One of my last minute impulse retreat projects was "Building Blocks," a pattern by #twilter and listener Jackie of Sew Excited Quilts (@sewexcitedquilt). Her pattern is available on Craftsy.
I had bought it and printed it off a couple of months ago because when I saw her posting about it on her blog, I immediately thought it would make a great donation quilt. When I was packing for retreat last week, I stumbled across the print-out of the pattern and checked the fabric requirements: one charm pack and/or 36 5" squares, 1 1/4 yard fabric for background, plus backing and binding. I thought, "Why not? I've got me some charm packs!" (I talk more about the whole 5" square thing and why I didn't use my scrap squares in this week's podcast episode.)
Laying fabrics out to avoid having three of the same pattern appear in a single block, like they do above. (This got changed before sewing!)
It was a great impulse project! It only took me maybe three hours, all-in, to have the top cut and pieced, including what I finished up at home. At that, it probably only took me that long because I took my time piecing the blocks together on the top to try to make sure fabrics weren't crowding up together and such. If I'd been in get-er-done mode, it would've gone a lot faster.
The charm pack is "Good Morning," by Moda. Can't tell you what the background fabric was--it was from my stash. But I loved that sunny yellow with the charm pack. Good morning, indeed!
So here's the top complete.
It was a very foggy morning when I took this picture on my back patio so the colors are off. It's a little more saturated than this. Hopefully when I get it quilted and am ready for the full reveal I'll have a better picture.
Still n' all, won't this be a cute donation quilt for a baby? (It finishes up somewhere in the neighborhood of 42"x42".)
I may have to do another of these. Did I already say I got me some charm packs?
So the other finish this week was something that was also quite spur of the moment. In moving some fabrics around on my shelves I came across a Stonehenge panel and four coordinating fat quarters I'd bought maybe...ummm...four or five years ago? Every now and again I pick them up, look at them, think, "I should use these or give them away," realize I'm not quite ready to do either, and put them back on the shelf.
I'd done that again this week. Only this time, my daughter happened to wander into the sewing room, and she fell in love. As I was explaining the problem (four fat quarters not being quite enough fabric to actually do anything simple in terms of borders and such, and me not wanting to spend the time at the moment to get all creative on its little fabric butt), she said, "But the panel would be great to hang in a window like stained glass!"
Since she's game to do that in her dorm room next fall (senior year!), I pulled out my fusible 1/4" Steam a Seam and went to town.
So here's her new window dressing. This is simply the panel with the selvedges cut off either end, and the edges pressed to the back and fused down.
I love fusible.
The only little bit of sewing I did was on the ends of the hanging sleeve, although I could've fused that too, certainly. I just went into auto-mode and was sitting at my sewing machine before I even thought about it.
Here's a picture of the back--the fused edges (pressed 1/4" inch, then folded over another 1/4" to fused so it'd have a clean edge) and the hanging sleeve. The sleeve is made the way you often make sleeves, but I fused it to the back instead of sewing it because I didn't want any sewing showing up on the front. Depending on what kind of window she has, she should be able to slide a tension rod in there to hang it up. We'll see what happens.
The four fat quarters? Well, they'll either go into my stash or end up being a giveaway at some point. But at least now this is one less bunch of fabric sitting unused on my shelf mocking me!