Friday, July 7, 2017

Rustic heather

Hi all!  How is it Friday again already?  When they say it's a short week, they really mean that it's a short week!  I hope everyone had a great holiday.  One of the perks of living on the East coast is the Independence celebrations and other historical events.  Is there any better place to celebrate our country than the place where it all began?  We had a fun time and only got rained on once, so a good time was had by all.  And no sunburn, so bonus!

Even though it was a short week with many celebratory events, I did finish something small, a little mini quilt, actually:

Photos in the rain again!

This is a mini quilt that's about 18 inches square, and it's destined to live on the wall in my kitchen if the kitchen is ever finished.  I would show you a picture but it's too depressing.  The kitchen, not the quilt!  But the carpenter has sworn on a stack of cookbooks that he's coming on Monday, so there may be hope.  


This mini is one block, called Scotch Heather, a Nancy Cabot block that dates to 1936.  I've made this block before, for the It's Complicated quilt in 2016.  I managed to make it in a 12-inch block, but it's really not intended to be a 12-inch block.  I've been feeling bad about that ever since.  When I made it this time I made all of the units finish at 2 inches, and it turned out just great.  I'm calling it "rustic heather" because of the block name and the fabric.  The main fabric is a blue-green batik that has some leaves and whatnot in the print and I just love it.  The brighter green is a Color Weave Textured Solid that I got from Bernie (and I know she still has it in her shop, so go take a look).

For the quilting, I'm trying to practice more, and this time I cut some templates out of freezer paper and stitched around them freehand:


This took the "free-motion" pressure off me, and it worked pretty well.  One thing I learned is that you can really only iron on one freezer paper motif at a time, even on a really small quilt like this.  The quilt gets moved around and scrunched and the paper comes off.  Since the templates are reusable a bunch of times, that would also save on cutting. 


The quilting is easier to see on the back, even though it's not really easy to see there, either.  The oak leaf motif turned out okay, which will go well with a rustic-inspired kitchen.  Also, oak leaves are pretty easy to draw, which is the main reason I chose them.  The center square has a little acorn in it.  And I just now realized that I forgot to put a sleeve on the back before I put on the binding.  That shouldn't be too hard to do by hand, though. 

So that's my little finish for the week!  I hope that every one has a great weekend.  I don't know what our plans are yet, but I know they won't be taking place in the kitchen! 


Sharing at crazymomquilts, Finished or Not Friday, and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

12 comments:

Tish Stemple said...

Woot for a Friday finish!! This little mini will look great in your kitchen. I've never thought about freezer paper to mark quilting motifs, that's a really good idea. Probably better than the Press and Seal, which leaves you picking lots of sticky stuff out of your stitches :)

Preeti said...

Congrats on a Friday finish - it is gem!!! Shines and Shimmers.
Hope you have a restful weekend. On the other hand, I have a feeling that you will be busily finishing something.

Kate said...

A very pretty finish! Have a great weekend.

Goofin' Off Around the Block said...

That is a beautiful finish! Hope you have a great weekend! --Andrea

somethingrosemade14@blogspot.com said...

Sweet quilt and a very nice finish.

Jo said...

That's a great way to do the quilting. Especially to get some different designs..

grammajudyb said...

What a great idea. A mini quilt for in the kitchen. I don't have lots of wall space, but I could hang a mini or two. Thanks for the inspiration.

Bernie Kringel said...

Nice use of the green fabric - it looks so pretty with the batiks.
I hope your kitchen is done soon. I want to see pictures when it is finished!

piecefulwendy said...

What a pretty little quilt. I like the fabrics. Hope your kitchen is done soon!

LA Paylor said...

Hi Mari! You're right... it's hard to see the quilting texture but it's pretty. Happy weekend!

KaHolly said...

I think your little finish is a pretty big deal! I'm just loving it! I'll bet living in PA was the place to be on the 4th!

LA Paylor said...

Hi Mari, that is cool like water. The heat is oppressive. I want to be outside, then I want to be in AC, then want to go out...