How big for a King?

 Ooooh, Alycia posted a GREAT thinkler this morning:  How big does a king size quilt really need to be?

And heaven knows I needed a little push to finish tidying "his side" of the bedroom (he'll forgive me later once I help him put everything back 😜), but truly... I've sometimes wondered how big/small is TOO big/small for a bed?

We have a California King; repurposed an old waterbed frame years ago for a GREAT deal since the lower drawers weren't salvagable.  Hubby's a tall guy at 6'6", so the extra length has been beneficial for his longer legs.  And he INSISTS on untucking the sheets on his side at the foot of the bed.  

Google gave me the following sizing:

and I'm thankful the Queen size is also included because a couple of the quilts I grabbed to test investigate this question currently rest on our queen in the guest bedroom (ie: formerly known as Caitlyn's room)

Now, interestingly enough, when I measured our mattress, it was closer to 70" x 82" and 12" deep.

So, here's some sizing for you...

Celtic Solstice - 110" x 110"
(Bonnie K. Hunter's 2013 mystery)

Celtic Solstice reside on our bed most of the time, however with the warmer summer months now, and after a deep clean of the bedroom a couple weeks ago, she's currently folded up and resting.  She fits our bed the best of all the quilts you'll see; a true king-size quilt.  She does sometimes begin falling off the end of the bed, but also that often happens due to the clothing that was lazily tossed at the close of a day.  Ya know, the clothing that isn't quite dirty, but no longer clean enough to be placed back in the closet.  Please tell me you do this too! And although he doesn't admit it, hubby kicks the sheets and quilt, and I'll often waken with the quilt draping over and off MY foot corner of the bed, dangerously threatening to slide free completely.

I digress...

Roll Roll Cottonboll - 95" x 110"
Bonnie K. Hunter's 2010 mystery

Currently, Roll Roll Cottonboll resides on the bed.  Length-wise, she's great.  Width-wise, she's certainly lacking.  And remember, when I measured my mattress width, it showed closer to 70" than the published 72", which is even more narrow that the standard king at a published 76".

Orca Bay - 84" x 93"
Bonnie K. Hunter's 2011 mystery

Wanting to see how some other quilts fit... Orca Bay was grabbed from the queen guest bed for a fitting.
Hmm... t'would defintely say "nope."  Much too small despite being 14" wider and about 11" longer than my measured mattress.  She fits lovely on the queen bed, however.

Candace's Stars (Granny's Stars) - 76" x 94"
appeared in July/August 2009 Love of Quilting

Awww, what a favorite.  I'm mean, c'mon!... what FUN to dig back through the blog to find when this one was completed:  July 2, 2009.  Candace was only THREE, and now... recently graduated and off on her way to a degree in Finance.

Again, I digress...
Most certainly too small for a king, and she sometimes rests on the queen.  Decently comfortable on the queen bed.

Smith Mountain Morning - 80" x 89"
Bonnie K. Hunter

This is one of my more recent finishes (2022!) ((Have I said how happy I am to be BACK in action now?  Back to blogging, back to quilting dedication, just.... back!)). 
I was shocked at how SMALL she looks on the king!  I thought for sure she'd be a better fit, but clearly... nopers.  However, she'd probably work well on the queen, however she was lovingly folded back up for... shrug!  I dunno.  But she's folded and ready for... whenever.

Those are the only larger quilts I grabbed for this little experimentation.  
So, Alycia...yeah.  I now can quite literally see why quilts are pushing the 100+" dimensions for king size.  I mean, even Roll Roll extending by ~25" beyond the measured width of the mattress still barely fits.
If I had to choose the perfect size for our bed/mattress... hmmm..... I wouldn't design it smaller than 100" square, nor larger than 110" square.

Meaningful morning, for sure!

Orca Bay and Hawaii Sunset; two colorful quilts!

After about three hours of quilting, I was ready to give it a rest with about half of it complete.  It's at least up, off the floor now.

So then I broke open Ann Marie's package!  WOW!!!!!  LOVE LOVE these colors!

And the back!  Super awesome rotational symmetry!  Oh Ann Marie;  you and I have so much in common.    I tried out some threads and decided on a stand-by blendable taupe color.....

...but I only had a little bit left on my last spool.  Naturally, I had to stop everything, and take a quick trip up to the quiltshop!

And, of COURSE, more than just a backup spool of thread was purchased!

I figured, after making two green/purple/orange quilts lately, I had to replenish the dents in the stash.  Gosh, I love these three colors together!!!!

Once back home, I was no longer "feeling" my quilting frame, so Andee's package was opened straight away :)  Fun, fun, fun Hawaii Sunset units!  {{And DOGGIE TREATS for Shadow!!! Awwww.}}

Since Bonnie was on quiltcam, I sat and joined her for a couple hours of sewing.

All of Andee's 9-patches received hugs by some inner borders...

and then a couple of a few blocks were pieced.  My favorite 9-patch:  the white one in the upper left corner, with the mustard center!  LOVE LOVE that little touch of a 3rd color in the 9-patch!

My Rainbow Strings were rearranged to the upper area of the design wall;  every month was completed except for the "neutral" month.  That string block may still happen;  either that or maybe I'll do something stringy with neutrals for sashing units.

Candace swiped the camera to take some pictures of all the activity outside today.  The sun was brilliant, yet still a very chilly day!  Low 40s (??)

Last weekend, Paul added some bells to the goats' collars.  Goodness golly, they are a hilarious duo!  They just come-a-runnin' whenever anyone heads outside.  If the girls simply crack open the door to peek out, they try to nudge and head-butt their way inside.

And Paul....?  I'm not really sure if he was cleaning or making a mess!  It's that time of year when he (I would say 'we,' but we all know that's not extremely truthful) tidies up the yard and garage to prepare everything for the winter season.  He worked on organizing and storing the potatoes into the root cellar, among other things.

Golly!  7:26 PM!  Where did the day go?

The girls and I are sitting with a movie;  nothing else much planned for tonight.

Motivation in the form of packages

MORE packages arrived this week!  I'll admit that Ann Marie's package was EXCITING to see, and it took me a moment to figure out what it was.  (It's been awhile Ann Marie!!!)  Remember when she won my "Free Pantograph Quilting" giveaway for my 1000th post?  She's taking me up on that offer now :)

The other smaller package is Andee's swap units for Hawaii Sunset.  

I haven't opened EITHER of them yet!!!  Trust me, I want to, but I'm trying to keep an incentive for staying motivated today in my quilting room.

And my Orca Bay has been on the quilting frame for MONTHS, untouched!  Ann Marie's package was the right motivator to get me back at it in order for me to open it up for HER quilt.

Cassie is at volleyball practice until 11:00, and the other two are watching a Saturday morning movie.  I'm off to get some quilting done.

Orca Bay and another boo-boo'd project

Orca Bay was getting loaded on the quilting frame yesterday, but not much quilting was accomplished.  

I played some more with EM.  And this project WOULD be perfect, except I spelled the name wrong.  *hitting forehead*  And I have worked with this lady for 13 years!!!!  Oh well; I'll simply be keeping this as an example to keep in my portfolio.

I'm working on some more flying geese between steps of embroidery.  But first....some lunch!

Play time :D

Weeeeeeeeee!

Definitely enjoying enjoying enjoying my Brother PE770 right now!

I have another package of goodies coming with anticipated delivery on Tuesday.  What's in there?  In addition to some stabilizer, more bobbins, more bobbin thread and a smaller 4x4 hoop-----my Embroidery thread is in that order!!!  **sigh**

BUT, just cuz I don't have any "embroidery" thread, I wasn't going to be stopped from trying out other threads.

Getting everything set up was actually quite easy.  Attaching the hoop to the machine took a few attempts (just like everyone said it would), but now.... got it down!

First project:  A simple label.  I had this shiny purple thread that fits the theme nicely.  All the labels have been removed from the thread, so I'm not sure the details of it.  I'm GUESSING it's a Coats-n-Clark thread.  The machine handled it perfectly fine.  {{Hmm....I'm not a person who names her machines, but.... EM is easier to type than "the embroidery machine."  So, EM she is!}}

And then...a former classmate commented on my FB post about a monogram.  So....I played some more with my monogram.  Trial-n-error will fill my walls :)  The inner frame was sized too small, but the other was great.  And...I could see changing the 'E' to the lighter purple thread.   Threads used here: Connecting Thread's "Essential threads."  It is heavier than embroidery thread....and turned out great as well!

SO!!!!..... notice what is under my Bernie needle right now???  I figured I might as well get it going since the label has been made :)

And EM has moved in to the other side of my work area.  

I love today :)  And you?

My Saturday sewing after the 1st week of school

I enjoyed my morning hours today!!!  My cutting table and iron board were loaded with scattered scraps for the Hawaii Sunset (or is it Hawaiian?) units I've been working on these past couple of weeks.  The first couple of hours were cutting and organizing those scraps into some units for the blocks.  All of the 4-patches are completed.  Another forty-some flying geese units were pieced, and all 25 of the 'block borders' were cut and basted until they'll be needed.  I was HOPING my Hancock Fabrics order would come in the mail today, but....it didn't.  So, I'm at a standstill until that happens;  I need more pink and green fabs.

So I pulled out my 36-patch top...and decided it was big enough.  No more border were needed.

Therefore, a backing was pieced;  batting was cut... and all were added to my 'must-quilt' pile.

Then...out came Orca Bay.  THIS one, however, has another border coming;  I don't want this to simply be finished off with all those seams along the outside.

I had a perfect green waiting on my shelf for the border.  It was cut and pieced..... and then lunch time hit.  {{.....and this is STILL where it remains.....}}

Once lunch was complete, I relaxed with the laptop....and got side-tracked for much of the afternoon.

Last night, I'm not really sure how this conversation came to be, but Paul asked me, "When are you getting your monogramming machine?" (aka: embroidery machine).

Recall July 19th, 2012 when I talked about avoiding the temptation of purchasing an embroidery machine.  WOW!  Almost two months ago already!  I thought for sure it was the beginning of August when I did that research.

Anyway...last night's conversation went something like this:

Me:  You mean the embroidery machine?

Paul:  Whatever.

Me:  I didn't order one.

Paul:  Why not?

Me:  You mean it's okay if I do?

Paul:  Sure.  That way we can label all the towels and the girls will stop taking new ones out every time they need one.

Heeding the advice of others from that July embroidery post, I spend the day researching machines that allow for a 5"x7" hoop.  

After a couple of hours of review and searching for the best price....

I THINK I've come up with the Brother PE-770 Embroidery machine deal from Allbrands.com.

Then again, this deal from Amazon also seems okay; lots of thread and designs offered "free"....but the reviews are stating that all of those "free" designs don't work on the Brother machine. (??)

I have pushed any buy buttons yet.... so.... does anyone have any final words of wisdom (or concern) to share?

Happy Saturday!

{{The PACKERS play tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!}}

Today, I want to sew!

Yesterday, 85 pounds of tomatoes were dealt with...

Today, I want to sew!

So, sifting through pictures from the past month, let's see what I have downstairs that I could work on.....

Ah yes!  I must start working on more Flying Geese units.  I have about 200 finished so far.....

 

I also need a few more 4-patches and 9-patches for Hawaiian Sunset too.

My Framed Rectangles are sitting in organized piles to be sewn into rows...

Ah.....Freeze Frame awaits quilting (but that's not going to happen today).  At least the backing and batting have already been prepared...

Jamestown Landing also awaits quilting, BUT I DO NOT have backing or batting prepped.  I suppose I could consider doing that today....

Hmmm...another top that awaits quilting (and backing and batting).  Orca Bay... 

My Christmas Goose blocks need some sashing.  Hmm....lots of Bonnie quilts down there :)

Ah yes!  BUT, I definitely MUST finish up the quilting on the two Quilts for Kids so I can get them out in the mail.  #1 priority today....

and then..... I think I'll play with some Orange/"Pumpkin" scraps for Angela's 2012 Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Ohh.....lotsa goodies to choose from.  

OB Border options

Happy President's Day to everyone in the United States of America. Our school may not give us Martin Luther King Jr. day off of school, but we've usually had President's Day off....for the past few years anyway. (I don't think we do next year, however :\)

Yup! In the mood today! So I decided to start the morning by tackling the Orca Bay borders!!! Agh! One of the "B" words :0)

Above--Bonnie's suggested layout.
Below -- a layout I've seen a few ladies choose; and I think I'll be one of those ladies too. The design seems to "radiate out" more with the darker units in the inside of the border.



So, just doing some photo-decision-making before actually finishing the sewing. It's so much easier to make decisions when you can see what it would look like.

Happy Monday.

Rainbow Scrap 2012 & 2011; Orca Bay and Jamestown Landing

Yesterday was completely jam-packed with Basketball and shopping; thankfully Paul volunteered to drive us so I was able to complete most of my school planning while traveling to the game one hour out-of-town.

Today, however, was devoted mostly to machine time :0)

Since Angela posted a Mr. Linky for the 2012 Scrap Challenge, I chose to start the day with some green scraps. Two more Jack-in-the-Box blocks completed to join the red blocks from January; in addition to the "bonus triangle" squares that are being planned for a scrappy border on the final quilt.

When those were completed and scraps tidies up, I looked over at my design wall and frowned.

My wall hasn't been touched since the end of December; sadly I KNEW this was going to happen, too :( I set out to change that today!

After sitting back and staring at the wall for about 10 minutes, I finally said, "NOPE! A 3x3 doesn't work for me!" Therefore, I looked in my 2.5" scrappy squares bin to see what I had an excess of....
Another blue block, brown block and my first black block were pieced. Yes, Yes......a 3x4 layout is much more pleasing to my eye.

It was a chick-flick day in my quilting room! By the time I broke for lunch, I had completed "The Lake House" and "Maid of Honor." Sadly, I never got back to the Rainbow Scrap 2011 blocks once back downstairs after lunch.

Instead, my Orca Bay kept staring at me everytime I walked back to my sewing room. After seeing Andee's progress, I knew if I just tackled piecing the rows together, I would feel so much better. Therefore, with "The Notebook" playing in the background, FINALLLLLY all the rows are completed, weeks after I first attempted piecing the center together, and the outside border waiting patiently.

In the meantime, I've been making quite a dent in my Jamestown Landing leader-ender units. The first of the broken-dish units were pieced today. As always, another successful Sunday!

New Year's Eve Mystery - top done; Orca Bay almost with a correct layout

2011 New Year's Eve Mystery

(73" x 87")

On-point setting; bonus triangles used in a pieced inner border

This will be set aside and be added to the Must-Quilt list

While relaxing with Cassie and the movie "Yes Man," I finished up ripping out my orange string placement errors on Orca Bay. The orange "sashing" rows are now completely pieced CORRECTLY! I did not rip out the four Ohio Star rows I sewed oh so long ago now.....

:|

However.....

when I look back at this layout (with the light Ohio Stars in the "center" of the green strings),

I still like it better.

Therefore, tonight, I'll sit and rip those last few rows.

I will ALWAYS judge layouts with pictures in the future BEFORE actually sewing rows together :0)