Easy projects Archives : Indiana Quilter 40

THE FUSSY CUT BARNYARD QUILT

Sometimes it is fun to walk through the memory lane of quilts and old projects. I recently found my photos of this one, “The Fussy Cut Barnyard Quilt” and thought I would share.

Can you say baa, oink, or moo? When I made this quilt back in 1996-97, I still had a small child at home who thought making animal sounds was great fun.

Some day I will show off my quilt scrapbooks here, but for now let me just say it has been fun to look at them and remember. With my wrist still in a brace, my hand quilting has been a non-happening thing lately. Thankfully therapy is helping, but there is a long way to go.

The Fussy Cut Barnyard Quilt…..

Once upon a time I had a yard of fabric that had primitive farm animals printed on it. You know – horses, cows, pigs, and sheep. They were spaced far enough apart that I could fussy cut them out.

One fine spring day my young daughter ran around the house and yard making farm animal sounds at the top of her lungs. Her brother tried to interest her in quieter, calmer things but she was not going for it.

I had been “playing” with several fabrics to try out fussy cutting. On this day, I was inspired to involve my noisy daughter into “helping” me make this piece of fabric into a quilt.

I measured and cut, daughter gathered the pieces up and laid them out on the floor of the living room. She made the correct animal noise for each block as she went along.

Her brother picked out the fabrics to frame each animal. I sewed, he ironed, and she finally fell asleep on the floor under the table with the sewing machine on it.

Brother and I got the top together during the nap of a now quiet little sister. She woke up just as the last rows of blocks were being sewn together. I decided that no border was necessary. Top was done.

Now to hand quilt it…

I should have just machine quilted this and been done, but I thought it would be fun to hand quilt. Why you ask? I can honestly say I have no idea.

Somehow, I came to the decision that the “Baptist Fan” would look great on this. The design looked great when complete, but marking it was awful. It seemed like every area of the quilt needed some different color of marking pencil.

The joy of putting in the last quilting stitch on this quilt !

The finished size was 31″ x 47″.

No wool batting for this quilt. Instead I used what was on hand – a left-over section of polyester batting. The binding was just a plain black cotton solid fabric.

By now, daughter had lost interest in farm animals and the sounds they make.

Complete…

I entered it in the local fair that summer. The quilt got second place with many comments about how “original” it was.

The Barnyard quilt made rare appearances at other quilt shows, and on my walls at home.

The quilt guild I belonged to was raffling quilted items off in 2002 to help a local organization. This fun quilt still looked new, and I added it to the pile of items that were being raffled. It was time for the quilt to go live at another home that would appreciate it.

Thoughts on donating…

As you read through this blog and my old one, you will discover that I truly believe quilts and quilting can be helpful in our own corner of the world. There are so many people who can use quilts.

The donated quilts do not need to be beautiful, or even bed size. They should be well made. Many people associate quilts with comfort, happy memories, or family.

For veterans, babies, or children, quilts are especially appreciated. Check around your own community: homeless shelters, veterans clinics, adoption agencies, crisis pregnancy centers, kindergartens, etc.

Donated quilts can be simple designs. Generally machine quilting or tied with yarn is acceptable.

If you prefer to make something more time consuming or involved, then an organization that is doing an auction or raffle may be the place to donate.

Most quilters I know say they have too many quilts, or too much fabric to use themselves. This is the way to give back.

PLEASE NOTE:
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

THANKFUL FOR ALREADY CUT STRIPS

I try to keep several containers of already cut pieces in various sizes on hand that I use a lot. Cutting as I have time keeps the scrap bins somewhat under control. And recently I have been so very thankful for already cut strips.

Bin of 2.5" strips. — The colors are not separated, I sort through them when I decide what color to use.

Why I am thankful for already cut strips today

My shoulder caused problems during the first part of the year and was finally starting to heal and feel much better. On July 17 I was out at a local park. I was watching where I was going, not where I put my feet. Yep, you guessed it, the ground was uneven and I fell. No one has ever accused me of being graceful!

I am now in a brace to give my muscles and tendons a rest and time to heal. Severe sprains are no fun. It has really cut down on my quilting since I can’t hand quilt, use the rotary cutter, or lift much. Frustrating… but I am thankful for the already cut strips that eliminate that step.

Spending time looking at quilt magazines and books is fun. I started out looking just to look and inspire, and ended up finding the “perfect” pattern for the two bins of cut 2.5″ strips.

This pattern is a classic example of use the piece size you have on hand or want to cut. The directions call for smaller than my 2.5″ strips, but I am using the above photo as the starting point and will go my own way with it. I made a similar one years ago with different size blocks, sashing, and posts.

Sewing the strips TOGETHER:

I found strips that are close to the same length and sewed them together in groups of three length-wise. There is no rhyme to the colors as this is total scrap.

Especially with the current injury making it almost impossible to use the rotary cutter, I am thankful for already cut strips. Most of the three strip blocks were already sewn together which is another blessing at this point.

Iron all the seams. I measured across the three pieces and cut each three strip group the same size so now I have a square. Make the amount of these squares you need for your quilt top.

This is where I need to stop and say that I do all this sewing assembly line style. I just line up the fabrics and sew. When the pile starts getting in my way, I stop and cut them apart. Then I will grab more strips and assembly line sew again until I have the right amount.

I have kept the bin of strips beside the sewing machine for the past several weeks and sewed when I had a few minutes or hours. There is time tied up in this quilt, but it goes together easily. Another advantage of this quilt is that it is a great way to use those scraps.

Just keep sewing

Assembly line sewing is an easy and quick way to get through a pile of pieces. It also allows me to do a lot of ironing at a time. I sometimes make phone calls while ironing since I can put the phone on speaker. This allows me to get several things marked off my “to-do” list.

The original inspiration photo (above) goes together like my quilt at the start, but here I veer off in my own way. I sewed 9 of the blocks together to make a “basket weave” pattern (see below).

Sashing and posts:

I wanted to break up all the scraps with a solid color sashing. This beautiful turquoise/teal fabric was in my stash. All the fabric in this top was on hand already.

I like sashing to have “posts” because it is easier to keep the rows straight with each other (at least for me). The sashing is cut 3″ wide for posts because I have a box of 3″ squares left over from other projects. Another way to use up some already cut pieces.

3" squares to use as "posts". — 3″ squares left over from other projects.

Measure your complete “basket weave blocks”. That will be the size of your sashing. Cut some or all at this point. I usually cut several to get started with, and then will count and cut more if needed.

This quilt top is 4 “basket weave” blocks by 4 “basket weave” blocks for a total of 16 blocks. I sew a sashing to one side of each block. This way there is sashing between the blocks. The last block in the row gets a sashing on the outside edge too. Complete the rows in this manner. Iron.

Cut more sashing strips the size needed. Sew a strip to a post. In my top this meant 4 sets of sashing and posts, plus one extra post sewn at the end. Iron.

Attach a row of sashing and posts to a row of blocks with sashing between matching the posts to the sashing between each “basket weave” block.

One row of blocks with sashing and posts.

This video is short and easy to follow for those of you who prefer things a bit more organized.

Border decisions:

Once all the blocks, sashing, and posts were sewn together, I need a border. In my mind borders serve two purposes: a frame for the quilt, and/or a way to make the top the size needed.

Top completed, but it needs borders. — Top done, but it needs borders.

Above photo is the completed top as of today. It is 80″ square.

I went back to the stash. After looking through several options, I decided on a narrow solid black border to frame the quilt. Then I will add some more strips around it to make it about 90″ square.

The remaining blue from the sashing will be the binding fabric.

Hopefully, I will get the border on the top yet this week, but at this point tonight my wrist is throbbing. It is time for ice and to rest my wrist.

Update 08/17/2021:

Borders are on. Finished size of top is 94″ square.

Narrow solid black border was cut 1.75″ wide.

The scrap strips used in the two rounds around the narrow black border are 2.5″ wide.

There is enough of the blue used for the sashing to make the binding after the top is machine quilted.

My tip to you:

When you can find or make the time, sort scraps or fabric from your stash. Cut these fabric pieces into common pieces and sizes you use frequently. Keep some on hand at all times.

They can make for a quick project, or are ready when the mood hits to just sit and enjoy the rhythm of sewing.

You will be thankful for already cut strips and squares.

Happy Quilting.

Make today amazing clip art. — Source: Bing clip art

PLEASE NOTE:
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

STARS IN PINK AND GREEN

I admit it – I like cheater blocks and novelty fabric panels. They can make quick and easy projects. And so Stars in Pink and Green was born.

Back in the 1990’s I had six of these really attractive looking stars in pink, but I was stumped with what to do with them. They were pretty and feminine, but once home the question was “now what?”

One of those aw-ha moments, and digging through the stash produced the answer. I found a coordinating print and soft green solid.

Easy assembly

I cut the blocks apart so that I had 6 individual star blocks.

I cut the green solid into 4″ wide strips. Sewing two blocks together with a green strip between was easy and quick.

Iron all the seams flat.

Next I sewed the long strips down each side of the blocks from above.

Iron the seams I just sewed flat. Ironing really does make the quilt fit together better. It will look nicer too.

I cut the outside border 8″ wide from the print fabric, and sewed it to the blocks.

At that point, I had about two hours total into the quilt top.

That was in 1997. I hung the top up neatly on a hanger in the closet with the backing fabric. And moved on to the next project.

The top was re-discovered in November 1999. It would make a great Christmas gift for the daughter. Off to MG for machine quilting and binding. The machine quilting design was looping and simple.

Finished size of Stars in Pink and Green is 54″ x 78″ – perfect for her twin bed. It is looking rather worn these days, but now the gr-daughter is enjoying it.

Suggestions for you

As you shop for fabrics, look for cheater blocks or panels. They really are fun to work with and can be made into an easy and fast pieced quilt.

Or take several of different sizes and make them into a single top. Various size borders of coordinating fabrics will make it visually interesting. Yes, some serious measuring may be required, but it is well worth the results.

Happy quilting.

PLEASE NOTE:
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

SIMPLE CHRISTMAS TABLE TOPPER

Christmas tree clip art — Source: Bing clip art

Table toppers are easy and quick to make. It is such a nice feeling to make an entire quilted project quickly and have that wonderful warm feeling of “yeah, it is done”. That is how I feel about this Simple Christmas Table Topper.

Courthouse Steps pattern is a variation of the ever popular Log Cabin.

Making this Simple Christmas Table Topper:

Obviously the strips and center squares could be cut the size you need. But I used 2.5″ beige center blocks, and 1.75″ strips in green and red.

The front pieces were all from the scrap bin. The backing was a piece from the stash.

The blocks are super easy to piece. Sew a strip of one color (green) on the two parallel sides of the squares. Iron. Sew the other color (red) on the two parallel sides of the squares. Iron. Repeat until the block is the size you want.

The border I added was cut 4″ wide. I really like the cardinals and pine cones on it.

The border of the table topper. — Courthouse Steps border

For the machine quilting, I did straight lines along each row of blocks. Also along the borders. Simple and quick.

Polyester batting is great for this sort of project because it does not need to be closely quilted.

The binding is a 2.5″ straight strip that is folded in half and ironed. I then sew it onto the front of the quilt. Yes, the corners are mitered. Please use whatever method of binding you want on your project.

I hand sewed the binding down on the back.

This Simple Christmas Table Topper is 34″ square. Finish it by adding a tag with at least initials and year. I use up scraps of Aida cloth from counted cross stitch projects for this.

Happy Quilting.

PLEASE NOTE:
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

DONATED BABY QUILTS TO THE LOCAL CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTER

I am a big believer in giving back to my community. Here are six simple donated baby quilts to the local crisis pregnancy center that I made. As I make these quilts, they get donated in batches of 6 – 12 to two local pregnancy centers.

The blocks are a mix of flannel and cotton with the batting being scraps left over from my own projects. The backing is usually a flannel or child print cotton. They are tied with yarn. People know that I make many of these annually so many of the supplies are donated to me for this purpose.

Supplies For the Donated baby quilts:

Nine 9.5” cotton or flannel squares (3 rows of 3 squares each)

Batting

Bright colored yarn

Backing fabric (flannel or cotton – 1.25 yard)

At a minimum they should be tied at each corner and in the center of each block. They could be machine quilted easily in straight lines.

I do a self binding by trimming the batting even with the top, and then trimming the back to 2″ on each side larger than the top/batting. Fold the over hang in half once (so now 1″ wide all around quilt) and sew down as binding.

If using fleece as the backing, when self binding trim to 1″ and zig-zag stitch down. I have found if using fleece for the backing, I do not use batting.

Please remember that these donated baby quilts for the local crisis pregnancy center are meant to be loved to death, so make them well and colorful.

Reach out to others:

If you ask or look around your own community, there are people or places who would love to receive warm and cuddly quilts. These are also a simple way to teach people basic sewing skills.

In the past, I have used these quilts to teach basic sewing and giving skills to a group of teen girls at church. It was a fun way to learn and for them to socialize as well. Currently I am making the donated baby quilts alone as the girls have all left for college, and none of the current teen girls are interested in sewing.

https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2015/02/10-crisis-pregnancy-quilts.html

https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2014/09/19-crisis-pregnancy-center-quilts.html

PLEASE NOTE:
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

FIRST GRANDBABY QUILT

I recently spent some time looking at my old blog and walking down “memory lane” of quilts that I did years ago. I thought this quilt “First Grandbaby Quilt” would be a fun one to share. It was simple and made with a lot of love for a wonderful surprise.

Our first (and to date only) grandbaby was a wonderful surprise. Our daughter was and is a planner, and as far as we knew babies were not part of the her life’s plan.

So being a quilter, my mind went into “quilting mode” and what kind of quilt to make for the expected precious little person. The daughter refused to have a sex test done on the baby so any quilt would have to be for either gender.

After much sorting through the stash, I finally decided on cheerful and bright. Some bright scraps, some flower fabrics, some cat fabrics, and a newly purchased piece of Winnie the Pooh fabric for the border.

The grand-daughter arrived as scheduled in March 2015. She was (and is) a precious addition to our family. We are so glad to live only a short distance away which means we are able to babysit a few hours weekly. The years slip by so fast and she is now in kindergarten. She is beautiful just like her mom.

The First Grandbaby quilt is faded and well used, which is exactly what it should be.

See another easy quilt on this blog.

Completed quilt:

Remember these are the sizes I used and feel free to adjust to suit your needs.

Finished size is 54″ square.

Center 9 blocks are 10″ square. The strip blocks are 2.5″ wide strips sewn together side to side. Trim to the size you want.

Inside border of cat fabric is 6″ wide.

The outside Winnie the Pooh border is 8″ wide.

Machine quilting by RLM is a medium size stipple.

Binding is self bound with the gray flannel backing being pulled to the front and machine sewn down.

PLEASE NOTE:
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

ODE TO VINTAGE CARS

As I mentioned in the previous post, a current project is a quilt for my nephew. He loves vintage and muscle cars. I am making him an Ode to Vintage Cars quilt for his high school graduation this year. Simple and personal.

I try to do my business locally, and in this case the search for specific fabric took longer than expected. I found so many vehicle fabrics, but most were juvenile looking or were not the right kind of cars. Amazing as it is, I was able to get four vintage car fabrics on my last road trip to the Daviess County, IN Amish community.

My plan is this –

Double bed size made from 10″ squares. The car fabric will be alternated with solid orange fabric. It will be 8 rows across by 9 rows up and down for a total of 72 squares. So 36 orange and 36 car fabric. Can you tell I like to keep my math easy?

My thought is to add three separate borders: 2.5″ wide white, 2.5″ orange, and 4″ navy blue with small white stars. The borders will be my ode to my favorite muscle car.

I am aiming for a finished size of 85″ x 95″.

Right now, the rows are sewn together and the top is waiting the borders. I should be able to get the borders added this week. Then it will go off to be machine quilted.

I will add more photos once the quilt is complete.

It should make a young man who loves vintage and muscle cars a happy guy.

Update 06/22/2021:

I just finished the self binding on this quilt, and wanted to add an updated photo and information.

This quilt has three borders. The first is white solid, the second is the same orange solid as the alternate blocks, with the outside border being navy with white stars.

The backing is a gray solid flat sheet. For quilting thread I chose gray variegated to blend in with the backing. Batting is a poly/cotton blend.

An all over stipple design was done for the machine quilting.

The completed size is 88″ x 98″ so a bit bigger than the original goal.

Update 7/06/2021:

My favorite muscle car:

During my teen years in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, muscle cars were common. I had my favorites – Corvette’s and Nova’s. Then this TV series came on in 1979 named the Dukes of Hazzard. I fell in love hard for the most “magic” muscle car of them all – the General Lee. It was beautiful jumping and it always drove off after a jump.

Coolest vintage car — Source: Google images

I found out the hard way that jumping a muscle car was not smart and very dangerous. A school mate and I ruined his dad’s newly restored Camaro by jumping it on a country road. The moral to that lesson – let the stunt guys drive crazy.

Conclusion:

Easy and personal quilts can be made from any novelty fabric that suits the interests of the recipient. Here’s another idea for a personal quilt that involves vehicles. I also found an unlimited amount of car quilt ideas on Pintrest.

This kind of quilt is simple to make and a joy to receive. Have fun making these for the special people in your life.

In the meantime, I will finish the Ode to Vintage Cars quilt by adding the borders and getting it off to the machine quilter.

Have a great day.

EASY ONE PATCH BABY QUILTS (or my “go to” pattern for quick, easy quilts)

Easy One Patch Baby Quilts (or my “go to” pattern for a simple, quick baby or lap quilts) is the One Patch. They can easily be made in any colors or themes desired. Simple beauty at its’ best.

How to

I use 8” blocks of whatever colored or themed cotton fabric is wanted for the quilt. For these two quilts, I did 4 squares by 5 squares for a total of 20 squares in each quilt. I then added a 6” border. A great thing about doing quilts this way is that they can be adjusted to bigger or smaller by using more or fewer blocks.

Two piles of blocks - 1 gray and 1 yellow. — 20 gray blocks, and 20 various yellow print blocks

The gray was yardage I had on hand, the yellow blocks were scraps, and the border print was purchased last week at Hobby Lobby. I was working at a comfortable speed (with the phone turned off) and the ironing, cutting, and sewing took me three hours to complete both tops. They will be machine quilted to complete.

The finished sizes are about 43″ x 49″.

Showing off the various yellow squares, or one patch blocks

The two baby quilts pictured here are for a couple at church who have been approved for fostering to adopt. They are not sure whether they will get boys, girls, or one of each so wanted the fabrics to be gender neutral and cheerful.

The really great thing about doing this simple pattern is that it can look so different based on colors, themes, or even some different border design.

Check out how different a One Patch Quilt can look:

https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2011/11/one-patch-quilts.html

https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2011/11/patchwork-quilt-pieced-for-new-baby-in.html

Try it

Have you tried this or something similar for a quick and easy gift? Please comment below or contact me at Indianaquilter40@gmail.com with photos or questions.

PLEASE NOTE:
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

SCRAP RECTANGLE PARTY QUILT

Scraps, scraps and more scraps. Do your scraps seem to multiply without much help from you? Maybe while you are sleeping? It sure seems that way in my sewing area. Welcome to the super simple Scrap Rectangle Party Quilt !!

Here’s the inspiration from Pintrest for my own quilt: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/782570872732967356/

Inspiration from Pintrest for Scrap Rectangle Party quilt — Inspiration for my quilt – from Pintrest

I liked the look of the gray on the inspiration quilt as the alternate blocks between the scraps. My stash had several yards of a gray with white polka dots so that became the alternate blocks and the stable color all through the quilt.

The rectangles:

I decided to work with a larger size rectangle. After cutting and experimenting with several various sizes of rectangles, I decided on 4″ wide by 7″ long. It was an easy to piece top that was also quick.

The scraps were pulled out of the scrap bins and cut to size. I did not use anything that blended in with the gray, but otherwise, the scraps were fair game.

I sewed the blocks together long wise into pairs, those pairs into groups of 4 rectangles , and those into 8. Using 24 blocks across made for easy math with 3 sections of 8 rectangles each.

Another view of the Scrap Rectangle Party quilt.

The rows were 24 blocks across with a total of 16 rows. Now to frame it with some sort of border.

Borders:

My daughter came over and between us we came up with the narrow black border (cut 2″ wide). We found the tough part was the outside border, nothing seemed to really work – more gray made the quilt too dark. There was not enough of any florals that looked right. I didn’t have enough of the solid purple that looked really neat.

Am I the only one frustrated with finding the perfect border fabric for scrap quilts? Somehow I doubt it. Anyway, daughter and I continued to dig through the stash and came up with a fun novelty fabric that was perfect. Cut a 4″ border from it for the outside border.

This really was a quick quilt to make. I started ironing and cutting on July 4 and put the final stitch in the top on Aug. 3.

Remember that you can adjust the size of the rectangles bigger or smaller depending on your own fabrics and desire. This quilt will be easy to piece no matter the size of the rectangles or completed size you want. Depending on the fabric choices, it could look totally primitive to very modern.

I am actually going to try another one of these in a planned color scheme.

Finished top size is 92″ x 110″.

Have a fun time making your own Scrap Rectangle Party quilt. Please send me photos – I love to see what other quilters do with ideas from this blog.

More scrap quilt ideas:

https://indianaquilter40.com/lemon-drops-and-blueberries-quilt/

https://indianaquilter40.com/the-great-migration-quilt/

Have a wonderful day, and happy stitching.

Girl with sewing machine and quilt top. — Source: Google clip art

PLEASE NOTE: ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

NAUTICAL SCENE WALL HANGING (fabric panel quilt)

I am sharing this quilt because I thought the readers would enjoy this small quilt. It is another idea for a personal quilt for yourself or someone in your life. I love the ocean, and purchased this panel in Maine on one of my trips there. Eventually, it evolved into the Nautical Scene Wall Hanging. It is another fabric panel quilt.

NAUTICAL SCENE WALL HANGING (a fabric panel quilt)

The actual panel is larger than the part I used for this wall hanging. In the photo, the panel extends from the solid blue inside border (between bubbles and sea shells) to the center section.

I trimmed the panel up and added the blue bubble batik fabric as the outside border. It was cut 2.5″ wide.

I pieced the top while up in Maine and somewhere in my travels the top got dirty. I opted to wash it after completion so that there was no much unraveling and threads to deal with.

For quilting, I used my sewing machine. I outlined around the sailboat and the lighthouse on the panel. I did simple stitch-in-the-ditch around three of the borders.

The backing is a nautical toile. The binding is the same fabric and was cut 2.5″ and ironed in half. It is machine sewed to the front and hand finished on the back.

Backing and hanging sleeve of the Nautical Scene wall hanging.

The hanging sleeve is also hand sewn to the back of the quilt. The finished size is 24″ x 25″.

The Nautical Scene wall hanging (a fabric panel quilt) is a gift to family friends who allowed me to stay at their home while dealing with mom’s final days and funeral. They are wonderful and I really appreciated all their help. This couple is very minimalist and a large quilt would not have worked. However, a small wall hanging in a nautical theme is perfect because they love the ocean too.

And so ends the story of the Nautical Scene Wall Hanging, a fabric panel quilt…

You can do this too

Making personal quilts for other people in our lives is fun and a great way to utilize the fabrics in our stash. Keeping the quilts simple can also make them fast and easy.

Here’s some other ideas for personal quilts using fabric panels:

https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2018/06/farmall-quilt.html

https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2018/04/thankful-harvest.html

https://indianaquilter40.com/sailing-ships-of-old-quilt-another-panel-quilt/