Fidget Quilt

As part of the FFFC group, I made this quilt to follow a challenge which called for using 3 colors opposite on the color wheel + have lots of texture. My biggest stash of textured fabric was in blue, so that determined my colors. I finished the top on time [many months ago]. Eventually I quilted it. However, the real problem for me is putting on the binding. In this case I needed to sew it all my machine because this quilt will [hopefully] get a lot of handling.

I remember someone telling me that her idea of a really great baby quilt is one that gets totally worn out. I will hope the same for this quilt.

I got the idea for making a 'Fidget Quilt' while doing little quilts for the Alzheimer's Initiative. Someone talked about making a fidget quilt to help calm a friend with Alzheimer's. The following site mentions making these lap quilts for children and vision impaired people.
http://www.quiltsfromcaringhands.com/our_quilts/directions/index.html

I found this site just now when I wanted a better explanation than I could give on this site. Of course, my qult is not those simple squares. Interestingly enough, they mention making a pocket. I thought I was being really creative by making a pocket on this quilt. The 'Purena Flour' rectangle is the pocket on my quilt. I gathered up every piece of decor I could find. Made sure it was sturdy AND colorfast AND able to withstand frequent washes.

my favorite trim = tassles [love to touch it] + other textural fabric

new-old 'ad' fabric I found very interesting, lace trim, grosgrain ribbon with a satin center, fabric textured by stitches, grosgrain

When I was almost done I accidentally ran my finger over a piece of trim. It really felt nice. Then I tested all the trim pieces and got some bits of satin ribbon because my finger really wanted to touch that. It was really fun to close my eyes and 'see' the quilt.

Pocket

Rickrack wiggle + almost echo quilting

Sparkling BIG rickrack + lots of fancy stitches

Rhinestone trim on rough fabric, stitching on satin and heavily textured uphostery fabric

One thing I would do differently is to make it smaller and use a poly filling as that would be lighter. I used many upholstery fabrics + some heavy trims. Also, I had to be very careful not to get any seams near each other because of the fabric thickness. I might put strips between the rows to make it a little easier to quilt and reduce the thick seams. Another thing I might not do again is add the trim with the rhinestones. Very easy to break needles on that trim. But it does give a lot of sparkle.

Fidget Quilt laying on my bed.

I do hope you enjoy this project and are then inspired to make one yourself. I'm sure there are places in every community that might appreciate a little lap quilt with lots of tactile interest.

5 more Fleece Lap Quilts

Lessons learned:
If you are thinking about doing something with fleece, you should use a serger.

I purchased some fleece at Joanne, but it was only about half as thick as my bags of scraps.

Be flexible! This stuff is really difficult to work with on a regular sewing machine. If you just want something colorful and warm [as these lap quilts] AND do not have to have perfection [these quilts have lots of imperfections], then go for it. Of course I still do not know how the recipients will like these. That will come some time later. Really rather stressful for me since they have been a LOT of work. I have one more in process. But then I'll do something more usual.

I would really appreciate feedback on both the quilts and the puzzle cuts.

Hope you enjoy, ann

Lap Quilt #4 and the puzzle




Lap quilt #5 and the puzzle




Lap Quilt #6 and the puzzle




Lap Quilt #7 and the puzzle





Lap Quilt #8 and the puzzle

Lap Quilt #3 = fleece

I actually started this fleece construction process last year. I tried putting the pieces together like one would put cotton or other quilting fabric. The fleece is much too thick. I got so so frustrated last year that I just put the fleece back into bags. Below are a couple of examples of my first attempts.


This year I decided I needed to get those bags of fleece out of the way. Fleece takes up a lot of room. I would have to overlap the pieces. Someone suggested I try to lap the stretch grain with the non-stretch grain. That was a good suggestion which I tried to follow. After quilt #2, I decided to just use the fleece alone.

Cutting this stuff straight is a BIG challenge on the stretch grain. The fleece ruffles and wiggles and seems to have a mind of its own. The blade will often bounce, catch, and jump. Cutting with the non-stretch grain is a lot easier; only have to deal with the curling. I cut rectangles and squares from all of the rest of the fleece in the pile. Then I sewed the pieces into strips 36" long. That length will become the width. It is easier to work with that length than longer because I just laid the pieces out on my cutting board. I have actually finished that process with the rest of the pieces, so the quilts should be coming in a bunch very soon.

Although I am happy with this result. I would not ever recommend anyone work with this stuff on a regular sewing machine. Someone said a serger would be easier. Not sure it would solve the stretching problems.

For all of us puzzle addicts, I picked a challenging cut because the quilt is so simple. ENJOY!

Lap Quilt #2 + puzzle

I got these bags of polar fleece leftover pieces [from some manufacturing company I think]. I paid about $5 for the whole lot. I had NEVER used polar fleece, so I thought this was a bargain. Very few large pieces, quite a few too small to use, and most of the rest were medium sized odd shapes. Knowing I didn't have to worry abut raveling, I did NOT realize the bulk of the fabric would cause many problems in sewing.



Comparison of fleece sizes. Most are about the size of the light blue one, but not that regular in shape.



I first tried to make 'regular' seams. After much fighting and frustration, I realized that would not work for these small pieces because the many seams were pretty ugly and stiff.



I then tried overlapping seams. That worked better. Trying to loosen myself out of my square corner rut, I ironed back the edges on a nice piece of fabric to use as my backing. As you can see, I used a lot of uncut pieces. Not very happy with the results. Hopefully someone will pick it for their choice. It will be very warm. The size is 42" x 48".



In the middle of finishing this quilt, I decided for the next one I would square cut up the rest and piece it together by itself. I'm working on that. The cutting seems endless. I'm already bored, but too stubborn to give up. This stuff is very light weight, soft and very warm. Hopefully I will have something to post very soon.

TA DAH. . . now for the puzzle.

First Lap Quilt as a Puzzle

Lap Quilt number 1

I finished the top of this simple lap quilt before I started the window quilts. I was going to wait to post until after I got a bunch done. Well, as usual it is taking me a lot longer than I thought. After I finished the kitchen insulated window quilts, I decided to quilt this one. I used a extra thick batting for warmth. The backing is a wonderful group of children singing. I love the bright colors.

.

I didn't have a clue about sizes so I went on-line and looked at lap quilts. The sizes that are wanted by the 'quilts for veterans' are either 36" x 42" or 42" x 48". I thought these seemed rather small, so I added a larger size 42" x 60". Really hard to know what people will like and-or appreciate. My plan is to make different kinds and sizes, then wait for feed back. People will get to choose their quilt. All sorts of ages, so I'm thinking all sorts of sizes of quilts and different for the different tastes.

.

Although, I aim for a size, I am not expecting to be exact. I got a bunch of fabric off E-bay, sales at Joanne, and some from On Board Fabrics in Edgecomb, Maine. I will work with what I have and see where that takes me.

.

This quilts finished size is 37" x 53". I have never made anything but wall quilts, so this is a learning experience. I've already started a really experimental quilt using fleece pieces I got cheaply as they were left overs from some manufacturer. I also got a 10 yard bolt of black fleece on sale. After washing [and shrinkage], I was able to cut out 5 quilts + a blanket for my bed.