Panel Quilt Backing

Babies are coming, so it's time for me to quilt!

I finished the backing for Baby Perry's quilt on Tuesday night, and the sandwiching was finished last night. I hope to put it on the longarm tonight. Hopefully the quilt can be finished this weekend because I still need to finish another quilt for Baby Garner this month. (Except Baby Garner is a girl, so I'm rethinking the panel I planned to use to quickly work up the second quilt. On a very positive note, many of my WIPs would be suitable for a girl, and I have more than enough girly stash to create a totally new quilt. Just not enough time to do something too labor-intensive.

I've stressed for a couple of weeks about what I could use to back this awesome dinosaur panel. I thought I had some Fossil Rim leftovers from my future paleontologist grandson and my neighbor's grandson's quilt, but I couldn't find them. I kept looking under the guise of organizing and downsizing and finally found the second half of a layer cake, four different coordinating fabrics in yardage, two charm packs and some scraps from the checkerboard border I made for last year's dinosaur quilt.

I even still had a few leftover gray jelly roll strips I could use as sashing. I think that gray has been incorporated into two or three other quilts. There might be enough left to sash one more baby quilt, being as I then pieced together all the leftover sections from this quilt back to make yet one more jelly roll strip. Yay!

I've been getting reacquainted with my sewing machine for a few days now. While working on the butterfly dress I finished last month, I found a pair of shorts I'd cut out one year. Shorts are fast and easy, and we've got the heat. So shorts are a very welcome addition to my wardrobe. I finished them in about half an hour. I wore them the next day. They are in the laundry basket now.

I also found a jelly roll set and coordinating yardage I'd bought a few years ago to make another dress. The colors are just luscious, so I decided to cut the yardage into 3-inch strips so I can work on that dress once I finish the deadline baby quilts. I had enough yardage left for a bodice, so I cut out that and the lining and pockets, too. that will make working on this dress so much more enticing because it's ready to go. I don't have to do anything but sew!!! I am actually anxious to wear it, so maybe that will help me get the baby quilts done!!!

I also whipped together all the selvedges I'd cut off all the fabric I've bought during the last couple of years or so.

I used to roll the selvedges after sorting into colorways and photographing them, then sell them in my Etsy shop. I still have quite a few rolls from pre-2019 I never had a chance to list in my Etsy shop, so this time, I decided to make selvedge yarn. Tarn is made from T-shirts, and plarn is made from plastic bags. I have no clue what they call yarn made from selvedges. Sarn?!?

I've made plenty of rugs now from selvedge yarn. I can't have space rugs on our hardwood floors now because Lizard could trip on them. So perhaps I'll make a bag or a porch rug... or maybe just list the big balls of strips on Etsy...

Linking up with Alycia Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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Rags 2 Riches

My April goal, in addition to finishing a WIP, is to finish a block a day. Doesn't matter what block. Doesn't matter if it's a WIP or new. Just finish a block each day. If I can.

I took a two-day break from Lizard Toes blocks last weekend because I got tired of walking past my huge mountain of selvedges. Really tired. I decided it was time to get rid of them.

This isn't even a fraction of the stash I separated out into color groups. I stitched half the selvedges together Friday night and began crocheting.

Saturday night I stitched the rest of the selvedges together, and finished up the rug. And now I don't have a stash of selvedges to annoy me while I'm trying to get things done anymore. At least until I start using up some of the untrimmed fabric in my stash, right?

You may do whatever you'd like with rugs you make from this pattern, but you may not sell or republish the pattern. Thanks, and enjoy!

Materials: Approximately 34 yards of selvedges or fabric cut into approximately 1-inch strips to make "yarn", size Q (or desired large) crochet hook, scissors, sewing machine and/or sewing needle, sewing thread

Rags 2 Riches Rug Instructions

Make "yarn" by sewing, tying or looping strips into one extremely long piece. (I machine-stitched my ends together.) For convenience and to prevent tangled messes, roll "yarn" into ball as you go.

Make magic ring.

Round 1: 6 sc in ring; do not join on this or any of the rounds that follow. Pull magic circle tight.

Round 2: 2 sc in each sc around for a total of 12 sc.

Round 3: [3 sc in next sc, sk next sc] 6 times for a total of 18 sc, 1 sc in next sc.
If you're not reading this pattern on Snowcatcher, you're not reading the designer's blog. Please go here to see the original.

Round 4: [3 sc in next sc, 1 sc in each of next 2 sc] 6 times.

Round 5: [3 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next sc, 1 sc dec across next 2 sc, 1 sc in next sc] 6 times.

Rounds 6-desired width of project: [3 sc in next hexie tip sc, 1 sc in each of next hexie side sc, dec 1 st on each side, trying to to repeat decs directly above dc in previous Round] 6 times. Continue in this pattern until desired width of project is attained. Bind off. Weave in ends. For added strength, st a few sewing stitches by hand or by machine through beg and final ends

Linking up with Alycia Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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I Heart Finishes!

Two big bags of fleece remnants and selvedges have lingered in my basement since... Gosh, it's been so long, I had to look it up.

2015!

The girls I taught for five years and their mothers used to make nearly 100 fleece blankets about this time each year for Children's Hospital.

The last couple of years of the project, I asked everyone to save the little bits and pieces and all the selvedges because I could make them into something useable. I think I was planning, at the time, to make another snowflake rug.

With all the crazy colors, and inspired by the current jelly roll rug fad, perhaps I should have crafted a new mandala rug instead...

I just added a significant amount of blue snowflake fleece selvedges to the collection after making matching Christmas fleece jammies for Lizard and myself. I've made tarn (yarn made of T-shirt strips), plarn (yarn made of plastic bags, and fabric selvedges "yarn". I was trying to find out if anyone had given fabric or fleece selvedge yarn a name. "Farn" and "sarn" sound pretty weird to me! All I could find in my limited search was denim selvedge yarn (which I've not made)(YET!!!). So I guess "selvedge yarn" will have to do for now.

I decided I didn't want these selvedges hanging out and taking up space in the stash anymore, and Valentine's Day is literally just around the corner. So perhaps I could craft something hearty and fast before getting back to my Painterly Petals WIP!

You may do whatever you'd like with rugs you make from this pattern, but you may not sell or republish the pattern. Thanks, and enjoy!

Finished Size: 29 inches across, 29 inches from top to bottom
Materials: Approximately 34 yards of selvedges or fabric cut into approximately 1-inch strips to make "yarn", size Q crochet hook, scissors, sewing machine and/or sewing needle, sewing thread

Fleece Selvedges Heart Rug Instructions

Make "yarn" by sewing, tying or looping strips into one extremely long piece. (I machine-stitched my ends together.) For convenience and to prevent tangled messes, roll "yarn" into ball as you go.

NOTE: This project is worked in one continuous round; do not join at the end of each round. This project also is designed to be whatever size you want. Keep going until you reach the desired size or until you run out of selvedge yarn.

TIP: Use worsted weight yarn and a size G hook to make an adorable mug rug.

mug rugs with my avocado pit-dyed yarn

Ch 16.

Round 1: 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each of next 6 ch, 3 sc in next ch, 1 sc in each of next 6 ch, 3 sc in final ch, then continue working back on opposite side of ch, 1 sc in each of next 5 ch, sk next ch, draw up loop through 3/sc inc (to minimize hole in work), sk next ch and draw up loop through next ch, yo and draw through all 3 loops on hook (1 dec made)(heart point made), 1 sc in each of next 5 ch, 2 sc in same sp as starting sc.

Round 2: 2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in each of next 7 sc, 3 sc in next sc, 1 sc in each of next 7 sc, 2 sc in each of next 3 sc, 1 sc in each of next 4 sc, sk next sc, pull up loop through Round 1 dec, sk next sc and draw up loop through next sc, yo and draw through all 3 loops on hook, 1 sc in each of next 3 sc.

Round 3: 3 sc next sc, 2 sc in each of next 2 sc, 1 sc in each of next 9 sc, 3 sc in next sc, 1 sc in each of next 9 sc, [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next sc] 3 times, 1 sc in each of next 2 sc, sk next sc, draw up loop through Round 2 dec, sk next sc, draw up loop through next sc, yo and draw through all 3 loops on hook, 1 sc in each of next 3 sc.

Round 4: 3 sc in next sc, [1 sc in each of next 2 sc, 2 sc in next sc] 2 times, 1 sc in each of next 8 sc, [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in next sc] 3 times, 1 sc in each of next 2 sc, sk next sc, draw up loop through Round 3 dec, sk next sc, draw up loop through next sc, yo and draw through all 3 loops on hook, 1 sc in each of next 2 sc.

If you're not reading this pattern on Snowcatcher, you're not reading the designer's blog. Please go here to see the original.

Round 5: 2 sc in each of next 2 sc, 1 sc in each of next 4 sc, 2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in each of next 12 sc, 3 sc in next sc, 1 sc in each of next 12 sc, [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in each of next 3 sc] 2 times, 2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in each of next 2 sc, sk next sc, draw up loop through Round 3 dec, sk next sc, draw up loop through next sc, yo and draw through all 3 loops on hook, 1 sc in each of next 2 sc.

Round 6: [2 sc in next sc, 1 sc in each of next 3 sc] 3 times, 1 sc in each of next 12 sc, (for mug rug, 1 sc in next sc; invisible bind off, weave in ends), (for rug) 3 sc in next sc, 1 sc in each of next 12 sc.

Round 7-10 (or desired size): Continue working sc around, working 3 inc evenly spaced on each heart top curve, working the dec at the center top and working 3 sc into bottom point. Upon reaching desired size, continue working sc to bottom point. Work 1 sc into bottom point, do invisible bind (linked below in finishing instructions), bind off. Weave in ends

Finish: When I reached the end of crocheting my rug, I used the invisible finish, then tucked the fleece end into the back of the nearest stitch and hand-stitched it in place. I also wove the starting fleece tail into the back side of the rug and stitched it into place with a few hand stitches.

Linking up with Alycia Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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Living on the Edge

On September 5, 2015, I began crocheting some of my blue and green selvedges into a mandala using the pattern I designed for thread crochet following the death of Marinke Slump.

As the piece became bigger and bigger, it began to ruffle on the edges because of the 12 increases on every round of the original pattern, which was written for a much smaller scale.

I wasn't in the mood to unravel. So my selvedge mandala has for nearly a year and a half rested atop a stack of quilting magazines next to our living room chair, where I sit on a heating pad when I can't sleep at night. Meanwhile, I did tons of piecing and quilting, as well as a few sewing projects, and I cut up plenty more selvedges. The pile kept growing and growing and growing. Becoming more and more annoying with every new project.

Ugh!

Down with a head cold most of January and not retaining enough energy or will most nights after work to quilt or do much of anything else creative, I decided one evening I should go ahead and finish this mandala rug. It was right there, next to me. I didn't even have to reach for it.

I thought this might also be a good time to organize my relentless and out-of-control mountain of selvedges. It truly was a mountain.


I finally ripped back three rounds on the selvedge rug and then continued crocheting, working in only six increases on each round instead of 12. That worked for about four rounds, but then I had to do 12 increases on the even rounds and 6 increases on the odd rounds, which required a bit more unraveling and redoing. Nevertheless, the project was moving along at last. Finally!

I underestimated the amount of selvedges I'd need to complete the rug and was short about six or seven yards on the final round.

I'd already organized three years' of selvedges and packaged them to sell on Etsy. I didn't want to break into one of the packages to finish my rug.

I pulled out one of the Ravelry reward fat quarters I'd received a couple of years ago for finishing a WIP quilt and cut the entire fat quarter into 1-inch strips. I added the strips to the dangling selvedge on the unfinished rug, and about 20 minutes later, this longstanding WIP was finished!


I tried to make the color registration dots show whenever I could.


Taking pictures of the finished rug was more fun than taking pictures of the packaged selvedges. My first amaryllis of the year bloomed at just the right time!




The packaged selvedges took a heck of a lot more time and math than the rug! But thank heavens they are DONE! And in my Etsy shop. Good riddance!




































Linking up with Busy Hands Quilts, Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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