Red and Green II

Here's another of my favorites from the Amercian Quilt Study Red and Green Exhibit. I thought you'd prefer this to another pic of my Colorado quilt. I'm done with the pieced blocks and am sewing rows together. Next, hundreds of QST's for rick rack border.

Poison Green, Part One

Here is a short stack of quilts from the living room. The one on top was an internet purchase. I really like the churn dash/monkey wrench block, and I Love poison green. This is the color that I would like to find for the Indigo Nine Patch I mentioned in an earlier post. Here's the nearly full view. And another view of it folded.

Hand Quilting Primer

I pieced this quilt while going thru a kitchen remodel. I wanted to sew to escape the turmoil, but didn't want to make any more decisions. So, I joined an internet mystery quilt. This quilt has been waiting quite a few years (maybe 6) to become my hand quilting primer. I hand quilted years ago using a style all my own (which was detrimental to my thumb). So, I'm learning all over again. Last November I decided the time was right. I had quilted about an hour the first day when my son called asking me to join them ice-skating at the pond. Within half an hour I had a broken right wrist and the quilt was back on the shelf. Hand quilting is a slowww process!

The Quilt on My Bed

Even though I've been a quilter for nearly 20 years, we usually have a comforter on our bed. Without air conditioning (even though it has been a cool summer), I took that off and put on this quilt. As I looked at the label, (yes, this one actually got one) I noticed that the date was 9/1/96. So, this one is approaching it's birthday. Wow, I just can't believe that I made this so long ago. At that time, we lived in the All-American two story with a front porch. I wanted something summery looking, and since the rail fence was a favorite, I made this. While I probably wouldn't sew this quilt today, I still have a soft spot for the little florals in it.

The colors in the detail shot are most accurate, but I wanted to include a nearly full view. The green triangles and border are made of an early Judie Rothermel thirties print. It has faded quite a bit, especially on the two opposite sides. This quilt didn't have much direct sun, but you wouldn't know it. Doesn't it seem as if the old quilts hold their color better? I look at the vintage quilts every chance that I get, and very few have faded. Still, this one is soft and snuggly, and just the right weight for summer sleeping.

Red and Green

I was fortunate to make it to the last hour of the last day of the American Quilt Study 'Red and Green' exhibit in Bloomington, IN. This quilt was a stand-out! What a beauty. I wrote the quiltmaker's name on a scrap of paper, but that's nowhere to be found. I surfed the net (no success), but found this site displaying 19 quilts from the collection. I apologize for the lack of info on this stunning piece. Enjoy!

Indigoes

Haven't had any real time to sew this week because we have company. I thought that I would share my next possible project. This scrumptious nine-in-nine patch is from the book, "The Ultimate Quilting Book" by Maggi McCormich Gordon. And, no, you are not seeing double. The quilt on the left is a reproduction of this quilt, and is from Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, in the July 2005 issue. I've been thinking of reproducing it myself with DeGama indigoes rather than indigo repros. The one in QNM was done in what looks to be Judie Rothermel blues. It looks just wonderful, but if I can find a really nasty bilious green like the original, I think that the contrast with the DeGama true indigoes would be smashing. Don't you? Btw, the book and magazine are lying on a bed in a spare bedroom. You can see that I have pulled the indigoes that I have (not many), and a nice yellow/green. It is a great piece, but just not yellowy enough. I suppose I could crank out a few nine patchs with the scraps that I have, and see how it looks.

Just for comparison, this little doll quilt is made from the DeGama indigoes and a repro shirting. It is on a little twig doll bed in the same spare bedroom. The little bear is mohair, and jointed so he really is a cutie, I think. The pillow I bought this way. It is just a piece from an old coverlet, and it is another favorite.

Colorado

You saw the start of this quilt last week. I'm about half done with the Colorado blocks. They piece up quickly - 8 hst and 4 flying geese. I'm using a quick piece method for both units. The hst method yields 8 units from one set of 5" squares - lots less cutting, too. I chain piece 5 blocks at a time. I'm sewing the alternate constant block to the right side of the pieced block as I go.

I'm planning on a pieced rick-rack border to transition from the pieced center to the outer border. I had enough of the alternate fabric to do a 4 patch checkerboard, but now that I've changed to the rick-rack border, I'll have to pick another fabric from stash. The blue strip is auditioning for the rick-rack band. The brown strip is a definite for the rick-rack/outer border.

I think I like this rick-rack combo better. If I'm going to all the trouble of sewing hundreds of qst, I want the border to stand out.

It's not a good idea to research border options in antique quilt books - I've added at least two quilts to the 'list'!

More 4 Patchs!

Here are three more four patch doll quilts that I have made. The one on the left is from the early 90's. The center quilt was made of Judie Rothermel swatches. I remember that I ordered two sets from her. This little quilt fits one of my doll beds, so that is why it is kind of long and skinny. The one on the right is also a bit older. It is crosshatched, with circles quilted on the red squares. I traced around a penny with chalk to make the circle. One circle just didn't seem like enough quilting, so I echoed it once.

Making Do

This is my most recent finished top. The 3" 9 patch blocks were the first exchange our quilt group did. The setting is from this book ('A Treasury of Mennonite Quilts', pg 78). I found the outer border in my stash, but had less than one yard. I don't like seams in my borders, so Jan and I went to our local quilt shop to find something. Once I had this in mind, nothing else worked - even with the whole shop to choose from.

So, I improvised. Here's a close-up of the border length. I had another fabric that was very similar in color/value, so inserted strips to lengthen the border without seam lines in the large scale print. I think that's what draws us to the old quilts - the querkiness that comes from making due with what's on hand. I added 9 patches in the outer corners 'just because'.

And Now, the Nine Patch

For the last year or so, I have been trying to do better at finishing. Don't most quilters struggle with this? It is so exciting to have a new idea, and proceed with that. That leaves the earlier good ideas to languish. Last summer while at a quilt-in at a friend's cottage, I took my oldest UFO. There were strips cut for the deep blue and cream 9 patchs, and the alternate block in cadet. The 9 patchs were furiously run through the machine, and then set with the alternate fabric. Easy, peasey. Just a classic type of quilt that I had always wanted.
It was quilted by my friend, Susan Atwell. We had done some bartering. I traded vintage aprons for machine quilting. I hope she is as happy as I am with the swap.

Project Du Jour

I just love this block - Colorado. It's simple, but packs alot of personality - perky! I started these last Fall, but hadn't looked at them in awhile. The background is an old Lowell Collection. The block finishes at 6". This project has moved to the top because I found a great fabric (below) for the common alternate block. I picked this fabric up as 'stash addition', but I love it with these pieced blocks. So, this is my Project Du Jour.

A Pair of 4 Patch Doll Quilts

Boy, I just love the 4 patch, don't you? There is so much that can be done with them. Here are two variations in doll quilts. The pink and green one goes way, way back to an article in Quilter's Newsletter Magazine about Jo Morton. This was before we all knew of her. The magazine featured a few of her doll quilts, with patterns.

The little quilt on the right side was just made from leftover 4 patchs and HST. And, I didn't even realize it until I look at it now, that it's a variation on the block from my design wall in my first post.