Mary (quiltin' grandma's blog) and I had talked about swapping small quilts back in 2017, but mutually agreed that "next year" would be better for us. When 2018 rolled around we scheduled our swap for September. As the deadline drew closer--again, by mutual agreement--we scooted it into January of 2019. But as my January progressed, I knew it wasn't going to happen. We pushed it into February, and I'll admit that at one point I wasn't sure if I was even going to make that--but I did. This is what I "finally" sent to Mary. She has received it now, so I can share it with you. Her quilt is due to arrive here in a few days, so I will share it in my next post.
Our swap was not real specific, other than the fact that we would use fabric from thrifted shirts to make a small quilt. I tried to choose colors I know Mary likes, and other than that I was flying by the seat of my pants. I made the HSTs with a specific design in mind, but as I laid them out, it didn't work for me in these fabrics. I must have changed the layout about 5 times before settling on these sampler star blocks. I think this finished at 14 1/2" square. Most of the quilting was SITD. I often do that on minis, and throw in something else in the border.
I always enjoy playing in the plaid fabrics from shirts. This was a fun challenge, Mary. Thanks for joining me! :) This is also my February mini-of-the-month for the challenge with Wendy (the constant quilter blog). How unusual for me to be posting it before the very last few minutes of the last day of the month! This is another 2 year old "finally." When my Dad passed away the end of 2016 I took his plaid shirts to make a throw quilt for Mom. In 2017 I made the top, but the shoulder issues I was having made pushing it around under the needle of my HQ Sweet 16 out of the question. I thought about "quilting by check," but I wanted to do this one myself. After the shoulder surgery last year I thought I would be back at it before the year was out, but I had setbacks in healing on multiple occasions and I have just recently felt like I could make an attempt at quilting anything larger than a mini. So Friday I did this...
...and then this...
...and most of this.
Today (Saturday) I finished the quilting...
...and now I have the binding cut, sewn together and pressed in half. It has been so long since I have bound anything but a mini quilt that I almost forgot to cut it wide enough for double fold binding. Whew! That was close! Monday I will attach the binding and I will work on hand stitching the other side in the evenings next week. It will get a label and a good wash to remove all of the markings. I am anxious to get this finished and delivered to Mom--hopefully before the week is over.
My last little progress report is not a "finally." I just started it last month. It is the first of the six little quilts that are part of the Circa 1880 Club. These little quilts all use some of the same uneven 9-patch blocks that are in the featured club quilt. You can click these photos to get a better look. I switched to a different border print than I had been auditioning in my last post. This one is a Pam Buda fabric called Ditsy Trio. I think it worked beautifully. I plan to feather in the border and possible bind with purple, pink or red, for something a little bit flashy. :) The
second photo shows the quilting and the backing fabric, which I LOVE!
I drew a name from the 25 interested in the Kim Diehl project--well, actually I drew 3 names. The first two were "no-reply" comments, so I can't make contact. I appreciate it if you include your email address if you aren't sure whether or not you are "no-reply". Marj (eclectic quilter blog) was the winner of the drawing and I will get the kit on the way to her as soon as I confirm her address.
That about wraps it up. Thank you all for your kind comments and faithful reading. I really appreciate the friendships I have made here. It is always a bright spot to check in with your blog, or hear from you via comments or email--or even texts. Until next time, Janet O.
And what do I have to show for it? Not much. Well, there's this (yes it is crooked).
With Pam Buda's Circa 1880 Club there are patterns for 6 little quilts that can be made throughout the year using more of the little uneven 9-patch blocks. This is the first one, and I have pieced it this month using a stolen minute here, a few more minutes there. Because it was assembled in such a disjointed manner, I feel like I didn't have the focus I needed. The distribution of color bothers me--I did unpick one part of a block because there was too much of one fabric too close together. But when I saw how many places were like that, I stopped after the one repair and decided to live with it. The neutral around the edge is being auditioned for the final border, and then it is bound with a dark color. I am still deciding if I will use a neutral, or if I want to make that outer border with a light or medium color.
After I got Dad's history printed in December, I went to work on this. Mom's birthday is on Groundhog's Day, and I had to scramble to get this put together in time--fifty pages of the quilts Mom has made. She chided me for not using a younger photo of her on the front, but the one I used shows Mom with the quilt she made in 1991 (but the photo was just taken 2 years ago). It won sweepstakes at our county fair, our state fair, and it went on to hang at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. The piecing was simple, as you can see, but what you can't see are the tiny stitches on the feathered wreaths in the white spaces. Her hand quilting was impeccable.
It was fun to sit with Mom on her 89th birthday and watch her go through the book and reminisce about the quilts she has made.
I have to share my Valentine bouquet. DH and I were in town together early in the week and he asked if I would like to pick out my own bouquet. When I saw this bouquet I could not refuse. Purple (they look more purple in real life) and cheddar, with a neutral background! Now I want to make a quilt in these colors, adding the dark green of the leaves.
This project has been gathering dust on my shelf (not really--it has been in a box) for a few years now. I took a class from Kim Diehl, and I haven't touched the project since I brought it home. It isn't that I don't like it, but I know I don't have anywhere to hang a quilt this size. And I don't love it enough to work on altering it. If you would like to rescue this UFO, let me know in your comment. I will draw a name if there is more than one person interested.
We had to come to the class with everything cut and ready, so it is all prepped. It includes everything for the top, except the floss for working with the wool. But the wool is all there.
This is a close-up of the pattern to give you a better idea. Let me know if you are interested.
Hopefully I will have more to show for the second half of February than I have the first half! Until next time, Janet O.
