Persimmon Pluses Quilt

The name of the charm pack was "Persimmon" and though thoroughly modern, the muted colors suggested something from the past to me.  So I designed a "plus" block that used the width of the 5" charm with 2 muslin sides, split in half, trimmed to 5", then added the other 5" arm. Each arm was 2" wide.
Then I sewed it all 4 sides to a muslin 5" square, marked the diagonal lines and cut them (a method for making square in a square that works if you don't need sharp, bordered edges.) Since the background and the 5" square were muslin, this was a good accurate method to use.
A few of the fabrics were too light, they were simply lost on the unbleached muslin. After completing the quilt, I poured some coffee on the blocks that were too light and put it out in the sun for a few hours.  After washing, the coffee had very softly colored the light fabrics, and stained the muslin in a few spots, helping me achieve the "aged" look I imagined when I first saw the charm collection.  A few of the blues were also too light, I used inktense watercolor pencils to add a little deeper blue or brown on those pluses.

This is a small quilt, around 36" by 42". No border. The binding was a piece of brown scrap from the scrap box. It would work in an antique cradle, or just displayed on the quilt rack in my dining room where I display my smaller quilts.

Happy Summer Quilt

Happy is how I feel when I finish a quilt.  Actually, I feel happy when I plan one, sew on one, think about one, or shop for fabrics.  Quilting is the ultimate meditative pleasure, my mind wanders freely and peacefully while I work on a quilt.
This quilt was inspired by a You Tube Video Tutorial by Missouri Star Quilt Company.

"Cutting Corners"
https://www.missouriquiltco.com/land/tutorials/cutting-corners-quilt/index.html?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=lp&utm_campaign=t119

I used exactly 20 jelly roll strips and a couple of yards of white muslin.  I had 19 strips from a clearance collection I paid a couple of bucks for from Connecting Threads, (connectingthreads.com) and I added a solid green strip to make 20.  There were 5 (2 1/2") binding strips.  Straight line quilting between each block, down the center of each block, and 1/4" away from the seam on the white diagonals.  Finally, I chose my favorite thin 100% cotton batting (I buy it on a 50 yard roll from JoAnn Fabrics once or twice a year.)  I like it because it's thinner than "Soft and White" so after washing, the muslin back gets soft and the quilt has a very soft drape.  I mean, the quilt hugs you back!

This quilt became a retirement quilt full of happy inscribtions!