Finally an update! March 2020 came along and everything changed and this new "normal" is difficult to come to terms with for everyone. I know that here in Australia we are in a very fortunate position with relatively few Corona Virus cases, a health care system that has had a chance to prepare, and now a gradual easing out of restrictions. We are so very aware of how lucky we are and I am practising daily to be that glass half full kind of person.
I have been home. My family have been at home! I have worked at home for the last 10 years, so staying home has not been difficult for me. Having to share my "work" space with my family however has proven to be refreshing! It may even be that my sew-jo has returned. I have stitched, especially in the evenings, and have several finished quilts to share with you. Taking photos is still a huge stumbling block in updating my blog, but yesterday was a good photo day.
This is my finished Kansas Dugout Quilt predominantly made with fabrics from my Japanese fabric stash. The fabric pieces for this quilt were cut at the same time as the fabric pieces for my Japanese Stash Buster Quilt - way back in November 2019. It's not often that I plan ahead and cut fabric for multiple quilts at the same time. The quilt top was hand pieced (running stitch). The last stitch was completed on Christmas Eve 2019. (The next day I started hand piecing my Trip Around the World Quilt).
This quilt is pieced in blocks as pictured above, then blocks are joined into rows by adding additional joining squares. I pieced 120 such individual blocks, then pieced blocks together into rows, and then joined rows. I have previously machine pieced several Kansas Dugout Quilts and have made available a step by step tutorial: here. I hand pieced this quilt rather than machine pieced it for no other reason than the joy of stitching with needle in hand.
The quilt has been machine quilted with straight edge to edge lines of stitching. Nothing fancy. And for the back of the quilt I have used a hoarded piece of fabric from the Lighhearted collection by Ayumi Mills for Kokka Fabrics (2014) - super fancy - and very satisfying to sew from stash.
Batting. I have again used QuiltLite batting to layer this quilt. Quiltlite is a woven cotton fabric similar to a loosely woven flannel fabric as pictured above; it offers the presence of batting without adding bulk or loft. I have had lots of questions about this batting, especially from overseas quilters, and unfortunately I too cannot find it available online other than here in Australia. Most of my local fabric/patchwork stores carry it where it is known as QuiltLite.
QUILT DETAILS
Hand Pieced Kansas Dugout Quilt.
Finished quilt measures 50 inches x 61 inches.
120 Kansas Dugout Quilt Blocks
Started: November 2019.
Quilt Top Finished: 25 December 2019.
Finished Quilt: March 2020.
Hand Pieced.
Fabrics:
Fabrics from my Japanese fabric stash collated for over more
than a decade, including many
designs by Suzuko Koseki for Yuwa Fabrics.
Fabric for joining squares: Add It Up (Basics) by Cotton + Steel.
Fabric for joining squares: Add It Up (Basics) by Cotton + Steel.
Notions:
Acrylic template for cutting fabrics:
2" fabric squares were cut using a rotary cutter and ruler.
Once cut, all fabric pieces were marked with a ¼ inch seam allowance.
I use a mechanical pencil with a 2B 0.7mm lead
for ease of marking a line on the fabric.
Jeana Kimball's Foxglove Cottage -Sharps Needle - size 10.
Aurfil 50wt thread (the orange spool) for hand piecing.
I am not selling my quilts at the moment but will make them available again when domestic and international shipping settles into a reliable new normal.
As always, thank you so much for stopping by! Another quilty update next week - the photos are ready!
As always, thank you so much for stopping by! Another quilty update next week - the photos are ready!
Rita
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