Pixies & Petals

 

    This post is going to be out of line.  Straight Out of Line.  That is the name of the ruler, designed by Karla Alexander, that I used for my latest Jaftex challenge.  If you read this blog regularly, you know that as a Brand Ambassador for Jaftex, I receive a mystery bag of fabric about every other month.  My job is to make something wonderful.  I love the challenge!  It is a lot like the TV program Chopped, but with fabric and a month-long time limit.

    The FedEx bundle was waiting for me when I arrived home from Sewposium.  It took a few days to recover from an exhausting week of wrangling 60 quilt shop owners, tossing around ideas and making plans with them for the upcoming year.  Once I caught up on lost sleep, I opened the package to find Pixies and Petals by Salt Meadown Designs for Henry Glass Fabrics.  These cuties brightened my sewing room and reminded me of our granddaughter Madeline.

    Thinking of her reminded me of the stop motion software that she received for Christmas and had downloaded on to my iPad.  A quick trip to Target to buy a doll to star in my show and some training from Madeline and I created this unboxing video.  TOO much fun!

    Now to make the quilt!  As soon as I saw the fabric, I knew that the Straight Out of Line Ruler would be the perfect size for these prints.  Random cutting has the pixies peeking out of the seam lines and
flying across the blocks.  I chose to make the center of the quilt in a checkerboard pattern, alternating the assorted fabrics from the collection with a white-on-white print.  

    I know this looks like one of those "why would I need that?" rulers.  I get that.  All I can say is that I own this ruler, and this is the FOURTH quilt I have made using it!  That is rare for someone that really doesn't like making the same thing twice.  The reason is that the quilts all look very different!

    The ruler is simple and easy to use.  It makes a four patch with "personality".  It also has the added bonus of allowing you to square up each block before sewing them together, so they go together like butter.  

    Once I had the center section together, I decided that this project really needed a border to finish it off.  With minimal yardage to work with, pieced borders are the only option.  I chose to continue the pattern in a row of blocks around the outside edge, eliminating the white.  That created what I think of as a virtual border, and it worked especially well for this project.

    Time for the big finish.  Batting, backing, binding and the photo shoot.  The only problem is that I have very little pink, lavender and light blue in my fabric stash.  Certainly nothing large enough to use for backing this 53" by 60" quilt.  Then I remembered a large piece of Shannon Cuddle that was stashed somewhere in my sewing room.  After searching a few nooks and crannies, I uncovered the lavender plush fabric that was exactly the size I needed.  It was like winning the lottery!

    Finishing a project with Cuddle or Minky type fabric has its own set of issues that need to be considered.  I added a layer of white pre-washed flannel as the batting.  You don't really need a batting layer when using plush fabric on the back.  I used the flannel to keep the purple backing from shadowing through the white-on-white fabrics on the front of the quilt.  All three layers were loaded on the quilting machine and lavender dragonflies joined the pixie party.

    I have to admit that applying binding to a quilt with plush backing is one of my very least favorite sewing chores.  It isn't difficult, just more labor than I think it should be.  It is possible to trim the plush, wrap it to the front and stitch it down by machine, and skip binding all together.  I'm not a fan of how that looks on the back.  I prefer a cotton binding.  That is more easily accomplished by stitching the binding to the plush side then wrapping it to the front to be stitched in place by hand or machine.  The problem is, plush is slippery. 

    Stitching the cotton binding in place is a slow process and requires far more pins than I like to use.  Once the binding has been stitched on the back, I have a trick I use to keep it in place while I top stitch it by machine.  Pellon EZ-Steam in the 1/4" width.  I fuse this tape to the seam allowance.  When you remove the paper backing, the surface is sticky.  You can finger press your binding in place, and it will stick.  The fusible isn't permanent until you iron the binding.  After everything is tacked down and my mitered corners are perfect, I machine stitch, very close to the edge of the binding.  This trick also works if you like to wrap your binding to the back and stitch in-the-ditch on the front of the quilt.

    Now my pixie doll has a snuggly quilt ready and waiting for Madeline's next visit!

FULL DISCLOSURE:

     The light turquoise I used for the binding isn't part of the fabric collection.  I had to go shopping for that piece.  I needed a 1/2 yard, but I bought a yard.... and a few other yards.... to match the 1/2 yard of turquoise that I will have leftover..... some might be two yards..... and some pink.... because as I said, I don't have much pink.... It is entirely possible that pixie is a bad influence. 😉

BITS & VERY SMALL PIECES

     I have never been very good at "crumb quilting".  It has been suggested that I should just do it and see how freeing that process can be. I disagree.  In my mind, you have to consider size, scale of print, color, style and proportion to create something that is pleasing to the eye.  I have also been told that I am bossy and a control freak.  

     Creative, Designer/Bossy, Control Freak.  It is a mess inside my brain.  I am a living breathing oxymoron.  I design the Scrap Crazy Template Sets for Creative Grids, but I like my scrap quilts organized and easy on the eye.  There is nothing wrong with piecing quilts with every fabric under the sun.  I am amazed at the wild and crazy work of others, but I can't duplicate that kind of freedom in my own sewing.  

     That brings us to this piece of work.  Those are the trimmed bits from the scrappy version of my Partial Credit pattern.  Those scrap units were within reach as I was piecing a totally different project.  I used them as "thread bunnies" or small scraps to stitch on so that something was always under my needle.  When I completed a section of the quilt, I stitched two random pieces together and left them under my needle while I pressed the pieces for the main quilt.  One thing led to another, and I started trimming the units and piecing the pieces.  I have no idea what this will eventually become, but I do know I will love it when it is finished.  I realized that I could crumb quilt with pleasing results if I organize my crumbs the way I organize the fabrics for my quilts.  They were right, the process is extremely fun.

     Then I happened to come across a Facebook post by Pat Sloan.  Pat saved all the scraps and trimmed pieces from every project she made in 2021.  She wanted to see if she could use those scraps and how much fabric was actually left from projects.  I am sure that Pat sews as much, if not more, than I do.  The scraps that are generated from a year of sewing are equal to several large quilts!  The control freak side of my brain would never allow me to create the wonky blocks that Pat generated, but I will say I was inspired!  I found that red/white block in the photo above very intriguing. I gave myself the afternoon off to experiment.

     We have talked about this bin before.  It contains all of what I call my Kim Diel style fabrics.  Both of the quilts shown were made with the fabric from that bin.  Several table runners and a few placemats came from there too. The bin is still full, but many of the pieces were slivers, chunks and leftover 2.5" squares that needed to go either into the trash or into a treasure.  I decided to try for treasure.  

     I sorted and pressed and made a general plan.  Instead of a scrappy center, I knew that I would want a focal point.  I drew a quick "scribble" flower and a few leaves on a sheet of paper.  Whatever I end up making should probably be a rectangle, so starting with a rectangle center made sense.  I did some quick machine applique and made a promise to myself that I would hand stitch the stem using 12wt. Spaghetti Thread sometime in the future.

     Part of the "plan" was to make the pieced part of the project mindless. To do that I knew I would need to set-up some "rules".  The darker pieced strips would be cut 2.5" wide.  The lighter pieces strips would be cut 1.5" wide.  The longest scrap I would allow in the light area would be 6.5" long.  The dark pieces would be much smaller.  These rules were determined by the 2.5" by 6.5" ruler I decided to use for this project.  It works as both a ruler and a template.  Put the scrap down and trim.  No reconsidering, no decision making, simply cut everything to a standard width. 

     I have work to do on other projects that have deadlines looming.  These bits and pieces will serve as my thread bunnies as I assemble those quilts.  Creating small sections of strips allows me to insert new colors into the assortment as I come across new scraps that work in this style/color.  With everything trimmed to the same width, random piecing really is mindless.  Some of those bits were former 4 Patch blocks, others were leftover Dresden Plate wedges.  The piece in the bottom row was a larger quarter square triangle.  The one on the end has yet to be trimmed.

     Once I had plenty of pieced sections I began adding them as borders to the center panel.  You can add, top & bottom then left & right or work your way around like a log cabin block.  Trim the pieces to the size needed as you go.

   

     The random piecing makes my creative brain happy.  The standard size of the wonky piecing makes the control freak in me accept the wonky-ness.  

     I'm not sure where this project is headed or how large it will become.  I do know that I have truly enjoyed the process of making it to this point.  I also have enough scraps to make it much larger!  For the time being I have put the bits, pieces and other supplies in one of my famous "bins".  I have added that bin to the table of scrappy projects that holds my "just for fun-no deadlines" projects.  When I have a few minutes or need some thread bunnies, those bins are in easy reach.
     

     I hope you are inspired to do a little crumb quilting of your own.  Fabric is expensive.  You pay for every bit of fabric that goes into your quilt.  You pay the same amount for all of the fabric that is leftover.  Make those leftovers into a treasure!  Have some fun!
   

BEE Finished!

     Dare I say that I have been "busy as a bee"?  I have finished the lap quilt from the Bee You line from Henry Glass & Co fabrics.  It was so much fun to work on these cute little prints.  

    I am very happy with the black background floral print as my setting triangles.  It is a nice contrast to the other softer color prints.  It also allowed me to "extend" the black into the border so that I could make a larger quilt.  I did sneak in that darker shade of yellow that is not part of the fabric line, to add a bit of variety and coordinate with the darker yellow in the background print.  I always think that adding another fabric adds a bit of "life" to the project and makes the fabric group shine.

    This project really spoke to my mantra "It is all in having the right tools".  I used the Creative Grids Hexagon Trim Tool to cut the hexi and half hexi shapes.  You need to partner that with the 60 degree triangle for the background triangles.  In place of the triangle ruler, I used the "A" template from the 6" Scrap Crazy Template Set.  It is also a sixty degree triangle and it is the perfect size to work with the 8" finished hexagons.  Clipping all three corners on those setting triangles made the pieces go together perfectly.  I was concerned about the rows matching up, but a generous spray of sizing before I cut and the geometry built into the rulers, and those points are perfect!  I do mean perfect!  There are a few hundred points in that quilt and there are only a few that are off by a single stitch.  As my Grandmother would say "A blind man would be glad to see those"!

    I will admit that the differential feed on my BERNINA 770 was extremely helpful in bringing those points together.  Once again, it is all about having the right tools.

    I chose a simple butterfly design for the all-over quilting pattern.  That was stitched with a soft yellow thread.  Yellow enough to be interesting, but not so bright that you see the thread before you see the fabrics and design.

   There were several fabric prints that I didn't use in this quilt.  One is the border print and another was the tossed hexagon print.  Both are very cute, but not suitable for the quilt project.  While my Handi Quilter was stitching away, I put together a quick table runner.  

    I cut two identical pieces of border print, about 18" long.  Between those I stitched what would be the equivalent of a fat quarter of the tossed hexagon print.  Press the seams and you are done!  I added the runner to the Handi Quilter to use up the extra backing fabric.  I reduced the scale of the butterfly quilting design and let the Handi Quilter do its thing.  A little black binding on both pieces closed the book on these projects.

    But wait... there is more!  The hexi block print fabric was just begging to be a matching tea towel.  I just happened to have a black tea towel from Studio e, so I trimmed, folded, stitched and added a bit of ribbon trim to the towel.  Just for fun, I ran a straight stitch about 1 1/2" above the bottom hem.  Then I cut the bottom hem off and fringed the bottom of the towel to create a decorative edge.  I think this set is going to "bee" an extra holiday gift for one of my girls.  I guess I was doing holiday sewing after all!

It's Bee'ginning...

     December 1st.  Time for cookie baking, holiday decorating and Christmas carols.  Quilting elves all around the world are beginning to feel the stress of finishing up holiday projects intended for gifts.  Machine quilters are working into the wee hours to provide happy holidays for customers.  I am tucked into my sewing room working on.... bumble bees.

        My latest package from Jaftex arrived.  This bundle of fun is soft yellow and green mixed with black and white in cute bumble bee prints.  The group is called Bee You, by Shelly Cominsky for Henry Glass Fabrics.  It includes this large panel.  If you know me, you also know that if I am going to work with this panel, it won't be used in one piece!  I have several ideas simmering, but I'm putting the panel on the back burner for now.

        Let the decision-making process begin!  It's a bee themed fabric line.  Bumble bees go with honeycomb.  Honeycomb is hexagon shaped.  I have a Hexagon Trim Tool from Creative Grids.  Sounds like the perfect mash-up to me.

         You might be thinking that sewing hexagons together requires a "Y" seam.  You would be correct if I was planning to sew them hexi-to-hexi.  My plan is to separate them using a 60 degree triangle.  That will allow me to sew them in straight rows.  I want to include as many of the fabric prints as possible in this project.  Adding the triangles as a background fabric will keep my yellow background bees from bumping into my green background or white background bees.  Using the same print in the exact same color is always a challenge for me.  As a scrap quilter, I like variety!  As a Brand Ambassador, I try to stick to the script.

My first decision was to use the black flower print as my background fabric.  It provides the most contrast with the bee prints, allowing both of them to stand out.  You can't have a bee quilt without a little black and yellow stripe, but this one could easily overwhelm the other prints, so I will keep that to a minimum and use it sparingly.  The problem child in the group is this great looking plaid.  I love plaid.  This one is printed on the bias and it will make excellent bindings, backings and other fun items.    However, a plaid, printed on a 45 degree angle, cut with a 60 degree ruler?  That is just asking for all kinds of wonky trouble.  In this project I am going to limit it to the centers of my hexagon blocks.

    The Creative Grids Hexagon Trim Tool allows you to cut hexi pieces and half hexi pieces in 2", 4", 6" and 8" finished sizes.  I chose the 4" for my center blocks.  

    I am using the same 4" size to cut six half hexagons from 2 1/2" strips.  These will surround the center hexagon to create an 8" finished block.  The ruler has specific lines for cutting the half hex to include seam allowance.  It worked perfectly!  

    The half hexagons were added using the partial seam method so that they spiral around the center hexagon.  You probably won't notice that spiral on any of the non-directional prints, but check out that stripe!

    I have a dozen or more blocks to make in different combinations.  Then I will fill in the triangle spaces with the black floral print that I set aside.  By stitching the triangles to opposite sides of the large hexagons, I will be able to assemble the quilt in rows.

    Then I have to add some half triangles to fill in the ends.  Or maybe I will get a little more creative with the finish.  I will keep you posted!  Stay tuned!  

The Red, White and Blues

     My latest Jaftex packet arrived last week.  I am always super excited to see what treasures will tumble out of that FedEx packet.  The anticipation and then the reveal is a huge part of the fun.  It might seem weird, but that challenge really is fun for me.  I enjoy working with fabrics I may or may not have selected on my own.  The problem solving aspect of the job will normally jumpstart my creativity.  The idea of the challenge is to not simply "make something", but to make something WOW!

    When the FedEx guy delivered the package last Monday, I dropped what I was doing and opened it immediately.  I was already anticipating the possibilities.  I was surprised when the packet contained "My Happy Place" by Sharla Fults for Studio e.  

    Either I seem like an extremely patriotic person to the Jaftex sample department or simply by the luck of a random assignment I have now been sent three red, white and blue fabric lines to work with.  Between those bundles were two black/white fabric lines.  I know the design department at Jaftex has the biggest box of crayons. I'm also sure that they have access to far more color than red, white, blue and black.

    To be honest, the Scarlet Stitches line that I received in July was really a red/white line with a touch of grey.  I added the light denim blue fabric to the group.  I chose that because over the 4th of July I had discovered that I didn't actually own any red/white/blue quilts to display.  I have made plenty of them.  When they had served the purpose of promoting a book, pattern or fabric line, those patriotic projects were donated to Quilts of Valor.  I decided to keep Scarlet Stitches for my own.

    Shortly after completing the Scarlet Stitches project, another red/white/blue line arrived via the FedEx pack from Jaftex.  I dug into my pattern stash and recreated a QOV project from 2004.  That finished quilt was returned to Jaftex so that they could use it for promotion and then donate it to QOV.  I had the Scarlet Stitches quilt in my collection.  How many does one person need?

    Then last week I opened the packet and I sat staring at another patriotic line.  Actually, My Happy Place is a summer fabric line.  In addition to the stars, stripes and flag prints the group includes watermelon slices on a checkered cloth and a cute strawberry print.  The coordinating panel print includes 10" squares, perfect for pillows, that feature bicycles and travel trailers.  I chose to use the bikes, because I'm not excited by travel trailers or motor homes.  There are also 8 smaller images that would be perfect to feature on Four Square Placemats.

     I just couldn't find the "wow" in another red/white/blue fabric line, so I decided to go back to basics.  Having to use all of the prints in the line in one project makes it tough.  Especially when the scale of the prints is pretty similar and even the coordinates are high contrast.  This is the type of line that screams to be partnered with tone-on-tone blenders so that the prints really shine.  Unfortunately Jaftex didn't send any blenders and I have a limited selection of their favorites in my stash.  Luckily one is red and the other is blue.

    Back to basics it is!  The table topper was made with my original set of Scrap Crazy Templates.  I used the white on white print for the "A" template and mixed the other prints for B, C and D.  Those white slashes remind me of fireworks and they give some order to the overall design.  The strawberry print became Easy Mitered Placemats that can be used all summer long.  I partnered the bicycle squares with my favorite basic navy "Just Color" for the borders and backing of the throw pillows.  Not exactly the high point of my creativity, but the projects are done and they look good.  

    While cleaning up the scraps, I began trimming them into 1.5" by 4.5" strips and started sewing them together with the scraps of the previous groups.  I tossed in some more solid navy prints to break up the busy prints.  I'm not sure how large this is going to get, but it will definitely be one firecracker of a quilt when it is done!

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Lunch

 

     For the last two weeks I have been playing the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" game with new quilting friends.  I truly needed to connect with new quilting friends.  Having made the move south a few years ago I left my in-person quilting buddies up north.  

    I now live on an island.  If you are picturing a lump of sand with a few palm trees and no land in site, it is not that kind of island.  We have plenty of sand, but we are also connected to the mainland by a bridge.  Our island is just your normal coastal small town, it just happens to be surrounded by water.  

      What makes it feel more like an island to me is that the quilt shop that was within walking distance of my house CLOSED about a month after we moved in.  Now I have to cross that bridge to the mainland, drive the 12 miles to the interstate and then head 30 minutes north or south to find an actual brick and mortar quilt shop.  For nearly 30 years prior to making this move The Quilt Company was the center of my social life.  It is where I worked, but it is also where we talked quilting, celebrated the quilts that other people made and watched quilters make social connections.  It was where friends gathered.  Then we moved.  Then this thing called a "pandemic" happened.  THAT really threw a wrench into forming new friendships.

    Don't get me wrong, we socialize with a few neighbors, I have friends from yoga class, they just aren't quilters.  People that aren't into quilting just don't get what I do.  When the opportunity to have lunch with another quilter arose, I was excited about it!  I have known Karen Taylor, owner of A Scarlet Thread in Georgia for over a decade.  When I told her where we were moving to, she suggested I get in touch with Kay, a woman that had worked for her and had moved here too.  It took some time, but Kay and I finally connected and decided to have lunch.  

    Meanwhile I sent birthday wishes to another quilt designer friend in Minnesota.  She replied letting me know that her quilting friend was moving to this island too.  We should get together.  Sounds like a plan right?  Not as easy as you think in the days of annoying "We are contacting you about your extended car warranty" phone calls.  How often do you answer a call from an unknown number in a strange area code?  After several voicemails and texts we finally managed to get together for lunch yesterday.

    Keep in mind that none of us had ever met.  Kay arrived first and recognized me from my Nine Patch A Day Group video's.  The hostess offered to seat us and we let her know that Connie would be joining us, but we had never met her.  She assured us that she would send her right over when she arrived.  After sitting down and chatting for just a minute a woman, looking a bit lost approached out table.  I said "Connie?". She replied "Yes".  We asked her to have a seat.  She looked very confused and said "But I don't know you".  "Aren't you meeting new friends?" we replied.  Still looking confused she said "No, I'm meeting....." At which point we explained that we were waiting for a Connie we had never met.  What are the odds?  The two ladies at the table next to ours couldn't miss hearing what happened and had a good laugh.  A few minutes later when the real Connie arrived she was told that the two of us were waiting and she was confronted with two tables of two women, both equally excited that she had arrived.  

    Having finally met, it certainly didn't take six degrees to make connections.  We talked, and talked, and talked.  More than once we thought that we should probably get going, but another comment would be made and we settled back in.  The restaurant wasn't busy so I was less concerned about monopolizing a table for an... let's call it an extended period of time.  Hours later we finally decided we needed to go... or order dinner!  

  It felt so good to be out, socializing with other quilters in person and not just via Facebook or Zoom.  If you have quilting buddies, friends or cohorts, I encourage your to celebrate them!  Don't take those relationships lightly.  Don't take access to your local brick and mortar quilt shop lightly either.  You never know when they won't be around for you to enjoy.

Laundry Room

 

  

    Studio e has done it again.  Laundry Room is the name of their new fabric line that I didn't know I needed.  Isn't all fabric laundry?  Now, I can't keep my hands off of these cute prints.  This bundle of goodies arrived as one of my brand ambassador packets from Jaftex, the parent company of Studio e.  Every few weeks I receive a bundle from one of their about-to-be-released fabric lines. My job is to make something.  Anything.  Free range quilting.  I love the challenge.

    I have to admit, this one had me stumped.  Who needs a laundry room quilt?  I am not likely to grab a pumpkin latte and snuggle up next to my washer to read a book.  Obviously this line is more suited for accessory projects.  Like what?  I turned to my Facebook friends for suggestions.  They came through with wonderful ideas!  Everything from clothespin holder (already on the Studio e website as a free pattern: clothespin), to a dog bed (we don't have a dog), to curtains for my laundry room window (we removed the window and added a powder room).  Excellent suggestions, just not what I needed.

    One of the other suggestions was an ironing board cover.  Why didn't I think of that?  I have made plenty of them over the years.  I made the one you see here for my "downstairs" ironing.  My sewing room is upstairs. Nobody, absolutely nobody, wants to iron clothes on my sewing room ironing board.  Unless you would prefer to be covered in random threads.  I keep a normal ironing board for guests to use when the occasion arrives.  Now it has a cute new cover.

    One thing to remember about covering a regular ironing board is that the board is longer than one width of fabric.  That gives you the opportunity to add fabric and mix prints like I did with mine.  When you add strips of fabric to increase the length, press those seams open to distribute the bulk.  You don't want a seam "lump" when you are pressing a tablecloth.  Once you have your fabric a good 5"- 6" longer than the length of your ironing board, you can cut it to fit.  I lay the fabric face down on a flat surface.  Place the ironing board on top and trace the shape of the board a good 2" - 2 1/2" away from the edge of the board.  This does not have to be perfect!  You want enough fabric around the outside edge to cover the side of the board and to fold underneath a bit.  How far from the board you draw this line depends on how thick YOUR ironing board is.  Cut out the shape with the excess on all sides.  I use my rotary cutter and ruler for the straight edges and round the corners free hand.  

    You are going to need some bias binding or wide bias tape and something to gather the cover with to finish the raw edges.  I have tons of leftover BIAS binding from quilts so I use that, even if I have to sew scraps together.  It must be bias binding, not straight of grain binding.  The end of your board is round.  If you don't have any leftover bias binding, you can purchase binding in packages from those big box stores.  I would never put that packaged binding on my quilt, but it works great for this situation.  Open it up, press it flat and fold in half with the raw edges even.  Starting in the center of the square end, stitch the bias binding to the right side of the ironing board cover, the same way you would sew binding to a quilt.  Seam allowance isn't important.  Keep your raw edges even and make sure that the binding is wide enough to accommodate whatever you will be using as a draw string.  This will create a casing for the drawstring.

    For this cover I used elastic as the drawstring.  Any heavy cord will work just fine.  I just happened to have a spool of 1/2" black elastic so I used that.  The elastic has the added advantage of distributing the gathers for you when you put the cover on the board.  I use a bodkin to insert the elastic into the casing created by the binding.  A safety pin would work just fine, but as someone that sews, I think you should own the proper tools for the job!  Once the cover is on the board, pull up the drawstring and tie it in a knot.  Trim the ends or tuck them in.  If you are the type that takes your cover off to wash it, make sure you leave additional length in your drawstring so that the ends don't get sucked into the cover when you untie the cord.  Personally, if I have to take the cover off, it is time to make a new one!.

    Along with socks, irons, hangers, clothespins, and other prints, the fabric group also included this panel.  I love panels.... just not all in one piece. Most panels provide tons of creative opportunities.  Simply adding borders, even interesting borders, isn't something I normally do.  If you prefer your panels in one piece, Studio e has a cute pattern on their website: panel project

    As usual, I chose to cut this one up. I used the top section for a smaller wall hanging.  The clothes pin section has great possibilities, but I chose to use it for the backing on my wall hanging.  I have to say that I felt a little guilty about that, but I don't need more than one wall hanging in my laundry room.  That left the smaller section on the bottom.  That was turned into a small 12" by 16" pillow because.... well, why not?

    A little quilting, a little binding and this wall hanging was almost finished.  Then I decided to add the laundry line to the bottom.  My BFF Bernie had given me holder for those small packs of tissues that was designed to look like a mans shirt.  A little adjusting and a whole new set of instructions later I am really happy with this addition to my laundry space.  

    I have shared the instructions for this project with my private group on Facebook.  If you would like a copy of the handout, join the Nine Patch A Day Group on Facebook (make sure you add the word "group" when you search for us).  The group is private, only because Facebook allows me to share files (like this pattern) in a private group.  Everyone is welcome.  I am live in that group on most Sunday evenings at 7:00pm (eastern) to answer questions and talk quilting.  I would love to have you join us!