Broken Cross Check

That sounds like a reference app that's on the fritz, doesn't it? What I've really been doing is checking potential 36-patches for an inadvertent swastika image. I put up pairings for 20 blocks on the design wall, then took a photo and gray-scaled it for simplicity.

As long as there was a definite light frame around the center four dark squares, there was no danger of offensive misunderstandings in the blocks. Here's how they look in color:

Much more fun, yes? These are all "half pinwheels", in that there are only two pinwheel blocks used, paired with two plain 9-patch blocks. I have scores of plain 9-patch blocks already made; not so much with the pinwheel blocks, so in the interest of time I've opted to use what I've already got.

I've been nibbling away at other projects this past week, plus got distracted by a squirrel. More on that further down.

My hand-quilting project is progressing nicely--I'm half-way through the second round of fans--but unfortunately there's another fabric that has shattered, which I never noticed until I was quilting it. One square has already been quilted, but the second square is near the center. I found some homespun fabrics in the CF!Q stash, brought them home with me last Saturday, then flang the quilt on the floor for some auditioning.

For color placement and similarity to existing fabrics, I decided on 1 and 3 (seen left to right, propped up by the couch).

   

If I decide to replace the square I've already quilted, this is where the two fabrics will be placed.   

It's still entirely possible I'll just absorb the loss of that quilted shattered block, and move on.

Let's see...what else? Oh yes! A finish!!

roughly 51" x 62"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made this to be used as a lap quilt, so wasn't terribly concerned about wavy edges as I bound it. However, if Teri decides she'd rather display it in her office or home, I added a hanging sleeve. She can deal with the waves if they offend her sensibilities.

The label:

The quilting in the middle was a free-motion variation on this design . . .

Urban Elementz "One Direction"

. . . my variation being to run a straight line vertically as well with a figure 8 in each sash the line went through.

I ran an undulating line through the center of the outer border and hook-feathered that. The rest of my threads for it all:

Navy in border, King Tut "Sphinx" in background, gray in bobbin.

The squirrel: a couple of Community First! Quilters brought quilted chain garlands to the meeting last Saturday (donations for the Christmas bazaar fundraiser held by the Community), similar to this . . .

. . . and my mind went immediately to the two large bags of Christmas scraps lurking in the legacy stash bins.

These came home with me (obviously) along with nearly 10 yards of extremely light-weight dark green fabric. From these two bags I cut enough rectangles to make 3 garlands (100 links each, 1.5"x7.5" rectangle for a link). Each link will have the flimsy green fabric as its back. I used some of the scraps of the polyester batting trimmed from the previous finish and made a couple of links, mainly as proof-of-concept so I could get a good night's sleep. I also found the big hunk of polyester batt removed from one of the Size Reduction Therapy projects, which will be a great source as well (and what better way to use up that nasty stuff?) Once all the cutting was done and I proved to myself I could FMQ the scraps successfully on my Brother sewing machine, I packed everything away for another time. It's too late to make anything more for the bazaar, but I've got a head start on next year!