New Bed Quilt: Beyond Stack ‘n Slash

A bit of background: In 2000, my sister Christy and I made a queen-sized bed quilt which we donated to Bosom Buddies for their fund-raiser auction. Proceeds went to helping breast cancer survivors in the Sacramento area. I had been saving blue and white fabrics for several years and had begun cutting out half-square triangles to use for my own quilt using the Lady of the Lake pattern. We decided to use that same pattern for the donation quilt. We went into production mode, with both of us pulling everything blue and white from our stashes and cutting the appropriate half-square triangles. Christy and I decided to call the quilt Blue Without You. The quilt was gratefully accepted and brought a nice income to support the Bosom Buddies charter.

I still had a quilt to make and Christy decided she would like the same quilt as well. Back into production mode we went, this time creating two king-sized quilt tops. I completed the quilting of mine in January 2001 and I have enjoyed having it on my bed every summer since then. I dubbed my quilt Blue Without You II. After 18 years of use, my quilt has faded considerably. I decided that I needed to make a new blue-and-white quilt. Here is a detail of my quilt in all its faded glory. Click on an image for a larger view.

 

 

Remember the late 1990s and early 2000s when the ‘new’ quilt craze was for Stack ‘n Slash patterns? I was not wild about those particular quilts but I was intrigued in 2004 by Karen Michaels’ class at The Village Quilt Shop in Pleasanton called Beyond Stack ‘n Slash.  I created a small piece in that class which I quilted and gave to a friend as a lap quilt. Since this quilt shines the most when there is high contrast between light and dark fabrics, I thought I would use it for my new quilt.

This quilt uses 8 dark and 8 light fat quarters for each group of blocks created. I would need four sets of blocks — 64 altogether. I pulled fabrics from my stash and shopped to fill in the rest of the fabrics I needed. Preparation for stitching involves trimming each fat quarter to the same size, numbering each piece in the top left corner, and stacking the fabrics in alternating dark and light fabrics. Then the first cut of all 16 fabrics is made, a shift in the fabric of the unnumbered stack happens and the fabrics are stitched together.

 

 

This process happens 6 times altogether. Here is the stack after four cuts and stitching has happened.

 

 

I’m sure you’ve noticed the bit of chartreuse that snuck in. I had a few fat quarters of it that counted as light fabric. I couldn’t resist using a splash of color with all the blue and white! Last cut:

 

 

The set is completed.

 

 

This stack took me a couple days to complete. Cutting through 16 layers of fabric is challenging. Stitching the sections back together while matching intersections and doing my best to maintain the size of each block required learning a certain rhythm. I finally fell into that rhythm by the end of this set. Note: this photo makes the block on top look out of whack. Keep in mind that the seams are much thicker than the parts of the block which sink lower — hence the funny dips.

In celebration of completing the first set and to give myself a little reward and rest, I stitched a set of pillow cases to use with the new quilt when it’s completed.

 

 

Once the four sets of blocks were completed, each block was measured to find the minimum length in either direction. Then all blocks were trimmed to that square measurement. Here are the sets, ready for a final trim.

 

 

The blocks were trimmed to 15″ x 15″. Here is set number one on the wall, ready for stitching.  I apologize for the funky look to this photo but my studio space doesn’t allow me to get far enough away for a straight-on shot of this grouping.

 

 

Here is the completed top on our bed.

 

 

When the four sets of blocks were stitched together I had a 116″ square quilt — a bit too big! I removed one row from each side and it’s perfect for the bed. I have 15 blocks left. Using leftovers from the original fat quarters, I will create a 16th block and put those together for a nice lap quilt that can hang out on our bedroom chair for those moments when a little nap is needed.

This is the first bed quilt I’ve made since finishing Blue Without You II in 2001. I’m happy with this modern look with its sassy splash of chartreuse. I think it will wear well.

I probably won’t be able to part with Blue Without You II, in spite of its faded condition. I simply love the pattern and have heaps of sentiment surrounding its creation and the fun that Christy and I had.