Thursday, April 19, 2018

Kaffe Fassett Stripe Quilt: Another Ernie Quilt Finally Finished


It's been awhile since I've made an Ernie Quilt and it's one of my favorite patterns because I just love making quilts with 2.5" strips.  I've had the Kaffe Fassett Shot Cotton and Woven Stripes strips die-cut and ready to sew since last year and finally had the opportunity to make this quilt since buying my new, sweet, very portable Juki HZL-70 HWA sewing machine which meant I am now able to sew in the kitchen while watching TV, a cause for much of my quilting downtime.


I posted several times about Ernie quilts HERETHERE and IN BETWEEN.
While my Postcard from Sweden Quilt was being made, (you can read about it here), I started working on the Kaffe Stripe Quilt because I was loving the Shot Cottons and knew I had this project on the back burner--talk about constant Kaffe.  I consider this to be a DREAMi project and finally have something to cross out from one of my project lists I made too many of for this year.
I have to show you my "No Rose, You Didn't" backing for this quilt.  I do not like making pieced backings. To me it's just like making another quilt top and when I'm in a hurry to finish a quilt, I don't want to sew another quilt top.  I have a pile of quilt tops laying around in my studio and I knew laying in the pile was an 84" square top made from big patches of Kaffe fabric which may have been a modified Turning Twenty pattern, a pattern when it was first released, I couldn't stop making them.  It took me a couple of hours to remove some of the rows of this quilt top so I could use it for the backing since I really didn't have anything else in my stash vault that would be as neat as this quilt top was and besides I've come down with a slight case of not wanting to buy any new fabric (I hope this "virus" goes away real soon). Who knew five years ago I was making a future quilt backing when I made this top.  I just love the big purple cabbages. I'm thinking I may have made several quilt backings already and may be making more now without knowing it.
I don't usually talk about the color thread I use for machine quilting because I not very good at choosing a color and I mostly quilt with a light gray.  I knew gray wasn't going to work well with this quilt and luckily I had in my Connecting Threads Essential Thread stash (no affiliate link here) a spool of the Fawn thread which is an apricot beige thread which worked very well with blending in with the many colors in this quilt.  I am loving the quilting which sewed like butter on my Juki 2010Q and I could have finished the quilting in one sitting if I didn't have to go to bed at 3am in the morning--I didn't want to stop.  The quilt is bound with a solid Chartreuse Shot Cotton which was the only solid color that I had enough for the binding and fortunately worked very well.
I was really hoping to take a perfect photo of my Kaffe Fassett Stripe Quilt while in Myrtle Beach; one with it laying on the sand, sunset on the sea with a whale breaching in the background, perfectly centered on the horizon (just for Sandra) but it was not to be had--the wind was something fierce--20 to 30 mph.  It wasn't fun for the Master Quilt Holder on the balcony nor could the quilt stay on the railing at the beach. The best photos were taken either in the elevator lobby or inside the condo where we were staying.  Plus, there was no way I was going to lay it on the sand since I had visions of it parasailing over the Atlantic Ocean and onto the whale's back (again this vision prompted by Sandra's request and maybe to make it a tale, Louise (Quilt Odyssey) will rescue it during her sea travels).
I had planned to sew the binding while traveling to Myrtle Beach, but I ended up finally finishing the quilt right before we left (I'm beginning to like the look of machine sewn binding).  I definitely wanted to take photos of this quilt and my Postcard from Sweden Quilt here in warm, sunny weather since we're experiencing far too little of it in the Midwest as you can see from this photo taken on a snowy Sunday, the day before we left.  I really put the Master Quilt Holder to the test when I kept repeating to make sure the quilt does not touch the ground and get wet.  He did a practice stoop down before we went outside.  I think the quilt photographed better in Myrtle Beach, despite the wind, don't you agree?

I do hope you check out the links for the Ernie Quilts, especially the first one since it's about my dear friend Mary Etherington who started me on my Ernie adventures.  Like the old commercial saying goes "Try It, You'll Like It!".
Hubby and I will be traveling back home this Friday and look what awaits me when I return, my Dot Dot Dash blocks from Christa Watson's Piece and Quilt with Precuts book which were made during upstairs sewing time with my sweet little Juki. Also, Sandra of mmm! Quilts will be starting her Second Annual Quilt Along: Adult Plus Playtime Quilt, (you can read about it here) on April 24th. I had a fun time doing her Free Fall QAL last year and this year's pattern is not going to disappoint since I'll be using some of my Alison Glass Chroma fabrics. I'm looking forward to getting back into the groove since there's not much sewing happening in Myrtle Beach because I wanted to give my hands some rest.

And one more thing, this Sunday, April 22nd, I'll be posting my project for the 30 Quilt Block in 30 Days Blog Hop so I hope you'll check it out. (you can see it here)

Linking up with:  My Quilt Infatuation, Needle and Thread Thursday,  Crazy Mom Quilts, Finish It Up FridayConfessions of a Fabric Addict, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop FridayBusy Hands Quilts, Finish or Not Friday

17 comments :

  1. I was thinking about you and wondering where you were. This winter won’t let go anywhere, will it??? Just walked the dog and it was sleeting. I am so over it. We tried a photo shoot on the island and it was so windy. We where at whale back and the waves were incredible as was the wind from the rain/snow/freezing cold weather we had Monday. Squirrel!! I’m in for the Adult Plus Playtime because who wouldn’t want to and was guilted in when Shadow Quilter named publicly as the person who assigned her the moniker.

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  2. I love the use of the striped fabrics in your ernie quilt. What a change that makes to the pattern.

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  3. Oh wow that is a stunning Ernie quilt! The mixture of the tonals and the woven stripes is genius, it gives the quilt such an interesting look. I especially love the photo of the quilt on the railings at the beach. I hope you had a fantastic time at Myrtle Beach! I can't wait to see your Dot Dot Dash quilt, it is my favorite quilt from Christa's book.

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  4. What a beautiful quilt! I've always loved Kaffe stripes and your quilt highlights them perfectly!

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  5. Love this Rose. Also love the stories you wove into your post. Very entertaining!

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  6. What a gorgeous quilt, Rose! I would definitely change course to rescue it if it ended up in the ocean :) I'm inspired to use some of my striped fabrics in the Ernie pattern because I love how yours turned out in Kaffe. My stripes are just some random homespun, alas, but this pattern should zip them up a bit!

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  7. I had never really thought about it before, but a Turning Twenty would make a great quilt backing. That was a pretty genius idea. Your Kaffe Ernie turned out beautiful!

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  8. Absolutely gorgeous Rose! This nearly has me reaching for some fabric to start one of my own! An look at you, not wanting to buy any fabric! I hope you get over that feeling very soon!

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  9. Holy buckets -- you have the no shopping virus?!? I hope it's not catching, because you know what that would do to me (haha)! I love your Ernie quilt, and the Turning Twenty made a perfect backing. Those purple cabbages are really fun! Enjoy Myrtle Beach!

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  10. Very entertaining quilt photo commentary going on here!!! I laughed so much, DH wanted to hear it, too. He could relate, being a fellow quilt holder. Your photos are perfect. A sofa that's different from the usual sofa is a fun photo arrangement. And that quilt back!!! Love. It. I'm about to start a Dot Dash quilt, too. I love your Ernie quilt.

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  11. Hi Rose,
    You paint quite of perfect picture of your photo shoot that didn't quite happen! No need to it to actually be though because we can all envision that - no prob. What a fabulous finish! I just love the shot cotton fabrics - and the quilting looks great as does the nice bright binding. Your Dot Dot blocks look so yummy - I LOVE that fabric. I am going to join in with Sandra's QAL, I believe. I guess I should start thinking about fabrics . . . since Tuesday is rapidly approaching. Safe travels home! ~smile~ Roseanne

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  12. I’m sorry it was too windy for your beachy photo shoot, and we are all sick of the winter weather (although today does hold a promise of spring), but I think your quilt looks so vibrant with the snow behind it. And yay for you doing a two-sided quilt with only a bit of seam ripping to make it happen. The two sides are such wonderful complements to each other. The Ernie quilt pattern looks like fun—it really fits any style of fabric.

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  13. This is such a beautiful quilt Rose. The shot cottons really make it shine. I followed the links for the Ernie quilt. It's such a simple but clever quilt. I like it with solids set between the patterns.

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  14. This is a gorgeous rendition of this simple design. You've really let the fabrics be the star, and to great effect.

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  15. I had never really thought about it before, but a Turning Twenty would make a great quilt backing. That was a pretty genius idea. Your Kaffe Ernie turned out beautiful!

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  16. Nice post about a beautiful quilt!

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  17. It's beautiful and you did an excellent job. Can I ask which Kaffe book the pattern is from?

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I appreciate your comments but due to traveling and my ineptitude with typing on either my iPhone or iPad, my response may be somewhat delayed. Thank You for your understanding.