Depression Era Quilt

 

This panel is from a quilt made by my great grandmother (mother's father's mother). The quilt itself has batting oozing out here and there, was mistaken for a pee pad by my grand puppy, and has now been passed on to my dog/cat owning son who says he'll cherish it, regardless. I've photographed it and hope to come up with a semblance of her pattern using scraps I have and hope to obtain. It's a look that, though off kilter in places and a tad off color in others, has grown on me. 

Great Grandmother "Sally" did the stitching on this one by hand, though I have some that she machine stitched. Can't date this one exactly, but maybe in the mid- 1930's.

I especially like the counter pointed reds.

Boxed Hourglass from a Tube

Found a nifty Missouri Star Quilt Co. tutorial a while back and worked up a block to use as practice for free motion quilting. The practice block stayed with all my other quilting helps, but eventually I forgot where I had found the pattern and how the block was cut and sewn! Aaaargh! Happily I ran across the tutorial tonight. Click here and see what you think of it.

       Use two strips of 2.5 inch WOF (width of fabric) strips sewn togehter. Then lay a 4.25 inch WOF strip on top and sew using 1/4 inch seam to form a tube. Use 45 degree angle line of ruler laid on the 1/4 inch seam of tube at one side of tube; make cut, then move the angle line to other side of the tube (on 1/4 inch seam line again) to make cut. Do for four cuts and you get the pieces of the double hourglass set on point.

Salvaged by the Sashing

Unfinished, a photo by Jane-Ace on Flickr.

one of my favorite tutorial sources has been the videos posted by Jenny Doan of the Missouri Star Quilt Company. (Quack.) ;o)

   The blocks pictured here were thrown together using five strips of 1.5 inch widths along the lines of her posted tutorial for the "Three Dudes'" block. I was not especially careful with my quarter inch in stitching these, and ended up (somehow) with three sets of three different sizes. So, I had nine blocks, but each set of three was incrementally larger than the last. If I cut them to size, I would lose some of the corner color. I finally decided to "fix" it by cutting sashing in the odd sizes needed to end up with a square. I would be more specific, but honestly, I don't know how I did it. 

I tend to like downsizing patterns, but this one would be more effective had I stuck with the 2.5 inch strips suggested in the tutorial. I nearly lost the effect of the framed mid-section due to the smaller size strips I used. Also... this won't work unless each strip is equal width as the other strips.


[See Nov. 12 "Scrappy Quilt" post for photo of completed quilt.]

  

Scrappy Quilt

Scrappy Quilt, a photo by Jane-Ace on Flickr.

  This was just going to be a throw together piece for me to practice free motion quilting, but I wound up using only "stitch in the ditch" stitching, after all. My class instructor had shown me an article about how, even for free motion quilting, it is good to stabilize a quilt with "stitch in the ditch"stitching...so the free motion does not make the quilt wonky. 

Some of the fabric in this came from stash dating back twenty-four years! My daughter saw it and laid claim for her hope chest, since she recognized some of the fabric as having been from outfits I had made for her when she was preschool age. 

Nice that she will treasure it, even though I had to make some of the sashing narrow to get the less-than-accurately stitched blocks into a square for the borders. [See "Salvaged by the Sashing" post for more about that.]The finished size is about 30" square.

 

Binding a Matter of Connecting Threads

Binding the Scrappy Quilt of the post by the same name was pretty straightforward. The backing fabric was this yellow and brown print I found on the summer sale table at our local Hancock fabric. I loved the little terms of endearment scattered across it: "sweet pea", "sweet heart", "pea pod", etc. I used a beautiful pink floral print both for the front border and the binding. It was a remnant found at Hancock's, as well. Anyway, there was just precisely enough of it to do what was needed. I went back to the shop, because I liked it so much. I would have bought a few yards, even though pink is not what normally attracts me. Apparently the remnant was the very last of it, though.

   When I get to the part of joining the binding, I like the method used by Connecting Threads in this binding video:  Bumpless Binding. It was first illustrated for me by our local quilting instructor. (Yea! Sandy!) But since I seem to need to look over someone's shoulder every time I get a quilt this far, I was glad to find the video. Do be careful, in using this method, when you get to the actual cutting of the overlap, only cut the top strip. If you cut through both, you'll end up having to piece more binding on to the truncated lower strip. Ask me how I know. ;o)

Afternote: Check on this video from the 8:25 minute mark for a clearer picture of the lining up of the end pieces.

Mini "Them"s

The scraps from the three "Buddy" quilts for my kids were just too few for a new project unless I were to make three mini versions of the lap quilt I had done. While the pattern was still fresh, I reduced the measurements for these three mini quilts. My intention was to practice some free motion on them and possibly group them as a wall display. That way, when the kids and their families come, they will see a little taste of what now is in their homes. Not sure yet how I'll mount them.Whenever I see them, though, it will be a reminder of each of them and their households, and unlike photos, I'll not need to update them every few months!

Focused on the love(er) of Red

IMG_4961cropped, a photo by Jane-Ace on Flickr.   Our first challenge in "Quilting 101", or at least in "Shopping for Fabric 101" was to choose a focus fabric. I knew my first quilt would go to my daughter who told me in no uncertain terms after learning I had gifted a baby quilt to someone other than her, that the next quilt I made would be for her hope chest. So, one factor of fabric selection is thinking about who will receive the quilt. Even as I thought of this, I began to think that giving my youngest a quilt, would likely be followed up by presenting her two older brothers with a quilt of equal value and possibly improved skills. So, I'm perking up three color schemes not having found even my first's focus fabric from which to select the other fabrics. Well, the daughter has a vital connection to Japan, loves the color red and received her marriage proposal at Tokyo Disneyland. The fabric selection came together quickly enough once I found the Asian inspired print with Chinese characters for LOVE, DREAM, PEACE, and BLESSING. How fun to find the Mickey Mouse sillouette in red for one of the complimentary prints. She knew when she saw it why it was there. The backing print looked to others like a little old lady's choice, but it, too, is definitely inspired by Asia...and maybe Japan specifically. So, of the three quilts done for my three children's households, this one was pieced and quilted first, and bound second due to some simultaneous quilting combined with a Thanksgiving visit from the second son and his wife. Their quilt was so nearly done, that I went ahead and did a "rush" for the binding of it.

A Salute to Sweden ... Cool & Calm Colors

Quilt 2, a photo by Jane-Ace on Flickr.  Though I said, "A Salute to Sweden", I suppose it was more like a "nod" than a "salute". The colors used were inspired by preferences I've noted in my daughter-in-law's interior design choices. She is of Swedish descent and I have noticed that there seems to be a calmness in the colors related to that nation's designs. Swedish fabric, though, was difficult to track down, so I used some Japanese prints again, as my son needed also to be represented in this quilt. The pattern is the same one I had used for my daughter's quilt, but the end product was quite different in tone. This made for an interesting discovery into the importance of fabric selection and how it contributes to the finished product. 

         Funny sideline was that just as I had made a grandiose explanation of how it was I was presenting my son and daughter-in-law with this "baby" size quilt with no intention of rushing them into a commitment to make me a grandmother any time soon, they presented my husband and I with a Happy Thanksgiving card, the signature of which is pictured below: 

  How fun is that?

Surprise! Southwestern!

Version Three, a by Jane-Ace on Flickr.

He likes blue. That's what he said, so I went to the fabric store looking for a  focus fabric in blue.  It seemed likely that I would end up with something patriotic, which would be fitting in that he was born in early July and often through the years combines his birthday celebrations with Independence Day festivities. Then I saw the print that looked so much like a slide from a biology lab. It was so organic and busy and flowing and a little bit sparkly ... it looked arty ... and just a little like frog eggs... but still I liked it and thought he would.
   Wow! I wavered over the selection an awfully long time before committing to it. Blues are impossible to match, anyway. 
     Once the focus was chosen, the  rest of the choices were easy. I looked for some Japanese prints, and found two that suited, including a rather thin cotton bamboo print. The stripes were chosen to keep it masculine. I think I bought all the burgundy fabric they had. It wound up being just enough for the small border, nine pieces and the binding. Also, it matches my living room sofa exactly. 
    This would be a difficult quilt to pass along. I liked it more and more with every stitch. That's a nice predicament with a gift, though, and this gift was being timed to be given as he completed his delayed until then undergraduate degree. I really wanted it to be special, even if it did give more of a Southwestern vibe than any sense of blue. He seemed to like it, though. 

   And thus ended my same pattern streak with what our class calls "The Buddy Quilt", always assigned to beginners due to it's straight lines, easy cuts, thin and thick border, regular binding, and small size. I learned to match seams, press to the dark side, measure twice and check again before cutting, ask for help when needed, and so much more. Perhaps the neatest thing was seeing how very different each quilt done by the same pattern turned out due to the fabric selections.

Crazy Like a Fox

Crazy Like a Fox, a photo by Jane-Ace on Flickr.    
It was crazy to think I could make a quilt in just nine days...the lead time I had before the baby shower, but I didn't know enough about quilting to discourage me. Besides, if I pieced  a square a day for nine days, then "all" I would have to do would be to join them somehow, back them with the iron-on batting I had found and back it with fleece. 
Besides, the mom-in-waiting would soon be giving birth in a country not her own. I thought someone so brave might just deserve a little something "extra". My husband was also on board with the plan, and helped choose some bright fabrics in the remnant bin at our local craft store, Yuzawaya.
As for instructions, I had a coffee table book that featured various sewing and knitting  techniques. 
I began by cutting nine 9 inch squares of muslin onto which to sew my random cuts of fabric. Though color seemed primary for this project, I soon began fiddling with the concept of adding applique onto the corner squares. 
Initially I thought of a sun, moon, stars. But then I changed to sun, lightning bolt, rainbow, and...and...what? The rainbow made me think of the dove and the flood narrative. So, suddenly I had a concept for the center block. Someone had sent me a pack of 5 inch squares years prior. From that pack I pulled what would be the pieces of the ark. 
As each square came together, I was increasingly excited. It really seemed that God was guiding my choices of even the most seemingly random cuts for the shapes. When it was finally pieced, I saw the red cloth with the splashes of fireworks-like colors, as symbolic of the Holy Spirit. I ended up making the outer binding of the pieced squares using bias strips cut from that fabric. 

The quilt was completed in time for presentation at the baby shower. Bonus for me was seeing the quilt used for not only her first son, but two others who followed in the years after. And if asked, I could truthfully have said, "I don't really know anything about 'how to quilt'."Crazy, huh?

Freedom in FMQ

Quilting outside the lines, as it were. That's what FMQ, free motion quilting, feels like. No longer relegated to stitching in the ditch, which I never quite did anyway. I've a long way to go before I can count FMQ as being in my skill set, either, but I think it will be my favorite method for quilting, once I can get my stitches regulated. I think I like the white on white of the above better than the white on plaid. It's the same piece, just flipped.

If you want to know more about FMQ, do a web search for Leah Day or Free Motion Quilting Project. She has posted videos, tutorials, and designs. She also has a quilting supply shop, which she operates.

Five Dollars Gets you in the Door

A little over a year ago a friend mentioned that a local church was hosting a quilting class for just $5 registration. Having quilted two quilts with no instruction, I thought it would be good to learn the "right way" to quilt, and $5 was such a reasonable fee. Plus I was hoping to spend some time with this friend anyway. Looked like a win/win/win situation to me. And it has been, but we both laugh whenever we recall our naivete in thinking that $5 was going to be our ticket into the world of quilting. Actually, I've quit keeping track of my expenditures for fabrics, threads, notions and such. I'm otherwise such a thrifty, if not frugal, person. I fear looking at the actual outlay might lay me out, so to speak. 
   Laughable too, was the notion that our schedules would put us in the same room from week to week. There were times that both she and I attended more weakly than weekly, and the weeks we were in class only occasionally overlapped. It has, however, been great to have this new point of contact with her and with the new quilting friends I have made through the class.
    The skill garnering has been fun. Certainly many of the basics were picked up in class, but with so many great tutorials online, quilting magazines and even public television quilting shows, I've also enjoyed doing some experimentation on my own.