Little Quilt Finishes

Hello! Show and Tell on a Monday morning....

First I have to show you the little Country Roads quilt from Lori of Humble Quilts recent sew along. [link to see everyone's quilts at the end of this post].

I got it pieced but not quilted.

Isn't it adorable.
My friend BJ kindly went shopping on her trip to KY and she sent me a package of much needed black calico.

This will be the backing.

The following quilts were made over the past couple years. I had a goal of finishing them this summer.

Winter Blues, from Lori's winter of 2014 SAL.

I hand quilted it on the beach.

Vintage dishtowel back.

Chimney Sweep doll quilt, made with the extra blocks from a rescued top. The top is also quilted, in the same Baptist Fans pattern but the binding is still waiting.

I love the tiny prints and how the maker cherished and used each tiny bit.

I found a print for the backing that is very similar to one of the calicos on the top.

This is another of Lori's sew alongs, she called it Cascadia.

I call it Peace and Plenty, for the backing fabric toile,

and because to me it looks like Indian corn.

 I used scrap binding, part pink, part dark red, and I machine quilted it.

I'm glad I did because it's done and I'm really enjoying it in my home for October.

This is a crib quilt, 36" square. A few years ago I bid on and lost by ONE DOLLAR the eBay auction to win the antique small top that inspired this quilt.original quilt top and post here

I loved the cheddar baskets, the stripes, the diagonally pieced sashing. The auction gave the measurement of 36" square so it was easy to then make a pattern.Finding this stunning, if not historically authentic, toile for the backing made me decide to go ahead and sew my own version.

Also an opportunity to try out a new quilter, someone who does custom work instead of simple allover. And such a gorgeous job she did.

I have two big quilts ready for binding, waiting patiently on my list for 2015. I'm going to have a nice list of finishes, come New Year's Day. I'm so pleased.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

Linky party here on Lori's blog, Humble Quilts. 

Be sure to go over there and see everyone's Country Roads.

February Finishes

 

 

Hi! Here's what I did this month! It's fun to keep track of progress, isn't it?

I don't care for the quilting world's word ''flimsy'' which means a finished quilt top. To me flimsy means shoddy, and though my skills are not perfect, I hate to think of what I've made as ''shoddy'' or junky. [Yes I know that is not what quilters mean by the word, but it's how it makes me feel.]
So here goes, finished tops and blocks of February '14.

Tah Dah! Look at cutie Lost Quilt!

I was worried that the central portion was too bright, but with the borders and cheddar  baskets, I think it is adorable.

I made up the fancy name Cordelia's Crib Quilt, but I bet in my mind it's always be the Lost Quilt. This is the eBay quilt, below, you can read my post about it here

                                                 (Yes. My chevrons are wrong. I'm over it.)

Here is the backing that inspired me to attempt to copy the quilt I didn't win on eBay a few months ago.
Love this colorful toile.

Perhaps it will have double pink binding, though more likely turkey red.

Not sure about the quilting. I know what I want to have, but am not sure if I or my machine quilter should do it. Not going to hand quilt, probably will sell it?

This is another crib quilt. I began it a year or so ago then never got back to sewing on  the last border til now.

The star blocks are early, pre-Civil War. From Maine. They are so pristine I didn't have to wash them.

Love the fabrics and how each block has a red or pink diamond, so one's eye is drawn all over the surface of the quilt.

I used two of my treasured vintage, but not old, sepia documentary print cottons. One is roses, the other tiny pansies. I have hoarded them both for many years.

Backing will be double pink. Binding may be a different double pink. It is off to the quilter on Monday! Yay!

And here are my first two Noah and Matilda blocks. Remember we are being given FOUR blocks per month, so as of now, I have done 2 of 12. Looks like if I do one per month, I 'll be fine. Four years...plus a border (so 5 years). Hmmm.

                                   Original Noah and Matilda Quilt,
                                    link at the end of post here

My idea is to reproduce the c. 1845 quilt somewhat as it looks now, not as we surmise it looked when new. This means utilizing antique fabrics from my collection, either yardage or simple worn-out blocks.

January.

 

 

This is my February block. I''ll add a photo in a a day or so when I get it entirely done.

Originally I had prepped these diamonds for the tulips.

I even bought myself a tiny iron so I can sit comfortably to prepare these blocks. Pretty great little tool. I know we're supposed to STAND not sit, or so medical science now tells us, but my back screams in agony if I stand over the ironing board too long. Best to sit awhile.

Anyway, those diamonds were too bright, I realised. I redid them in one of my go-to fabrics, an old [ripped] mid 1800s quilt back. Softer colors like the original, though not as pretty.

I also decided I couldn't bear to do 4 years of applique onto plain white cotton muslin. The original quilt was apparently a gift quilt with blocks contributed by many friends of the [?] bride and groom, Noah and Matilda. So I thought maybe in my world the ladies had to use whatever cream or white fabrics they had; I plan to use  variety of neutrals then tie them together visually with setting blocks of just one fabric. (I hope I don't regret this plan,lol.)

Wouldn't it be wonderful if years from now I showed you all the final top! And we could see that by doing/ learning/ trying---with practice!--- my stitches got tinier, my leaf curves got smooth and rounded, my points became pointy with no frays? Maybe. Someday?

love

lizzy

gone to the beach

photos of original Noah and Matilda Wedding quilt used with permission of Dawn, from Collector with a Needle.