“Wyoming Bear Paws” is the 9th quilt made from my winter project of using up the Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society fabric stash. The 10th quilt is growing on the design wall: ”Wyoming Stars.” And it has astonishing secondary patterns happening, which is so fun.
I was able to make a scrappy backing, but I don’t think I’ll have enough big pieces of fabric to make a scrappy backing for ”Wyoming Stars.” Of course, Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society are still making delicious prints. And I might fall into that pit. BUT, I might also use up existing stash of other fabrics. To remind, though, all of the C+S/RS fabrics use the same dyes over the years, so the fabrics ”go together” well.
Many of these bigger pieces of fabrics in this backing were ones that didn’t cut into small quilting pieces well. They needed bigger blocks, and I tend to piece with smaller pieces. That’s not true for the tiger print though. I love that print and tend to hoard it. And it comes in lots of fun colors.
I used the ”Bayside” pantograph and a soft grey thread (Signature).
As I’ve said before, it takes a deep stash to get this kind of scrappy variety in a quilt. It’s been so much fun to work with these fabrics all winter. Hmmm…and now most of the summer.
There is an adorable little girl out in Wyoming who will also need a quilt from me.
Astonishing Secondary Patterns in ”Wyoming Stars” Blocks
I totally didn’t foresee these astonishing secondary patterns forming in the ”Wyoming Stars” quilt blocks I’m now making from the leftover 3-inch strips I cut for the Churn Dash blocks—out of the Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society stash I had. (This traditional block is just 1/2-square triangles and 3-inch squares at the corners—but I’m calling it ”Wyoming Stars” as this quilt is going eventually to a great-nephew who lives in Wyoming.)
I went back and forth with whether ot make the block’s center dark or light—and so it is very fun to see the larger star in the secondary patterns with a light center. And what about those dark strips that are forming? My goodness! I’m loving this project.
I’m out of pinks and oranges now, so I rooted in my regular stash to find some that will work with the Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society color ranges—which have remained consistent over the years.
Son Bryan and family are coming tomorrow—so postings may be a bit light for the next two weeks.
I have not seen most of my two Charleston, SC, families in TWO YEARS! So I am very excited about tomorrow’s reunion.
Yesterday was a rainy day. I diddled away the morning with this or that, ate the last of the chicken salad for lunch (and had enough to make my salad dinner which got topped also with a fried egg), had a nice coffee visit with Giovanna McCarthy, and then finished the pieced backing for ”Wyoming Bear Paws” and have begun the process of putting it on the longarm and basting it.
While I’ve made many quilts over the years using only Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star fabrics, this top is the 8th from this winter’s project of cutting up and using my apparently considerable stash of these fabrics. I will be able to get one more lap-size top for sure—“Wyoming Stars”—and maybe random Churn Dash blocks from the strips I cut for that purpose. All the big pieces that could be used for backings are now gone. There are, however, two big shoebox sized bins of cut 3 1/2 inch squares. Maybe more of the “Pot-Pourri” series? And I now have lots of smaller squares all cut to use in something (2 1/2, 2, and 1 1/2)—which is the way cutting quilting fabrics rolls.
You know, it takes a deep stash to have so many fabric offerings in one scrappy quilt.
While these scrappy quilts are going to family children, I’m keeping the last Churn Dash quilt for my grandchildren down the road. Right now it is living in the downstairs big room folded over a chair back.
I have had such a good time with this Churn Dash series of quilts I made starting last winter. I love seeing these Churn Dash blocks butted up next to each other—as the secondary patterns that form are very pleasing I think. I used sashing between blocks on the first 3 quilts.
Again, all the fabrics are from the Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society fabrics I had in my stash.
Here’s a close-up of the mostly ”fussy cut” block centers.
I quilted with a slightly darker grey and used the pantograph ”Bayside.” And I had enough of the clear red fabric to make this lively and perfect binding.
The back is pieced with some of the larger pieces from my Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society fabric stash.
The larger pieces are seriously depleted now—but there are at least two more planned quilts to be made yet—and two bins of cut 3 1/2-inch blocks to be used for, maybe, the ”Pot-Pourri” quilt series. I can easily use other fabrics from my regular stash to piece backs.
Here’s ”Pot-Pourri 3.” It went to a great-niece—so the blocks are meant to be ”girly” for this little toddler.
And remember that all the fabrics are Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society from my stash. It takes a lot of different fabrics—in a deep stash—to make a quilt like this one.
I pieced the back from bigger pieces of my Cotton+Steel stash, and isn’t it fun?
I used the pantograph ”He Loves Me” by Anne Bright—and you can see how it works in the solid deep rose ombre fabric below. I ordered a pale, pale pink thread to use.
Below, you can see some of the fabric variety.
AND, here’s ”Eye Candy 3,” which is meant for my niece’s little boy, who will arrive in mid-June. I had such fun making these Churn Dash blocks with their fussy-cut centers. And I had enough of the sashing fabric to separate the blocks.
Again, the backing is scrappy.
I used the ”Bayside” panto from Lorien Quilting and a pale jade colored thread—like a sea foam color.
Below is a close-up of some of the blocks. I will also print this picture and the close-up of the quilt above to use in the cards I make.
Winter and early spring are fading away now, so I will have less sewing time. The lawn already needs mowing and I need to organize spray as the deer and porcupines have eaten the newly emerging perennials down to the ground.
But, I made 7 baby/toddler quilts this winter—and I still have a lot of strips cut for Churn Dash blocks out of the Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star stash. So I’ve been making a bigger quilt from these blocks, with no sashing. Six rows of 10 are done. There are enough big pieces left to piece a backing. So, this project continues.
Blocks will, of course, move around. I’m liking the secondary patterns. It is VERY scrappy and VERY busy. It is also very fun to make.
Today is cleaning/laundry day. And AC doggie needs a good run. But tomorrow will be a rainy day, so maybe there will be some sewing.
Cutting Up My Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society Stash
This fabric category in my stash needs to be USED. These fabrics WANT to be used. Over the years, I’ve made so many quilts using these beloved fabrics, but now I want to whittle them down and meld what is left into my regular stash.
So, I’ve been on a winter journey to take on this challenge, and I’m cutting deeply into this stash driven by the task of making a series of baby quilts for family members now having babies.
Here’s what my quilt room looks like right now as this BIG task takes place. I’ve set aside fabrics I can use for fussy-cut centers for the Churn Dash blocks I’m making (“Eye Candy” series) and bigger pieces that will be used in sashings, backings, and bindings.
The front of the longarm has mostly low-volume prints ironed and ready to cut.
But there are other low-volume fabrics in this bin below. The pink/salmon prints are going to go into another of the scrappy lap quilts I’ve making from 3 1/2-inch blocks. It will want to go to a girl (“Pot-Pourri 3”). There are three big fabric pieces in this bin and a stack of grey and cream/black prints. This bin used to be so full that I could hardly close the lid. Success!
The darker colors are on the longarm table—and you can see some of the colors have been seriously whittled down. More success!
This table below holds strips that will go into scrappy Churn Dash blocks (“Eye Candy” series)—and when I have leftovers from that process, I’ll cut those remnants into smaller squares. As I cut into the stash, I always cut some strips for this project table. Likely, there will be something made from 2 1/2-inch squares at some point. There are also 2-inch and 1 1/2-inch blocks happening.
I’ve posted already a modern quilt (“Whirlygigs”) that went to a new baby girl. And there was a recent post showing one of the scrappy lap-sized quilts (“Pot-Pourri”) and one of the Churn Dash quilts (“Eye Candy”) that landed in their forever homes.
This scrappy quilt (made of 9-patch blocks), ”Pot-Pourri 2,” is ready to be sewn into rows:
And then I’ll piece a backing and organize binding. This quilt will go with a Churn Dash quilt (“Eye Candy 2”) where the binding is almost done now. Here is a sneak peek of one of those blocks:
Meanwhile, LOL, I’m months behind on The Color Collective projects. But they aren’t going anywhere, and there is something really satisfying about heavily using these Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star fabrics all together rather than just folding them into the stash.
And…
Like many quilters working during the conditions of the virus, something sparked inside me that thought it was time to work with what I had on hand rather than buying more fabric. There are the monthly solid fabrics coming in for The Color Collective however… But there are projects designed for those, and I will get to them eventually. Meanwhile the big stash is NOT growing.
I love this modern pattern. There are so many geometric shapes involved—and each catches your eye differently. Wendy Sheppard is the designer, and I got the pattern from Simply Moderne magazine, No. 26.
The fabrics are all Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society—collected into a stash over the years.
I pieced the backing and had enough of the stripe for binding cut on the bias.
AC likes quilts.
The quilting isn’t showing up so well in these pics, but it’s the Bayside pantograph and a ”parchment” colored thread.
I told the new parents of the baby girl for which this quilt was made that this quilt is meant to be used, thrown up on, dragged around, spit up on, and washed and washed as needed.
I hope baby girl attaches herself to all the color and pattern interest along the way.
The pattern is “Monkey Business” from Abbey Lane Quilts, and I saw a version in a recent Simply Modern magazine issue (no. 22). I made it using all Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society fabrics from my stash, so it is a kind of fabric ”sampler” quilt.
I had enough of this backing fabric, and isn’t it sweet?
I used a pale, pale, pale peach thread (Signature’s ”Linen”) and Deb’s Swirls for the pantograph.
This one is going to stay with me. It is replacing an older quilt that hung on the stairwell wall for MANY years and then was the lap quilt for this couch. That one is now getting a much deserved rest and lives with other of my stored quilts.
This quilt is the second one I’ve done on the new Innova longarm. It was my ”learning curve” on Innova tension—and I learned that the problem I was having was due to a bobbin that wasn’t correctly wound. That was a whole tension learning journey that is, I think, solved.
I wound up taking out the stitching I had done—about 1/3 of the quilt—and redoing it. And now I am happy. The stitch I have now is BEAUTIFUL. And I LOVE my Innova longarm.
It’s the “36-Ring Circus” designed by Joanne Lewis. The pattern and template kit are at Paper Pieces.
I am using Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society fabrics for the centers, pastel solids for the rings, and darker solids for the rest.
I now have three rows done after three years—three more to go.
But it seems I put off working on it to do other handwork on a regular basis.
It is an elegant pattern, for sure.
But it is hard and in many ways, seems tedious to me. Sewing the rings to the centers is…hard. I’ve found taping from the front and using a flat stitch on the back helps.
I have all the solid pieces cut and glued, so I will finish it someday.
I hope it doesn’t take another three years—one for each row!!!
I did organize all the centers for the 4th row, so that’s something. The first center is done, but not the rings.
Meanwhile, I seem to be more than a little interested in wedding ring quilt versions.
Here’s the funky one whose top is now done: from Freddie Moran and Gwen Marston’s book FREDDY AND GWEN COLLABORATE AGAIN: FRIENDS.
And Tara Faughnan’s Wedding Ring Quilt:
I’m ready to start sewing together the last and final row.
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