Spending Coins and a Question

Wink at the Moon for Neil Armstrong tonight, the anniversary of his passing. The human race cooperated to advance science when man first walked on the moon. Respectfully working together lifted us all to new levels of achievement. Surely we can do it again to resolve issues closer to home.

Since there were still a bunch of Coins and Coin strips cluttering up my space I added them to my 20 minute projects. The first one simply needed two more columns sewn to the top. The other was all the leftover sheets - that's what I call the short sections of Coins.

While the dark colors were on the design wall I pinned these strips to see if sashing would work. I'm not thrilled with any of these, perhaps because the Coins are uniformly dark. Obviously I will add sashing to some future Coins quilt; I keep trying to put some in.

Dark Chinese Coin columns
with possible sashing fabrics

Then I sewed the remaining yellow coins in two short sessions. There are almost enough columns for two more toddler quilts. On one hand I can't believe I cut so many coins; on the other hand this amount makes a bed-size quilt. Think about it: four or five toddler quilts (40x50") equals one queen quilt (90"x100".) It's like cooking after the boys leave home. Without those bottomless pits, food stays around forever. How many days of leftovers can you stand before you just toss them?

Chinese Coins IX needed some sashing strips to increase the width. At least I thought so. Placing funky green lozenge fabric between two blue columns makes an interesting variation. {You can't believe I purchased this fabric off the sale rack four years ago, can you?} Needing to cut vertically on a third of a yard, each sash was made of four pieces. After working hard to match the first one through the middle of the lozenge, I wised up and sewed across the relatively empty area between them. {Too soon old and too late smart.}

Chinese Coin IX quilt top

The second of these quilts ran short on fabric in two columns. I added some narrower sheet sets to lengthen them. To make those wide enough I pinned the last of the green lozenges along the sides. I like this one although it doesn't quite match my lesson plan.

Chinese Coin X quilt top

A Final Question
This yellow and blue English wax batik has been in my stash for 20+ years.

English Wax batik

I loved it when I bought it but have never used it. At one time I planned to cut it up for a kaleidoscope but that never happened. Should I use it on the back of these quilts? They are the closest I've come to blending with the batik. In fact, I wonder why I didn't include some Coins from it.

English wax batik
(8" vertical repeat, 13" repeat across WOF)

At 45" wide and 96" long, it will easily make two backs but using this stunning fabric as the back of baby quilts seems wasteful.

Guaranteed English Wax, Veritable Wax Anglais

It could be a fabulous baby quilt back or borders or a fussy-cut kaleidoscope. What would you use it for?

Enjoy the day, Ann