Posted on by agilejack

Deepening Crumb Quilt Obsession

A little over a week ago on February 22 I thought I’d make a couple of crumb quilt blocks to sew into a drawstring pouch.

Now today, on March 1, I’ve made 57 eight-inch blocks and only need to make another six to have enough for a quilt top!

(Get in my time machine and see the finished quilt top here)

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I have a tendency to go in jags when I take on new projects or new techniques. I really get into it and have a lot of fun getting familiar with a new technique, and with exploring my own way of doing it. When I get on a jag like this I can be very obsessive and quite productive. . . often ignoring other things I should be doing.

I’ve had to dig into my bigger Kaffe Fassett Collective scraps in order to get the color balance I want in these blocks. I discovered a small drawer full of KFC scraps. It’s amazing to me how many scraps I generate and don’t feel I actually  make that many projects that would generate scraps.

That’s just the scraps that I pulled together to make these crumb blocks. There are many, many more where these came from.

When making quilt blocks, I love to do assembly line piecing to make it all more efficient and quick. So I’ve used a lot of my scraps that are cut into strips to make these blocks… sewing shorter pieces onto longer pieces, and pressing and slicing them into smaller pieces, which will then be sewn together into larger pieces. It’s really a crazy process!

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That’s a long string of pieces that have been chain pieced and are ready to press and cut apart. This string is probably at least forty feet long. Here they are lined up on the ironing board ready to be pressed open.

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Once these pieces are pressed, they’re then sewn together into larger pieces…

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Which will then be sewn together into even bigger pieces.

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At this stage, I start putting together these blocks to make eight inch blocks.

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When I feel confident that each sets of blocks, once trimmed to have straight edges, will make a block that is a little larger than eight inches, I sew them into blocks. Here are six blocks that are all sewn together and are ready to be trimmed to eight inch square.

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I use a clear eight inch square ruler to lay over the top of each block so I can see the block underneath. I adjust the square until I have fabric extending beyond all four sides, and then I use my rotary cutter and trim away the excess. (click on each photo below to get a bigger view.

Any pieces that I cut off that are big enough will be saved and sewn into another block.

While trimming one of these blocks the other night, I got careless and had my finger sticking over the edge of the ruler. I ran over it with my rotary cutter. It bled like a stuck pig!

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Luckily, I didn’t get any blood on the blocks. I just bled all over the bathroom counter top. Sewing is not for sissies!

I’ve been giving a little thought to how I’ll put these blocks together once they’re all done. And I’m thinking I’ll sash them with the Kaffe black with white spots and white with black spots and will alternate every other block. I just love the graphic black and white with these bright colors!

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Once I get the six remaining blocks done, I’ll cut the sashing fabric and sew the pieces to the blocks assembly line style.

I have several pieces of Kaffe fabric that are large enough for a backing. I have one in mind that I’ll probably use, but I’m not completely decided yet.

I anticipate that I’ll have the remaining blocks done later this week.

49 Replies to “Deepening Crumb Quilt Obsession”

    2. I cant wait to gather my fabric to do this,I love crazy quilts with embleshments,so I’m going to see what I can do with this even if I just do center blocks,I have lace,ribbon,all kinds of buttons,trims. Not sure I’ll have to check it out.Could use I put!

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      2. I love crazy quilting. I do alot in small things like stars or hearts , and wreaths ,for Christmas decorations to hang on trees…use to.put in cards, for family and friends…crochet little ones ,that fit in cards..

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    1. I have a ruler that I bought several years ago. Brought it home and made that one block and it’s been hanging on the closet door ever since! The ruler is by Gyleen Fitzgerald. on the ruler it has this web site: http://www.colourfulstitches.com . There are other pineapple rulers on the market. I don’t have any reference for which is the best to use.

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  12. Ditto to everything you have said! Except for the cut finger! I sewed so many blocks, 15.5”, that I ended up with 2 king size quilts! I didn’t use any washing, just sewed all the blocked together! Man, I was cruising!
    “Don’t stop me now, ‘cause I’m having a good time”, Freddie!

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  21. After I got sliced by my rotary cutter, I bought a butcher’s glove that has metal in it to prevent cuts. (And I have sliced off the end of my finger with a mandolin slicer. I am no longer allowed to be unsupervised with sharp blades. LOL!)

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    1. Yeah, all the ends of my fingers have been flattened by cutting off pieces while cooking over many years. I’m like a shop teacher!!! All those missing parts!
      Anne

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  22. Wowzie! I don’t think I have all the patients for each little fabric. I have a lot of leftover fabric from Mt clown costumes . (I’m not really a sewew, but I figure it out. I think I will try a smaller one first, then I’d love to make a poncho with this design for my costumes.

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    1. It actually goes pretty quickly if you chain sew the pieces. I find it almost meditative. And it’s fun for when you’re tired and don’t want to have to pay close attention to precision sewing.
      Anne

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  23. Thanks for sharing. I just finished three quilts using Kaffe Fassett fabric and I have so much fabric left over in various sizes so I was so pleased to see your project!

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