Quilt Making in Small Spaces: A Care Package of Creativity

I am so well cared for! First my daughter brings yarn for me to crochet (see post on Isolation Crochet) and then this care package from my dear quilting friend arrives in the mail. She couldn't bare me not having a quilt to work on.

Rob and I normally spend most of our year in Central America doing volunteer work. This has been the case for 8 years, so we no longer maintain a home in Ontario. When home for about two months at a time, we stay with family and my sewing room is at my moms.

Well enter Covid-19 and thus we exited CA to be home for various reasons. Due to isolation and social distancing my family very graciously set up a travel trailer for us to live in until things change.

My mom is 91 so no one goes in her house, so no access to my sewing! With not much room in a trailer, my sweet hubby shifted a few things around, my daughter lent me her machine and I have my happy place.

Package of gorgeous fabrics.

Box contained, 27 fat quarters, only need 20 but Esther wanted me to have choice, thread, pattern, fabric for lattice and borders!

So today I made final selection and set up my cutting board on the kitchen table. It maybe small spaces but it works!

Final selection

Let the cutting begin!

Kitchen table in the trailer serves as my cutting table. Seats along the one side hold box of fabric and my yarn for my afghan. If you look close you will see my supply of snacks behind on shelf!

Ironing, ironing and more ironing

All cut and ready to sew!

I thought sewing was going to be a problem but got a small folding table, my daughter's sewing machine (she said she never uses it-to busy crocheting) and used the machine cover as a side table for my drink. So far working well.

My new sewing room!

One thing I have found that when in small spaces, no space is off limits! I have shifted things around, worked over things, stored things everywhere. When I needed to lay sections out to get my fabrics mixed up good, the couch, table and seats and even the cooler became part of my design area. So far all has worked out ok. We will see if I still feel this way after I start assembling the top!

Notice the afghan under construction in the corner. Boxes of supplies, iron and small tabletop ironing board stored underneath.

Main units are now constructed and ready to be assembled into the blocks. Finished blocks are 16in. square.

80 of top unit, 20 each of other two to make 20 blocks in total

Two main block sections pinned and ready to be stitched. I tried to mix them up to give good fabric variation in each block. Although not perfect, I am happy with final selection.

All 25 blocks stitched and pressed. Before adding the sashes I have to decide whether to do traditional construction for quilting or do quilt as you go.

Seeing this is being done in a small space, I am really leaning toward quilt as you go perhaps doing primitive stitches.