The Harry Potter quilt is FINALLY finished!!

Harry Potter is in the House!!!! Finally!!!!

It has been a long, hard journey for the past 6 months, but finally... IT IS FINISHED!!!
Well, actually 3 are finished! I have 3 grand daughters that have vowed to be "Potterheads" for the rest of their lives so for Christmas this year.. they are getting an amazing Harry Potter quilt.. made by their favorite grandmother... ME!

At first, I was so excited as I was making 9 patch blocks but adding images and words, etc. I was fortunate to find several fabrics at Joann's Craft store as I hate buying fabric online. I like to see what I am getting, see the colors are right, etc, so, I only buy online when I have no other choice. But the prints I got were amazing and.. using a coupon, got them at 50% off regular price.

And I use several kinds of squares like Flying Geese etc and also did some machine embroidery with Glow in the Dark thread. Yes.. it really glows in the dark. I used it as the top thread and neutral cotton in the bobbin. Also, several, what I call, "glitter fabrics".. they really do glitter/shine, but there is nothing that flakes off like actual glitter.

2 of the girls, being sisters,  share a room so I wanted to make them like a bed spread of the same pattern, but some differences to make the quilt their own. I bought the panels for the center and kept those the same so the room doesn't look jumbled with different bedspreads. I then went back to math class and did the math to add sashings and 9-patch blocks to make the quilts twin size. They ended up being 70"x90". The older sister is rather tall so I wanted the bedspreads/quilts longer for her sake so I made them both the same size.

 The width pattern of the quilt is ... center panel, 2" sashing (black with gold dots), 4" sashing (blue with gold sparkles) 9-patch block (9"x9" finished block and each square is 3"x3" finished), blue sashing, black sashing and blue binding. The length pattern is the 9"x9" finished block and Black with gold dots sashings. I know they are going to love the golds in the fabric as they stand out very nicely!
 I was glad to have my design wall...which is a flannel blanket with a casing on top, and an expansion rod through the casing and put up over the closet sliding doors. This way, I have the wall and can still get in the closet when needed. I put each block up until I had the right amount of them, then placed them as I wanted them to be on the quilt.

MAKING THE BLOCKS 

 

 This is one block. I used Flying Geese to make the pointed squares and then cut out the faces of the characters and with double sided fusible interfacing... fused them to the block.  You can also see the black with gold dot fabric. They are raised up and you can't iron them.. they melt off! The other square I made was an "Hour Glass" and I used black and beige glitter fabric. It really does glitter/shine, but nothing comes off!

 This 9-patch I fussy cut images from the fabric  - the square of the school (top left) and the square with Harmonie and Ron (just below that and the dragon middle right) You might notice I did embroidery on some of the squares.. this is done with "glow in the dark" thread. Yes, it really does glow! I picked  15 names of characters and did machine embroidery and wrote the names... notice Hermione Granger in the lower right square and then I did a fussy cut of her face and fused it on! On the left bottom corner...another fussy cut of the Griffindorf logo fused on AFTER the 9-patch was finished.

 This one has HST's for each corner, a Flying Geese for the arrows and a fussey cut "Harry Potter" from the fabric. Also, fussy cuts are of the 4 house banners. Another thing I did that I think the kids are going to love, is this one fabric I got was like a newspaper with phrases and things. I cut them out, fused them to the finished block like in the upper right corner here. Again, some machine embroidery of names in the 2 lower corner squares.

This ne has a few of all of the above! Glow in the Dark name (top,left) Flying Geese (top right). Fussey cut from fabric (middle left and middle right and lower right. The center square and lower-middle are made into one rectangle and I used the Ravenclaw logo and banner and added a newspaper headline.

 This block had HST's on 2 of the corners with fussey cut add-ons and the glittery silver fabric. The center has Hogwarts fused to it. And as you can see, other squares are cut from the fabric as is.

 This one is one of my favorites because I made the three characters on the center of  2, flying Geese sewn together. And you can see the blue and gold sparkle fabric used for the sashing.

This one shows more of the machine embroidery with the Glow in the Dark thread of 6 names. All the squares are HST's. Amazing how many different designs you can make with HST's.







         

This is the back. I used Maurders Map fabric, the same blue as on the front and the Harry Potter with drawings of the Hogwarts school all around.  The binding is black.  This is a close up of the added headline, fused to the sashing. These 2 are quilts, cotton front, VERY THIN batting and cotton back. The point is.. they are on their beds all the time.. lot of sitting on them and being used so I wanted them a little thicker to with stand the use of being sat on etc, all the time.

AND THE THIRD ONE....

I did a third one for the other grand daughter. she is older and being in a warmer climate, she wanted less warmth so hers is more of a blanket quilt. Cotton top, NO BATTING and cotton flannel back.

 These are a few blocks from hers.  Again, HST's with the glitter fabric and some fussey cuts.

This one has a "Golden Snitch" HST. I did some with the gold glitter (beige background)with black glitter to imitate a Snitch also.

Golden Snitch (black and gold/beige)

The Golden Snitch black with gold triangles

This is the back. It is solid and I just fused a few of the fussey cuts around it. 100% cotton flannel and I fused (then machine sewed around) a few fussey cuts from the "newspaper" fabric.

This is the front. Hers is only different in that I made each block separately. I had alot of fun doing this.. just create as I go and make 16 for each quilt

I then thought to make them each a pillowcase to go with the quilts. These two are for the sisters sharing a room.. the black trim is different so they each have "their own" pillowcase!

And although I don't have a picture, I also made them each a 7"x9" zipper pouch.  I used the leftover 3,1/2x3,1/2 inch squares..sewed 6 together and that was the front.

And THAT's my World of Harry Potter for the last 6 months, which also included one month of NO sewing machine as both of mine were in the shop for maintenance and a massive struggle with FMQ'ing stitches not doing right, only to figure out.. I had my thread on the spool wrong! Now THAT was a lesson learned that with NEVER be forgotten!

I hope you have enjoyed the journey and gotten some good ideas for your own Harry Potter quilts or blankets. And with that.. I will not be saying the words "Harry Potter" again at least until Christmas when the quilts will be loved and adored by my wonderful granddaughters!

Thanks for stopping by and...keep on preserving those memories! Want to read more at Fabric and Memories? CLICK HERE
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My TV Blanket/quilt...Red, White & Black..& Text!

I have always wanted a red, white and black colored quilt. Well, I have finally made one! Still contemplating how to do the back.. flannel or fleece...but the top is done and I really like it!  The star is my favorite block to do.. it is made up of HSTs. You can make them with Flying Geese, but.. HST is a little easier and quicker.. at least to me!  The blocks are made with 16, 3x3 (finished) squares so they are 12 inch blocks. The text on these are silly sewing related "articles". A real life issue.. with sewing things being the "culprits" etc! Just funny stuff!

 

 This is the text print. All these things are historical events.. and many that I lived through! I didn't take picture, but the others are about presidents of the past (Truman-Ford) and the Titanic and Amelia Earhart, Vietnam surrender and a few other things. This is a 6x6" square. 

  I did something new on this one... I added triangles in the corners of a block to make the block larger to the same size as the Star ones. I only had 4 of the history squares so I also used this "seed" ad text print.. tells about planting seeds and also includes a bible verse on some of them.  I wanted to break up the large portion of red so I added black triangles to the corners of the block!

 

This block is kind of like a "snowball" block/pattern. I sewed the red and black strips to the text square.. then trimmed to a 12"x12" block.

Here is the finished quilt top... minus the 1 inch four patch corners and the outer border. I alternated the starts and the diamond blocks.

 This is each side... closer view and alot you can see the corner stones better!

 

This (left) is the finished front and (right) finished back with red binding. The back is a fleece of little dachshund dogs. No reason for the theme other than it was cute.. and the fleece was on sale!

 

Nice and comfy for in my "TV watching" chair! It measures 60x50. Bit smaller than a twin size, but perfect for my TV chair!


Thanks for stopping by and...keep on preserving those memories! Want to read more at Fabric and Memories? CLICK HERE

How to Organize Your Scraps... and USE THEM!!

We all keep our scraps of fabric, no matter how small. Some use them as bedding/filling for a blanket for a pet, others, cut them into squares...down to even a 1"x1" square and then later, sew them together to make Postage Stamp quilts or just "scrap quilts". Either way...we tend to think of it as a chore. I admit, I kind of do! I let them pile up for a year... just stuff that plastic tote full as possible all year long. Then...I finally get energized to do some cutting and organizing and spend a few hours with the scraps and come out feeling great, energized and ready to start a new project!

Today, I did just that. I was going through all my fabric yesterday, getting ready for a move. I was adamant that I was NOT going to pay to move and possibly pay to store, this large plastic tote of scraps. So, last night I decided today would be my Scrap Day. I had done this last 2 years in a row and cut the pieces to 2,1/2"x2,1/2" squares, put them all in baggies of matching colors and then into a decorative photo box on the shelf.  I did make some quilts with some of them, but I had so many, I still have some left!  I made these "Postage Stamp" quilts with 2,1/2"x2,1//2" squares.

 These are all 40"x60" lap quilts.  I added the white squares, just because I am an over organizer, and all those colors next to each other just looks sloppy and junky! But the white was enough to organize the many colors to look nice. Then again, I always forget, just because I don't like it, doesn't mean others won't like it! I gave these to the ladies at my church and they loved them!

 The first one, the color squares were organized in a rainbow pattern.  This one they are in order of  just whatever came out of the box next.!

 This one I had to use graph paper to design the pattern for where the colored squares went to make the words, but it was really easy!

So, I intended to cut 2,1/2x2,1/2" squares and then thought.. why? I really don't like working with that small piece anyway! And I still have 3 boxes full of the little squares from last time, so I decided to cut this years stash into 3,1/2"x 5,1/2" pieces (rectangles)

This is 1/3 of the tote content! Doen't look like much, but I pressed them all last night and have them nicely folded and organized into stacks! There is more than it looks like!

 

I lay out 4-6 scrap pieces and use my 24"x3,1/2" template.  A note for a quick cutting spree..use a template size that is easy to work with. In this case, it is 3,1/2" wide so that is how wide my scrap pieces are. Then I used that removable tape (or just masking tape) to mark the 5,1/2" where I would be cutting the pieces.

Then the cool part starts! When I get them cut, I stack them according to color  so I have a place to start looking for color when I what to use them.  Really cool stack, right? It is inspirational to me... makes me want to just cut more!!!

And make more stacks!!!  

 Then, I put them in a decorative photo box, mark the size on the front and in no time... have a box of beautiful rectangles, ready to use!  This took me 2,1/2 hours to cut this many... and that was the fastest 2,1/2 hours I ever spent! I couldn't believe it was that long...I thought sure I had only been cutting an hour or so. But then when I saw the stack of beautiful rectangle...it was all worth it!  Then, mark the front of the box and Done and Done!!!!

 

I have other boxes of cut squares...2,1/2 and 3,1/2 and 4x4 and 5" squares. I cut all fabric scraps into the size I want, and then take what is left and cut those scraps into smaller sizes. I have a small stash (really small!) left from cutting these today and will hang on to those until I get enough to continue and cut 2,1/2"-ers out of those.

So, there you are. Organized scraps.. the fun and easy way!  Hope you are inspired to go cut your scraps!  It is such a inspiring feeling or "ready to start sewing now" to see that empty scrap tote box!


Thanks for stopping by and...keep on preserving those memories! Want to read more at Fabric and Memories? CLICK HERE
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NFL Quilt with the Snowball Block

My (step) grandson turned 14 last month and back in August, I asked my son what to get him for his birthday and he said "A football quilt". Music to my ears!!! So in a conversation with my grandson, since he knows I don't like football, I had to figure how to sneak in  asking what his favorite football teams were! But a good grandmother always knows how to work it in there!  He said Oregon Ducks, Dallas Cowboys, Texas Longhorns and New England Patriots.  So I got to work looking for the logo fabric for these teams.I search so many shops and would find one or two of the teams, but was hoping to find all four at the same shop.  I finally  found them all at Hancock Fabrics and bought 1/2 yard of each print.  Took my longer to find the fabric than it did to make the quilt! And I have enough of each fabric to make him something else...like a pillowcase or journal/notebook cover.
                                   

Dallas Cowboys

 

Texas Longhorns

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New England Patriots

Oregon Ducks

I used matching solids to make a "snowball" block and made 5 of each NFL print. The finished block is 12x12. 

 I used a dark green batik (his favorite color) for sashing and for some Americana influence (I am told football is all-time American!) I used a fabric with small American Flags for the cornerstones. I ran out of the green batik for sashing, so I had to just leave one side without the sashing, so that will be the side of the quilt that goes at the pillow end of the bed...and under his neck!  Quilt measures 68"x88".                            

I used a thin batting and a thin fleece for the back. Usually, I don't use a batting if I use fleece for the back, but in this case... my son said he wanted the quilt to be "warm" as the boy's room is on the end of the HVAC ducts so in the winter, his room doesn't get as warm as they would like, so he wants the quilt to be warm as possible, so I used batting this time. I did a meander stitch for the FMQ'ing. I used a medium green in the bobbin and matching threads to the block color on the top. I was very pleased with myself and my machine that the colors didn't show through on either side! Even when using white or black, those colors didn't show through on the back!  I used a solid, dark blue fabric for the binding. I was lost on what to put on the label...being for a 14 year old boy (I don't know them to well these days since mine is now 32!) and didn't want it to mushy, so I just put on the label "For the love of the game! Yea team!" and then my signature and year.

 

So I will be giving it to him next week. I hope he likes it!

 

A "snowball" block is a very quick and easy block to make.  It is a good block to use with large print fabrics. You want the large print to be seen, but need just a little something to make it stand out and not look so cluttered. 
Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew has a great tutorial on how to make snowball blocks...check it out by clicking HERE
   Want to read more at Fabric and Memories? CLICK HERE  ....keep on sewing those memories!