The Mini Challenge

In January, I started a quilt challenge with Kathleen Tracey using books that I have in my book stash.  Yes, you have them too.  Not only do I have a fabric stash, I have a "book stash."  We brag about, "She who dies with the most fabric wins," but who is willing to admit to purchasing every book in the quilt shop?  Well, let me first.  Yes, I have a print media addiction that is not always cured with a Kindle.  When it comes to a quilt book or magazine, I gotta get it.  So, I was happy to find Kathy's challenge that selects a mini quilt from one of her four books each month.  I have managed to keep up and I must admit, I love the feeling of liberating my fabric from a fate of historical preservation.

My first challenge quilt in the monthly series was made from Prairie Children and Their Quilts and I call my quilt "January Mourning."

The February challenge was a broken dish pattern from the same book.  I titled it "February's Broken Dishes."

Turning Losers into Winners

Winning the Fat Quarter Drawing can be a loser when you find that no two fats go together.  What to do?  I have piled the winnings up for several years until I got into scrap quilts.  I ironed and cut every fat quarter in the lot and found that I still had dozens.  Then it occurred to me to make scrap backings.  I began with the leftover blocks from the pieced front and built up a backing of similar tones.  It was beautiful!

Lately, I have been in a hurry to finish and get the quilt off to the Longarm Quilter.  So, I now make a “Fast and Furious” backing in a few hours.  Starting with a steam iron, which I seldom use, I press the wrinkles out of a pile of fat quarters.  I work in pairs and trim the fat quarters to 15 ½” x 20 ½” rectangles.  The trimmings I cut up into 1 ½” – 2” strips or strings for more scrap quilts.  Depending on the size of the top, I sew the fats together to a suitable size for the backing.  It take approximately 1 ½ - 2 hours for an 80” x 90” back.  This includes ironing, cutting and sewing.