The inspiration behind Calico Calvin's Quilt

I just couldn't resist sharing this darling little nephew of mine.  

Meet Calvin . . . sitting on his calico quilt.

 Isn't he the cutest?  Look at those big lips, and gorgeous eyes.  Don't you just want to squish him?

He's happy and content .  .  .  the caboose of 7.   

Singer Fashion Mate 237- #5 Sewing Machine

I literally pulled this sewing machine out of the "Good Will" pile at my friend's house.  It belonged to his wife who has passed on, she used it for over 40 years.


When I told my husband that I had just acquired sewing machine #5, his reaction was bewildering.  I assured him, I'd soon give one away.  As I was researching "vintage sewing machines", to learn more about my new Singer, I discovered that there are addictions in the quilting world other than fabric.  As I try to decide which of my 5 machines to give away, I'm beginning to wonder . . .

 It was made in Italy, and the manual is dated 1968.

I'm sure it could use a good tune-up, but it sews a wicked stitch.

. . . coming along on my "Long Tall Sally" that I started in my class with Carrie from Miss Rosie's Quilts.  It looks complicated, but it's really quite easy.  I don't think the pattern is out yet.  Maybe in her next book.  Care to comment on that, Carrie?

Miss Rosie Quilts

Last week I got to attend a class sponsored by the CornWagon Quilt Shop in Springville, Utah.

Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. was the guest teacher.  

This was the quilt which she gave instructions for in our class, Long Tall Sally (you can purchase it here).  It looks difficult, doesn't it?  I didn't want to take the class, because I thought it would be way over my head, but Carrie just looked like she was such a nice lady, that I figured it would all work out.

 I was shocked to learn just how easy it was.  There are basically 2 shapes to cut from your fabric, a bunch of them!!

 Well, I can't say "I never win anything" anymore, because I won this fun project bag.  It measures 14x14 square, and has a nice heavy duty zipper on the end.  I don't even know where you can buy them, I've looked!

 Carrie is genuine and fun to be around.  She's a great teacher.  She doesn't even looked annoyed if you keep bugging her.  If you ever get the chance to take a class from her, it'll be a learning AND entertaining experience.

 This is the back of her quilt "Scarlet Queen".  I took some pictures of the back, because I was so intrigued with her "label".   I'll do a post about her labels next week.

 Isn't it gorgeous?  you can read about it in this blog post of Carrie's.  I loved her explanation of the "creative process" in that post.  I was really happy to see that I wasn't the only one that used those resources for creativity or what ever.

Here I am after a week of working on this quilt.  There are 9 or 10 rows, and I've finished 4.  Mine is scrappy so, it will look different from Carrie's.  It's very therapeutic for me to have a stack of fabric next to my machine and to sit down and sew when I need 15 min. (or 5 hours) of mindless down time.   The great thing about this quilt top, is that when you're done with your rows, it's done!!!

I have to admit . . . I was quite disappointed that "Rosie" didn't make the trip.

Thank you Carrie !


UPDATE:  Check out the finished product.

Calico Calvin

 My first Whirleygig quilt is finally complete, measuring at 38"x44",  it's my entry for Amy's blog festival:

  

There are lots of whirleygig tutorials in the blogging world.  Allie at "Stranz . . . Obsessive Quilting Disorder" has a tutorial which is very easy to follow.  You can find it here.  "crazy mom quilts" also has one here.  If you want a tutorial which instructs you to trim a bit off your square at the beginning, instead of having to trim the whole block at the end, visit Quilting on Turtle Hill's blog for a nice tutorial.

Finished quilt, baby size:  38" x 44".
56 (6") blocks, 7 across, 8 down.
My finished block size was 6 inches.
To make 1 block:
Cut 2 calico 4 inch squares
Cut 2 white 4 inch squares

 56 different fabrics is a lot to come up with.  On Calvin's quilt, I found 1/2 the amount, and made 2 blocks with each fabric.

Once I have my fabric cut into 4 inch squares, I like to match up 1 calico square and 1 white square, and cut the off-set line with them together.  That way I'm sure they'll sew up right, and it helps with the organization of this whole mess.

 Set them off by 1/8th".  If you want your finished squares to look wonkier, you should off-set them by 1/4 ", or more if your squares are larger.  Look at the link to Allie's tutorial I've given above.

Take into consideration when measuring, that you will loose some fabric when you trim your square down.  So before cutting and sewing, this square would have measured 8 inches.  After seam allowances and trimming, it's down to 6 inches.

 I stitched in the ditch through the center of all the squares, going both ways.  Then, I stippled in the white, which after washing, creates the "pop" effect.

It's backed with flannel since it's going to a cold climate. 

I love comments, otherwise I feel like I'm blogging to myself :) . . . then,

 go see the other quilts entered in the Blogger's Quilt Festival, click on this link.

LAP SIZE CONFIGURATIONS:
The next time I try this quilt, I want to make a lap size 60" x 80".
I will make the blocks bigger than Calvin's.


48 (10") blocks total (48 fabrics is hard to find) 
Use the same fabric for 2 blocks, only needing 24 fabrics. 


Finished block:  approx. 10 inches.
To make 1 block:
Cut 2 calico 6 inch squares
Cut 2 white 6 inch squares
(cut 4 of each if using the same fabric for 2 blocks as mentioned above)

Cutting the white separately?
Total of white,  96 - 6 inch squares, purchase 3 1/4 yds. of Kona white for 48 blocks.  (1/4 yrd. added for good measure :)

Make off-set cut between 1/4" and 1/2 ".
Experiment to determine amount of wonkiness.

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