Why I own a two-story home?

Now before you get all worked up about such a simple question, let me explain.  When we first bought our house decades ago, we were going for something that would comfortably hold a family of 4.

We were looking at square footage; something that we wouldn't grow out of.  Hence we found a 4 bedroom home that we have raised all of our children (we had a 3rd kid), and are now welcoming our grandkids to.

But today I just found out what the real, hidden reason for owning a two story home is.  Its for those of us that love to quilt.  Its for those of us that not only quilt; but are always making quilts that are queen and king size.  You see the reason I have a two story house is so that I can take full pictures of the entire quilt!

Let me explain.  I finally finished the quilt top for my 8-pointed star quilt (Or as I call it "the thrifty quilt").  I was trying to figure out the best way to get a complete picture of the quilt.  I have a quilt rack, but it works best with finished quilts.  Quilt tops are too light and would blow with the wind, since they are very light.  So I laid the quilt on the ground in my backyard and from a window on the second floor was able to take my photo. I improvised with household items to create weights to hold the corners down.  (It you are wondering, my weights are a spray bottle, dog's water bowl, water bottle, and jewelry box.  Hey, you make due with what you have - LOL).

Here is the completed 8 pointed star quilt top in all its glory:

8 pointed Star Center

Completed 8 pointed Star quilt; ready to go to quilters.

 Well I then thought about the other 3 quilt tops that I had finished, and decided to photograph those too.  You see for each of my kids I made a quilt for there college graduation.  Since everyone in my home is over 6 feet tall, all of their quilts are king sized quilts.  I gotta make sure their entire body is covered when they use it, right!

My oldest son got his quilt a couple years after his college graduation (It took me over a year to complete the hand quilting.  That's a story for another day; lets just say I won't be doing that again).

The other two tops were finished but I never quilted them.  So here are the pictures for those quilt tops.

First up is a paper pieced pattern I found in a book.  I can't recall where I found it.   I used fabric scraps for the individua blocksl and black to trim the centers in.  By the time I got to the last black border, I had run out of the original green fabric; but my quilt wasn't quite a king size; so I found some similar green and made it the final boarder.

Close-up of quilt blocks

Completed quilt top for my 2nd son

Next is a variation of the "rail" quilt pattern.  Many years ago I participated in a African fabric 5-inch squares swap. It was done over the internet there were about 20 participants, and we each had to send a packet of 10 squares to each participant.  I couldn't figure out what to do with this fabrics; so I decided to just let their uniqueness shine thru on its own.

Close-up of rails

Completed quilt top for my daughter

 Finally is the log cabin quilt pattern.  I found these fabrics at a quilt shop and just fell in love with the print.  I wanted to use these prints in a unique way.  I stitched the log cabin squares then played around with the layout:   I needed to add some length to the quilt, so I added the log cabin stripes that you see bordered by the navy blue.

Close up of fabrics in center log cabins

Close up of fabrics in side log cabins

Log Cabin Variation

So  now that all of these are done.  I just have to get the quilting done.  If I try to do these myself, it'll be another 10 years before they are done.  So these go off to a local quilter on Tuesday, and I should have them back in two weeks.  Then its just the binding left to do and I can give the two to my kids and the other two will go on beds.

Until my quilts come back, I will return to my regularly scheduled program of garment sewing.

Happy Sewing Everyone!