Wheel Estate On the Move

Yesterday was the day I promised myself I'd get started sewing Wheel Estate into a flimsy. As I mentioned, it was an open question whether the fabrics I would need were available in Ye Olde Stash Fabric Store. When this quilt first got under way, I went shopping online for a backing fabric and purchased 3-4 yards (can't remember how much I have) of this one:

Then, while we were traveling in Idaho this past summer, I remember purchasing this one in Garden Valley. Since I purchased three yards, I must have been thinking it would make a good backing for Wheel Estate. (Another clue: it was in the bin with the Wheel Estate blocks.)

And I think it's by far the better choice. I can save the first one to use as a backing for the Quilty 365 I want to make from quilt shop fabric swatches when we make our loop around the USA (coming right up!). You can read about my idea for this quilt right here. Already, I have something like two dozen swatches cut, and I'm hoping to add lots more.

But to get back to Wheel Estate, here's how the quilt looks on the pattern cover. This is Amy Bradley's "Campers" pattern, and it's a great pattern. This RV quilt is only one of many quilts that can be made. In fact, it's given me an idea for my next quilt, but I'll say more about that later. 

This quilt measures 40 x 54 inches, which is just a tad larger than I want it. At 40 inches wide, it will just barely fit onto the wall where I want to hang it. It's a large wall, plenty tall enough. The problem lies with the thermostat on the left and the step up to Mike's side of the bed on the right. When I measure the space between those two "impediments," the wall is just about 42 inches.

So, no problem. I can make adjustments here and there. It's just good to start off knowing the parameters for the perimeter (like that?).

The first thing I needed to do was to trim the blocks down to size. The blocks are supposed to measure 11.5 x 15.5 inches. I'd already cut the white (with blue polka dot) background pieces when I realized that the grass was intended to be done with applique. That seemed kind of silly to me, and so I cut strips of grass and sewed a seam instead. Why use applique when piecing will do just fine? (As with so many things, no one consulted me.) So, anyway, my blocks ended up at about 15.5 x 15.5 inches with a lot of "sky" at the top. I trimmed them down to 11.5 x 15 inches. It was easy enough to cut off the excess sky at the top. I cut a quarter inch off each side just because they'd kind of frayed while I worked with them. Now...nice clean-cut edges, which just sets the world right, don't you know? Then I laid them out the way I wanted them to appear in the quilt. 

If you missed the start of this quilt, I'll just say that the blocks that don't appear to have blue polka dotted backgrounds simply have a smaller scale of polka dot. I didn't have enough of that fabric, and so I ordered more. Sadly, I couldn't tell from the picture that it was a different scale of polka dot. It worked out though. I kind of like the different sizes now.

For the sashing, I liked this turquoise with white polka dot. It fits with the polka dot theme of the blocks, and it's the right color to go with the camper fabric I'm using for the back and the outside border. Here's where I left it yesterday.

Now I'm going to add just a very narrow white stop border, and then I'll finish up with a border of the camper fabric above. I have enough for the quilt back and the border, and I think that's going to be very cute. I'll probably use the turquoise polka dot for the binding. As for the dimensions, I've lost half an inch on the quilt blocks, and I'll lose half an inch on the stop border. If I make the outer borders 3 inches instead of 3 3/4 inches, I'll have taken almost two inches off the width of the quilt, which will be a good size. I might even make the outer border narrower, but I want to make sure I get enough width to pick up at least a couple of rows of campers on the fabric. (I hope that makes sense.)

Yesterday's mail contained a sweet surprise. My friend Gail at Shedding the Wolf was making these pink pussycat hats. When I admired her handiwork and allowed as how I really needed one, she said she'd send me one. When I opened her package, I found not one, not two, but three of these cuties! Wow! Gail said she was sending one for the "three" of the "Three Cats Ranch". Well, I tried to get a picture of Sadie and Smitty wearing their hats, but they said no way, and no how. And Smitty stamped his paws insisting that there was no way he was wearing pink. 

So, thank you, Gail, for your incredibly generous gift. I think I'm going to give Smitty's hat to my friend Sue. Look for a selfie of us with our hats soon.

Speaking of Smitty, is this the saddest picture you've ever seen?

He's wishing he was on a sandy Caribbean beach with aquamarine water lapping at his paws. Instead he's sitting on our Oregon deck with sleet covering his path. And, ew, you don't want that stuff on your feet.

We've had piles of slush fall from the sky. It really isn't cold enough for snow accumulation, although it continues to try. As I'm writing this, I can see a few flurries out there. It's an egg pick-up day for me, and I might as well hit the grocery store while I'm at it. When I get home, I'll get back to work on Wheel Estate. Hoping to get it all put together today, and then I can start on something new. Intriguing, no?