Project Quilting 14.4 or How Harry Potter became The Last Unicorn

I was intrigued when I saw the subject of this week's challenge.  I have always loved reading.  I can get lost in a book and hours go by without me even realizing it.  My favorite genre is Science Fiction and Fantasy. 

Because I wanted to continue making baby quilts for the challenges, I tried to think of a traditional quilt block that I could associate with a book that I'd read.  Nothing jumped out at me, so I grabbed my copy of Maggie Malone's 5,500 Quilt Block Designs and started through the index.  I figured that there had to be at least one of the 5,500 quilt blocks that reminded me of a book!  

I actually found several that could work.  For example, 'Card Trick' reminded me of the Queen of Hearts in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  The problem was that I'm not sure that I ever read the book, or if I just remembered the Queen from the Disney movie!  The same issue came up with several other blocks - I was familiar with the books, but I had never actually read them.  

Then I found it!!! 'Harry's Star'!  I have read all of the Harry Potter books several times and I loved them.  My kids and I would anxiously wait for the next book in the series, and then pass them around.  It was really hard not to talk about the books until we had all read them!

Harry's Star is a directional block that uses two fabrics and a background so I originally thought about making it scrappy.  The problem with that was that I didn't want to waste time digging through my scrap bin for coordinating sets of scraps that were big enough.  Then I remembered that I had several fat eight packs that I had gotten from a Quilty Box subscription that I had before they suspended operations.  I grabbed one of those and did some quick calculations.  I could make four 8 inch blocks from each set of two fat eighths and some background fabric, so a 40 inch baby quilt was feasible from the fat eighth pack.

All the above happened on Sunday after the announcement of the challenge, so I was feeling optimistic about getting another baby quilt done.  That optimism was soon to change. 

On Monday morning, I got up and started cutting and sewing with absolutely no thought that I wouldn't be able to get this project done on time.  Sure, I knew that I had some events and a few other major time commitments this week, but I finished the other three, didn't I?

Remember how I said that the Harry's Star block is directional? It is a 4x4 block with a pinwheel in the center, 4 matching corners, and 4 half square triangles that complete the 4 point star.  

I don't know why I couldn't keep the Half Square triangles in the correct orientation.  I kept having to rip out seams and starting over.  After I realized that I had made four blocks in a mirror image of the correct orientation, I was ready to throw the whole project away! By the end of the day on Monday, I only had four blocks done correctly.  I was starting to doubt my block choice.   

My daughter asked me whether I was sure this was worth all the aggravation, and suggested that maybe I could turn one block into a potholder.  I resisted that suggestion, because I still had most of the week, and two of those days, I had nothing planned except sewing.  I could do this!

I put the blocks on my design wall for inspiration... only 18 more to go, only 16 more to go, etc.  When my daughter walked by and pointed out that two of the blocks had mistakes, I said some not very nice words.  About the third time I had to rip and resew the same block, I said some VERY not nice words!

My daughter kept walking by and muttering 'potholder'... I pointedly ignored her.  

Reality set in on Wednesday afternoon.  I only had one more full day to finish the top, sandwich and quilt it and sew on the binding.  Even with the few hours that I had available on the other days, it just wasn't going to happen.  I really wanted to keep making baby quilts, but realized that with all the time constraints this week, I made the wrong choice with Harry's Star.  

So, I unenthusiastically started making a Plan B.  Fewer blocks, set off with lots of background?  I wasn't happy with that option, because I really liked the pattern that formed when the blocks were set side by side.  In the end, I decided to put the Harry's Star quilt aside and come up with another idea.  

I was browsing my bookshelves for another idea when I found a copy of one of my favorite books, Peter S. Beagle's novel The Last Unicorn.  OOH, now there was something I could work with! Could I do an applique of a unicorn on a smaller project? How about machine embroidery?  Both of those ideas had their own special problems, but I really thought that I had the solution. I went to bed still thinking about the issue.  In the middle of the night, I woke up and realized that I probably had a piece of novelty fabric with unicorns on it.  I had been collecting novelty fabrics for an I Spy quilt, and I was pretty sure that the U fabric I had was either umbrellas or unicorns.  Since I knew that I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep until I knew for sure which it was, I got up and went into my sewing room. I  rummaged through the bin of novelties and AH HA! Unicorns!  The fabric piece was only about 9 inches square, so it was going to have to be a smaller project. 

I had some commitments on Thursday, but was able to spend a few hours making... yes, a potholder. (sigh)

 

One Charm Pack and one yard of Fabric = a quick and easy baby quilt top

 

First, a few caveats!

I am going to tell you how I did this, but you may need more or less fabric, depending on how wide you like your borders and bindings and how wide your border/binding fabric is. You may also choose to use different border and binding fabrics.  Any of these options will change the amount of fabric needed.   The directions also assume that you know how to make binding, and how to sandwich a top to ready it for quilting.

In order for this to work with just one yard of fabric, the width of the yard of fabric needs to measure at least 40 inches AFTER cutting off the selvedges.  You also need the whole 36 inches.  You may need a bit more if the yard ends are 'wonky' after being cut off the bolt.  That is because you will need to straighten the ends.  Many quilt stores give you an extra inch to allow for this, but the big box stores generally do not.   

Sew the charm pack together in a 6 x7 pattern. Arrange the charms in whatever way you like.  For this nautical themed quilt, the colors were fairly evenly divided, so I was able to set them in diagonal rows.  

The center should measure 27 1/2 by 31 1/2 inches before the borders are added.

Cut the border fabric into four 6 1/2 inch strips for the borders and four 2 1/2 inch strips for the binding.  I like to use 2 1/2 inch binding strips, but you can use 2 1/4 or even 2 inch binding strips if desired. 

Cut one 31 1/2 inch piece from each of two of the border strips and sew them on to the 31 1/2 inch sides of the center. Save the cut-off pieces.

Cut 40 inch pieces from the other two border strips and sew them on to the top and bottom of the center.   

Sew the binding strips together with diagonal seams.  Press the seams open, then fold the strips in half lengthwise and press to form the binding. You will need at least 170 inches of binding (and probably a bit more).

If your fabric is only 40 inches wide, the four binding strips will only be 158 1/2 inches after seaming them together.  You can cut more binding pieces  from the fabric left from the side borders and add it to the binding strips in order to make it long enough.   If you use 2 inch binding, you should be able to cut 5 strips from your yard of fabric, so you will have plenty.

In addition to the charm pack and yard of fabric for the top, you need a backing fabric in order to finish your quilt.   Technically, you only need a backing that is slightly wider and longer than the quilt top, but many people choose to add about 2 inches all around to allow for the shrinkage that happens when it is quilted.   The more densely the top is quilted, the more the shrinkage.  

The selvedges do not need to be cut off the backing fabric before quilting but the fabric width without the selvedges needs to be at least 40 inches.  If you want more wiggle room, you will need to piece the backing.  Since the quilt width and the fabric width are so close, the fabric needed to make the backing wide enough is only a few inches.  Some people choose to add an extra strip of fabric on one side of the backing fabric or the other, but that can result in the seam being very close to the edge and potentially running into the binding seam.  Other people add a strip of contrasting fabric down the center of the backing.  

Another way to make the backing wide enough is to make a diagonally seamed backing.  From what I can tell, John Flynn is the one who came up with the calculation to make figuring out how much fabric you need easy.  You can find the formula here:  https://www.flynnquilt.com/free-lessons.htm.  If you don't want to use pencil and paper, there are several sites that have a calculator and all you have to do is plug in the numbers.  Just do a search for diagonally pieced quilt back calculator and you will find several options.  

My backing fabric was about 42 inches wide with the selvedges, so I chose not to add any width.  I did end up piecing the backing, but I added the extra to the length, not the width.  I had an extra quarter yard of the border fabric that I wanted to use up, so I added it across the center of the back.   I quilted it on my Bernina B590, using a gentle undulating curve with the walking foot to resemble water, or waves.

Nautical Baby Quilt, ~ 40 x 44 inches

 

Project Quilting 14.3 - Fifty-Four Forty or Fight

Being a veteran of past Project Quilting seasons, I figured that one of the challenges would involve a specific quilt block.  And sure enough, this week's challenge was to use the traditional, but rather oddly named block 54-40 or Fight!  

There are a number of quilt blocks that were supposedly inspired by political issues, or at least adopted by women to represent their feelings on political issues.   For example, the temperance movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s inspired not just one, but at least two quilt blocks, Temperance and Drunkard's Path. 

Fifty Four Forty or Fight was a slogan from the era when the Oregon Territory was claimed by both the US and the UK.  The boundary of the territory was 54 degrees 40 minutes north latitude.  The US wanted all of the territory, and there was a movement that wanted to fight the UK to ensure that they got it.  Cooler heads ultimately prevailed, and the two countries compromised on the current border at 49 degrees north. 

When I saw that the challenge was a specific block, I knew that this was going to be an easy decision for me.  Another baby quilt!  The only issue was going to be exactly how I was going to use the block.  I'm not particularly fond of blocks that use odd angles, but figured that it would be a learning experience.  

The blog post that Kim posted with some resources for this block was incredibly helpful.  I realized that I actually own the Tri-Recs template that was developed to make the triangle in a square portion of the block, even though I had never used it for that purpose.  And when I watched the video tutorial from the Missouri Star Quilt company, I knew exactly what I was going to do for the challenge.  

I have always been intrigued by quilts that use straight line piecing to produce the illusion of curves. Making one has been on my "one of these days" list. Alternating the Churn Dash block with the 54-40 or Fight block gives that illusion!  Yay, another bucket list item checked off!

I decided that scrappy wasn't going to work well for this quilt, so I did some spelunking in my stash.   I found three separate yards of the same print - one each in purple, bright pink and orange. Why I bought them, and when, is a mystery to me!  The orange and pink are a bit overwhelming, but the purple had definite possibilities.  I used the registration dots on the selvage to find coordinates to use for the blocks. Since the colors are very bright, a white background helped to tame the overall assault on the eyes.   The yard of purple floral was just enough for the border, the binding and the centers of the blocks. 

I used the Missouri Star version of 54-40 or Fight, with the solid center rather than a four patch.  Using the white background fabric in the central triangle and a nice bright yellow for the sides, emphasizes the star that is formed by the four triangle in a square blocks.

Alternating five 12 inch 54-40 or Fight blocks with four Churn Dash blocks plus a 4 inch border yielded a bright happy 44 1/2 inch square baby/toddler quilt.  

Project Quilting 14.3, done!