Raggedy Quilts for Cooler Weather

So last year I made my first raggedy quilt on the sewing machine. It was flannel and I loved it! So when I saw the French Flower quilt made in with the same method, I knew I just had to make one.

This quilt is gorgeous! I didn't make it full size or big enough to cover a bed but as a throw it still works. I like the laptop size when I quilt on the machine. I don't have a longarm machine so it's really tough for a whole quilt to go through my machine, even when it's rolled up. But with this method you can make a quilt as big as you want working row by row as you go.

You just cut out four different sizes of squares and then round them out for flower petals. I cut them 3, 4, 5 and 6 inches for the flowers. Then I cut the edges to look like five big loose petals.

I cut out a rough leaf shape and made two for each flower. I started in the center and just kept turning and sewing round each layer of petals. 

I didn't pick up my thread or backstitch until I was done with the whole block. All layers together.

I used a flat sheet to make 11" x 11" squares, enough for the front and back. You can make it as big as you want just by making more squares. Mine is offset and I used half squares of 5.5" x 11" for those four. I made three rows of five blocks and two rows of four blocks with a half block on each end of the row. I used half inch seams. My finished quilt is about 50" x 50" and I cut all my batting to 10" x 10". I didn't catch the batting in the block seams when I put the blocks together but it's O.K. if it does catch some batting in the seam as it helps to hold it down in the corners.

Than I just sewed the edges into rows back sides together so the raveled edges would be on the front of the quilt. Then I sewed a normal binding on around the quilt and just cut the edge with scissors so it would be raggedy too.

When I was done I washed it on gentle cycle and picked the strings off before throwing it in the dryer on the lightest heat setting.

It came out looking beautiful and yes you will be picking off strings from everything for a while. It took me one day to cut the pieces out including the batting. And two days to run it up on the sewing machine for a total of three days from start to finish! It's quick, it's pretty and it's warm so I'll probably make another one later. Wouldn't these make nice Christmas gifts?

Fairy Doll Frenzy

I haven't been posting but I have been busy... real busy. Too busy to post until now. I got into these dolls because I was fascinated with their eyes and making them.

But it took much longer to make the dolls themselves, their clothing and to put them together. 

I guess it took me three to five days to get one done from start to finish. There are a lot of details on these dolls.

The prairie point skirts were very detailed and time consuming but the look was worth it. They have so much texture and add a layer of depth to the dolls that any other skirt just wouldn't be able to achieve.

I loved making the shoes and each one was a little different than the last so they held my attention from start to finish.

I also got to use my special fibers for their hair. I have a whole container full of zany fibers but projects where I get to use them don't come along very often.

These quirky dolls took up most of a whole month but if that wasn't busy enough, I decided to paint my entry and living/dining room walls. I do love to paint. My house needed a deep cleaning anyways so I cleaned, organized and painted at the same time. It took me over a week to get it all done.

I'm not much for Spring cleaning but I often do my cleaning before the Holidays in the Fall.

So now I'm on to the next project. I suffered through a creative block for several weeks after these dolls were done, but now I'm back into it. I've decided to sew a little more with a new project and then the Anna Griffin Create 10 will be here in the middle of November and that will keep me busy up until the end of the year and beyond.

I wanted to at least get something posted for this month since I've been so busy. I'm pretty much all caught up now!