Wednesday, March 28, 2018

March's Small Quilt- Let's Have a Potluck

There's nothing better 
than going to a Potluck.
It's a communal gathering
where each guest brings a different
and hopefully, unique and delicious dish
to be shared.
hosted another block swap.
This time with the Broken Dishes block.
With new blocks arriving for the swap of 2018,
I decided it might be time to
sew together the previous group.


I sewed the majority of the 4" blocks
together into one large quilt.

Here's a small peek.

It's off to the quilters so 
Debi can do her magic.

But there were several lovely blocks left.
What better to do than to sew them together
for my Small Quilt for the month of March.

(Being red and white it probably qualifies 
more for a February finish.💖💖)


Potluck
20" x 28"

A block swap is exactly like a Pot Luck.
Each quilter sharing their blocks,
 using their best sewing skills,
and allowing everyone to enjoy
the fabrics they picked out.


It's amazing how they all work together.
I couldn't decide on a single border fabric.
Why not use 4 different ones.


Add some simple machine quilting
and 
before you know it these broken dishes
are serving up a delicious feast for the eyes.

Until Next Time-
Kyle



Thursday, March 22, 2018

Throw Back Thursday

There are times 
when it's fun to look in the past
and smile.


Perfect hair required being 
tethered to a hose.


No backpacks
to carry your books home from school.

Listening to the top tunes

on your own transistor radio.


Recently, Barb at Fun With Barb, hosted a 
swap with Churn Dash blocks.
It's a great little block that can
be sewn with any style of fabric
and set together in a variety of ways.

I thought I'd share today on
Throw back Thursday a Churn Dash quilt 
I made in 1989.

It's still one of  my favorites.


 6" blocks set on point
with a  alternating indigo blue square.


Back then I hand quilted everything


and generally used a solid for the backing.

Fabric styles have a changed a bit too.


VIP fabrics were very popular.


Jinny Beyer fabrics 
were a major change from the small
calico prints you could still find.

Country blues and mauves,
 definitely a popular color scheme.


If you've quilted for a few decades like me,
you might even recognize a print or two.

It's fun once in awhile to look
back and see how styles, tends, and ideas
have changed.
Can't wait to start playing with some new
Churn Dash blocks soon.



Hmmmm....
I have a set of vintage blocks too.


What to work on next!?!

Until Next Time-
Kyle



Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Vision verses Ability

Do you ever feel like this?


This little chipmunk seems to have 
bitten off more than he can chew.
Oh, how I know the feeling!

The pieced top for the mystery quilt, Discovery,
  designed by Petra Prins in 2016 for Quiltmania magazine
has been finished for almost a year.


The delay?
ME!

  I've wanted to quilt it myself,
but the task seemed daunting.
My vision far exceeded my ability.

So for 9 months I've moved it
from list to list,
dragged my heels, and
totally procrastinated.

A couple of weeks ago I finally I 
ordered a collection of Aurifil #28 thread
in the pefect colors so my stitches 
would blend in, yet add
texture with the thicker thread.

So then last week

I pulled up my big girl panties and 
said," What have I got to loose!  Just do it."

It took more time and 
thought than I had originally planned,
although I knew it would.
Each section brought new challenges.


Figuring out what to do,

practicing, practicing...,
and attempting to make the designs look cohesive.


I left the center section until last.
I was unsure if I would be able to  fill in the background
with a swirl design that looked appropriate
for this beautiful design.

Not perfect, but acceptable for me.

I was excited to finally
 add my special label.
 When I was in the Netherlands
last spring, Petra signed it for me.
Now both of our names are included.

(notice how I changed the date!)



This quilt was a long term
project with many discoveries.  
I discovered Dutch chintz designs and how lovely they're to work with,
EPP piecing is accurate and fun to do,
and my machine quilting skills may be far from perfect,


but you never know what you can do until you give it a try.

Until Next Time-
Kyle

Friday, March 2, 2018

Remember Me

We all want to leave a small mark in this world.
As quilters, we take fabric and create
patterns and designs leaving a tangible object
for our family and friends.

A while back a friend shared with me
the remnants of a quilt top made
by someone many many years ago.



These hst's had been sewn together to form triangles 
and then a double pink was used for the other half 
making the square.

This is all that remains of that wonderful pink.


Someone rotary cut that fabric out of the original quilt and
now only these thin strips 
are left in the seam allowances.

I had decided to use some of the remaining 
half square triangles for my February Mini.

The pieces had been sewn together by hand.

After unstitching some,
squaring them up,

I stitched diagonal rows.


I was challenged by what fabric to use for the 
side triangle with the diagonal setting.
I auditioned more shirtings, double pinks,
cadet blues, and even some mourning prints.

It wasn't until I tried a chrome yellow ( a reproduction print)
 that I knew it was the perfect one.


I used a double pink reproduction for the 
border, but a vintage black print for the corners.


I love how it turned out.

I hand quilted diagonal rows using an
Aurifil #12.  It added a simple 
make-do look to the finished quilt.


Don't you love these classic
turn of the century prints. 1880-1900

There's no way of knowing who 
the original quilter was or her
story behind her quilt,
but at least now some of her pieces


will say "Remember Me".

Until Next Time-
Kyle