Antique Quilts from Show and Tell

Here are the remainder of the antique quilts shown at the DJ Retreat. The applique quilt was purchased in Shipshewanna. The two Amish quilts are from the early 1900's. The Shoofly reminds me of a Gwen Marston 'liberated' quilt.

Pinwheel Blocks

My sister gave me some vintage quilt blocks for my birthday. The pattern is a fun variation of a pinwheel block, I think.There are a few fabrics of interest. This blue background reminded me of a blue reproduction. It just happened to be in my stash, so I photographed the block on top of the repro print. I don't recall the name or maker, but there were a variety of blues with the same prints in pinks. I like the brown in this block, too. An unusual color, don't you think? This was the block that blew me away. Or, should I say "blue"? I am sure that I've never seen a blue with a pink also in the print. Blue with cheddar, yes, and even a chrome-like yellow, but not pink. Here is a close-up. Has anyone seen this color combination before?

Antique Applique

This antique applique was the highlight of the DJ Retreat Friday Night Show and Tell. And the best news - it's being offered as a free 'Block of the Month' here. Each installment is free for one month and then is available for purchase on the site shop. I just checked and the first installment hasn't moved to the shop even though the second installment is out. Enjoy!

New Doll Quilt Top Finish

This is the doll quilt that I started at Vicki's sew-in over Halloween weekend. The fabric underneath it is what I think will be the backing. I intend to just do some simple straight line quilting on it. To me, a reproduction doll quilt doesn't require much in the way of quilting. From the old ones that I've seen, they tend to have outline quilting, and that's about it.
Did you notice my boo-boo? In the upper left hand block, the four patchs are turned sideways. As our friend Pat would say, "Oh, well...". It doesn't bother me, so it's staying. Besides, it makes it a bit more interesting, in mho. So does the shortage of the "light" background fabric. The center block has a different light brown print. You can hardly tell, right?

There is enough of the dark brown, so that will be the binding, too, I think. The top measures 22" square. I don't usually make square doll quilts, although I love bed quilts made square. Doesn't the ombre sashing just bring a humble four patch up a notch? So beautiful and versatile. They enrich any quilt that they are used in, I think.

Retreat Packing

I'm headed to Shipshewanna next week-end for the Dear Jane retreat. I'm only one hour away, so I get to attend fairly often. My DJ should have been completed years ago, but I haven't worked on it in ages. The retreat starts mid-week, but I'm arriving on Friday. I'm packing today because I'm traveling for work tomorrow and won't get home until Thursday night.

I've been finishing up some long overdue projects lately and it feels really good to see progress. So, I'm taking two in-flight projects that have been lingering too long. The first is something I cooked up using 4 patch exchange blocks and I stalled because I'm not sure I like the design - it's pretty busy. I'm hoping the stars in the sashing add some structure (and calm things down). It doesn't get any better sitting in a box, so I'm going to forge ahead and see how things turn out.

The second is Snowball and 9 Patch. This one stalled because I don't like the blocks set straight, but, I do like them on-point. I'll have to dig thru boxes to see if I have enough background fabric for setting triangles. I purchased the background fabric on my first trip to Sauder's.

I'll let you know how things go. I'm looking forward to seeing familar faces!

Kansas Troubles

Remember Mission Valley plaids? They were everywhere for a time. I don't know if they are still in business as I haven't seen them for quite some time. This quilt on my church pew rack was made from those and an antique muslin. I saw this in the American Patchwork and Quilting magazine when it was in it's first year or two of publication, and made it pretty much like they did. At the time, I was planning on it being a bed sized quilt, but I hadn't been quilting for long and had a little trouble with all of those points. I decided that a smaller size would suffice!

And, speaking of American Patchwork and Quilting, I just love that magazine. They seem to be the only one still out there that respects traditional quilters. Vicki and I have often bemoaned the fact that there isn't an Antique Quilts magazine. McCalls used to have a quarterly one, but they stopped publication after just a few years. Thank goodness for the wonderful books that are still being printed, especially the state books. And, the internet, and all of you out there who share their wonderful collections with us all!

Radio Flyer

A finish!!! The pattern is Radio Flyer by Miss Rosie. I improvised my own border. This was quilted by Sandy Rice - she did an awesome job. I finished the binding this morning and ran it thru the washer (no soap) and dryer. It feels so good to get something crossed off the longggg list!

Below is a close-up of the corner - front and back.

Check One Off The List

I just recently made this top for son-in-law to be, Adam. It is lap quilt size, and he is a big boy so it measures around 54x76. He plays hockey professionally in Texas, and needs a new quilt for road trips. These are the teams colors. Maybe I'll attempt to machine quilt this myself. Just some straight lines. I wanted to baste this using one of the sprays available, but started to read the labels on the cans and got scared off. Has anyone used them? I would be interested to hear what you have to say.

Vicki had a sew-in this past weekend, and we all had such a good time. She showed you one of her four cats, and she also has two dogs and three kittens out in the garage. Her animals are so sweet and well behaved. They kept us all entertained. I was able to complete the blocks for the Jewel Box quilt, and started a doll quilt. Of course, there has been zero sewing time since I got home. Maybe tomorrow!

Sweet Dreams

It didn't take Josie five minutes to find this comfy quilt thrown on the floor - one more thing marked off the list with binding applied. How do they know? What a lucky cat to be the first to lay on (rather than under) this beauty. Wish I could claim this quilt as mine.

I'm working on turning the binding on a quilt of my own. Hope I'll have a finish to show you soon.

We were visited by Halloween chickens during our sew-in. These were the cutest chickens I've ever seen (my niece's girls).