,

So my quilting this week is all about family and fabric.

While I was sitting sewing my first block at my machine by the window,
this beauty visited my window box of flowers,
still wet from the rains.

Butterflies are very special in my life.
The story is that a butterfly landed on me where I met my future husband
and he decided it was a sign that I was "The One."
I already knew by the peace and happiness I was feeling inside when we were together.
Butterflies fly to happiness.

I am happy in my sewing corner today.

Life Is Good

I will be spending part of my day enjoying what is good in the life of my friends at

I Like Thursdays @ Not Afraid of Color 

It is good once a week to sit back and think about all the good things in life.

Day 39 ~ Block 39
#100days100blocks2019

Have a Happy Thursday!