Indianapolis Amish/Design Wall

Only two quilts to share today, but lots of detail shots because these photos came out so well. You can really see the luschious, deep saturated color.

An Amish star quilt...

Oh, I loved this one!

I had a notion to make a new quilt for my back porch. Most of the 3 inch 9 patchs were already made, so this is going fairly quickly. The sashing will probably be a gray - a secondary mourning type. Initially the plan was for black, but the blocks keep telling me "no!".

Some of the blues began life as bricks for the Texas Braid quilt. The leftovers from that will be around for years!

I'm not sure if I'll use half blocks around the edges, or introduce another fabric for triangles to finish the design. If it ends up being half blocks, I may just make full blocks and chop them off. This is supposed to be easy-breezey, so we'll see if I have the nerve to do it!

Retail Therapy

No sewing since my last post, but there has been some retail therapy!  I visited a couple of local shops with a visiting quilting friend.  Luck was with us -  Needle and Thread was having a fabric sale.  We ran into friends that told us about a shop only 10 miles from my house.  What kind of quilter am I - how could I miss a quilt shop that close to home?  Scrapyard Quilting had a nice sale table with repros!  I did some damage, but it put a smile on my face!  I fell in love with the combination of these two fabrics.  I'm pondering the quilt options.     

To make your visit worthwhile, I'm including two more quilts from the Frugal and Fancy Exhibit.

The Star of Bethlehem quilt (1880) was made by Anna Marie Arnold Clemmons, Shelby County, as a gift for her husband.  The quilt includes two inscriptions: 'J Clemmons married A W Arnold March 22, 1866' and 'Presented to J Clemmons on his 34 birthday by his wife'.

Whig Rose (1845-1865) was made by Lavina Rudicil Rubottom of Franklin County.  The quilt was presented as a wedding gift to relatives in 1887.



I'm anxious to get back to the sewing machine, but the calendar isn't co-operating.

Indigo in Indianapolis

I love blue, I love baskets, and I love little blocks, so this one has it all, in my book...

The batting may be thick, but it doesn't detract much...

An indigo whole-cloth...

Detail - Still has that beautiful sheen...

Progress

I've completed a fourth of the quilt - upper left corner.  The pattern is Twilight Hopscotch from Simple Comforts by Kim Diehl.  I changed the block construction to reduce seams in the background fabric - my main block is the 9/4 patch with star sashing.  The book directions are reversed.  The original star centers were scrappy double pinks (below), but didn't work for me.  So, I decided on a common cheddary center.  I was short of fabric by one piece, so the outer four corners are a little darker fabric from same color family (upper left star). 

Don't you love bonus hst!!!  I'll have alot of these blue/gray hst from the star points that will finish at 1 1/2".  My little brain has already skipped ahead to planning a new 'little' quilt.




Jan and I went to two quilt exhibits last Saturday - great quilt day!  I've included two choice applique quilts from the 'Frugal and Fancy Quilt Exhibit' (info on sidebar). 

Indiania Fancy quilt by Clariss Rohrbaugh Strong (February 12, 1854).  The quilt border serves as the quilt label. 

The quilting on the Pomegranate quilt by Mary Jane Summers McClellan (1850's) was exceptional.  I see so much more detail thru Jan's eyes - she pointed out the quirkly centers.

                                                                       Amazing quilting!

Half Log Cabin/Road Trip

These half log cabin blocks were made a couple of years ago, and intended for a quilt to hang in my living room. After realizing that I hadn't made even half of the blocks that I needed, I just wasn't up for it, so they languished on a shelf. Since I've been in a "finishing" mood of late, I pulled them out, and sewed them up into a 68" top. Not the size I had envisioned, but I am really happy with it. The quilt is based on one in the Patricia Cox book, "American Quilt Classics". The layout is the same, but the coloring is a bit different. A close-up.

Saturday, Vicki and I left bright and early for two of the exhibits listed on our sidebar. First up was Indianapolis for the Frugal and Fancy, then on to Bloomington for the AQSG Star Quilts. We will be sharing lots of photos soon.

On the way home, we stopped in Greenwood at Back Door Quilts in Greenwood. Here are a few pics to entice you if you are ever in the area - lots of repros, and look at all of those samples!

This puss in the corner quilt was one of my favorites. My purchases are on the little bench in front of it. The star quilt book is based on the Bloomington exhibit.

In the Works

Not much quilt related activity lately.  At left is the progress on the Kim Diehl quilt (sorry, don't know the name of the pattern).  I've changed it up just a little - added square-in-a-square to the star center and, of course, lots of scraps - the book quilt is two fabric.   The fabric the sample is lying on is a little busy, sorry, but it was close to hand and I was in a hurry.  Great fabric though -Mahogany by Nancy Gere c. 1830 from Windham.

I've also worked a few sample blocks for the cover quilt from Quilts an American Heritage by Terri Zegart  I wrote about a few posts back.  I've settled on an 8" block with a common light fabric (a Jo Morton).  This quilt is on Jan's list too, so we're thinking of using it for our next block exchange.  The block is much simpler than it appears.  

The next two quilts are from the quilt show at the First Christian Church of Marion, KY.  This is the third year they've held a show during Paducah quilt week.  Most of the quilts are from members' personal collections, many family heirlooms.  I didn't have my camera with me on my first visit and by the time I made it back, they were just about done folding up.  Wish I could show you a picture of the pews covered in quilts!

                                                           Beautiful Feathered Star - amazing quilting!

 

This quilt was paper thin - well loved.

Last two pictures are from my garden - we're finally getting some nice weather in IN! 



Spawn of Texas Braid/Sarah Richardson

Texas Braid top is finally finished. It was nerve-wracking when I first trimmed a strip, but it was a breeze really. I am happy with this one, and am anxious to have it quilted. As usual, I overcut. Lots of leftover 2" bricks. There were also a few leftover red 2" squares, so I am making four patchs as leader & ender blocks. Here are the trimmings from the completed Braid strips. What kind of lunatic saves stuff like this?! They will make half-square triangles that finish to 3/4". Gotta keep 'em.

Sarah Richardson has a new HGTV series, and this time she is remodeling her family's lake cottage. I loved the old brass bar used to hold this sweet quilt. At first glance, I thought it was a 9 patch with 4 patch sashing, but the block is really a 9 patch surrounded by white strips, with 4 patch corners. Then, it is sashed and has a little post.

Here is the entire room. Isn't the quilt just perfect on the narrow wall?