Postage Stamp Quilt

 Hi friends!  Today I have a really special (long) post for you!

Today I want to share a quilt that took me two years 

and about 85 hours to complete - my Postage Stamp quilt!

I got so many questions on Instagram every time I posted pictures of this project 

so I will try to cover all the FAQ's here.  First, let me start at the beginning...

THE INSPIRATION

My grandmother passed away in October 2019.  

She was the one who taught me how to quilt and who my pattern company is named after.

After she passed, my mom and aunt asked if I would finish a couple of the quilts she

had been working on so we could give them to family members.

This red, yellow, and green 9-Patch quilt one was one of them.  

I don't know the name of the pattern but I know it came from a magazine. I remember her 

working on this quilt over the years and I know each individual square finished at

3/4".  Can you believe that!?!  The quilt top was finished many years ago so I just got it longarm quilted (with a Baptist Fan pattern) and then I bound it by hand.  

The back was white with colorful buttons and the binding is black with red and yellow 

flowers on it, as you can see here.  The backing fabric was hanging with the quilt top 

in her closet and I believe I picked out the binding fabric from her stash.

This quilt went to my aunt Janet and her husband Dave.

The other quilt I finished at that time (I have 2 more I still need to finish!)

was this little baby quilt.  I think the squares finished at 1-1/4".  My aunt and I chose

the back and binding fabrics from my grandmother's fabric stash and then I had it 

longarm quilted with the Interlocking Orange Peel panto by Karlee Porter.

This quilt went to one of my cousins.

So after finishing both of those quilts made by my grandmother,

I was inspired.  I never thought I would make a Postage Stamp quilt;

too intense for me!  But I got the itch around that time to make something 

with tiny squares and a little while later I made my first blocks.

CUTTING

I cut 1-1/2" squares that would finish at 1" each.

I did not do all my cutting at once.

I found that I liked to cut batches of squares, both bright and white, whenever

I was running low or got tired of the ones I had in my pile.  It was a nice

way to break up all of the sewing.  

When I was actively working on my

Postage Stamp quilt I would keep piles of squares by my machine so I could

easily grab and sew.  I didn't put too much thought into what fabric went where.

I just tried to space out colors to create balance.  When I needed a break from

that project I simply put the squares in a ziplock bag.  They didn't get wrinkly

so it was easy to pick up where I left off the next time I was ready to work on my quilt.

FABRIC

I used lots of different whites, creams and low volumes for my

"whites".  If you look closely at some of the following pictures you'll be able to tell.  

From far away, everything reads as white but the quilt still has a really scrappy 

feel to it.  Plus it was a great way to use up scraps!  

As far as the brights go, I used alll the colors.  My only requirement was 

there had to be enough contrast between the brights and whites.  There are several fabrics

of my grandmother's in this quilt.  Including a few squares that have remnants of

her embroidery!  Those are my favorite!

ASSEMBLY

There are several ways to assemble a Postage Stamp quilt.

You can strip-piece units together.  But since I used scraps for all of my pieces

I cut squares and sewed them together one-by-one.  I didn't mind; in fact

I preferred to do it that way so it would be extra scrappy!  But of course, you

could strip piece if you wanted.

For the most part, I chain-pieced rows together to make regular, small 9-Patches (above).

I made some that had brights in the corners and some that had whites in the corners.

This was such mindless sewing and I quite enjoyed it!  Immediate satisfaction!  

Then I sewed nine of those 9-Patches together to make big 9-Patches that had

81 squares in each block.  I figured out it took me about 45 minutes to make a block

(maybe about an hour with cutting).

Towards the end of this project, I switched from making small 9-Patches to just

chain piecing squares together to make a row for the big 9-Patches.  I started by sewing tons

of pairs of bright and white squares together.  When I got bored I separated the pairs 

and then sewed them together to make units of 4 squares each.  

Once I had all those sewn together I sewed 2 of those units together plus one extra 

square to make a row of 9 squares.

PRESSING

After I made each block row, I pressed the seam allowances toward the dark/bright fabrics.

After I sewed the rows together, I pressed the seams open.

I pressed everything as I went.  It may seem daunting but I honestly

got faster the more I did it.  It really wasn't too bad.  I definitely

recommend pressing as you go and pressing the seams open will help your 

quilt lay nice and flat.

Quick side note here:

I never pin when I piece. If you're really accurate in your cutting

and piecing all of your seam allowances should be able to nest together nicely.

I'm sure that saved me a lot of time while making this quilt.  I have some tips saved

in my Instagram highlight bubbles on precision piecing and cutting.

Check it out @gigis_thimble.

As I worked on this project, I found it helpful to set little goals for myself.  I started by 

making two blocks and kept trying to double the number of

blocks I had until I finished.  One month I challenged myself to 

make 100 little 9-Patches and towards the end of this project, I challenged myself to make 1

big 9-Patch a day until I was done making all of my blocks.  I always tell myself,

"A little progress every day adds up to big results!" and that is definitely the case

with a Postage Stamp quilt!

Because there are a gazillion seams in this quilt, it is heavier than normal.

The seams can start to stretch apart because of the weight and become 

harder to match up.  So I would recommend that you make two halves of your quilt; 

press the row seams and then sew the 2 halves together to complete your quilt.

Here I am at the halfway point:

And here is the finished quilt top.  An exciting moment!

FINISHING

I bound the quilt in this red and white gingham fabric that I had in my stash.

I also had this rainbow fabric in my stash that I had bought recently for another project (that didn't turn out how I wanted so I gave it away).  The fabric is 55218-20 from the fabric line Shine On by Bonnie and Camille for Moda.  I used it for the back of my quilt and I love it.

My friend Jen Ostler quilted it with the Scribble Hearts panto.

She always hides an object in her quilting for her clients to find so this time

she did a rainbow.  It took me forever to find but I think it's darling.

It's much easier to find from the backside of the quilt than the front!

One of my Instagram followers sent me a picture of her Postage Stamp quilt that had been

quilted with the Scribble Hearts panto and I thought it was sweet and fun so I decided

to do the same on mine.  I love the quilting community where we can all 

inspire and learn from each other!

I've been buying custom quilt labels from Ever Emblem for the last couple of years.

I get the 2" cotton fold-over, sew-in labels and I've been really happy with them.

They're really inexpensive and a quick way to label your quilt.

Well that's it!  I think I addressed all of the FAQ's!  Please let me know if I missed anything.

Just to recap here is a quick breakdown of all of the details...

DETAILS

Finished size of individual squares: 1".

Finished quilt size: 72" x 90"

Total number of big 9-Patch blocks: 80

Layout: 8 x 10 blocks

Total number of 1" squares: 6,480

Start date: December 27, 2019

Finish date: November 3, 2021

Longarm quilter: Jen Ostler in Highland, UT (@drycreekquilter on Intstagram)

Quilt panto: Scribble Hearts

Hidden object in the quilting: rainbow

Backing: Rainbow 55218-20 by Bonnie + Camille for Moda

Approximate time to make this quilt: 85 hours

Batting: 100% cotton

Machine pieced

Hand-bound

1/4" seams

I hope you enjoyed this post!

Like I said, please let me know if you have any questions.

I'd love to know what you think about this project

and whether or not YOU might make a Postage Stamp quilt someday!

Happy quilting!