Progress on the Koi Pond Scrappy Duckworth Quilt

On the Design Wall - Koi Pond - Scrappy Duckworth Quilt

I was supposed to  spend most of the day working on the next steps for dressing the big loom for a new project.  I started on these Duckworth blocks in the am, and just kept going with them.

 I now have 64 6-1/2 inch blocks, or 36 quatros.  I think that's about half way to the official size of a Duckworth quilt.

You make 4 blocks at a time.  I don't have to think too much about the next blue to  add as you go around the blocks.  All the blues go together.

The throw-away Bin: Bits too small to keep.

 It's definitely a scrap buster quilt.  Many of the bits that get cut off after trimming to the 6-1/2 inch finished size are too small to keep.  They may be longer, but are often too narrow to really do anything with.  I'm not doing the composed fabric these days, so I'm not keeping these bits anymore.  After sewing it to another bit, you may only have 1/4 inch of fabric showing.  Not worth it!   

So YES -- Seeing the throw-away scrap pile grow is also kind of addicting!  It makes me feel like I really am working through some of this fabric stash.  This one truly is scraps from other projects.  And Yes, I have a lot of blue. ;-)

2nd Disappearing Hour Glass 2 Quilt Top is Complete

 

2nd Disappearing Hour Glass 2 Quilt Top

I was so pleased with this pattern / technique that I made another one.  It works so well with a layer cake and a background fabric.  

I purchased some fat quarter sets that I thought might work for something else, and wound up cutting 10-inch squares from the quarters to make this one.  The blocks work up quick enough, and they are large enough to make you feel like you are actually making progress!

I was so happy with how the Disappearing Hour Glass 2 quilt top turned out, that I wanted to try another one, so I bought a couple of fat quarter sets to mix -- purples and grays and blues this time.  The pattern calls for 30 10-inch squares.  I'll have 40 to choose from with leftovers:

From Mrs T's Mercantile on etsy.

 

Some of the purples and pinks and mauves turned out to be too "girly" so they didn't make the final cut.  

 

 

And this one with more grays to blacks ...  This is another wonderful color combination from Mrs T's Mercantile on etsy.   It has more of a Civil War vibe to it.  Or silk ties!

 

I wound up mixing in a few others from my stash that seemed to meld well overall.

Another quilt top to add to the pile to be sandwiched.

Adding Borders with a Banister

Adding borders by measuring through the middle of a quilt top.  The banister is an essential tool!

Just outside my sewing room is the railing for the stairs.  It works very well for a no math method of measuring for adding borders to quilt tops.

The old-timers say to measure through the middle of your quilt, as things can get wonky out at the edges.  If you measure through the middle, it can tame the wonkiness at the edges.  So that's what I do.  It's been one of those game-changing skills / techniques that has greatly improved my quilting.

I can hang the quilt over the railing so that the center of the length or width is along the top of the rail.  I straighten it out ...  Then I stretch out the intended border to match that length or width and cut 2 borders accordingly. 

Then I go back to my sewing room.  Fold the top in half and use a pin to mark the center.

Fold it in half again, and use pins to mark the quarter points.  I do the same for the newly cut borders, and match up the end points, the middle and quarter points.  Then I ease in the rest, pinning so it can be sewn on evenly.  Press the seams.

Repeat for the opposite border.

The railing might be an unusual quilting tool, but it has proven essential for me!