A New Adventure

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Last winter Shasta (High Road Quilter) showed us a very unique bed covering (here). Shasta is making one with 30’s reproductions and her yo-yo’s are piling up (here).

I found it fascinating and thought instantly how much fun it would be to make it with colorful vintage feedsacks. Of course, my decision had nothing to do with the fact that I had over 700 feedsack yo yo’s already made up.  

Several years ago, I cut 3” squares from around 800 different feedsacks in my collection and began to make 1” finished yo yo’s. They traveled with me in my Roy Roger’s lunch box and whenever I was at a meeting or lecture or red light (just kidding) I would make a few of them.

Not having seen the original spread in person, it was trial and error with the assembly method. I decided to make the front squares from just one feedsack fabric to give it some sort of unity. The back of each square is a different feedsack fabric (99 in all).

My squares finish approximately (and, I do mean approximate!) 3”. I cut the front and back fabrics at 3 ½”, faced them together and placed a 3 ¼” piece of cotton batting on top.

Then I stitch with ¼” seam allowance around the edge leaving about 1 ½” opening to turn the block inside out. I lop off the corners a bit to reduce bulk.

I press from the front and then top stitch close to the edge so that I do not have to hand stitch the opening.

I’m learning a lot about stitching yo-yo’s together. It is not as easy as I thought it would be. Have any of you made a yo-yo quilt? I’m wondering if you end your thread with each yo-yo or do you travel from one to the next? I am traveling from one to the next, but it has been tricky to make sure you don’t catch the edge of the yo-yo and have your thread show though.

Since it is technically a potholder quilt, it has to have a name with some sort of food reference. I think I am going to call it “Candy Dish”. I have a lot on my plate already so this will be my “pick up” project this year. Whenever I am in between other quilts, I’ll add a few yo-yo’s and hopefully be done by the end of the year. Or, in true Wendy fashion I just may end up making another lap quilt! 

And, I wanted to show you all how lucky I am to have such great friends! The last time Randy (Barrister's Block) visited me here in Maine she gave me this cute little caddy which I use every day for my water and starch sprays. I love it! 

And I was blown away on Saturday when I went to visit Cyndi (Busy Thimble) and she presented me with this little quilt! I had admired one that she made earlier (here) and she made one for me.

Beautifully hand quilted!

How sweet! I am indeed lucky to have great friends!