Tag Archives: Five + Ten Fabric

Five + Ten – Finished

I made this quilt top back in 2022, and in my original blog post I wrote about how hard it was to make. It was a really challenging pattern and I had some hiccups along the way. But now that it’s done and quilted, I really like how it turned out.

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This quilt features Denyse Schmidt’s Five + Ten collection along with a few Ruby + Bee solids that I needed to stretch out the fabric to complete all of the blocks.

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This pattern is not Irish Chain but similar. (I probably made it more difficult.)

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Even though it was difficult to make, it’s always good to try something new and push ourselves to make things that are hard. It’s how we get better!

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I also have to talk about the back of this quilt. The blue floral is a piece of fabric that was in my grandma’s sewing supplies. She passed a number of years ago and I inherited all of her fabric.

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The blue fabric goes perfectly with the front, but when I was measuring it out it barely fit; there were zero inches to give in the length. But was that going to stop me from trying to make it work? No. I knew it might be a bit short after it was quilted and cause me problems, but I decided to try and make it work.

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Well, readers, it did cause me problems. LOL. There were a couple spots where it came up short, less than a half an inch. It was a pretty easy fix though. I had a few thin strips of the blue fabric left after I trimmed the quilt and I was able to patch them in. You really don’t notice unless you examine the back closely.

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My quilts are rarely “perfect” and to me this is in the spirit of generations of quilters who ‘used what they have’ to create beautiful quilts. And I think my grandma, who was very thrifty, would approve.

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As I wrap this quilt post up, shout out to my quilt-holding friend who helped take these photos with me. It was a windy day and standing on a bridge trying to get pictures was not easy! But nothing with this quilt was so it’s quite fitting.

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Let me introduce you to the quilt that made my head spin and almost broke me.  Between the quilt math, the pattern, and the layout, this one had me mentally exhausted.  That said, I think it turned out great. LOL

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There are many parts of this quilt making process that could have been easier, but I had a limited amount of fabric and was trying to stretch it as far as I could.  Had I had more wiggle room with the fabric it wouldn’t have been so difficult, but I needed every last inch of my fat quarters so I had to get every measurement and every cut right.  Pressure!

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In the end, I did have to add in some Ruby + Bee solids to get enough blocks, but I kind of like the unexpected solids here and there. It makes it not so perfect and I sometimes like my quilts that way.

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The main fabric in this quilt is Denyse Schmidt’s Five + Ten collection.  I love the bright colors and how they pop against the white background.  The colors also look great against this mural I found in Castle Rock, Colorado.  I took this picture when I was there visiting my brother over Christmas.

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The pattern is Irish Chain-like, but not quite. The blocks were very labor intensive, which also made it a hard quilt to finish.  I will say this quilt was reminder to push myself to make something hard.  I can do hard things!  Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I want a quick and easy quilt to make, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but there’s also value in challenging yourself to try something new or get through something hard.

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Now that this quilt top is done, I’m setting it aside for a while before I finish it.  While the challenge of it was a good exercise in patience, my brain needs a break from it.  Let’s check back on this quilt top in a few months.