Nacho Grandma's Quilts is Dead . . . Long Live Nacho Grandma's Quilts!!

It's been awhile since I've posted on this blog . . .

In the interim, I've started two other WordPress blogs (Tessellation Nation, and Knotty Celtic Knots), which have floundered also.

A week or so ago, I started a project I've been wanting to do for some time . . . My original website, Nacho Grandma's Quilts (of which this blog was a part) has languished for years, partly due to a number of reasons.  I always wanted to consolidate my internet real estate under one umbrella.

Now, I have . . .

Today, I've launched a new Nacho Grandma's Quilts!!

The new site teaches my method of designing patchwork quilts (though the site is not exclusive to quilters).  I've turned my method into a game.  I show you how to draw your own playing pieces, and I show you the moves of the game.  The objective of the game is to create allover patterns.  I am cataloging the designs I come up with, and presenting them as coloring pages that you can color online, print, or email.

I hope you like it . . .

Over time, I will include sections on Color Theory and Celtic Knots.

But I won't be posting on THIS blog anymore . . . please join me on the new one!!

In case you haven't noticed, Men Quilt Too!!

Where have I been??  Where are my manners??

I've entered an online all-male exhibition and competition on Pigtales and Quilts.

Check it out!! (and, vote for me . . .)

Mock Celtic Knot Cross . . . (Completed)

It was not a good week:  last Monday evening, I was gonna fuse the pieces of my mock Celtic knot cross to the background.  I unpinned the bottom two pieces and shifted them straight down an inch or so, thinking that I could shift the entire cross by degrees as I fused the pieces.  What could it hurt??

PLENTY!!  (I'm sorry, there are no pictures of the results . . .)

So, Tuesday evening, I went shopping and bought more fabric and fusible web, and started over again.  This time, I pressed vertical and horizontal lines in the background fabric to serve as guides to keep the pieces aligned.  When I was satisfied with the arrangement, I slid a small, portable ironing pad under the background, and ironed all the pieces in place with no shifting of pieces (I at least learned THAT much).

Saturday morning, I was ready to quilt . . .

I originally planned on quilting around the shapes with a narrow zig-zag, but a quick trial showed how difficult (and unwieldy) that would be.  So, I decided to grid-quilt the entire top to at least stitch down the long edges of the pieces in case the fusible web gave way.

I took the quilted (but unbound) piece to church yesterday . . . it was a big hit!!  Some people gave me some great marketing ideas, and others requested a workshop on the no-sew technique (which only served to give me MORE ideas)!!

Last night, I made binding from the last of the fabric; this morning, I attached it.  What do you think of the results?  The quilt measures 44" by 67".

Thank you for reading my blog.  Please take a moment to leave a comment and subscribe to this blog.

Mock Celtic Knot Cross . . . (part 4)

Last night (or early this morning), I laid out most of the pieces for the cross.  It turns out that there are FOUR different shapes, not three; I decided they would wait until morning.

I went to bed.

I got up early this morning to lay out my pieces, but first I had to peel off the paper backing.  The paper backing had curled up overnight; I was afraid the fabric wouldn't lay flat, but it did.  I traced and prepped the missing shape (and made a few extra straight pieces while I was at it).

It took about two hours to lay all the pieces in position, then pin them in place.  I pinned them down because I wanted to hang the piece on the wall to take a picture of it; I will remove the pins as I fuse the pieces to the background.

Are you ready for this??

I can say that I get a better feel for this when I'm looking at it head-on than when I'm looking at it lying on my worktable; I can see that there are some pieces that I'll re-position before fusing them down.

Take a moment to "follow the knot" with your finger . . . I had an extra set of pieces in the lower section originally.  When I followed the knot, I came up with two interlocking knots, not one.  When I removed the pieces, I came up with only one knot.  Who would have thought??

Mock Celtic Knot Cross . . . (part 3)

It was a productive evening . . .

I traced the Celtic knot pieces on the Wonder Under . . .

Then, I cut out the pieces and ironed them to the back of the fabric . . .

Then, I cut the pieces out . . .

Tomorrow, I'll pin, then fuse the pieces in place on background fabric . . .

Mock Celtic Knot Cross . . .

Remember this cross??  I reckon there's only three shapes that make up this cross:  the corner shapes, the curved shapes, and the straight shapes (as I've highlighted).  There are twelve corner shapes, twenty-two curved shapes, and 24 straight shapes.

Since I posted the last post, I've sent a jpeg of this cross to Kinko's to enlarge to 36" by 60"; I've gone to Hancock Fabrics to buy Wonder Under and cotton fabrics in white and Kelly green.

After dinner, I'm gonna trace the needed shapes on the Wonder Under before adhering it to the green cotton.

Later, sweet 'taters!!

A mock Celtic knot cross . . .

Today, I'm starting a new project.

I'm making a prayer quilt for a friend who requested a Celtic knot quilt years ago when Celtic knots were not my thing.  They still aren't my thing, but I think I have a "workaround."

Here's a picture of the knot:

Now, looking at this, what do you see??  You see what looks like a continuous braid in the shape of the cross.  What makes it a continuous braid??  Well, the band is woven:  it goes over and under itself until it returns to the beginning.  But, is it REALLY woven??  Well, no . . .

Keep your eyes on this space, there's more to come . . .