Split Nine Patch Quilt

This stack of fabric had been set aside a for awhile, waiting for me to figure out what to do with it. The colors looked so nice together, but I didn't have very much of any one fabric, and most were either fat quarters or leftovers, or both. Then I saw this split nine patch quilt and decided the design would work for the amount of fabric I had, though I did ended up purchasing another purple fat quarter.

Mine did not end up quite the same, because I didn't split the nine patches quite as drastically and then I forgot to offset the rows. I did however find this amazing paisley fabric for the back with the exact mix of colors. It was on the clearance rack and it was 50%, so it really couldn't have been more perfect.

Finished size: 47" x 69"

Blue and Green Boxes

I pulled these coordinating fabrics from my stash, determined to make a quilt out of them. I have a sizable stash, but it is not particularly well coordinated, so it's a challenge to make an entire quilt from my stash. Fortunately I also had a large piece of navy fabric. I also ended up adding another fabric, which, along with the beige fabric, I'd already put a dent in making pot holders last year.

I had already used the two blue prints in my blue Crazy Nine Patch. I also had another blue print left over from the Decade Quilts, but they were already cut into 2.5" x 7.5" strips so I had to incorporate that as well. Then I saw a post on Crazy Mom Quilts about her Christmas quilts, and I knew the design pictured there on the right would be just perfect.

By the time I finished the top, I remembered why I have stuck to mostly lap size quilts the last several years. It's been a while since I've made a quilt large enough that it's difficult to photograph. Can you spot the odd block in the middle?

The back doesn't really go with the front, but I was pleased I was able to piece it without buying more fabric.

New items purchased to complete this quilt: batting and a second spool of navy thread

Finished size: 52" x 77"

Pink and Green Paisley Quilt

This is a very small quilt, but it has a lovely color scheme. This is exactly how much of the paisley fabric I had. I had many options for coordinating fabrics.

Deciding what to do with the back of the quilt was a challenge. I really wanted to use this leafy fabric, but I also wanted to quilt in pink and green zig zags. However, the quilting would cross the vines instead of moving in the same direction as them, and I knew I wouldn't be happy with the way it looked. I decided if I only quilted in green and skipped the pink, the contrasting direction wouldn't be as noticeable, and it really turned out not to be. I added the strip of paisley because the vine fabric was in two pieces. Fortunately the strip was just the right length! I ended up using the back of the quilt to create the binding, but I made it look like a separate binding.

New items purchased to complete this quilt: batting

Finished size: 36" x 44"

Jar Pin Cushion

Now that I have a little more space on my new sewing table, I decided to make a jar pin cushion. It really makes sense for the storage aspect, because I keep a ton of pins in my flower pot pin cushion. However, it's never enough when I'm pinning a quilt, and on a daily basis it's rather full.  

Orange and Green Paisley Quilt

I've had this lovely orange paisley, which originally debuted in a butterfly block for the still uncompleted Quilt Block Project, for quite a few years now. I decided it would be a nice fabric for this year's quilting goal of actually making quilts out of all the random fabric I've purchased without a specific project. Having cut into it for the butterfly block, I had less than a yard to work with, so I needed to pick a design that would both show it off and maximize its usage. If I could have found some more of the blue fabric I used in the butterfly block, I probably would have bought it, but since the other goal this year is to finish projects without buying yet more fabric, it's probably good that I didn't find any. Orange and green seemed like an odd combination at first, but I am really pleased with the way it turned out, and it's a nicely timed color combo for fall.

I debated at length how to finish the back without buying more fabric, but in the end I had to buy the solid orange fabric I used. I auditioned three fabrics I already had, but with only a yard of each, I didn't have enough of any of them, and I just didn't like them enough. The orange backing doesn't match the other orange fabric exactly, but that's okay. That one was too bright to use for the entire back. I would have liked to use green, but trying to find a coordinating green was even more difficult. The quilting is nothing special, just my go-to design, but I think it works well enough with the pattern.

New items purchased to complete this quilt: orange fabric for the back

Finished size: 37" x 49"

Blue and Green Paisley Quilt

This was a difficult quilt to design because, while I had many coordinating fabrics, I had less than a yard of the paisley fabric, which I wanted to maximize and make the focal point. I wanted to create a design that used the fabric efficiently and in somewhat large pieces.

I absolutely love the quilting design! So much that I plan to use it for my next quilt.

I started designing this quilt with all these fabrics:

Too many choices

I then narrowed it down to these:

Much more manageable

When I finally decided on a design, it required using only one of the blues.  I wasn't sure which one to pick, but I'm really pleased with the choice.

Close up of the final choices

New items purchased to complete this quilt: one spool of thread

Finished size: 37" x 49"