Quilters Madder

Hello and welcome! As the months turn, October to November, it becomes time for quilt related  posts here at the beach. I hope you don't feel inundated---or bored! Next week we'll go out, I promise.
Today begins the Linky  party of Lori/ Humble Quilts' small quilt sewalong called Quilters Madder. Pun intended, I assume. This was a mystery sewalong, with clues each week, based on an unseen antique doll quilt piece. This is my Step one.

Lori's sewalongs go fast [and / or I am very slow], no time to dilly dally or lose focus. Or---finish! Both of my little quilts are unfinished, unquilted. Here is my first quilt, made with repro madder prints as Lori instructed.

[Madder = rusty red or browns],

 shirtings [tiny light ground figural prints]

 and a touch of Double Pink [pink on pink, a popular mid-19th century choice for children's clothing.

Quilt Index Fabric dating reference. A brief explanation of the colors and prints styles I mention here.

I had only one or two madders, so I put together a nice grouping from Fat Quarter Shop. I used their excellent color search function and was pleased with the results.

Lori had mentioned the secret mystery quilt had a border, so I ordered and ultimately used this stripe. Had I had more time I'd have like to make the original sawtooth border instead.

As always I dithered over the backing. I hand dyed this sweet rustic toile in what I imagined would be madder, mixed red and brown dye; if I were quilting this myself I d have used It, but it's too small for my quilter, who needs large backings.

I went with a nondescript brown floral, pieced with an authentic madder Evening Star block, c.1850-80? I'll add my name in the center when it is finsihed. The binding will be the dull purple mourning print.

.....

"Indigo Loves Cheddar" ~ QM version 2

The sewalong started easy and I was lulled, tempted, couldn't resist---cutting a second version.

I used very ugly cheddar and indigo fabric I had erroneously ordered thinking the scale would be small and sprig-like. Too bad. You can see that I ran out of the cheddar and subbed some tiny prints and vintage cheddar solid.

It started out pretty fun.

But with a mystery project, it was hard to judge design and value. In this case the values are too similar and the fabrics dreadfully busy, in my opinion. But cute.

Here are both quilts in grey scale. I was interested to read on FB that many quilters nowadays did not think value [light and dark / contrast] is an issue to be considered, yet I find it necessary for the success of a quilt. It is also one of my biggest challenges or fails as I tend to choose by color instead. Wrong, wrong, wrong! See how the hourglass-like pattern goes lost in both?

on both.

The pattern is called Old Maid's Puzzle, or maybe Hen and Chicks.

The back of Indigo Loves Cheddar will either be a double pink or the white ground cheddar and indigo ugly from the original batch. (I buy 90 % of my fabric online. [2% vintage from the flea, 2 % thrifted, 6% Joann's] Colors are usually okay but motif scale can be a disaster. And I'm stuck with expensive unattractive fabric.)

No border on this guy. I'll do a simple machine quilting when I get my other sewing machine set up next rainy day. Double pink binding.

This was a very fun and interesting challenge. I got to try a classic late 19th century piecework pattern; I added a new color range to my quilting palette; I practiced my mitered corners skills. And best I learned a new fast way to make half square/ sawtooth triangles.

Many thanks to Lori for her projects. When these little pretties are entirely done, I'll show them again. Quilts look so wonderful once they're quilted and washed.

Have a great weekend!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

Today is glorious, I couldn't just sit there typing! How can anyone ''hate'' November on a day like today? 60*, light breeze, fairly dry.

 See all the small quilts on Humble Quilts blog HERE

See the original 19th century inspiration quilt HERE

Sewing Room Days

Hi, guys! Last Sunday the flea was rained out (as was yesterday's farmers market). Just as well as I had only $5.oo in my pocket, having spent all my flea market money getting my car all fixed up and serviced for the summer. New windshield wipers were urgent with the rain.
Instead I made my Westering Women block for [I guess] April.

The blocks are posted at the end of the month so I am chronically behind, but it's block 4, Kansas Lone Elm.

I used the wool challis from the flea, because it looks so much like the fabric in the dress on Brackman's blog post. Perhaps my imaginary pioneer woman had some fabric left over from her Sunday-best dress, tucked into her scrap bag? [link to the sewalong on Barbara Brackman's blog is on my sidebar. or HERE ]

Using antique fabrics in a new quilt can be treacherous. I don't want to use something that will disintegrate right away.  I carefully washed and tested the challis before using it, including making a tiny layered swatch which I ran through the wash on a regular cycle. I also backed it with tissue thin Pellon fusible interfacing.

I included the interesting hand seaming and and old repair.

I love my Lone Elm and with a lot of careful measuring it actually came out the requisite 12.5".

We did have one sunny afternoon, maybe last Saturday? Mo and I bundled up and sat on the deck to start Summetime's long borders. I had to stop working on Summertime during its allotted April project time because I didn't have enough of the background plaid. I had to do a LOT of piecing, even on the borders where I used the original blue. I think the busy-ness of the Basket and its berries/ leaves with hide the extra navy-black I needed to make the 60" borders work out.

Though I wish I'd had more success matching the two plaids. [The stem and berries will hide this flaw, however.]

The blue plaid piecing actually looks worse because I didn't have enough fabric to match the plaid properly. Bad, bad....
 I'm putting birds in my borders instead of stars. Maybe a zinnia-ish flower or two in needed, but No More Stars!

Yesterday I made the stem's bias fold strips with my new folder gadget and I made a paper pattern for the undulating design of the stem. I really criticize the magazine for just saying, "Oh do the borders by looking at the photo." But then the photo is so tiny and crappy I can barely see the details. Very disappointing. I wish there was either a border pattern or closeup photos of what it was supposed to look like..

Then today, rain again!---I made one border so far, testing  my layout.

The leaves can go on next, but the yo yo flower buds won't go on until the quilt is entirely finished, quilted, bound, washed. So it looks a little naked. The whopping 60 odd yoyos were beautifully made for me by my etsy/ blog friend Sue. Thank you, dear friend!

Then I cut Pokeberry's binding and I think I'll call it a day! It's Project Runway night.

This is a new project, a sewalong with Lori/ Humble Quilts. Another Porch quilt, we need a new name! Again, by Jan Patek. I fell for the whales and the watermelons. But that bike has got to go.

"Mo! Walkies!"

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

obviously NOT taken this week, but last year same week.....