Disappearing Four-Patch Baby Quilt

My friend Roberta has started a new Facebook group and has issued a challenge for everyone to make either a jelly roll or charm pack quilt.  I don't have any jelly rolls sitting around but I do remember receiving a couple of charm packs as gifts at the last retreats.  I pull them out and see if they will even go together at all.

The colors are bright and look like fun -- perhaps this can be done.  Now what to do with them?  I start sorting them into four-patches and am going to try the disappearing four-patch block.

The first step is to sew them into four patches.  (Oops, one of my other blocks made it into this picture as well.)

As soon as they are all sewn, I make the required cuts  and resew each block.  Easy peasy and looks oh so much harder.  For the tutorial on this block by Missouri Star Quilt Co., please click here.

Since I only have 16 blocks to work with, I need a little sashing to make this a wee bit bigger.  I audition a white and a grey.  Grey wins easily as there are white edges on some of the blocks and that just blended in too well.   It's time to cut the sashings.

I cut 1 1/2" strips that are 8 1/2" long as that is the size my blocks turned out to be.  Now I need some cornerstones for the sashing.  As I look over at my desk, I spot a bag of solid 1 1/2" squares sitting there and decide to just dump them out and add in a random order.  In no time, I have the sashings attached to the sides and have webbed the top.

A new web with the cornerstones is made next.

And here is the flimsy.

Now to audition binding.  I am not doing an outside border as I have the perfect piece for the back and it is not large enough to make the flimsy any bigger.  So far, I have only put about 10 hours into this.  How fun.  Since I'm leaving town in 2 days, I am so hoping to have this ready to take along as a car/plane project.

Roberta comes over the next day to drop of some machines for Mister to work on and while she is here I give her a little lesson on how to use leader/enders and then get this little top sandwiched and ready to quilt. Yep, that's me -- crawling around on the floor using painter's tape, basting spray, and safety pins.  I don't want this sweet thing to move while doing a quick quilt on it.  She is sandwiched and ready to go within half an hour.

I'm supposed to be packing for our trip but make a quick trip out to the studio to quilt this little baby.  I really want to take it along.  It only takes about 45 minutes and the quilting is finished.  I LOVE it and am so thankful I took a few extra minutes to do all the spray and pin basting.  I don't have a single pucker on the back.

Now I really have to move.  Time is flying by, I have to finish cleaning house, doing laundry, pack, and be ready to go pick up Bekah down in Cleburne this afternoon.  I grab the blue fabric, cut binding strips and quickly put them together before giving them a press.  While doing so, I grab any leftovers from the quilt (of which there are FEW) and whip out a label real quick as well.  When I am finished, this is a picture of EVERYTHING that is leftover to go into the scrap user's system.  Not very much and some not even usable to me.  Wow.

I get the binding and label attached and that is all I can do today.  It goes into my purse along with some blue thread and a needle for the trip north tomorrow.

I don't do any sewing on the plane, but DO sew in the car while we are going through Wyoming.  I finish just a few miles before we get to Montana so I ask Mister to stop and Bekah and I hop out to take an "outside" picture of the quilt.  This is the first (and likely last) time I have ever posed with a state sign.

We arrive in Billings and I sign the label and give this to Cassie just shortly thereafter as another 1st birthday gift for Ophelia.  She is the only one who doesn't have a FUN quilt from Gammy.

Ah, this is what it is all about.  It was put down on the floor and she crawled over onto it all by herself.  Yes! (fist pump)