My favorite afghans...

We started this blog in an effort to create an archive of our projects.  In that spirit, I wanted to take some time to record some of my favorite afghan patterns.  These are patterns that I turn to when I need a project for TV watching or a quick baby blanket.  I don't know if they have names, and I'm not sure where most of the patterns come from.  If you know, let me know!

I think the first one is from Drew Emborski... I think I saw him demonstrate the pattern on a craft show at some point.  I love it because once the foundation is made, there is very little thought involved.  It's interesting, but not complicated.  I have done it in big chunky yarns, boucle yarns, and most recently in worsted weight for a baby blanket.  My favorite is this blue one made with a big chunky yarn and a size L hook.  It measures about 4' wide by 6' long.

• Start with a foundation of DC stitches - any multiple of 12 plus 7 more stitches.  
• DC across the second row and all even rows.
• Change colors, and then work *(1 dc, 1 fptr) 3 times, 6 dc*.  Repeat from * to * to the end of the row ending with 1 dc.
• On the next odd numbered row, change color and work *6 dc, (1 dc, 1 fptr) 3 times*.  Repeat from * to * to the end of the row ending with 7 dc.
• fptr = Front post triple crochet around the post of the stitch 2 rows below.
• Repeat these four rows until the blanket is as big as you want.

This is the throw my mom made way back in the mid 70s.
  It was just inexpensive acrylic yarn, and it has held up
beautifully through lots of washing!

The next afghan that I like to make is the ripple pattern.  I think I am drawn to this one because it was so popular in the '70s and that is when my mom was making them.  You can make them as wide as you want and you can evenly space the ripples or do them randomly.  I usually start with a foundation chain that is about twice as long as I want the afghan.  (I don't really count the chain stitches because I will just untie any excess chains later.)  Then just start by skipping one chain stitch, working 5 sc into the next 5 bumps, work 3 sc into the next bump (double increase), work 5 sc into the next 5 bumps, then sc 3 bumps together (double decrease).  Continue like this across the row until you finish the last double increase and 5 sc.  Chain 1 and turn.  Skip the first stitch and repeat working into the back loops only.  Now, all that matters is that you put your increases at the tops of the peaks and you put your decreases at the bottom of the valleys.  You can do sc, dc, hdc, or whatever you want.  You could do 5 stitches between increase for one peak and then do 2 stitches between the next peak.  I have seen some patterns that want a decrease at the end of each row, but I don't bother.  I think it's easier to just not work the last stitch or two and then turn.  I like the scalloped look of the edge like this.

This pattern is really versatile.  You can use any yarn you want with any hook you want.  A cool self-striping yarn would be super easy.  It would also be a great way to clear out your stash of scrap yarns.  Choose a great big chunky yarn with a big hook and you can make one of these in a hurry!

WIP Wednesday

I was looking for some sort of ornament to decorate my little flower bed.  I wanted something that showcased my love for quilting and crafting and I came up with the idea to build a miniature clothes line and hang a quilt from it.  I also plan to knit miniature socks and maybe even sew some mini boxer briefs to hang from the line.  It also seems like there should be some birds on the lines, so I will probably do some amigurumi to gild the lily a bit further!

I have started with the quilt, and here's where it is so far!  Given the debate over gay marriage, I decided that a contemporary spin on the double wedding ring quilt was appropriate.  The quilt measures about 24" by 30".  I just need to finish the binding and add a label.  I think I will probably do some more mini-quilts so I can change them up with the seasons... Maybe bargello next?

So far, the only stumbling block I can foresee is where the heck do I get miniature clothes pins?

-- Dale--

WIP Wednesdays

This is my "sittin'-on-the-couch-watchin'-TV" project for the summer.  If you are a fan of "Scandal", then you may have noticed the afghan on the back of Olivia Pope's couch.  That's my inspiration.  I started with a long tail cast on of 184 stitches on size 10.5 needles.  I worked 4 rows of garter stitch.  Then I began and ended every row with 4 knit stitches followed by a 4x1 rib.  I am twisting every other welt every 6th row.  If I were to do it again, I would have twisted every 12th row.  I think the cables are a bit too close together and would look better if they were more subtle.  This type of knitting is a great project to keep your fingers busy without taking too much of you brain power!
 - - Dale - -

Simple Scrappy Tote Bag

When it comes time to start using up the bits of leftover fabric, I like to make a tote bag.  Recently, I have begun making tote bags out of the leftover fabric from each quilt that I make.  This makes a really cool gift bag for the quilt!  If it's a good size, the bag can be used as a diaper bag or a shopping bag.  Make it smaller for a lunch bag.  Add straps to it and it can become a backpack.  Once you get the basic technique down you can play with shape and size to make a designer handbags by adding flaps, buttons, zippers, pockets, etc.

To make one, the only thing I have to buy is a bit of craft weight stabilizer.  You don't really need it, but the bag can be a bit floppy without it.  Everything else is left over from the quilt.  The first step is to decide how big you want it to be.  I find that a queen-size quilt fits well into a bag that measures 6" deep, 12" wide, and 16" tall.  This is also a good size for a reusable shopping bag.  

Cutting List

Front/Back - Cut one rectangle 21" wide by 37" tall

Batting - Cut one rectangle 21" wide by 43" tall

Interfacing - Cut one rectangle 21" wide by 43" tall

Lining - Cut two rectangles 21" wide by 20" tall

Straps - Cut two strips 3" wide by at least 25" long

interfacing - Cut two strips 1" wide by at least 24" long

Note:  The front/back piece will form both the front and the back of the bag.  If your pattern is directional, then add one inch, cut it in half, and then sew it together again so that the top of the pattern is at both ends of the rectangle.

The straps can be any length you want them to be... They just have to be the same length so that each handle ends up the same size in the end.  Another option would be to purchase nylon webbing straps, but that would be something else to buy and wouldn't use up the stash of scraps!

All pieces are a bit over-sized to accommodate shrinkage during the quilting process.  We will trim them to the correct dimension later.

Please also keep in mind that this is supposed to be scrappy.  For this bag, I chose to use big pieces of fabrics from my stash so the pictures would clearly show the lining versus the front of the bag.  I didn't have enough solid brown, so I added a strip of a batik that I had left over.  Normally I would have assembled strips and scraps and leftover blocks to make the front/back piece.

Technique

Make a quilt sandwich by layering the interfacing on the back, then the batting, and then the front/back rectangle.  The batting and interfacing should extend 3" beyond both ends of the front/back piece.

Quilt this piece as desired.  I usually do straight line quilting because it's quick and easy, but this is a small quilt which makes it an ideal candidate to get creative and practice your free-motion quilting.  I would also suggest you pull all your thread tails to the back of the quilt.  The back side will be inside the bag and covered by the lining, so it's an easy place to hide the thread tails.

Now trim the top and bottom edges so they extend 2" above the raw edge of the quilt top.  

With right sides together, align the lining fabric with the raw edge of the front fabric and stitch a half inch from the raw edge.  Repeat on the other end.  Press the lining fabric up to make a huge rectangle that measures 21" wide by 75" tall. 

 Mark a line 2" above the seam you just made (on the lining) and top-stitch on the line.  This stitching should catch the loose layers of the batting and interfacing on the back of the quilt.

Fold the quilt in half (meeting right sides) carefully matching up the seams along both sides.  Press a fold along the bottom edge.  

Now use your rotary cutter to trim both sides of the bag so the sides are square to the bottom fold and the bag is 19" wide.  

With the bag still folded, cut a 3" square from each corner of the lining fabric and cut two rectangles from the folded end that are 2 1/2" from the folded edge and 3" from the raw edge.  

Carefully pin along both sides of the bag taking particular care to match all seam lines.  Stitch with a half-inch seam.  Do not stitch the end of the lining fabric or you will not be able to turn the bag right side out!  If you have a serger, now is the time to use it.  If not, just sew a half-inch seam and press the seam allowance open.  

Turn the bag right-side out and finish up by sewing the bottom of the lining.  Again, serge this edge if you have a serger and call it finished.  Otherwise, press the raw edges to the inside and top-stitch as close to the edge as you can... it's on the inside of the bag, so it doesn't have to be pretty, but you don't want it to be ugly, either!

Now tuck the outer shell of the bag into the lining of the bag... so the bag is inside out.  On each corner, line up all seam allowances with the fold of the bottom of the bag.  Stitch along the raw edges with a half-inch seam allowance.  Again, use your serger if you have one, otherwise use some binding strips to finish the raw edges.

Once both corners are finished, turn everything right-side out and press everything pretty.  Then top stitch in the ditch from the front around the top edge of the bag.

To make the straps, press a quarter-inch fold along one edge of both strips of fabric.  Lay the interfacing strips along the center of the strip.  Fold over both ends of the fabric over the ends of the interfacing and press in place.  Fold the raw edges over the interfacing and then fold the folded edges over the raw edge and press in place.  The folded edge should end up in the center of the strap.  Take it to the machine and top-stitch along the folded center seam, and along both edges.

Pin the straps to the front and back of the bag and top-stitch with a reinforcement stitch of your choice.  I try to place the straps centered with 6" between each end, and about 2 1/2" from the top edge of the bag.  

Your bag is complete!  

By the way, the reinforcement stitches would look much nicer if you didn't use a variegated thread like I did!  Try to match the thread color to your straps for a much neater appearance!

One more note about the handles of the bag.  I am making this tote to use as a gift bag for one of our quilts.  I am not too concerned about the strength of the handle.  However, if I were planning to use the bag for heavy groceries, I would have done a much more secure handle using 1" nylon webbing.  I would start with at least ten feet.  After I quilted the front/back piece, but before I added the lining pieces, I would pin the webbing to the quilt surface and top-stitch it in place taking extra care to reinforce the stitching at the top edge of the bag.  Then I would carefully pin the handles out of the way as I completed the bag.  This method gives you handles that actually support the entire bag from the bottom up!

Super-Sized God's Eye Quilt

This is one of my favorite quilts ever!  I was inspired by an article in Quilty magazine (May/June 2013).  They had taken a single star block and super-sized it to make a very contemporary quilt.  I liked the idea, but traded out the star block and replaced it with one of my favorite blocks.  Not only is it a striking design, but it was incredibly fast to make!  I pieced the top on day one, finished the quilting on day 2, and finished binding it on day 3.  I probably could have done it faster than that, but I had to squeeze it in after work.  (I sometimes get quite annoyed that I have to interrupt my quilting with reality!)

I was working with a specific color palette – Green and purple – because it was a gift for a very special person in my life.  I started with a trip to JoAnn Fabrics and found a wonderful paisley print for the backing material.  These days we seem to be backing our quilts with big, bold, flowery prints in almost garish colors!  It adds a bit of fun and contrast to the clean lines and minimal color scheme of the contemporary designs.  Once I chose the backing fabric, I picked three colors to use for the block.  I used black, purple and green.

My quilt finished 48” by 56”.  The center block was 40” square and I added borders to get the size I wanted.  I used a wrapped binding technique to bind the quilt.  If I were to do it again, I would do a traditional binding.  I did simple straight line quilting from top to bottom spaced about half an inch apart.  Because of this style of quilting, the quilt shrunk up a bit in the top and bottom edges, but not on the side edges.  So the binding is a bit wavy at the top and bottom from trying to stretch it to fit.  I think a traditional binding would have been a better choice, but I didn’t have time for all that handwork!

Shopping List:

4 yards – backing material
2 yards – Background (Black)
½ yard – Green
¾ yard – Purple
Thread – I used a charcoal grey color and went through the better part of 1200 yards
Batting – At least 53” x 61”
Basting Spray

Cutting List:

Purple                   2 – 11 ½” squares
                             2 – 13” squares
                             4 – 6” squares

Green                    2 – 11 ½” squares
                             1 – 13” square

Background          1 – 13” square
                            8 – 5 ½” squares
                            4 – 6” squares
                            4 – 5 ½” x 10 ½” rectangles
                            4 – 5 ½” x 15 ½” rectangles
                            2 – 8 ½” x 40 ½” rectangle (top borders)
                            3 – 4 ½” x width of fabric (side borders)

Backing Fabric – divide into two 2-yard lengths and sew together along the selvedge edges to form a rectangle measuring about 72” x 84”.  I know this is too big, but I like leftover fabric, and I don’t like any more seams than necessary on the back of my quilts.

Technique:

I used the “Quilt in a Day” method for making flying geese.  Of course, you can choose any method you want to use.  I am quite certain that Eleanor Burns can explain her technique better than I can, so I will simply say that you need to make 14 flying geese blocks that measure 5 ½” by 10 ½” (the finished size is 5 x 10).

 

Four of them are purple with black corners.  Use one 13” square and one 11 ½” square.

Six of them are green with purple corners.  Use two 13” purple squares, and two 11 ½” green squares.  This method actually makes 4 blocks at a time, so I just made 8 and set 2 of them aside for my next scrappy project!

Four of them are purple with green corners.  Use one 13” green square and one 11 ½” purple square.

Now make 8 half-square-triangle (HST) squares that measure 5 ½”.  Again, you can use any method you want.  I line up a 6” purple square on top of a 6” black square, draw a diagonal line on the purple square from corner to corner, stitch ¼” away from both sides of the line, and then cut on the line.  Press the seams open.  You will have two blocks that are slightly over-sized, so trim them to the correct dimensions.

Now assemble 4-patches using the HST squares and the black squares.  You will need four of these blocks.  Just be sure that the purple triangles are on opposite corners from each other.

Now take all your blocks to the design wall and lay them out like this:

Assemble the quilt in rows and then assemble the rows to make the top. 

Carefully sew the borders to the top and the bottom and then to the sides.  Use lots of pins for this step to avoid wonky seams!

Baste the layers together using basting spray (or pins) and begin quilting.  I did simple straight-line quilting up and down the quilt spaced about ½” apart.  I intentionally went a bit crooked and spaced the lines a bit more or less than ½”.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to be perfect, so I tried to emphasize the imperfection!

When I made my quilt, I wrapped the backing material around the edges to bind the quilt.  This is the one thing I would do differently next time.  So I would suggest you trim all the layers even and add a binding instead!

A Quilt for Rhonda's Mom

Well, here’s the plan!  My friend Rhonda is buying a quilt for her mother’s birthday present.  Once again, this is a short-notice deal, so I needed a quilt in a hurry!  She went on the internet to find pictures of quilts that she liked and chose this basic layout.  I drew up a plan and calculated yardage requirements, and then we went shopping!  She chose a bright color palette with a bold pattern for the backing.  The finished size of the quilt is 60 inches by 60 inches.  Here’s how I made it:

Shopping List

·        Pink – ¾ yard

·        Orange – ¾ yard

·        Blue – 1 yard

·        Purple – 1 ¼ yards

·        Red – 1 yard

·        Green (binding) – ¾ yard

·        Backing – 4 yards

·        Batting – 65”square

·        Thread (I bought 1200 yards and have plenty to spare!)

·        Basting spray (if desired)

·        Photo Fabric Sheet for printer

Cutting List

·        Pink:   6 – 9” squares

·        Orange:   24 – 2 ½” x 11” strips

·        Blue:   24 – 2 ½” x 15” strips

·        Purple:      1 – 2 ½” x 8 ½” strip

10 – 2 ½” x 10 ½” strips

1 – 2 ½” x 12 ½” strip

24 – 2 ½” x 19” strips

·        Red:   6 – 5 ½” strips

• If you prefer, wait until you are ready to cut these border strips.  I cut mine with the grain because it is a directional pattern and I wanted all the little faces to be up right!

·        Green:   Cut 2 ½” strips across the width of the fabric.  Sew the strips together end-to-end using a 45-degree seam and set the binding strip aside for later.

·        Backing:   Cut (or tear) in half cross-grain so you have two pieces measuring 72 inches each.  Cut (or tear) off the selvedge edges.  Sew these two pieces together using a ½”-seam allowance.  Press the seam open and set the backing aside. 

·        Photo Fabric:   After printing the desired photo, trim the fabric photo to 8 ½” square.

Technique

For my log cabin blocks, I use partial seams.  I use this method for two reasons.  First, I really am that fussy and want every corner to look exactly the same.  With other methods, one corner would over-lap in the opposite direction.  I know this doesn’t matter, but I like uniformity!  The second reason (and the more important) is that I like to cut all my “logs” at the same time and at the same dimension.  If I use another method, each color has to be cut at three different sizes.  You have my permission to make your log cabin blocks any way you want to!

All seams are sewn at ¼-inch unless otherwise noted.  We don’t have any funny angles, so it isn’t absolutely critical that your seam allowance is perfect, but it should be close! 

·      

            First, join one orange strip to one side of each pink square using a partial seam.  Start stitching so the strip is aligned to the top edge of the square and sew to about halfway down the side.  Finger press the seam allowance so that it folds away from the square.  (All seams should be done this same way!)

·     Now join a second strip to the next side of each pink square.  This second strip should start at the top edge of the square and end at the bottom edge of the first strip you attached.

·        

      Join the third and fourth strips to the next side of each square in the same manner.

·       


        Now go back and finish the first seam you started in the first step. 

·       


         Repeat these steps to add the 15” blue strips.

·        Repeat these steps to add the 19” purple strips.

·        Press your blocks. 

·        You should have six log cabin blocks that measure 21” in both directions.

·        Cut your blocks in half and then in half again so that you end up with 24 blocks that each measure 10 ½” in both directions. 

o   Be sure to cut each log cabin block one at a time. 

o   I use two rulers to align my cuts.  First, align the 4 ¼” line along one side of the pink square.  Then align the other ruler next to it to be sure the other side of the pink square is also 4 ¼” away.  If not, then adjust the rulers to make the cut in the center of the block.

o   Be sure your blocks are not skewed out of square!  Align the block with the lines on the cutting board.  If your block is a bit twisted then take it back to the iron and press it into shape!  Otherwise you will have wonky blocks and your quilt will never be right.

o   Once you have made your first cut, turn the cutting mat carefully so you don’t disturb the block.  Then make your second cut. 

·        To ONE (and only one!) of the 10 ½” blocks, sew a 10 ½” purple strip to the left side, and a 12 ½” purple strip to the bottom edge.

·        To FOUR of the 10 ½” blocks, sew a 10 ½” purple strip to the left side.

·        To FOUR of the 10 ½” blocks, sew a 10 ½” purple strip to the bottom edge.

·        To the photo square, sew the 8 ½” purple strip to the right edge, and a 10 ½” purple strip to the top edge.

·        Now assemble the quilt blocks following the layout chart.

·        Carefully pin the red border to each side of the quilt top and stitch.

·        Baste the layers together using basting spray (or pins if you prefer) and begin quilting.

o   I did simple straight-line quilting in the ditch over the entire quilt.

·        Trim the quilt so all the layers are even, and add your binding! 

Here is a picture of the finished quilt.  As you can see, I used different colors from the original design.  We started with the border fabric and Rhonda chose fabrics to coordinate with it.  I quite like the vibrant palette! 

Don’t forget to add a label!

Play with the layout!  You might find a more interesting way to layout your blocks.