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Monday, May 30, 2022

Vintage Block Challenge/Monthly Mini

Last fall I signed up for Lori's (Humble Quilts Blog) Vintage Block Challenge (Click on this link to see what others did for the challenge). We were to take a vintage block and either use it "as is" to make a quilt, or deconstruct it and use the parts to make something, adding other fabrics if needed. I dragged my feet at first, but the temptation was too great. This is the vintage "block"  I received from Lori to use in the challenge.

Wonderful colors, but overall, it looked better from the front than it did from the back. It was machine stitched, but there were so many tension issues on the reverse side, along with uneven seam allowances, and really chunky seam intersections. Oh, I love a good challenge!


So I unpicked the whole thing, and gave the pieces a very gentle bath. Below they are shown after drying.

I wanted them to maintain the "aged" look, so I didn't do anything to dramatically whiten the background pieces. I cut all of these triangle pieces in half, so that instead of having 2 large stars, I could make 4 small ones. And in homage to the original, I purposefully placed one of the purple star points going the wrong direction.

Within the star blocks, all but two of the "white" squares and two of the "white" triangles are original fabric. They all would have been original if I had not wasted some of the fabric by cutting my first set of the 9 cornerstones just a bit too small. The sashing, binding, and backing are all 1930s repro fabrics from my stash.

I had hoped to hand quilt it, but a last minute trip to Oregon, and a deadline on a grandson's birthday quilt precluded that. I just did a lot of ditch stitching. And for those same reasons that I did not hand quilt this, this must also be my May Monthly Mini, with Wendy The Constant Quilter

This was a very fun challenge. Thank you to Lori for the opportunity to participate.
In case you are wondering, stay tuned for my next post where I will announce the blog anniversary giveaway winner.

Until next time,
be creative and be kind!
Janet O.

Rainbows are a symbol of hope to me, and Sunday night there was a complete bow in the sky here. We need hope more than ever right now! Please excuse the power lines--I was afraid that if I took the time to run downstairs to get a shot without them, by that time the colors would have become dull, or be completely gone.

Upon closer inspection, I saw something different about this rainbow. I zoomed in as close as my iPhone Mini would go, and you can see a little stem coming from the side of the rainbow.
Interesting--I've never seen anything like that before. Have you?

29 comments:

  1. Your Antique Remake of the block is sew pretty! I love the Humble Square. Beautiful Rainbow. Fingers crossed to WIN, lol
    Glad you could make the trip and get home safe.

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  2. A beautiful mini. I love your nod to the original mistake.

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  3. You are amazing. The finished blocks are wonderful and I love the antique-ness of it all. Beautiful 🌈 rainbow!!

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  4. What a darling mini quilt! I love that rainbow; God's promise to us. I have never seen a bit of color popping off the rainbow; a unique refraction of the light.

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  5. astounding remake of the vintage blocks...you are a very accomplished quilter indeed...

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  6. I love your antique block challenge finish. It is so beautiful. Hugs

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  7. Well, you have outdone yourself! What a labor of love to disassemble and make this little gem. I can't even imagine how difficult it was for you to deliberately put that triangle going the wrong way - LOL. I just love this! Your double rainbow is amazing, and no, I have never seen escaping color in a rainbow before. I guess it just wanted to see what was at the end and tried to jump out of line. tee-hee. Have a super day.

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  8. Hello Janet ! Ohhh congratulations on this beautiful mini ! And you have done a great work with all the pieces !! Bravo !

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  9. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow!!! What you did with that vintage block is beyond amazing!! It is indeed genius!! And I so miss the sunsets in Logan!! Although we do have them here in Bandon from time to time. Loved our chat too!! You inspired my blog post today!! Hugs!!

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  10. I absolutely love that you kept the turned triangle!!! Great job! Thanks for linking up.

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  11. There is something so delicate and sweet about your little challenge quilt/monthly mini, I just keep imagining it in a dolly's cradle with a vision of my old Lulu baby doll tucked in! You certainly turned those old blocks into something truly special. Gorgeous rainbow photos, we've never seen a "tail-like" projection on a rainbow before. That must be extremely rare.

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  12. You really went the extra mile with this one and it shows - it's so pretty and because you could achieve two blocks for every one block of the original, you have such a nice balance with the four blocks - with the little rogue triangle adding and perfect touch! What a spectacular double rainbow!

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  13. Way to breathe new life into these blocks! Haha - even kept the wonky triangle! Rainbow pics are beautiful - especially the one having a rainbow baby!

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  14. I am blown away by what you were able to do with vintage blocks- incredible! This mini is really special. I admire your patience and skills. The rainbow is amazing too and I have no idea what caused that little projection 🧐.

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  15. I love seeing re-made blocks - just a little TLC and something fantastic happens!

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  16. What an interesting project and so well done. The double rainbow is exquisite, am used to wide-open spaces in TX but do not have them here in North Georgia. Thank you for sharing.

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  17. I love how you took those two blocks apart
    and made four. The original quilter would be very pleased with your design. Even the one out of step piece. Beautiful rainbow. Seeing one always does bring a feeling of hope.

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  18. Hi Janet .... though I am not usually a "purple fan" I absolutely love what you have done with this. I think I would not have had your patience but it has turned out beautiful!! I have not seen that on a rainbow before either - that is fascinating.

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  19. I love what you did with Lori's challenge, Janet! Such a fun idea and you did a beautiful job!! perfect to also use it as your May mini!

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  20. It's such a sweet quilt. Lovely way to repurpose your blocks.

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  21. I so admire your patience and perseverance to take apart, re-size and reassemble those blocks to make that adorable little quilt! Great job, Janet! Oh, that little rogue piece made me smile. Did you have a hard time leaving it that way? That is one amazing rainbow. Have never seen a little blip in a "bow" before. Wonder what that means--if anything :)

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  22. What a sweet sweet mini. It turned out so cute and you did such a nice job reconstructing it. The rainbow is quite amazing.

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  23. Janet precioso trabajo con el desafio de Lori, como todos tus minis me encanta. Arco Iris impresionante.

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  24. What a beautiful quilt you created from the antique blocks, Janet. Such patience to take apart and put together again. Was it hard to put the one block going in the wrong direction? It would have been really hard for me, even if I had been replicating the original.

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  25. What a precious little quilt you made from those old blocks. Love it!

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  26. Oh my goodness Janet, that quilt is just beautiful. And such a delight that you were able to rescue those sweet vintage blocks.
    *hugs*
    Tazzie
    :-)

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  27. Your vintage blocks look great...well done! And that rainbow is crazy cool! :0)

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  28. Great job on the vintage block challenge!

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  29. Brilliant solution to your challenge; you simply amaze me with your creativity and mad sewing skills! Bravo!!
    I've never seen a rainbow with an "off shoot" before, either! Hugs~

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