April's Mini Quilt

If you're like me 

and many others fabulous quilt bloggers

gathered under Wendy's wing, 

you know making a monthly mini

can be a challenge.

It  feels like the months

get shorter and shorter,

but it's still  a great way to explore new ideas

and create something small each month.

This month I went digging into a 

sewing cupboard and pulled out

a stack of vintage basket blocks.

When or where I got them

is unknown, but they

have been there for a very long time.

The fabrics are a combination of

30's and 40's prints with a bleached muslin background.

The 32 blocks all measured 

ROUGHLY 

10.5 inches.

I decided I didn't want a big quilt 

so I pulled out Jack the Ripper

and took the blocks apart leaving the 

hst's intact.

I wasn't surprised to find all of these units

looking very different from each other.

The blocks were mostly hand stitched.

There was no way these blocks

would fit together.

I resized these from 2.5" down

to 1.5" along with the center section and 

the rectangular side pieces.

The blocks would now be 

a quarter of the size, 5" finished.

The blocks went from this to that.

I ended up using 28 of the 

original blocks.

Vintage Spring Baskets

25" x 35"

I set the blocks together in 

sets of 4.

Then I added a simple border

of Kona Snow and

 machine quilted diagonal lines.

Bound it with a 30's repro fabric.

The backing is a piece from a flour sack

with one more of the blocks used as a label.

****

Then it was time to hang it out on the barbwire fence

along with the other vintage minis that have been 

reconstructed over the years.

All of the quilts are made

 from vintage 30's and 40's fabrics pieces. 

I was asked if I had any regrets taking

apart another person's work.

I would have to say no.

I feel like I have taken pieces that

were abandoned and left undone for a reason.

Maybe I've brought these to completion, finally.

****

The exciting news  is that

Running Man and I will be soon

gathering up our passports, 

vaccination cards and heading off 

on an adventure.

I can't wait!

So Until Next Time-Kyle

April Happenings

 Spring is slowly starting to appear

here in Colorado.

I've also been slowly working

on projects one day at a time.

And the results are beginning to show.  

There are a few projects that have been finished

and a few ongoing ones.

****

#1

A pair of springtime bunnies.

"Spring Delivery"

Scattered Seed Samplers

5" x 7"

And.....

"Spring Gathering"

Scattered Seed Samplers

5" x 7"

I changed a few thread colors and

changed a few design elements.

The first adorable vintage frame 

was from a thrift shop in Santa Fe.

I love it.

The second one was a shiny gold colored inexpensive 

frame from another shop here in Fort Collins.

Running Man got out his air brush and toned

it all down to a reasonable shade.

****

#2

This next project is far from finished.

It's a Mystery Quilt Along through 

Primitive Gatherings.  

I'll be the first to admit that quilt mysteries

are not my favorite.

My time and fabrics are just too

valuable and expensive to be working

on something that I might or might not like.

But I was caught in a weak moment

and Lisa B reassured quilters everywhere 

that she would not let anyone down!

hahahaha

So I've started.

31 nine patch blocks, scrappy, blue and white.

We'll see where the mystery leads me.

If you're in a weak moment too,

check out and sign up for Lisa Bongean Blog, 

to get the monthly mystery patterns

for O Say....Can You See.

This part will be gone at the end of April when

the May chapter is issued.

****

#3

Sometime ago I signed up for a

 Hands Across the Sea's pattern

exclusively for Hobby House Needleworks.

I had never done one of

Nicola Parkman's vintage reproduced samplers.

This one is Rosa Ada Featherstone, 1894

Through the process of working on  a reproduced antique sampler

I came to several conclusions:

1.  Samplers done by young girls could have many errors.

If the sampler is designed to even include these flaws, 

I'm going to have to fix them.

I make enough of my own mistakes, that's for sure!  

I had to do lots of changes to make

this design work for me.

2. I like the style of many of these antique samplers,

but if I used Rose's name my family would be thoroughly 

confused as to who she was in relationship to us.

So I customized this sampler with my

maternal grandmother's name and date of birth.

3.  I decided while working on this sampler that Rose's heart wasn't

into this project or needlework as a whole 

or she had a poor teacher with limited supplies.

I changed many of the motifs because

I didn't recognize what they were.

I also changed and added more colors.

An example is that the ships 

were originally bright green.

I had to change that

 as well as a few other color choices.

Sorry, Rose.

*****

#4

I first mentioned this 

Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt

back in December,

Why Not Start Something New

Well, I'm still happily working on it.

The hand quilting is coming close 

to being finished,

A dozen more hexies to go

and then...

75" x 80"

I'll have to decide how to bind it

with the zig zag edge.

****

It hasn't been all work or stitching.

The other night we were able to go

to a live concert featuring

two of my favorite musicians,

They are on their final

US Tour as a duo.

I listen to their beautiful cello music

which includes classical, popular and rock music.

Stjepan Hauser and Luka Sulic'

They put on an incredible show

and we had fabulous seats.

The audience was a mix of young and old

and I loved every minute.

Check them out on you tube.

Until Next Time-

Kyle