Puzzle For Santa

Puzzle For Santa

Here's another quickie Christmas table mat, made up with red, green, and gray prints.

After arranging and sewing the blocks, I added a 2” border. I quilted a straight stitch with red thread down the center of each ribbon.  The backing is a modern coordinating print. Final size is 21" square. 

This 4” Washington's Puzzle die has little pieces, but I really like it. I want to use them in a border, then try a scrappy version lap quilt. It should be fun.

Oh, and I must confess: I took advantage of the Black Friday sale and bought a few new dies. They are meant to be part of my Christmas, but I had to open and test them out, right? Just to make sure they cut properly and all. I guess I got carried away and cut a few extra sets of this one. Does that count as naughty? 

Accuquilt dies used:
55602 Washington's Puzzle 4” finished
55017 Strips 2½”

Improv

Improv, Useful Remnants 2023

Yep, I've been experimenting again. My favorite combination of white with brightly colored remnants always makes a fun modern quilt.

This time I combined two dies to create large unequal nine-patch blocks. I mixed the skinny signature die with elements of the churn dash BOB die for a lattice-like block. It is also similar to the 1920/1930's linoleum block. I did all piecing with Laney, my Singer 301.

Quilting is simple straight stitch with white thread along seam lines, plus diagonal serpentine stitching across the signatures. Improv finished at 61” square, and features orange and white dotted backing/binding.

Puzzling out new ways to combine dies is a creative way to keep my brain active, and I am rarely bored. I could sew all day every day and never be finished.

Accuquilt dies used:
55356 Signature 4½” finished
55339 Churn Dash BOB 12” finished block
55017 Strip 2½”

Cat Nap Blues

Cat Nap Blues

Shades of blue plus neutrals from my large stash make up this old fashioned quilt. I pulled from my boxes of remnant squares and triangles first, then cut more to balance out the design. Trapezoids from scraps and strips are mainly navy and bright blue.

I pieced the 36 blocks using Laney, my pretty Maui Blue Singer 301. Like working a puzzle, I moved them on my design wall until I was happy with the layout. Cat Nap Blues is 54” square after I added a 3” border.

Quilting this one was a challenge, even with my  Janome machine. I used a new ruler and even though I practiced first, it gave me fits on the quilt. The fabric wanted to drag as I changed direction on the waves, and my thread kept breaking. I persisted, and although there is uneven stitching and several boo-boos, I decided it is good enough.

I do like the double row of waves, so I'll practice more before the next attempt. And I'll use a busy print instead of a solid color backing. After I washed and dried, the stitching looks better. Certainly not show worthy, but it will keep me warm and give the cat a place to nap.

Accuquilt dies used:
55763 Trapezoid
55018 Small value die (2" squares & half square triangles)
55017 Strip 2½”
55032 Strip 3½”

Sometimes perfection isn't necessary

Tranquility

I normally use a wide variety of fabrics in my quilts. This one is an exception: I only used two. A navy mini-floral print serves as background for a lovely muted red and medium blue batik.

I used Blue Wren's Pine Bark block, which is also called Japanese Jigsaw or Japanese Puzzle. Easy cutting is a happy benefit of two color quilts.

My design wall came in handy for laying out this puzzle. After sewing all the blocks, I combined them in diagonal rows, adding the corner and border pieces as I went along.

I repeated the navy print on the back, with a single row of alternating batik/navy 6” squares. I quilted along the main diagonal seam lines using a triple serpentine stitch with silver gray thread. Tranquility finished at 49” square.

Dies used:
Blue Wren 6815 Pine Bark

Accuquilt
55017 Strip 2½” for binding
55000 Square 6” finished

Simple Spools

What better wall art for a sewing room than this bright, inspiring quilt?

I love to display my quilts so I rotate them often. This one has sixteen 8” blocks, made with four-patch squares and half square triangles. The background fabric is a cream and black Moda print scattered with positive words. I chose a different bright color for each spool. On two corners, I set squares of grape with white dots, creating a secondary design.

Simple Spools is 32” square and bound with a black swirl print. The backing is a colorful crazy quilt print in purple, black and yellow. Cutting and piecing was quick and easy with the Accuquilt value die. With this one, It's important to stack the fabric so that the words face the same way in each block. I quilted in cream thread, swirling across the center of each spool, about a half inch apart. 

Putting together a quilt is kind of like working a puzzle...all the pieces have their place and have to fit together in the end. Of course, puzzles have a set design and you have to have all the pieces to finish it. Quilts give you more leeway because pieces can go together many different ways to make unique designs. If one doesn't fit or doesn't look right, you can just make another or rotate the block. That's why I like designing in EQ8 software or manually on my design wall. It is fun and challenging to create new arrangements with the same basic pieces.

If you don't like 

the rules,

make new ones