X is for Xavier

Thanks so much to all of you that suggested a name for my quilt.  I hope you find time to use your free patterns.  Please let me know if you have a suggestion to make a pattern better or if you find an error.  There are still a couple of people that I don't have email addresses for so if you haven't received your free pattern yet please send your email address to me at candace@doublenickelquilts.com.

The name I have chosen for the quilt is Xavier's Quilt.  Xavier, X for short, is my oldest grandson and he just turned 7 last week.  I mentioned to him in passing that I had made a quilt with a big X in the middle.  His eyes got really big and he said, "Can I have it?"  What's a grandma to do?  I had his mom show him the quilt on the blog to see if he would really like it.  I thought he might not like the fabric or something.  However, he called me on the phone to tell me he liked it and once again said "Can I have it?"  So, this is how the quilt became Xavier's Quilt!  An added bonus is that the green paisley fabric in the center of the backing was from the first quilt I made for his daddy when he turned 21.  X thinks that is pretty awesome!



Name My Quilt contest

My yet unnamed quilt is finally quilted and bound!

The first time I posted this quilt when it was not yet finished, three comments were left suggesting names for the quilt.  Click here to see the original post and comments.  My husband got a big kick out of Deb's comment! Karin left this comment-"Oh my gosh - did you have that beautiful quilt in your head when you were making the triangles & squares, or did you just figure it out when you laid 'em all out? Whatever, it's gorgeous!! How about calling it the Road to Texas, or Right Up Your Alley (in honor of the bowling hubs did)? Very nice, whatever you call it!"

That comment gave me two ideas-
1. I could show my design process
2. I could have a Name My Quilt contest

So, here's how the design process went-
I paired up lots of light neutral fabric nickel squares with lots of darker nickel squares and made each set of squares into half square triangle blocks or four patch blocks.  Then, what to do with all those blocks? 
I made a bunch of them into this nine patch block, made 20 of the blocks,

laid the blocks out on my design wall and took these photos,

 

(The photos are pretty bad but I was only taking them to record the layouts not knowing at the time that anyone else might see them.)

decided on this last one and sewed it together.  Wow, I just realized that here are 9 more quilts that I designed.  They should qualify toward my goal of designing 55 quilts in my 55th year. Yippee, that brings me up to 31 quilt designs and 7 other ideas for using nickel squares!

Then I decided it needed a border and went through the same basic process to decide on the border.  As you can see in the finished photo above, I chose an inner and outer border. 

Last but not least, I had to go through my stash and find something for the backing and binding.

I pieced the backing using fabrics from my stash and used more of the same strips from my stash that I used for the inner border for the binding.  Another quilt without buying any more fabric.  Hooray!!
Here's a close-up of the quilting by Linda which is a wavy X with smaller Xs in the border.

Now, for the contest(actually more of a give-away), I decided to let you name my quilt!  To be eligible for the Name My Quilt Contest, just leave a name for this quilt in the comments at the bottom of this page and you will get a FREE pattern download of your choice.   Be sure to tell me what pattern you would like from the choices here.  Don't leave an anonymous comment or I won't know where to send your free pattern! If you prefer, you may send me an e-mail instead.  Those that have left names already can just send an e-mail and let me know what pattern you would like.  The pattern is for your own personal use only and cannot be copied and shared.  If you have a friend that may like a pattern, just tell them how to enter.  You have until midnight (CDT) on August 22 ,2011 to Name My Quilt and receive a free pattern.

Criss Cross Stars done and contest

Criss Cross Stars is done!  Another quilt made entirely from my fabric stash.  There are 96 4 patch blocks and 160 half square triangle blocks in this quilt. I pieced the back on this one also which I really don't like to do but it sure helps use up the ol' stash.  However, my husband walked into my sewing room the other day, looked at my fabric and said "You haven't made a dent."  I have made 20 some quilts and he's right, my stash doesn't look noticeably different. 

I did something a little different with the binding.  Here's a close-up-

I used the backing that's left over after it's machine quilted, the extra width and length they need to attach it to their machine, to make the binding.   But since the back was pieced, the binding was pieced so I just matched it up and made it fit.  The photo is showing the back of the quilt with a portion of the front flipped over onto it.

Linda of L&R Designs then quilted it with a pattern called Plumage.  Check out her blog for quilting design ideas for your quilts.  I'm going to start a contest in the near future where you can win a pattern so check back for details!

Triangle Confusion

Finally, Triangle Confusion brings to an end the pile of half square triangles I started way back on Memorial Day weekend!

The block is loosely based on the Windblown quilt block.  I say loosely because I only used half square triangles and made it very scrappy instead of just two colors.  For most anyone looking at this quilt top, it is very confusing to pick out the block at first glance.  Thus, the name. There are a bunch of  secondary patterns created also-pinwheels, 3d boxes or cubes, square in a square...  The actual block is made from 16 half square triangle blocks.  After I figure out what  to use on the back, off to the long arm quilter it goes.