Postage Stamp, I am really quilt crazy

I saw this quilt in an antique store and I knew that I had found my next wedding quilt pattern. So....

I gathered scraps, asked friends and went through my stash. I cut 2" squares so my finished square is larger than the standard postage stamp of 1".  I cut 2 of each which I didn't realized would be very helpful in assembling the blocks later. I used all kinds of prints, some being fussy cut, and then stored them by color totaling 4000 squares.

I arranged the layout (2 squares together) on felt, covered them with a sheet square. I was able to fold and transport this sandwich and they stayed put until I was ready to sew.

I could sew one block at a time and still have the second layout in place to refer to. The decision to cut 2 turned out to be a great accident. Here's the project in progress. Only 13 more blocks to make a king size. I am quilt crazy.

Cutting It Up

The pattern my niece chose for her king quilt comes from . . .

After all the sewing of the strips, it's hard to cut into the "fabric" you worked so hard to create.

Here's my plan. I like to map out on graph paper.
I've moved all my sewing to our guest bedroom, as Jack has moved his desk to the front living room. I hung my flannel-backed tablecloth over the closet door as my portable design wall.
Each cut has to be planned to line up with the next. I traced around my template with chalk and added the 1/4" seam before cutting.

Country Garden Stage 3

I have now cut and laid out on my "design floor" the sashing. I think it looks pretty good. The border squares have been cut but that layout will come latter.

A Good Start

Well, I just started to cut. I got out my design wall (flannel backed tablecloth) and rigged a way to hang it over the bookcase. Oh to have a space just for quilting. Nothing is balanced yet but I can see what colors and patterns stand out. More to come.

"SHADES of CURVES": Winding Ways

The idea of a black/white value scale intrigued me. I found this pattern, "Sunset Wheel of Mystery", designed by Brooke Flynn in Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting March/April 2004 (known as "Winding Ways"). The finished queen size quilt was a perfect fit for Krista, my daughter-in-law, who is a photographer and loves to print in black and white (link to her blog under favorites).

The touch of red was a perfect accent. The layout was achieved by using a display wall. The least expensive alternative to purchasing a commercial wall is a vinyl flannel backed tablecloth. By hanging it on an existing curtain rod, you can used the back like a flannel board to "stick" the blocks up in a pleasing arrangement.

I had the perfect backing fabric in my stash but was short by 18" in the width. Using the leftovers, I created an interesting insertion down the middle.