I need your help.

My gramma is in her 80's and has just been placed in a nursing home. She shattered her leg and has to recuperate there for 3-4 months. She also has Alzheimer's and she may not get to come home...but I'm not thinking about that.

I consider myself a beginner. I hate triangles, but will do them if necessary. I am trying to find a pattern, that is easy to do, but pretty. I've seen patterns that are easy but cute...good for juvenile prints...but I wants something pretty. I'll probably make it with florals and pastel solids. I want something that an older lady will delight in, but easy enough for me to get done.

Do you guys have any ideas? I don't have a stash to speak of, so I'll have to go purchase fabrics. Purchasing fabrics off the bolt is usually cheaper than fat quarters, but it depends on how the pattern is written. I can't seem to calculate yardage/fat quarters well. If yardage is given, I get that, if Fat Quarters numbers are given, then I get those. I can't seem to go back and forth between the two.

I'll be hand quilting it and it will be a lap or slightly long lap size.

Any ideas?

Melissa
p.s. I was thinking about a sampler, but I've never done one before and wouldn't even know where to start.

http://quiltmaker.com/patterns/patt4/

I have made this several times. It is really easy, can use all sorts of prints and goes together quickly. I've made it in twin, as in the picture, and also in a lap quilt size.

bowtie blocks are very pretty, old fashioned, easy, and fun. You can do them scrappy or planned.

http://quilting.about.com/od/blockof..._tie_quilt.htm

Here is a 4 patch variation that looks quite easy

http://www.geocities.com/quiltfrenzy...edfrenzy2.html

The yellow brick road pattern is a great one. If you search yellow brick road you will find lots of pictures of ones completed by people in the board.

Don't let the yardage vs fat quarter thing confuse you. Every two fats is 1/2 a yard off of the bolt.

Log cabins are easy and you can arrange in a lot of settings.

Oh--I was thinking of the same pattern as LoriJ--but I used 4 fabrics for the strip block... here's mine. Boy--this is easy and fast! :D I made my Grandmother a Friendship Star....but it was scrappy, so hard to do without stash. I made her a Log Cabin wall hanging--that's pretty fast too. But the one below is the quickest! The most challenging part is choosing fabrics! :wink:
I sold the Sunflower one--but Sunny Day is all mine. :D

What about Puss-in-the-Corner? http://quiltzine.com/printblocks06.html there aren't any triangles and it looks a bit more spiffy than a regular nine patch.

Thanks to my Secret Santa I also have a beautiful pattern for a Churn dash, but mine seems to be different than the free patterns I'm seeing online.

What about a rag quilt. They go together quick and you would not have to quilt it. I made one for my GM who is also in a nursing home and she loves it. Here is the pic of her with it.

ccbear--that's a great idea. I call them a "HUG-TO-GO"!!! :D

You mention the idea of a sampler quilt... heres a link to the one I made my Gran for last christmas
http://www.quiltingboard.com/posts/list/5324.page

I was able to choose the blocks so they had a special meaning. The first quilt I did was a sampler, on a course.

I dont know if theres a quilt shop local to you that could advise you, or maybe someone on here lives close to you?

This probably isn't what you want but I made a fleece cut and tie for my aunt in the nursing home. She loved how warm and snuggly it was. She took it everywhere with her. She was 101 when she finally passed and she wanted to be buried in it. Made me feel good that she loved it so. What ever you decide to make for her, she will love!

So many things to choose from!

I won't make Gramma a fleece no sew thing. I made one for my mother. She was in a nursing home for years before her death. She loved hers and it kept her warm, but Gramma has an admiration for quilts. She's never made them, and didn't even see one until someone for the ladies aide made a Lonestar that hung in my mother's room.

I like the rag quilt, but I've never made one before. I also like the first pattern where there were 3 different pictures to it. The sunflower one was really pretty.

Looking at the sampler though, most of the same blocks I had set aside in case I ever made a sampler. They are so beautiful....I think I'd like to make one like it.

Now the hard part...picking out the blocks and how much fabric to get to make 6-9 different blocks. It only needs to be lap size and she's short. Different blocks I could quilt different ways. I bet it would be cute on the back.

Thank you every one so much. Now...I have to get out my graph paper and start measuring stuff....

M

ps I picked 9 blocks. Now I need to decide on size of blocks. I've picked, in no particular order:

1. Grandmother's Fan
2. Chimneys and Cornerstones
3. Maple Leaf
4. Patience Corders
5. Grandmother's Choice
6. Friendship Star
7. Log Cabin
8. Fancy Stripes
9. Dresden Plate

Melissa, that sounds wonderful what you've picked out. I'm wondering, with 9 blocks, that would make your quilt square, right? If you do 12 blcoks, it would make a rectangular quilt. What if, you took one of the blocks, and made 4 blocks, and put one on each outside corner? That's just if you would like it rectangular. If you do 12" blocks, you would do 3 blocks by 4 blocks, and if you do a 2" sashing between all blocks, and for a border, your quilt would measure 44 x 58, i think :)

Barb I was looking at either a finished 2 in or 3 in sashing. I'm tossing around the idea of using the same fabric, or a contrasting fabric for a border. I got approx 44 x 58 in my measurements too. My gramma is very short and is still shrinking. She didn't start out very tall, but she's just a shade over 4 foot now. My 7 year old is almost her height. I want to make sure it's not too big and bulky or she won't be able to manipulate it over herself without causing pain or injury. Lap size is good as her lap is smaller than others and it would fit her good.

I'm hoping to go fabric shopping one of these Fridays coming up...but I hate to go out in that Christmas shopping crowd.

Normally, my shopping is done by November 1st so I don't have to deal with the crowds. I hate crowds. This year, I'm STILL not done. So, the kids will get a few things from Santa this year and everything else mommy and daddy will get them AFTER Christmas. If I'm going to wait out the crowds, I might as well wait until the after Christmas sales start!!

Does anyone know patterns for the following squares that involve strip piecing? I've come across patterns for each of these blocks, but I'm sure some of them can be done with strips instead of individually cut squares/rectangles.

Fancy Stripes (I just don't want to cut all those triangles individually)
Maple Leaf
Patience Corners
Grandmother's Choice
Friendship star
Log Cabin.


Thanks!

I've always thought that Quilters Cache has the easy way to do the block if your only doing one or two of each.

I'm definitely only making one block of each kind. I should just keep looking at and reading over the patterns until I'm comfortable cutting all those pieces.

You can do it!!!!! Just take a deep breath and CUT!!

Thanks for your vote of confidence. I'm hoping to have a little left over from the budget this week to go get some fabric. Originally, I was going to get some pastel solids off the bolt and floral FQ's, but I may have to get it all off the bolt. Hancocks is having a 50% off sale and I want to make sure I get some fabric.

It might be cheaper to get your fabric off the bolt. I feel lucky when I can get fat quarters for $1 so anything that is priced less $4 a yard is saving money off FQ sale price.

I think you should tackle each block one at a time. Start with an easier one like your Chimney's and Cornerstones, or your log cabin. Cut the fabric you need for just one block sew and then move on to the next one. That way if you decide one is going to be a problem and you need to change some things around a bit you will have flexiblity to do so.

That's a great idea! I wouldn't have any idea into which order to put them, but I definitely want to do one at a time. It's easier to keep all the directions together. I have horrible visions of cutting for Pattern A and then following the sewing directions for Pattern B.

I hope I can find someone to go shopping with this weekend. I have a really hard time differenciating between the pinks, corals, and melons. They all look the same. I don't want to get a bunch of fabric that clashes instead of complimenting eachother.

Log Cabin is easily done in strips!! I lay strips out and just keep adding each block....

The pattern for the log cabin that I have is paper piecing. So I'm actively seeking out a different pattern. I'm already going out of my norms to do a sampler, I don't want to implement a ton of new piecing techniques into it.

Are there hard and fast rules about assembling a Log Cabin? I'm not talking about color or history as that's a different thread, just how to put it together. What size are these strips supposed to be? How do I lay out the strips to make sure the lights are on one side and the darks on the other. I think I should go google Log Cabin and see what I can find. I want the finished size to be 12".

http://mccallsquilting.com/golden/mg38_pattern/

Check out this log cabin star using strips--very easy! I used $1/yard sale fabric since it was a wall hanging. Did not take long at all. I omitted the stars in the corners and just bound the big star. It's hanging in my family room as we speak. :wink:

There should be a worker, if you go to Hancocks or Joanns or a lqs. They should be willing to help you pic some out that doesn't clash. I've even asked a fellow shopper or two if they thought the fabrics blend well. When I went to my lqs, I could not find anything that remotely matched the fabric I wanted. So I asked one of the workers. She pulled about 15 bolts that looked great. I still wonder where she got them from because I looked for 30 min and didn't see one! Don't be afraid to ask someone to help you.

http://www.quilterscache.com/L/LogCabinBlock.html

There's the pattern for a 12" log cabin from Quilter's Cache. Instead of cutting indivdual pieces, cut strips. But---you only want one square, so I'm not sure it's worth it. But I sew the middle fabric strip to the first piece, then cut into segments and iron. Then I put the next strip under the machine and lay the sewn pieces onto the strip and do a continuous seam. Then I cut them apart and iron, and keep repeating. Just keep track of what side is up--usually the "handle" or last piece you added is on top, but not always.

Is that at all understandable? :D

Melissa, we have the same situation. My MIL also broke her leg (she's 89), has Alsheimer's and is currently in the hospital. I made her a quilt. Take a look, it was easy:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/posts/list/13083.page

Another quilt pattern you might consider is Railroad Tracks. It goes together quickly. Good Luck.

Melissa, this is how you can do a log cabin. To make it easy, you can use just two fabrics. Lets say one fabric is white, and the other is floral. Ok, this is how you can do a 12" block. Cut a 3 1/2 inch square of floral (it will finish at 3 inches) Then, cut a couple of long strips of white fabric, 2"'s wide (these will finish at 1 1/2" strips) Also cut a couple of long 2" strips of floral fabric. Now, lay down your 3 1/2" floral square, right wide up, and lay a white strip along one edge and sew 1/4" seam. Then cut the white strip even with the bottom of the square. Now finger press open. Now, rotate your square, so that the small white strip is at the top, and to the right of that, sew another white strip, trim and press. Then rotate so second white strip is at the top, and sew a floral strip, trim and press, then another floral strip, then two more white strips, then two more florals, then two more whites, and two more florals, and you're done :) By the way, i've just been doing my first log cabin ever. I thought it would be so hard, but it is so easy, you will love it

As for the triangles, take a look at a tutorial posted by ShellyQ. I hope this will make that block easier!

http://www.quiltingboard.com/posts/list/8342.page

Grandmothers fan and Dresden plate are 2 of my favorites. I always seem to keep going back to those patterns when deciding on a pattern for a new quilt. Good luck! Can't wait to see pictures!

Quiltwoman--wow, that quilt is beautiful! I bet your MIL loved to have it!

I bookmarked the tutorial about half square and quarter square triangles a long time ago. I love it. I have used that trick with a few triangles I've had to work on and it was great.

Barb-thanks!! Thanks for coming up with those measurements for me and the proper way to sew them. I've never made anything like it, but I think the finished product is sooo very pretty!

That Log Cabin star in red and green was gorgeous! What a beautiful wall hanging to put up during the holidays where everyone can see them!

I'm going shopping Friday morning for fabric. I'm hoping to get some help at the Hancocks. I just get nervous monopolizing the time of the person who works there. Sometimes, colors play tricks on me and there could be 4 different shades of peach/pink or pink/orange and they all look the same to me.

OKAY...ladies,

It's time for the dreaded conversation about interfacing/webbing. I almost dread bringing it up since there are so many people who swear by it, and other's can't stand it. It's like going to Dallas and talking about the Kennedy assassination.

So...since I've decided to put a dresden plate and grandmother's fan in the quilt, I remember liking applique', but it's been so long since I've done it, I don't remember how I did it. So...with these two blocks interfacing/webbing or no interfacing/webbing....that is the question.

picked out my fabric today. Hope to take a picture....but my camera.....broke. :?

While I was planning on pastels for gramma, the rest of the family thinks that she can't see pastels and brights are better on her eyes. The sampler is a surprise for everyone so I didn't tell them I was making a quilt....but I think I just got roped into sending her flowers!!

Picked two medium prints...one multicolored petunias and a psychedelic purple/blue flowery stuff. Then some small prints and tone on tone prints in purple, pink, green and blue. Then a solid yellow. Will post pics when I can. But these colors sure are interesting!

M

Dear Melissa, so many ideas !! I like your idea of a sampler, especially if Grandma appreciates quilts. Also it will be a good learning experience for you. I'm the same as you when it comes to buying enough fabrics to use in each of the blocks. No one has ever really given me an answer, so I just but a lot. :lol: It can always be used on something else later.

Have fun making this for Grandma and God Bless You, Grandma, and her caregivers.

Thanks. I hope to be able to take some pictures soon!

M

Make one with fusible and one without...its all what YOU like. Everyone gets to pick :wink: :wink:

I made some applique for a quilt last year and didn't use ANYTHING but the applique and the quilt. Never again. I just wasn't sure the difference between fusible interfacing and fusible webbing.

I went to my local places and I could buy a big container of it, or buy a small amount off the bolt. I think I'll go off the bolt, so we'll see what happens.

I started a thread that will include pics of the blocks as I made them. I thought the best way to thank you for your suggestions was to post pics as I went.

Thanks so much everybody!!

http://www.quiltingboard.com/posts/l...07.page#246791

If you want to send me your address, I'll send you cambells labels. My neice is too old to use them and I don't know anyone else who needs them.