Purple Prose

Hi! What does that mean, anyway---purple prose? For this post, my purple is all about fabric, purple calico!

I had so much fun making Lori's Midnight Stars doll quilt that I decided I might make another on my own. While I wait for someone, anyone! to send me more vintage indigo scraps for her adorable Cheddar Cheese and Crackers quilt, I thought maybe I'd try my hand at miniaturizing one of my own antique quilts.

I chose this 1885-ish Midwestern Mennonite quilt because it is a favorite of mine, just recently quilted in memory of my mother who treasured the unfinshed top. I don't have Electric Quilt but I figured I could eyeball the blocks down to 5" pretty easily, by keeping the proportions similar.

But then! As I studied the quilt I realized :

One-I'd never find an ombre stripe! But a regular stripe might be okay.

or not, lol!

Then Two: I saw that I would need two sets of purple and red twin prints, one set large scale, one tiny scale. Hmmm.

We don't have nice quilt shops here at the beach [I'm yearning to visit Tumbleweed, in Cape Cod---the best!] but if I take a long drive over the salt marsh bridges,  through the seashore park area and up the parkway, I can get to Joann's Fabrics. Maybe 45 minutes?

This is what I found. Actually three sets of twin prints!

and yes, I made the mental blip of thinking the antique quilt's red was pink! But I love color, I like them , so...? I also picked up the only turkey red FQ in the shop!
The black behind the fat quarters is a charcoal and black stripe that I like a lot. I bought it originally for the big quilt's binding.....

Then I decided, well I want "real" antique-looking calicos and ordered from Hancock's.

Got the famous backorder message, so here are scans from the catalog. NO clue of scale or color really, but interesting.

And since I plan to make only six 5" blocks I didn't have to buy too much.
Here's the inspiration block again, so you can compare:

Now if only it would arrive so I can choose...Joann-funky bright? Or Hancock repro subtle? (Yes, I know...I will try both!)

Twiddling my thumbs and headed to the beach for now!

PS If you're wondering how I make the large quilt work in my all white [with cobalt & turq] home...I am currently using it on my bed with all-white flannel-and-lace sheets (Company Store) and antique cotton and lace pillow cases. White wool throw rugs. I love it!

love

          lizzy

.............gone to the beach

Mud Season

Hi! I love forsythia, don't you?

The yellow sprigs are just are so hopeful and cheery, rays of sunshine in a dingy world.

Usually we don't have "mud season" here at the beach, but this winter's snows have made everything, even the sand, look soggy and dull.

I picked up these forsythia branches after one of the big windstorms a week ago. Stuck them in a Mason jar...

And within a week they have opened into bright yellow blooms.

No flowers blooming outside, of course...even the crocus are just tiny nibs of stripy green. But here in the house, sunshine has burst into bloom.

  love


          lizzy

gone to the beach

Random Quilts

Hi everyone! This is a warm and cozy flannel quilt for a blustery winter night!
I used easy and random Log Cabin blocks, quite large.

I made it a few years ago for my son....

I saved all the bits of flannels from his pj's and boxers and shirts for years, since he was tiny.

I chose a Log Cabin block...

Fussy cut the red Snowmen for the centers....

The Log Cabin layout is a big star...and the stars in the border are his date of birth. Rnadomly tucked in too are labels from fav clothes and embroidered uniform names, saved and imtegrated into the strips.

His name is pieced on the bottom (but he asked me not to show that....lol!)...

It is machine quilteded with a meandering star pattern and has a flannel batik backing; my only regret is that I had the quilter machine sew on the red binding...and she curved the corners! Ick. I am going to fix that someday! The yellow stars are machine appliqued too---I wanted it to be very utilitarian, no: Oh be careful! I handsewed that! etc.

He doesn't use it much, it's not his "style"---just for friends when he has guests sleeping over...but every time he goes skiing he brings a patch for me to sew on the back! So it has become a memory quilt, of sorts, beyond the fond mom memories of tiny Christmas flannel pyjamas and itty bitty flannel shirts!

That may mean he likes it? I made something similar for my daughter---hers is a heart...but it is temporarily among the missing, so no pix right now.

Have a cozy weekend!

love

        lizzy

gone to the beach....