Something little.....

[Patch]

You know I just finished what was to me a monster project with that donation quilt. Now I'm sewing curtains, which is almost the same as quilting a bed-size quilt on my DSM, LOL! I am getting the recurring thought that I'd love to do just a bunch of little quilts, something little that will fit nicely under my DSM's throat and on my oversize sewing table, and I won't have to use a shoe-horn to quilt it.

What have people done that's little? Pictures? Patterns? I've got lots of ideas, but you can never have too many of them!

[MaHubs]

How about lap quilts for people in nursing homes or in wheelchairs? I started making a couple for my mom and after I got her well stocked, I kept on and made a few for other residents. I found it liberating to not worry about how they would be judged. It gave me the freedom to try new ideas without a huge expenditure of fabric or time. And I was normally able to make one from my current stash unless I got too tempted by new fabrics. Although I started out making them slightly bigger, the optimum size seems to be about 24 x 30. The 24" goes across the lap and doesn't get caught in the wheels, and the 30 is the length. These measurements can change with the size of the person. One lady had leg braces and liked having one that would cover those. Although I haven't made one designed for a man yet, I intend to.

My Bernina shop encouraged me to make them like a pillowcase, but I put binding on, but I did it all by machine. I stitched over the top edge of the binding with a wide decorative stitch such as a vine of leaves. Knowing that these will go through a laundry with no special care I tried to make sure nothing would come undone.

Sometimes I took a portion of a design I liked and modified it to make a smaller quilt. But more often I just did something simple that came to me.

[MaHubs]

I should have added that the photo I attached to my first message was done as a nap quilt so it's much larger. Here's my mom with her smaller birthday lap quilt. Even this one was a little too large. The more I made, the smaller the dimensions got. She finally persuaded me that too wide is oh too bad!

[quiltmonkey]

Your mom is adorable. You are such a good daughter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love your quilts. I've made a few small lap quilts for charity that fit well with those people in wheelchairs.

[quiltmonkey]

Patty, as far as "something little" to quilt, I have made a gazillion (well maybe not that many... but close!) I've made lots of table toppers and quilted them on my DSM. I do all sorts of patterns. I have one pattern that uses the pineapple block and made a bunch of those (it's a square topper). These turned out very pretty. I also like the Union Square block and the Bear Paw block for table toppers. I usually put them three or four across (long/narrow topper) and I set these blocks on point with the setting triangles and an outer border, and quilted them on my DSM and they turned out very pretty and easy, fast to do.

[Patch]

Oh MaHubs, that is the PERFECT idea!!! You don't know maybe, but my MIL had a fall and broke a lumbar vertebra in February, then underwent surgery for it. The doctor has just recently pronounced her cripple and incontinent for life, sadly. But this makes me feel better, as it gives me something I can do for her that can actually help a tiny bit. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!

Oh, and yes your mom sure is a sweetie-face. I bet she's wonderful to be with. Bless you!

[Patch]

Oh Shana too, thanks for your great ideas. I was just so boled over by the fact that MaHubs' idea seemed tailored for me. Hmmm..... maybe there is Someone listening after all.

I am planning to do some table-toppers for people's Christmas gifts next year. I think I'll get started on them this summer. Thanks for reminding me.

[yvonnerenae]

Hey MaHubs, curious, why would ithey suggest to you to make them like a pillow case? I make comfort quilts for our church and am wondering the advantage of the pillow case style? do you know? Thanks for the enlightenment.

Yvonne

[mrsbishwit]

Patch;

You could easily do the kids size quilts which are about 40"X60" on your DSM. And the materials for the quilt would run you about $50.00 per quilt if you can get your fabrics for $5.00 a yard.

My favorite on-line quilt store is http://www.fabricshack.com

click on the area that says "sale-bration" and you will find some great deals for quilt store quality fabric prices range from $5.98-$1.98 a yard. They have a lot of kid friendly type prints, blenders, batiks etc.... on sale all the time!

Then sell them for $75-$100 each

All you will need to do is try to figure out how to market yourself and to sell the kid size quilts.

Joann

[Pats]

Patch

Another use of small quilts is Doll Quilts for Toy and Joy. You can make these from left overs and practice quilting on them and still give them as a great gift. NW Quilters in Portland collects Doll Quilts each year for Toy and Joy and the Firemen come to the guild meeting to collect them. I think they made about 1500 last year. What is neat is the firemen brought a sample of how they package the quilt with a doll for the kids. It really looks fantastic, and its fun to see how your little project from left over fabric was turned in to something spectacular. Have fun whatever you do.

Pats;)

[Patch]

Joann and Pats, those are two more EXCELLENT ideas I'm going to take up. Thank you!!

MaHubs, I'd also like to know why the LQS told you to make them like a pillowcase. Can't for the life of me figure out why, unless they thought it could go around her legs..... ?? (this is where I need the smiley face scatching its head, LOL! :cool: is the closest I can come to this, I guess. )

[quiltmonkey]

Patch:

I think you are confused. Not a quilt that is shaped like a pillow case. When referencing the term "pillow case" in quilting, that means laying the batting and then the fabrics on top right sides together and stitching around the entire outside edge, trimming down the extra stuff for a narrow seam allowance and then leaving a small hole to turn it all right side out and then whip stitching to close the opening. Then you either tie the quilt with yarn, floss, or quilt it on the machine. The quilting is the last step. That is what pillowcasing is. The same thing that Mary Beth was trying to do with the fringe quilt.

[Patch]

LOL, Shana!! Thanks for straightening me out! That is exactly what I did with Donna's quilt last December/January. How funny I didn't know what it was called, just how to do it.

I much prefer the binding method too. So much easier, in my book!

[Grammie]

I was taught that this is called Birthing a quilt.

I do it alot with baby quilts when I did alot of them with my home machine. It is also fun with art quilts that are really small and just fun for framing.

[quiltmonkey]

Birthing a quilt? Well, I'll be gosh darned... I've not heard that term "birthing a quilt" before. But all y'all way down there in the big state of TEXAS have words for things that we folks livin' way up north in the EVEN BIGGER state of ALASKA;) (yah, that's right...I said BIGGER) ...well, some words all y'all say down there in Texas...(the second largest state...yup), ...well we northern folks, well, ain't never heard them terms before.

I learn something new every day. Thank you, Miss Grammie Tammie!

PS: That said, I suppose that I've birthed me bunches of quilts. Yup! I do the birthing method for many of my charity quilts. Saves time on having to stitch on the binding. Looks super cute on baby quilts, too. I like to tie some of my baby quilts with high loft batting cuz those little ones like to play with the strings while laying on their cute little quilt.

[kennan100]

Shauna,

If it gets much more crowded down here I may head your way.....Nah....I don't do cold, and there's still a LOT of room down here!

[Patch]

In that case, I sure "birthed" Donna's quilt!! I think that thing did take about nine (9) months, LOL! But I can also tell you I spent an entire night in hard labor over the donation quilt, you bet I did! And I think I earned the right to say I birthed that quilt too, even though I bound it. Yup!

[MaHubs]

The quilt store said that by making it like a pillowcase it would be faster, easier, and cheaper (no binding to make or buy). I personally think it looks TOO cheap. I don't make my own binding for these lap quilts. Generally I can find commercial binding that's the right color. I know they won't get the heavy use that an heirloom quilt would get over the years so the binding doesn't have to be double at the very edge. in the process of doing these bindings entirely by machine, I've learned a lot about mitering the corners, lining up the edges, etc. Now I can do them almost perfectly the first time with no ripping.

I use some of the wider decorative stitches on my Bernina to do the final stitching on the top edge of the binding. Normally I can find something that matches the spirit of the quilt...leaves, etc.

One of my problems now is that the nursing home my Mom is in doesn't really want any more. They say they have all they need from the Salvation Army but I know these are just fleece lap quilts. So I'm going to go to a nearby local nursing home and see them. Twice I made them to order for residents, and then had them change their mind before I got it finished. So now I make what I think someone will like.

[Patch]

Huh. Fancy wanting Salvation Army quilts over your custom made ones. Wierd. Maybe they feel yours are too special or something. I know my mother put the quilt I made her years ago for her 75th in the closet and has never used it, because she's afraid she'll get it dirty. Just like my dad until that day I dragged it out and put it on him in his wheelchair on the deck. Couldn't argue with me then. But I wish people would accept our gifts while they can still enjoy them.

I love to do binding. I can do bias almost as easy as straight, and it's soothing. I have usually put them on by machine, stitching the last stitching on the front so it's the back that looks messed up some, but these were not for sale or anything. Gifts for my family members who think I walk on water already just because I can sew quilts, LOL!

[MaHubs]

In my earlier post I mistakenly identified the book from which the design that I modified for my lap quilt as "East Meets West," when in fact it is Komiko Sudo's fabulous "East Quilts West." This book is out of print but available online (try campusi.com). It inspires me more than any quilt book I've owned (except for perhaps the ones on Gee's Bend quilts...). You will not only be inspired with designs, but also colors. I give this book 10 stars!