Polar Express and More on The Lost Quilt

Hi guys! As I sit here typing, my Weather Bug icon is showing the temperature dropping (plummeting! as the news guys love to say) and the winds are rising steadily. By dawn we're told to expect  9* with 50 MPH winds,
The Polar Vortex is comin' to the Beach!
This is BAD. I still haven't put away all my shorts. I am an eternal optimist. Shot down this frigid winter and hunkering down  with my sewing and some new books. What a treat to have a real book or two, instead of only words on my nasty new Kindle Touch thing. [hate-hate-hate].

Today I put away every single evidence of Christmas cheer, except the pink china which will wait til later. The tree is gone [to the beach!], the angels are back in their beds, the stockings are no longer hung. Neutral rules.

I'll add some blue and black later. I have my pink tulips to add a hint of someday-spring-will-come. And my cute red heart magnet that I use for a thimble wrangler.

 

Current project: The Lost Quilt. It should have a cuter name...ideas? You'll remember I didn't win it on eBay a few weeks ago.

I was sad. That week a friend and I happened to stop into JoAnn's Fabrics (we don't have a real quilt shop out here) and I was pleasantly surprised to find enough fabrics to inspire me to make my own version.

Isn't this toile amazing. It will be the backing.

Of course all the fabrics had to be treated with Retayne, then washed, dried, ironed.

I found some  authentic turkey red squares c.1875 in my stash to be the flower.

If you look closely, below,  you'll ses that there's a shadow fabric behind the red. I am auditioning double pinks for those areas.

 

 

Double pinks, one very modern, one antique.

 

I may regret the pink idea and will then have to change to a tone on tone calico.
I even found a red stripe [which photographed very oddly] that might work for the striped border. Another idea is to have the original ombre printed out on Spoonflower. Not sure it's a must-have so I bought the red and white stripe too.

original

 

 

 

possible, below/ right

 

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I'm a somewhat old-fashioned quilter. My dad taught me to sew and quilt when I was a very tiny girl, and he learned from his mother---long before rotary cutters were invented. So I don't use a rotary cutter. And I don't own or use Electric Quilt to tell me how to make a quilt block.

I make patterns.

You can estimate the proportions of a design like this, you can even print it out larger and measure the photograph. (36" x 36" = two  9'' baskets and an 18" central design which then has 1.5 '' borders and a 15" rose of sharon block, for example). You can see my scribbly notations, below.

 Then I make a scale drawing and make templates :

and/ or note the triangle dimensions, for in this case the baskets. You count on the diagonal---there are 6 segments, so the hs triangles must finish 1 1/2" to make a 9" basket on point. See?

 

 

I do use my printer to copy the templates onto freezer paper sometimes. I usually do needleturn applique, I only use freezer paper for big pieces, like the flowers here.

My machine quilter told me when she did The Porch Quilt, that I am not a very good appliquer, lol. (oooh, I was crushed!). So I am trying hard to be neat and do teeny stitches. I plan to sew earlier in the day so I can actually see these supposed stitches...

 

JoAnn's also had some really good sales and coupons, not just for quilt fabrics either. I picked up these beautiful home decor remnants for only a few dollars. I think they will be coffee table runners. Or accent pillows? I just love the soft beachy colors and the lovely linen and delicate embroidery.

 

 

 More projects are in the planning stage! Plus some finishes, aaaallllmost done.  And I have a big basket of French Farmhouse-inspired hearts to complete too, so if you like my lavender hearts, keep an eye on my etsy shop next week?

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...