Carlene Foster's Gallery : Throw

One block wonder

Carlene Foster — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 12:03:26 GMT

This is a repeat of the same star block, just by using different corner pieces, they look totally different. Of course, it is me, so it is still scrappy. :) The small sashings bring your eyes out so that it looks like one star is framed in the middle of a bunch of x's. I just thought that was the appeal to this pattern...starting with one thing and ending up with something that appears much more complex than it is. Downfall to this pattern was that it called for 2 5/8 inch squares for the outer corners, and I was using scraps from 2 1/2 inch strips, so I lost most of my star points in the process. Even rounded off, I like them (although it obviously bugs me).

Hanging Gardens

Carlene Foster — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:55:50 GMT

This quilt is called "Hanging Gardens" and was designed by Georgette Dell'Orco of Cozy Quilt Designs. It is meant for 2 1/2 inch strips. I ran across a 30 strip 5 x 22 bundle of cuts from a quilt show I had attended a couple of years ago and thought it was time to put them to use. This is a twin size quilt, as I only had a potential of 30 full strips after I cut them in half, one piece was black, so I took it out of the stack and was down to 29. The border fabric was in my stash for about the last 4 years, so it was time for it to go as well. It's a fast quilt to piece...I started Friday at 5:00 pm and finished Sunday morning at 12:35 am. (Let's say I was possessed and let that go! LOL) The background has a very light beige print on it, but I think the quilt will have more character if I have the long armer do it with a varigated thread.

Strings!

Carlene Foster — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 15:26:09 GMT

I cannot bear to throw away those strings: the cuts left at the end of the fabric that are less than 2 inches wide down to 1/2 inch wide. I sew them to 7 inch mujslin backs and then trim to 6.5 inch squares. This quilt top is 84 x 84. That is a lot of strings!

My first St. Louis Star Quilt

Carlene Foster — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:34:00 GMT

This is one totally versatile design and can be done in many different sizes and arrangements. I have done.....4? I saw this first published in a quilting mag and used my own red/green/black and wow fabrics. As it turned out, the original quilt was done in kind of a rusty brownish red and a kind of olive green. I took a class from the designer a couple of years later to learn how to do the glorified 9 patch. It was an experience I won't soon forget. :)

Buggy Barn teapots

Carlene Foster — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:25:04 GMT

Ummmmmmm....in my typical buggy barn fashion, I forgot to shuffle the bases for the teapot, so I had coffee pots instead. I took the dainty little bottom off the cups and made them coffee mugs to go with my newly formed coffee pots. It was a way to use up a fat quarter bundle I got from Connecting Threads.

Bonus blocks

Carlene Foster — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 16:01:15 GMT

What do you do with the parts of your hst that you cut off? Do you throw them away, or keep them until you have enough of them to do something else? I save mine. These are leftover from quilts I have made in the past 2 years, with a basic filler fabric to calm it down a bit. This is already a large lap without any borders. And, basically, it was a free one for me...I like those :) I have 3 more large collections of free quilt blocks, just need to decide how to group them into something that will resemble a finished project. :)

Scrappy stars

Carlene Foster — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 21:56:42 GMT

Never give me a batch of scraps and think I'm never going to use them...I find ways of putting them to some sort of use! Just need borders to finish this one. The star blocks finish at 8 x 8. I just used neutral sashings and scrappy cornerstones to keep the background from swallowing the stars.

Duck tracks--very scrappy

Carlene Foster — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 18:32:25 GMT

This is the reason my local quilt shop owner hates scrappy quilts. This is a 60 x 80 quilt top made with nothing but scraps, the colored pieces were all 2 x 2 or smaller. Unfortunately, this didn't make as much of a dent in my scraps as I was hoping...more scraps to come! :)

Buggy Barn Christmas Stockings

Carlene Foster — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 15:22:29 GMT

I actually took a class to figure out this technique. Somehow, the directions in the books kept me confused. The buggy barn concept is to use a number of fat quarters of varying color shades/contrasts, stack them in the order that they will appear, cut all layers in one feld swoop, reshuffle the order of fabrics in some of the stacks, then put it all back together again. In the putting it all back together, there was a lot of fabric waste, which made this particular method not so popular with me. The results are cute...not breath taking or gorgeous.....just cute.

Grandmother's Flower Garden made modern

Carlene Foster — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:30:52 GMT

Most of us have, at one time or another, gotten the English paper piecing bug, if for no other reason than a multitude of scraps and a curiosity about the process. I had done several flowers and they had set around for a few years waiting for me to address them. So.....I used mine in a quilt as you go setting, separating each flower into its own block, then surrounding the garden with a picket fence. Now, I don't have to feel guilty about not tending to my flowers. :)

Applique Poinsettia

Carlene Foster — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:13:02 GMT

Raw edge applique done with heat and bond. I used up a lot of red and green small scraps on this quilt. Quitling method is called McTavishing and is thread intensive, but leaves an interesting texture.

Let it Snow!

Carlene Foster — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 23:01:40 GMT

Coordinating batiks make for a quick quilt.

Disappearing 9 patch with hearts

Carlene Foster — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 14:18:55 GMT

I did this from a pattern I got online. What a way to use up some of those fq's that you have no clue what to do with them! I loved it! Half a heart was 6 inches x 3.5 inches, so these were not small pieces. Just watch where you place the dark and light colors when you make your nine patches (before you slice and dice into individual blocks again.) Simple, fun, fast.

Pinwheels

Carlene Foster — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:52:43 GMT

This pattern used half of a jelly roll (20 strips), and made enough pinwheels that I had two left over to make a throw pillow to go with the lap sized quilt. You can quilt as simply as I did (using my 1956 Singer 301) or more elaborately. I saw one that was done in queen size, using two packages of pinks/purples with a pink background. It was really pretty. I can see a lot of use from this very simple pattern. The pattern comes with directions to make several different sizes.

Black, white and red allover

Carlene Foster — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:05:51 GMT

This is a technique using a special ruler called a "Twister'. This particular throw used one fq bundle and some yardage for the outer border. It isn't very large, and I still have a stack of biased red, white and black 4 patches left over from the process. I am not a fan of the waste that you get from this tool. You start with a charm pack, or a bunch of 5 x 5 patches, sew them all together, then use the tool to cut a piece of every intersecting seams. I have cats, so there were many times that I feared my stack of petals would be rearranged until I could get back to them. By the time I had done this throw, I was over the process. Maybe as a one or two item accent......potholders. a cornerstone for a larger quilt that you just want to do something different....but, I'm not a whole quilt fan of this tool.