"Hidden Wells" Technique in Borders

Mary Ellen Hopkins seems to be one of the originators of this clever design - many of us remember her quirky style.  I remembered her cleverness, but not her instructions.  Her book on Hidden Wells is seldom seen now but there are many others on the Internet displaying this technique but I could not find what I needed for a small border.  With determination and excitement, and a LOT of leftover strips, I jumped in and was practically in a frenzy (just ask DH!) trying to calculate what was required.  By the time I finished, being totally mentally exhausted, and after a LOT of remeasuring, I DID remember "starch", "staystitching" and "trim to correct size."  Voila! - a decent and interesting border, using much of my leftovers.  The border changed direction to repeat what was happening in the quilt. 

The border is not yet sewn to the quilt, but the light dotted strip is now providing stability - live and learn.   I think I like it.  3 more sides to go.

C-130 overhead, and Caribbean Strings Progress

I'm not sure why we were visited by this C-130, and the close flyover - perhaps because this town used to have a huge airbase during/after WWII.  There are still veterans  or families of veterans at the nursing homes, and the plane went right over their residence.  I just stood next to the road and took the photo - it went around twice.  Lots of folks were out in lawns, parking lots, fields on this beautiful day.   

This is my progress on Caribbean Strings.  From center to what appears to be the top is 5 rows and there is yet another row beyond this top, still not figured out, but using dark strings .... I think.   I am leaning towards a Hidden Wells design but ....  That last dark row/border will make it 10 x 12 blocks finished, about 86 x 100 something.  This is too large for my DSM quilting, so I'll break it into sections.  All these blocks have paper on the back for now.  I definitely used up a lot of leftover strings and strips.  The center white strip was consistent in size, but the others were not. 

"Whirlpool", and Nebraska Breeze - both D O N E

"Whirlpool" - This is a large quilt, MQ'ed on my DSM.  86" x 106".  Due to the difficulties of bulk and a heavy project, I added the last border "QAYG and pre-quilted" with marginal success, due to my own lack of knowledge.  There is no way I could have quilted it while all one piece - waaaay too large.  I will use this technique on my next large quilt now - I think I learned the tricks.  

Kaleidoscopes have always been one of my favorite blocks!

Here is part of a border.  This was all my own design.  Those triangles on the border - another part that was not as difficult as I had guessed, but you need to measure carefully and sew accurately to get them to turn the corner accurately.  

Nebraska Breeze -  I posted this earlier, but now it's ALL DONE.  This is a design by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville - her instructions are excellent.  She calls hers Texas Tumbleweeds. There are 2 sets of blocks and the settings is straight.

I tried quilting serpentines in this border, fairly easy, not yet uniform but pretty good.

I tried wishbones, or figure "8"s on this side of the quilt.  It's easier than it looks.  Once you sew 10 or so, your hands know what to do.  The curl in the green border is another favorite .   

Caribbean Strings

I need 120 (10 x 12) - no border, but might come up with a border-like color placement.  It's astonishing how much fabric a person can have in just a few colorways.  If remembering correctly I purchased 2 FQs to add to the mix.  The plan is to make 2 halves, quilt them, then put them together.  It's too unwieldy to handle MQ'ing 86" x over 100".   Blocks go fast - this is 2-3 days of sewing, doing just 4 at a time, so I don't sit too long in one position.   These are on foundation paper.  I tried various settings, but liked this the best.  I'll fiddle with individual block setting, especially the center 4.

"Caribbean Strings" kinda sounds like evening music, fresh breezes, ocean waves. hmmmm ...I like it.

Many years ago, I actually had the good fortune to sail in Caribbean waters and yes, the sky, and water really look like this.   Up until then, I thought the travel brochures were just color enhanced.