Tag: Panel Quilts

ECONOGAL > Panel Quilts

UFOs: The Quilting Kind

Posted on by Econogal

UFOs Not in the Sky

A box of UFOs, unfinished quilts, found in the hobby room.
Neatly stacked UFOs.

I stumbled across a box of UFOs while organizing and attempting to declutter the hobby room. Unlike the unidentified flying objects making headlines earlier in the month, these Un-Finished Objects are quilt projects started and not completed. The year 2023 now has a concrete goal. These quilts deserve to be finished and cherished.

At least one of these UFOs dates back multiple decades. Life truly can become busy as children arrive and moves are made. Somehow the purple and teal blocks survived the purging of three moves and a major remodel of the current home.

I Spy Quilt

The cheeriest of the UFO’s is comprised of 5 ½ inch blocks of children’s prints. To finish the quilt a narrow border complete with a list of objects to “spy” needs to be added. Then the quilt can be sandwiched and tied or quilted. Since the next generation is at the age to procreate, finishing this quilt makes sense.

My Bernina sewing machine has a program which sews sentences into the fabric. The quilter needs to hold the fabric steady so the wording remains in a straight line. I have made these before and the greatest difficulty is creating the I Spy sentences. The quest needs to offer challenge without frustration.

Quilt top with 5 1/2 inch squares of bright baby prints
The basis of an I Spy quilt.

Unfinished Design

Unfinished wall hanging with a Sunbonnet Sue applique.
Prime example of an Un Finished Object.

One of the quilts is hardly begun. I ran into trouble trying to replicate a Sunbonnet Sue wall hanging. My trouble was creating a clothesline. This quilt was to hang inside the laundry room, but open wall space was at a premium. Perhaps I can finish it and place outside the room at the entry.

Fall Colors

A table runner and a panel quilt are two UFOs designed in a fall color palette. Both are small pieces just lacking the layering and quilting for completion. I am not sure why they were unfinished. Perhaps fall turned into winter?

Since the cleaning and organizing has uncovered fragments of quilt batting, one goal is to match the table runner and batting piece and move it into the quilting stage. A lingering winter will give me plenty of time to finish at least one of the two.

Table Runner in Fall Colors
Table Runner

Panel Quilt in Fall Colors

UFOs: One Nearly Complete

The initialed diamond within a square missed a deadline for showing and then was never finished. Only a few inches of stitching the binding remains. This wall hanging deserves finalization. I am sure frustration over the timing led to the piece finding it’s way into the box of UFOs. This one can be finished on a hot summer afternoon when I take refuge in the coolness of the basement.

Quilted wall hanging made from two inch squares. The diamond within the square in greens and whites with the remainder in browns.
Almost Finished

Sampler Quilt Blocks

Quilt block missing pieces.My sampler quilt blocks are still just blocks. My review of the original and updated version of The Sampler Quilt back in 2018 did not spur completion. I even found another partially pieced block. Unfortunately, this block is missing a section. One of the tasks while organizing the hobby room will be to find the missing piece or if possible the fabrics needed to complete the block.

The sampler quilt is least likely to finish this year. But I plan to add that goal to my list. Everything on this quilt is done by hand. Quite an undertaking. And the finished quilt will be a special one.

 

 

Hand Pieced Sampler Quilt Blocks

Eight quilt blocks in purple and tealQuilt block in Lemoyne Star patternQuilt block Dresden Plate on purple backgroundQuilt Block of hexagonsCarpenter's Wheel patternQuilt Block teals and lavender on white backgroundQuilt block called Clay's CornerQuilt block in deep purpleLog Cabin block teals on one side purples on the other

November Wrap-Up

Posted on by Econogal

Yes this month’s wrap-up is two days early. But the last day of November falls on a Friday. I try to keep Friday’s posts reserved for book reviews. The blogs I regularly read tend to keep a schedule and I know I am disappointed when a website goes off track. Perhaps one of you can offer a solution to conflicting posts other than releasing two at once.

November is a time to reflect. It is also a time of thanks. I shared many of the things I am grateful for in the post, Thanksgiving Thankfulness. Our own holiday gathering this year was small in numbers but the atmosphere was delightful.

I grew up in a small family. I do not remember having more than a dozen people for either Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. However, I married into a large family. Thus, one year I entertained over sixty in my home. We put up card tables everywhere! Of course this number included second cousins along with the various “Great” grandparents, aunts and uncles. It will be interesting to see how close the next generation remains. Rural areas continue to lose their younger generations to the cities.

Quilting

The quilting room is the focus of my days. I finished piecing the Love Quilt began last spring. This panel quilt combines pre-made panels with traditional blocks in an original design. The quilt is ready to layer. However, the completion of a small baby quilt takes priority. I will be a great-aunt yet again in January. Look for a post then on the design. I don’t want to spoil the surprise!

November Weather

Our weather has been quite wacky. We have already enjoyed the moisture from two snows. Yet today the temperature will be in the mid-sixties. On the plus side, I am still harvesting rosemary and sage from the herb garden. The mint on the back patio has also survived. While the raised row garden has been mulched with leaves for the winter, a few green onions remain to use in the kitchen as well.

However, the possibility for cold and snow makes travelling trickier. These last weeks of fall often resemble winter. Tips for winter travel sounds like a good idea for a post. Other posts to look for next month include a ranking of my top book reviews. Holidays are a great time to give books! They are also a time to try new recipes. Check back to see what December brings to Econogal.

Designing Panel Quilts

Posted on by Econogal

4 patch quiltI am currently working with  panels designed to be made into a table runner but I plan to turn the material into a crib or lap quilt. Panel Quilts allow my creative juices to flow. But I don’t make them often and have only turned one into a kit. Sometimes panel quilts can be difficult to work with.

 

School Quilt

Many years ago we had a quilt store in our little town. The owner was a neighbor who has since moved up the valley. I designed a quilt using a panel and coordinating fabrics from her store and she sold a few kits from the design. There were two panels of equal size. I turned it into a fancy four-patch. The two panels are on a diagonal. For the other two squares I used a rail fence design and yet another four patch based pattern of which I have forgotten the name. If someone recognizes it please let me know in the comment section. The rail fence fit the block size perfectly, really just a matter of division. But the four patch split a row at the top and bottom. I honestly can’t remember why the design is like that.

View of second panel in School quilt

Sunflower Quilt

The easiest designs for panel quilts use the panel as the center block. Then you build the design out from there. I used this approach in the Sunflower Quilt. The center panel showcasing a sunflower arrangement has a row of three Ohio Stars on each side. To create interest, I tilted the stars. Solid yellow stripes separate the panel from the two side pieces and form a top and bottom border. The side borders are pieced squares turned on point. Hand quilting highlights the stars. The quilting of the panel is more free form.

View of sunflower quiltQuilt panel with 3 Ohio Star Blocks

The Love Quilt

Currently I am in the process of designing and making what I call the Love Quilt. I bought a kit at a discount. The panel pieces and the template for the table runner don’t match so I have decided to make a small quilt instead. Panel quilts often come in kits. I failed to check the package to verify the panels exactly. However, I am happy to make a small quilt.

The process starts by decided the size of the finished quilt. The backing I want to use is 45 inches wide and 63 inches long. So I need to make sure my quilt top will fit inside these measurements. Since I want borders on the quilt, I subtract six inches from both dimensions. This means a border of three inches all the way around. I must add seam allowances to all pieces, so I will actually cut strips three and one half inches wide for the border.

Panel pieces in rough layout for quilt
Block layout

Designing Panel Quilts

Next is the creative part. The two panels that came in the kit were not the same size. Therefore, the quilt cannot be symmetrical like the School Quilt. Therefore, I think I will take an approach similar to the Sunflower Quilt and center the larger of the two panels. I call this the Love Panel. It is 20 ¾ by 14 ¾ and I will add an inner border to the top and bottom to reach a 24 ½ inch height.  On each side of the Love Panel will be two twelve inch blocks (not counting the seam allowances.) So the center of the quilt will measure 24 ½ by 38 ¾ including seam allowances. I do not know which block designs I will use yet.

Panel with word love in center of heart
Love Panel

The smaller panel, dubbed the Always Panel will have top and bottom borders as well as side borders.

Heart with word Always in the middle
Always Panel

The side borders will have die cut hearts. This bordered panel will be between two rectangular blocks of stripes.

For balance, an equal sized section will be below the Love Panel. The center of this piece will be an applique block utilizing more die cut hearts arranged in a flower pattern. This is based on a pattern in one of the many quilting books in my library. Again, the rectangular stripes will frame the center of the block.

Measuring Panel Quilts

I take an outside-in approach to the measurements. The finished size is determined first. Then I decide what type and how wide my borders will be. Then the math takes over. I add up the lengths and widths of the set pieces and make sure the measurements will fit within the allotted space. Inner borders help fill gaps. It is important to remember the seam allowances. They are an an essential part of the equation.

Graph paper with diagram of quilt blocks
Diagram with measurements

I am looking forward to completing the top. Once it is done I will work it into a follow-up post. Let me know if you have any questions! Panel Quilts take some work but are fun!