Jelly Roll Roman Crosses

Pink sashing too strong

I've made and trimmed all the blocks to 11.25" and needed to audition several sashing choices before deciding on this one. Then my first choice of sashing posts threatened to overwhelm the whole thing. Kneeling on the floor to arrange them made me better acquainted with the colours in the sashing and I found a spotty grey which was just right and was the right size with one unit to spare. It's not a big piece so I'll cut out enough for the centre and use a darker grey for the outside ones. As the Paracas jelly roll was a freebie I felt entitled to order more of the green blender for a border. And I found some fabric for the backing in my stash.

Sashing choice

Sashing post choices

Backing fabrics

Grey sashing posts are better

Judi delivered a perfect present through her car window, in fact two presents, a date book which will be next year's bedside diary and a delicious charm pack featuring lots of text.

I am now making Roman Crosses using a free jelly roll I got with a magazine subscription. 

Jelly roll strips sorted into
dark, darker and lighter
mediums and lights.

One from each pile to make strip
sets of four, 8.5" unfinished size.

A mistake: I cut one 8.5" square
into four.

First two. This time I
remembered to cut two squares 
once each in the same
direction.

Next up cafe curtains and quilting it all.

Housey Housey

Oast Quilters' Facebook "challenge" this week was house blocks and many members unearthed examples. I scrambled to find some and took photos hugger mugger so the pieces are a bit rumpled.

Non=directional houses

Traditional blue one

Shows machined clasp stitch ties used in addition to outline hand quilting

 

Plaid houses quilted with Baptist fans

Favourite block.

Bits & Bobs

These are "Mrs Quilter" geraniums. One was given to me but it died but another friend gave me a plant taken from hers which stayed outside all winter. That's the large one at the back. The two front ones are cuttings I raised on my kitchen window sill. The flowers aren't up to much but the leaves change colour in an interesting way from pale green to variegated and back again.

This pile of gorgeousness is the Colour Quest rainbow colour bundle from Purple Stitches, a lockdown treat. Making my rainbow outside piece made me realise how few colours I have. I'll use many of these for Siblings Together block requests starting with my own in June.

In the sewing room I am using up the last of the Lockdown Logs and Roman Crosses on a strippy back for the Crosses top. It's taking as long or longer than the top. The stripey fabric is cheesecloth; the rough texture will help to keep the quilt on the bed.

Roman Crosses Top Done

My source in a 1994
patchwork magazine

12 blocks complete

Top done: I've always wanted to make a quilt with extra wide sashing as I've seen on some old quilts. This is 4.5".

Detail

Sunny Days

Along with the hot sunny weather a change of bedding, a summer weight duvet and a treasured lightweight vintage quilt. There are 19 "spokes" on each wheel or plate.

Sewing in the garden

Lovely sunny days here. In the afternoon yesterday I worked on the binding of the Mad March Hare quilt sitting outside. Later that evening watching Wisting a Norwegian crime series I finished it, quilt 199. One to eventually sell or donate.

Sewing in the garden: hair getting longer and I quite like it!

What next?

Roman Crosses

More of the same: I'm using the remaining fabric from Lockdown logs. I cut 2.5" strips, joined 5 together to make a 10.5" (unfinished size) strip set. I then cut four 10.5" squares and sliced these diagonally in the same direction. I rearranged the resultant triangles into blocks which measure 14" unfinished.
They are quick and easy to make and here's how:

Sew five WOF 2.5" strips; your strip
should measure 10.5" by at least 42".

Cut into four identical 10.5"strip squares.

Cut across diagonally in the same direction. You need four triangles to make a block.

Arrange the triangles with the bias on the
outer edge. The central crosses are from
the same fabric. You need four identical
squares for this arrangement.

You need just two identical squares for
this arrangement with different cross
fabrics

Completed blocks

Photo Shoot

In my librarian mode I document all my quilts in folders often with source patterns or templates too and yesterday morning I set out to update. I find I have some photos in my files but not in the computer folder for that year and vice versa. And in the early days I didn't have a computer and used film. I also have a printout of all my quilts numbered and dated. Chequerboard shown here is 198. Smaller and Linus quilts get grouped under one number as (a), (b), (c) etc. I also have printouts of my quilt books, magazines and pattern holdings. Boxes and filing cabinet drawers hold magazine cuttings under headings such as HST's, Squares and Triangles, Squares and oblongs, borders settings, modern quilts and many more. I do refer to files sometimes and like to remember items which have sold or given away. I thought I would have loads of time for this stuff in lockdown but it hasn't happened that way. It will all get thrown out eventually. Perhaps in old age I'll prune and summarise my quilt records so they can contained in just one or two binders.
This is a family trait shared with my father and brother.

Most recent: Chequerboard

Crab Shack 2019 from a kit - very disappointed with this quilt. Not a keeper.

12 Days made as a Crab & Winkle (now defunct) project in 2004. First applique quilt and first quilt-as-you-go. From a pattern in Quitmaker magazine.

Key West 1999 so called because the fabrics were bought there in a super shop. I still love this quilt made when I had the patience to make pieced borders and I like the all over fish net big stitch quilting

Detail

Isla's Stars 2006: we had a cot for grandchildren in our house and this was Isla's quilt, hand quilted and slightly stained! How time flies!

t

Flowery Mystery 2020: demonstration project for U3A

Siblings Together 2019 quilt actually completed in 2020. I have to set the Bee block for June and then add as required and make the quilt.

What a difference a border makes

I've now added a border to my lockdown logs and now the top looks complete. I've chosen some wool wadding and blue gingham backing. The current plan is to stitch in the ditch around the blocks and hand quilt inside them. Meanwhile I'm making a leftover quilt from remaining fabric.

Joined Up Logs

Two corners added

Three done

All Done: now for the piano key border

Piecemeal Logs

The thought of piecing long diagonal rows fills me with horror. First I made a diagram marking out the largest square section I could manage and then the corners.

The road map

I pieced the bottom right corner first marking the pressing directions on my plan.

Sections laid out - three ready to join; two still to be sewn

This determined in turn how I pressed the rows of my rectangular section but I didn't join the rows together.
Next I pieced the top right corner. Pressing this determined the pressing direction when I sewed the central section rows together.
Lastly I marked up the pressing direction of the two remaining corners which I plan to sew and attach today .
This quilt will never set the world on fire but it's quite peaceful and I'm liking it more as I go.

Saturday Finish

On Saturday I sewed the last few stitches of the binding down on my 77" square Leafy Mystery which grew out of  the project I set for the U3A members. I wanted to use up this set of fabric which I bought at Chilford years ago (the barn burnt down in 2012) and make a bigger version. It's quite grungy but now it's done I do quite like its muted quality and Maggie's quilting lifts it into another sphere. One photo shows the fabric more and the other the quilting.

Day 58: VE Day

Out with the socially distanced neighbours

and their patriotic pooches.

Friday was Day 58 of our lockdown but VE day marked an end to five years of war's shadow so the rejoicing of many must have been immense. My father was in Germany and my mother had to bring up my brother on her own. When a neighbour banged on her door to announce "Th' war's over, Jenny" it was a case of abandoned child in bed and "up the street" for a night of revelry and rejoicing; pubs opened (not for my Methodist mum!), a band appeared and there was revelry and dancing. And my brother remains unscathed to this day. For some families any joy was tinged with greater sadness. My mother lost two cousins, both only sons and one an only child. Furthermore as I grew up I was aware that some of my local friends' fathers had been captured by the Japanese and suffered terribly. So Day 58 is not too bad under the circumstances. We marked the day by a two minute silence in the road and at six a socially distanced drinks party also in the road - our neighbour parked his car across! We zoomed with our family at three and listened to Churchill's speech later along with the Queen and other programmes marking the event.
It was a glorious hot day so I lunched and sat outside but early in the morning  finished the last set of logs and in the hottest part of the afternoon laid them out as best I could and numbered them. It's very ho hum and rather than putting every fabric in every placement  it might have been better to have attempted shading from light to dark. Too late now.

Coming down the stairs

Laid out and numbered