Floral 2 x 4 Package

      The quilting had to be done quickly although the top was done awhile ago. I received a referral for a woman undergoing chemo and right after I dried up all the art show stuff, I started quilting the floral 2 by 4. So far, this is the third quilt I have made with this pattern. It uses strips and is so adaptable to any style of fabric. I believe the backing came from a donation by Gwen.
     I did a different type of quilting in each row the long way. I figure if you are sitting for hours during treatment, the varied fabric and quilting might occupy the mind for a bit. I handed the package off and hope the recipient, whom I don't know, is comforted by it.

The whole Comfort Quilt Package which is then put in a giant Ziploc bag for delivery

Love those flowers!

      By now, I have only a few scattered blooms outside. However, this quilt top completed at retreat, a 2 x 4 pattern using 2 1/2" strips, is a riot of garden colors. Love the way it turned out. 

     On another unrelated quilt note, I am determined to sew a Christmas quilt this year. I bought a jelly roll and will make a sample block today of this free pattern. My greens are too dark and I will have to supplement from my stash.

All bricked in

     I finally finished the 2 x 4 quilt I call "Bricks". It is a fun and easy pattern. It can be found at https://cluckclucksew.com/2017/01/jelly-strip-stash-buster-quilt-and-tutorial.html  for free. I have made more than 1. This seemed perfect for a whole bunch of 2 1/2" batik strips I had cut up. The gray border is also batik. The binding is the stripe fabric I bought in Ohio a couple of weeks ago. Love those stripes. 
     My cat, the quilt assassin, was at it again when I laid the quilt out for photography, so I had to go outside. Luckily the weather was cooperative. His look says "I have no idea who dove into the quilt."  
      Quilted with Mocha Glide on top, DecoBob gray in the bobbin.

Detail

On the design wall inside

Back with label

Can't get enough 2 X 4s!

      In preparation for quilt retreat at the end of March, I have been collecting quilts that are clipped together and just need webbing to assemble. I already had a clipped together 2 x 4 quilt using 3.5" strips.
     My mother was still bored. So, I cut up lots of 2.5" batik WOF strips, paired them up and sent them to her. She zip, zipped through them and gave me strip sets. She could sew WOF together, fold in half, cut and resew the strips so I could subcut them. She ironed them, thank goodness, so all I had to do was subcut them. Each strip set cuts  5 units, 4 of which are sewn in to two blocks, so maybe the extra single blocks I can sew into a strip for the backing. 

Strip sets

Pile o' blocks sewn

First blocks

      I was able to sew all the units into blocks, put them up on the wall and spend a couple of hours/days rearranging, taking photos and driving myself crazy. Finally, enough was enough, I numbered the top blocks and clipped the columns, stacking them into a ziplock until the retreat. 
     My goal was to have the columns move your eye up and down. Even though there are some real light and some real dark blocks, I have learned from Sujata Shah and Wanda that you need those blocks in there to add interest. Matchy matchy is not my goal.

Very first layout- top too dark and no contrast.

Orange rectangle too light, 3 blocks down, 4th from left

Darker orange resewn in, much better.

Final layout. Top left block is not that light- it is too close to a lamp. It is the same block as 5 down and 5 from left. It anchors the corner just fine.

Another one started

     I try to keep my mother occupied and she can sew straight seams at 1/4". She can't (won't) piece blocks. This means that I have to do a lot of cutting and matching before I give her something and trimming and sewing blocks and assembling afterwards. She blows through what I give her like a house on fire, and I am still struggling to finish the last project with other projects going on. I have two quilts web-ready for quilt retreat that she sewed the strips for. I have two quilts with HSTs made from layer cakes she sewed all around that I need to lay out. And she wants more to sew and I can't keep up, so she is bored right now. 
     A while ago, I did the 2 x 4 quilt with 3.5" strips. I layed it out after cutting her sewn strips and my sewn blocks. One ready to web.

      I looked through my batiks and cut 2.5" WOF strips, matching them up and giving her enough sets for a twin size quilt. She sewed them all in record time. Now I am subcutting them into pieces for blocks and putting them on the design wall. I hope to get all the blocks sewn and laid out on the wall, marked for webbing before the end of March quilt retreat. And do my other sewing/quilting.

Blocks done so far.