Posted on by agilejack

A Final Push of Productivity Before My Friend Leaves

My friend will fly home tomorrow afternoon. It seems like her two weeks here has gone so fast. And just like that, my vacation is nearly over.

We had a stay-at-home kind of day. After breakfast and hanging out a little, we decided to get into my sewing room and finish up the corner pieces for my Libby quilt with the black background. We were able to finish one corner, and get the three other corners finished except for one strip of fabric each. I’m expecting fabric deliveries on Thursday and Saturday and will have to do the final work on this all by myself. I will definitely miss my pressing helper.

Here’s the one corner we were able to get done.

Here’s two that still need a strip of fabric each.

All four corners are now pinned onto my portable design wall to keep them in order and out of the way until I can finish them up.

These corners have turned out nicely. With long pieces of fabric like this you need to be careful with the fabric when sewing, pressing, and just general handling. It’s easy to make them misshapen and wonky. I’m a firm believer in lots of pins in long seams. It helps me be sure not to stretch the fabric as I sew.

After getting these corners done my friend and I hit the road for a late lunch/early dinner at a restaurant in Lake Oswego, Oregon… Holy Taco. It’s one of my favorite restaurants because, well, TACOS!. We shared some chips, really good salsa and guacamole. I had a spicy Margarita, and we each had a variety of tacos. It was a really good dinner. Really tasty food and a great way to wrap up my friend’s last day here.

Once we got home and chilled out for an hour or so, we decided to hit my sewing room and finish a project that I started a few months ago.

We tossed these blocks up on my design wall and moved them around a little and quickly landed on a layout we liked. Then we started putting it all together.

These blocks are big. They will finish around 17.5 inches so this was a pretty quick finish.

Since the blocks are only 4 across and 4 down, the quilt was going to be square, and I don’t love a square quilt unless it’s a queen quilt for a bed. So I wanted to add some length but was out of the fabric I used for the blocks. So I used this fabric that I picked up in one of our fabric store visits last week. It’s a lovely batik and I love how it looks with these blocks. I added a 5 inch border on the top and bottom rows of blocks to make this quilt a rectangle.

And, once again, lots of pinning to make sure I didn’t stretch the blocks or border.

I pinned and sewed and my friend did all the pressing.

I liked these blocks when I made them, but my friend and I sort of fell in love with this quilt top when we were done.

That’s probably one of the quickest quilts I’ve ever made. And it looks more involved and complicated than it is. For those of you who don’t know, the blocks are disappearing four patch blocks made from 10 inch squares of batiks. You can find all kinds of tutorials and variations for this block on YouTube.

I’ll be driving my friend to the airport late tomorrow morning and then I’ll meet my pickleball coach for some practice. He’s been out of town my entire vacation so we’re both in need of some practice time.

26 Replies to “A Final Push of Productivity Before My Friend Leaves”

  1. Bonjour
    J aime beaucoup les carres du 2eme mais également celui des rectangles du 1 et comme d habitude tu excelles dans ce que tu réalises
    Ceux que je réalise sont des carres que je coupe en triangle et que je mélange
    Voilà je suis une inconditionnelle du patchwork
    J en fais et les offre pour des anniversaires
    Bonne journée à toi

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  2. Commiserations on the end of your holiday, Ann. I feel your pain as we’re on our last but one day here in Extremedura. We’re breaking our journey in Caceres for a night before heading to Madrid airport late Friday.
    I’m looking forward to our own bed and seeing my family but will miss the beauty of this beautiful part of Spain and the warmth and kindness of its people.
    Well done on all the lovely work and finishing up the 4 patch. I just started mine a week before our holiday so also looking forward to getting more of the blocks made.
    Hope the return to work isn’t too gruesome.
    Lindy x

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  3. The batik you used on your disappearing 4 patch is perfect. It really finishes the quilt. I’m not a fan of squares quilts either. At least when you return to to work, it’s a short week – only two days to ease in and then you’ll have the weekend. I hope the fabric you ordered arrives as expected so you’ll be able to finish your Libby quilt soon.

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  5. I’ve never made this pattern before but a fabric shopper once told me if I make one, I’ll have to make another. This batik is just gorgeous! I imagine when retirement finally arrives, you are going to enjoy it a great deal.

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    1. I’ve made smaller projects with the disappearing four patch blocks. I had always wanted to make a quilt from them.l I don’t think this will be the last. I really want to make one from Kaffe Fassett Collective bright prints… maybe one from Aboriginal fabrics.

      I willl take great advantage of my time when I retire! I can’t wait!!!

      Anne

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  6. 🤞 fingerscrossed your fabric arrives on time. I started searching the Kitchen Table Quilting and there are some really cool patterns. I love your Libby Quilt. What do you do with all your quilts? How do you store them?

    I remember this disappering four patch! Love the border. Square quilts are not my favorite. Seems I add something to make a rectangle. Great border pick!

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    1. I have a good number of finished quilt tops in my closet. I don’t see the point in having them quilted if I don’t have a use for them. I make way too many to actually use. So the trade with my long arm friend has been great! I can get quilting done without the expense and I’m happy to trade finished tops for quilting. It’s a good deal for me.

      Anne

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    1. My friend and I share more than quilting… all of our dogs are related. A total of six border collies between the two of us that are all related. She owned Bender’s father, and still has two of his full brothers. Her youngest is rico’s half brother. it’s all family!

      Anne

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  8. I love your Aboriginal quilt, it’s coming along very nicely. I am in love with your batik quilt 💕. Safe travels for your pressing friend 🤗. Enjoy pickle ball but please don’t hurt yourself. I keep hearing about injuries from my golf friends who have turned into pickle ball enthusiasts. Hi Rico and Bender 🥰

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    1. My friend kept going back to my sewing room last night to look at that batik quilt. She really fell in love with it. I told her she needs to make one!

      I’ve thought about the risk of injury from pickleball, but I think the benefits are so many and so good that it’s worth some risk. At the same time, I’m trying to be careful.

      Anne

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  10. Beautiful! You have such an amazing eye for color. I would never have thought that batik would work for the border, and yet it makes all the other colors pop and somehow doesn’t make the bits of black fabric standout. You inspire me to step out of my comfort zone all the time.

    Side-note
    Centennial,Colorado is voting on new Pickleball restrictions. Multiple posting if you’re curious.
    I’ve never played so I can’t comment on their reasoning. 🙂

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    1. I had hoped to find one of the black fabrics that appear in the blocks for the border, but no luck. The piece I used has a little more color, which I love. I was really happy to find it.

      I’ll check out the Centennial pickleball issue. We’ve seen a good number of courts close here because of noise.

      Anne

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    1. Hmmm. . . trying to remember how many years. Maybe seven or 8 years making quilts. But I started sewing when I was a kid. Made all my jeans in high school! All sorts of top stitching, pockets, pretty detailed. I must have made 15 pair over the years.

      I do like to find quick and efficient ways to construct things. It’s a puzzle for me that needs to be solved!

      Anne

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  12. Your quilts are always amazing. You have a terrific eye for color combinations and placement. Thanks so much for sharing your vacation. !!!!

    I enjoy reading about your adventures and seeing the pictures.

    I know how hard it is to go back to work…ugh….

    Happy sewing!

    PJ Kytlica 805-660-4400

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