String Blocks Make A Great Big Dog Bed for McPherson

    I had to make a dog bed for my daughter's little Cairn Terrier, McPherson.  She rescued him in January and he has been a great addition to her life.

     I made him a scrappy bed a couple of months ago with some 3" scraps I needed to get rid of and he loves that bed.  No picture of that effort, sorry, but here's a picture of McPherson.  Isn't he the cutest?  He is 17 pounds of squirrel hunting craziness.

   Since his first scrappy bed lives in the great room area, McPherson needs another bed for the bedroom.  I had some string blocks all ready for this project.  I put 9 of my 10" square string blocks together, sewed that top onto a stabilizing piece of fabric, added a backing pieced together from three fat quarters, stuffed it with three bags of fiberfill and hand sewed the open end.  Done.

Replacement Irish Chain

    I had to make a replacement Irish Chain for myself.  I invited a friend to come over and shop my quilts last month.  She fell in love with my favorite Irish Chain that I made with Tanya Whelan rose fabrics.

     This is the front of the original Irish Chain that I made for myself a few years ago.

This is the back.

  The original quilt was a little small but I loved the fabrics I used in it.  My friend took it home with my love and I tried to forget the quilt, but I knew I wouldn't be happy until I made a replacement.  Not a carbon copy but an Irish Chain using fabrics I love.  I used a green and pink floral for my nine patch blocks and the backing/binding fabric is a lovely light green with tiny bees all over it.  The fabrics are great and I even made the quilt a little larger than the original.  So my replacement Irish Chain is finished.

        I don't have any more quilts that I want to make, so I'm going to continue making string quilt blocks for more string quilts.  I have two big boxes with lots of scrap strips from my stash.   I make my tops with 49 blocks which I think make a good size top.  I make an additional 7 blocks to piece the backing.  So each quilts needs 56 string blocks.  I've been using full size paper towels which measure 10.4" x 11" which I cut down to 10" after I sew my strips on.  Using 10" blocks is so much fun for me.  I love the 7 block rows x 7 rows and this layout makes it easy to line up my backing fabric with the row of blocks in the center.  I line that row up with the fourth row of the top and that centers my back with my top really nicely.   The paper towel rolls have 96 sheets in them so I can  make almost two tops with one roll of paper towels.  While I'm making my string quilts, I'll be on the hunt for a great quilt pattern with some great fabric.

The Return

     I've been too busy to blog the last five months but I have been crafting and trying new things so I'll try to do a little catch up here.

     I finished my Carpenter Star quilt with simple quilting and an equally simple backing.  This quilt is made up of 100 squares, I made the half square triangles with 8" squares.  I love it.

    I finished my colorful pinwheel quilt and did simple quilting with a pretty lavender back and binding.

   I also made a a third string quilt which I offered for sale to my two older brothers.  The oldest brother bought it and loves it.  I make 10" string blocks using full size paper towels which finish at 9.5" and I make the quilt 7 blocks by 7 rows.  They make great size lap quilts.

  I found a Youtube video on how to knit fingerless mitts and I made a pair for myself and for my daughter out of acrylic yarn.  Love these.

   I bought myself some pom pom makers and I had to crochet a hat to try them out.

    I used my embroidery machine and made some embroidered hanging dishtowels for my brothers for St. Patrick's Day.  I wanted to remind them of our Mom who was 100% Irish and she loved St. Patrick's Day.

    I just recently finished this basket weave quilt.  I took the pattern from this website.  I counted how many squares the blogger used of each color and I cut 6" squares of three different colors of fabric and put mine together.  Love this quilt.

   I made a country floral quilt that I absolutely love.  I bought 49 - 10" floral squares from an eBay seller, put them together and had a quilt top in no time.  I backed it with some simple floral fabric and did my usual grid and diagonal quilting.

    I made another scrappy top using 3" squares of fabric and I backed it with a fun zebra print.  Love this quilt as well.

    I've been wanting a spool pin doily for all of my sewing machines and I couldn't find any for sale so I made up my own pattern.  It took me three tries to find something really nice to make them with.  I tried yarn and number 10 crochet thread, but the yarn was too thick and the crochet thread was too thin.  I settled on embroidery thread.  I had a ton of of it and this was a good way to use it up.  I ended up crocheting a lot of these little doilies, it turned into a little obsession.  I did give some away but I still have a bunch that I want to use for a pillow cover.   Here is how I make my doilies. 

I used six strands of embroidery floss with a size 1 (2.35 mm) steel crochet hook.

Round 1: Chain 4, join with a slip stitch to the first chain to make a ring.

Round 2: Chain 3 (counts as a double crochet) and make 11 double crochets in the ring for a total of 12 stitches, join with a slip stitch to the third chain in the beginning chain 3.

Round 3: Chain 1, make a single crochet in the first stitch, chain 3 and single crochet in the same stitch(these are picot stitches), make a single crochet in the next stitch, chain 3 and single crochet in the same stitch, do this in each of the 12 stitches around, join with a slip stitch to the beginning 
chain 1.

Round 4: (Another round of picot stitches) Chain 1, make a single crochet in the first chain 3 space, chain 3 and single crochet in the chain 3 space, make a single crochet in the next chain 3 space, chain 3 and single crochet in the same chain 3 space, do this in each of the 12 chain 3 spaces around, join with a slip stitch to the beginning chain 1, cut yarn and weave in ends.

    Each doily takes about 15 minutes to make.  I also made up some two and three color versions as well that were fun to do.  

    I knitted a tea pot cozy for the tea pot I keep on my stove top.  Color stranded knitting is new to me and I had a good time trying this out.  The curly q decorations are crocheted.

   I crocheted a shawl using the free Frosted Layer Cake pattern.   Here is a link to the YouTube video on how to do it.  Youtube video on how to make frosted layer cake shawl.  It was a fun pattern and so simple.  

     I'm currently working on making a new Irish Chain quilt to replace this one that I recently gave away to a friend.  I can't make it exactly because the fabric is no longer available, but I'm making it similar.

  

String Quilt Top Finished

 I spent last evening removing the paper towels from the back of 56 - 10" string quilt blocks while I watched some television.  It took me a few hours and this is what I had left when I finished:

   Today I put the quilt top together.  Here it is:

   This one is just as pretty and colorful as the one I made last month.  I'm so glad I'm keeping this one.  I have lots and lots of strings left and I will probably make another one of these at some time in the future but I have two other quilt projects waiting to be started, so I will be starting those soon.

   I ordered the backing/binding fabric just a few minutes ago from Fabric.com.  I bought 5 yards of Kona Cotton in Honey Dew.  This bright yellow green will be a really nice solid frame for all this color.  The row of string blocks to piece into the back is done, so I'm ready to get this one finished.

 

String Block Quilt No. 2 In Progress

     I've spent a few hours in the last week making string blocks for a new scrappy quilt top for me since I gave the first scrappy string block quilt away to dear daughter.  I need 49 blocks for the top and 7 blocks to use on the back.  I have 20 done.

 
     

      As usual, I'm still trying to decide on a backing/binding fabric, but I'm working on it.  I'm hoping I run into a good sale while I'm looking at options.

     After I finish this quilt top, I will treat myself and start my half square triangle top that I bought this fabric for:

     I also spent some more time using up 100% cotton yarn I found in my stash.  I use this to make dishcloths.  I had a bunch of white and a little bit of orange and yellow so I had some fun.

   I placed an order for cotton yarn from KnitPicks.com this week.  I ordered four skeins of their Dishie cotton yarn in a beautiful light green colorway called Honeydew.  It should make some pretty dishcloths.

 

Scrappy String Block Door Decoration/Wall Hanging

   While making string blocks for quilt tops I decided to make a string block wall hanging and I added this to the inside of my front door.  I made eight string blocks, four for the front and four for the back.  I did put batting in the middle and I straight line quilted the sandwich.  I sewed a couple of sleeves on either side of the back of the quilt and put it on the magnetic curtain rod that I used to decorate the inside of my front door.

 

Scrappy String Block Quilt Top Done With Time Stats

   I know a lot of folks don't keep track of how long it takes to do something, but I've always been interested in how long it takes me to do a task.  I like to look at the clock when I start and I like to check it when I'm done.  I don't know why, I just do.  I do this with sewing all the time.  I love knowing how long it takes me to sew something, I kind of figure that into how keen I am to make something by hand.

   Time statistics for the scrappy string block quilt top:

     Sewing 49 quilt blocks - 13 minutes each - about 10.5 hours
     Trimming each block - 3 minutes each - about 2.5 hours
     Removing the paper towel foundation - 49 blocks - 4.5 hours
     Sewing the blocks into rows - 1 hour
     Sewing the rows into quilt - 1.5 hours

     Total - 20 hours


   Here is the finished scrappy string block quilt top:

Scrappy String Blocks For One Quilt Top Are Done

   I made the 49 scrappy string blocks I need for a quilt top.  I laid them out to see all the pretty colors.  Some of the blocks are placed in the wrong direction but that's easily fixed.  I just have to remove the paper towel foundation from each block and I can sew these up into rows.

   I'll finish this quilt top up and then I'll make more string blocks for another top.

Scrappy String Block Process Photos And Foundation Research

    So I spent the morning making scrappy string blocks and I took some pictures of my process because these are so easy and fun to sew.

    I place my center white strip right side up on the paper towel diagonally, I don't use glue or pins.  I lay my first scrap strip right side down on top of the white with the edges lined up.  I sew along the right edge using the presser foot to measure my seam, approximately a 1/4".  I press the fabric open, and place another scrap piece right side down on top of the last strip sewn and I sew up the right edge, press open, repeat, until the entire paper towel is covered.  I usually work on one side until it's covered then I flip the paper towel and sew strips on the other side.

    After I sew up a few blocks, I trim off the edges and square each block to 10".

    I now have 29 blocks sewn up, I have to make 20 more.  Forty-nine blocks will give me a top that is 7 blocks x 7 rows and measure 66.5" square.  The perfect size for quilting this on my domestic sewing machine.

     I did a bunch of research on what to use as my foundation and I'm using a full size paper towel because I want 10" blocks and these full size paper towels measure 10.4" x 11".  The price is right as well, I got two rolls with 96 sheets each for about $3.50 at Walmart, that's 192 blocks which are enough blocks for 3.91 quilt tops with 49 blocks each.  I got the idea to use paper towels from my former mother-in-law who made string block quilts for her grandchildren and used paper towels as foundation.  Thank you, Mama.

    I also looked at children's doodle pads a/k/a newsprint paper (the sheets were too small, 9" x 12", a pad of 100 sheets about $2.00) or a roll of newsprint 18" x 300' (too much paper waste for 10" square blocks and the cost for the roll is $16.15 on Amazon).  I also thought about using muslin but I would have to spend almost $20.00 for the fabric and still have to cut it to 10" blocks.  I don't have to cut the paper towel before I sew on it.  It's already a great size to trim down.

 One Final Note On The New Ironing Board Cover

       I almost forget to add some new padding to the ironing board when I put the new cover on it last week.  The old padding was flat.  The other day I added two layers of cotton batting and placed it on top of the old cover (I kept the old cover and the old padding under the new cover) using a crib size Warm and Natural cotton batt  ($8.00).  My ironing board has lots of cushion now and the cats enjoy using it as a napping spot when I'm not pressing my quilt blocks.

Scrappy String Quilt Blocks

   I've been making scrappy string blocks for my current scrappy quilt project.  These blocks are 10" square and I'm using full size paper towels as my foundation.  These are lots of fun to sew and super easy.  I love the border that is made with the center white strip.  I'm going to make 49 of these for this quilt top.

   You can make string blocks in any size and there are lots of different ways to make scrappy string blocks.  I found several examples when I did a simple google search.  There are also a lot of examples on Pinterest.

   Here are a few links:

pieced center string block tutorial

Bonnie Hunter's String Block Tutorial

MSQC String Block Video Tutorial

String Block Tutorial

Fun Scrappy 16 Patch Quilt Top Is Finished

     I worked on this last night and most of today.  I'm glad it's finished.  It measures 63" x 87".   The only fabric I had to buy for this quilt top was the white fabric.  I bought 3 yards from Connecting Threads and with shipping that fabric cost me about $18.00.  That's pretty cheap for a quilt top this size.

    I'll be working on my ironing board cover next, then I continue working on my scrappy string blocks to make another quilt top.  I should have some blocks to display later this week.

Sawtooth Stars Wall Hanging

   I finished the wall hanging and it's been on the wall for the last few days.   It was really easy to make and I love it on the wall.

   I have resumed making my scrappy 16 patch blocks and I finished making all 35 of them today.  I'm in the process of putting the sashing and the rows together and in a few days I should have a quilt top.

   Here are the first two rows of blocks sewn up.

    After I finish up this scrappy top I'll start working on my scrappy string blocks.  I have to make 49 of them and I have only one made so far.

    I won't be assembling the scrappy 16 patch blocks quilt top into a quilt sandwich for quilting until I finish the scrappy string block quilt top.

   The pre-printed vest project called "Needle Art From My Heart" was awful.  I hated the stiffness of the pre-printed fabric.  I couldn't make myself finish it.  I threw the whole thing in the trash.

   I have to make a new ironing board cover and I'll start that this weekend.  It won't take long to get a new cover made.  I'm using this:

 

Another Great Way to Use Up My Stashed Fabric

      I started a second quilting project today.  I made my first scrappy string block using a paper towel as the foundation.  This was fun to make.  I will have to take some time to cut fabric strips, but that's as easy as sewing the block together.  I will make the center strip white on all the blocks so when I put the blocks together a border will be created with the white strips.  Very cool.

     And I'm still working on my scrappy 16-patch blocks.  I have 12 made so far.  I need 23 more for this quilt top.

     I have the fabric for my paper pieced stars (wallhanging) and it's been washed.  I just have iron the fabric and print out my paper piecing patterns to get started.  You can see the pattern and the fabrics here.