Monday, February 27, 2006

Hop Hop - on Momma's Quilt Like A Kangaroo!















Is it any wonder that I put off putting borders on? When a quilt top is to the border stage - it is a sure sign to Little Boy that he can do a Happy Dance on the top! Just to test out any bias edges, you know? And no, there are no pins on that top, so don't worry.

As you can see - I am making progress on the Stars and Cars quilt, which I first blogged about on January 28th. Now all the blocks are sashed and since this photo was taken, 3 narrow orange borders have been added. Next up, the wider green borders (which is the background color). And then... well, I don't have any more fabric suitable for the final border so guess I will have to hit some quilt shops when I get back to the US.

I had a bit of a quandry with this top - the red sashing fabric and star points is this super fab Moda with stars. I just love it! I had just a TINY bit too little fabric for the sashing. TINY. The trouble was - the fabric is 44" wide with a large white selvage so you can read all the design information in large print (whatever happened to the small print?). I needed to cut the sashings 11" and according to the directions and hence the yardage requirements, I should have been able to get 4 sashing pieces, all 11" in length from a strip. Humm. With a little thinking, I figured on using 1/4" of the selvage (I never use a selvage, but really wanted to use this fabric! I can hide the 1/4" of white in a seam) and cut each piece a BIT shorter than the 11". So, the posts don't line up exactly - they are each off by about 1/8", but guess what? I don't think anyone will really notice and it was a small price to pay in order to use the fabric that I really wanted to use! My point? Fabric widths vary! Always buy more fabric than what the pattern calls for. You can always use the extra in your next scrap quilt, but I would rather have a bit too much than a bit too little.

And, just so you know - as I blogged about originally, Little Boy still doesn't want this quilt. He wants me to give it to one of his cousins, who just happens to love to play with him and shares all his favorite cars and trucks when we visit. Now, you might think that this is a perfect solution, and it is... except - that once I give a quilt to one of my nephews, that leaves my other TWENTY nieces, nephews, grand nieces and nephews out in the cold! And that count doesn't include DH's side of the family. Did I ever mention that I am from a BIG family??? Grin!
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12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love that stage..the "sty off the quilt I'm measuring stage!!

quiltpixie said...

That dance looks like it'd sure detect any bias! The sashing solution works well too...

Kairle Oaks said...

KIDS! Ya gotta love 'em!!!

What a priceless picture! :-)
Kairle

Debra Dee said...

Very cute. Little boy is really going to miss this if you give it away. Here is a possible solution, have a quilt raffle. Put all the cousins names in a jar and then have a neutral party pick the name. Or another idea, just put it away for a rainy day because littl boy will likely decide he wants this at a later date.

Anonymous said...

Oh dear - looks like you've got yourself into a bit of trouble LOL LOL. The quilt's looking great though! Perhaps you could keep it in the cupboard and he'll change his mind about it later?

Laurie said...

Evelyn,
Love your quilt! even the little boy on them! ;)
Hugs
Laurie

Pink and Barbara said...

Hi Evelyn!

Great blog! ..*s*

Thank you for visiting my blog and some of the tips. I
did check out the wondercutruler you surgested. I
haven't found a place in Sweden were I can find it but
next week there will be a big fair so I will try it
there.

I saw your message about my marathonweekend. I had so
much fun..can't wait untill the next time!

I hope you'll keep visiting me..I just love getting
some feedback!

Barbara

Jeanne said...

Glad you could squeeeeeeze out that sashing!
Jeanne :)

Patti said...

Great picture Evelyn - aren't kids wonderfully funny at times? What would we do without them? No kids at home now, but as soon as I lay a top on the floor for measuring the dog thinks he needs to walk all over it.

Mary Johnson said...

The top is looking great.

I'm from a large family too but luckily my Mom and I work on things together when we want to give a quilt to a family member.

Not everyone has gotten one either but all the nieces and nephews on my side have at least one quilt made by either my Mom and me or one of my sisters.

Passionate Quilter said...

What a pretty quilt--and looks like the little guy loves it! You know, when he's this little dancing on your quilts, it's going to stay with him. I can picture him all grown up, walking on a tile floor somewhere and get the urge to "dance on Mama's quilt"! I love it.

The Calico Cat said...

Well, you make those quilts fairly quickly... (The older kids "can" wait...)

& I wanted to let you know that my cats do a happy roll on any quilts that I lay out.... So your son is in good company!