Pieces Connecting the Past

At least once a year 

I try to dig into my collection 

of Dutch Heritage fabrics designed by

Petra Prins of the Netherlands.

I love the colors and the traditional floral designs 

inspired by antique Dutch prints.

Anneke Van Leuvan

1747 -1785

My 5th Great Grandmother

This quilt really began with the center background fabric.

I was gifted a fat quarter of this historical 18th century reproduction,

Trails and Leaves,

from the fabric collection at Colonial Williamsburg.

It was just calling to be used for as a

background for some applique

I found the perfect design in the book,

Quilts from the Colonies, 

by Australian Quilt designer,  Margaret Mew.

From there it was pure fun.

Using my Dutch fabrics and some other

fabrics that wanted to play along,

I made lots of hst's and appliqued

melon shaped leaves.

The machine quilting was kept simple

as to not distract from the fabric's patterns.

I even had a large piece that I could use for the backing.

When it came time for the binding,

it took a bit of hunting to find the right piece.

I finally chose one of my favorite fabrics.

It was part of a group of reproduction  fabrics 

from Smithsonian's quilt collection printed in the

mid 1990's.

It's almost gone. 😢

Recently, I had been playing around on

Ancestry and rediscovered a family 

line that was located in Saugerties, New York

 along the Hudson River, which was an area

colonized by the Dutch.

I wanted to honor my family

that originally found their way 

from Oosterhout, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands 

to the America's sometime between the 1630's and 1650's.

*****

A photo shoot.

The weather was warm so

 I headed to the perennial gardens 

at Colorado State University.

Most plants are still hibernating from

the winter weather,

but the ornamental grasses add

texture to the dormant garden.

My quilt added some color to these barren branches 

that will eventually change to green once spring arrives.

In September, 1981 Andy Warhol came to the CSU campus

and was commissioned for one of his iconic soup can sculptures. 

My quilt and Andy's Soup Can

are visually very different.

But maybe we both 

have found a sense of fulfillment in being creative.

Until Next Time-

Kyle

Vintage Grandmother's Flower Garden and More

It was finally a clear day

here in Colorado.

My antique Grandmother's Flower Garden

was ready to be displayed.

Vintage 1940's Grandmother's Flower Garden

Completed 2023

I was lucky to acquire 

these 94 fabulous blocks about a 

year ago.

I spent a lot of time 

carefully hand sewing the blocks together. 

With each added row,

the top got more colorful and beautiful

The original quiltmaker was very skilled

and each hexagon was perfectly sewn to create

these fantastic flowers.

Many of them had the

designs fussy cut from the fabrics.

And we think we're so clever today.

After it was pieced together, I began the hand quilting.

That was the easy part.

Then it was decision making time.  

What to do with the edge and binding.

Many ideas were considered.

I finally cut strips 7/8" wide and used

a Clover bias tape maker to create the narrow binding.

There was no way I could attach it by machine

or even hand stitch it through all the layers.

I appliqued one folded edge to the top of the quilt

going around and around each hexagon side.

Then did it all again. 

Appliqueing the other folded edge of the binding

to the backing.

The binding ended up 

being about 3/16" wide on each side.

It went perfectly around all those 

jagged edges.

If I had had more of the original fabrics,

I could have filled in some of that space on the outer edges,

but I worked with what I had or didn't have,

and love the finished look.

I took it to the Benson Sculpture Garden

in Loveland, Colorado to see what others might think

about this finished quilt.

"Perfect, my dear."

"It's just the way I would have done it."

"Say hey, Good Lookin'

What ya got cookin'?

How's about cookin' somethin' up 

with me?"

"Come away with me to

my fairy garden."

****

I brought along a second quilt I had

just finished as a charity donation

to Children's Hospital in Denver.

The children let it join in and play.

Everyone was having a good time.

Until....

Hey, bring that back!

It was a fun place to hang around.

Until Next Time-

Kyle

A Cross Stitch Update

 I'm very fortunate to have the

Colorado Cross Stitcher, Sheri,

as my local cross stitch shop.

She's organized a weekly stitching group

that meets at her shop to

share project ideas, motivation

and inspiration.  

I have been stitching, sewing

and finishing a few projects both

with floss and cloth.

Yes, the Christmas holiday has

long passed, but here's a new addition

for next year.

'Joyful Scene'

Teresa Kogut

I finished the cross stitch piece as

the top of a paper mache' box

that I purchased at Hobby Lobby.

I simply used paint and 

scrapbook paper to finish the box.

 Some of the design elements 

were eliminated from the pattern

in order for it to fit the box top.

It simplified the look and 

focused on Santa and his friends.

The cording was made using the 

Krenik Cording drill and the

excellent YouTube videos

from Vonna  Pheiffer.

*****

This next pattern seemed

very appropriate for the kind of

winter weather we've been having.

My daughter, who is a first grade teacher,

must have been doing a snow dance 

a couple of times because everyone shouted...

'Hurray It's A Snow Day'

Homespun Elegance

Sandra Sullivan

This was a quick stitch and

the white eyelash trim was the perfect embellishment

to finish the snowy look.

*****

This latest finish was not a quick stitch,

but one that I enjoyed a great deal.

Lots of fill in so, it was a good

project to bring to my weekly stitching time

at the Colorado Cross Stitcher.

I finally had a frame made at Hobby Lobby 

and got the stitching mounted, 

framed and hung.

 

'The Gather Inn'

Plum Street Samplers

Paulette Stewart

Autumn colors are probably my favorites.

This piece had all the right elements,

pumpkins, leaves, sunflowers and

even a barn quilt pattern.

I've also been finishing up a few

quilts and those are just waiting for a 

warmer day for a photo shoot.  

Until Next Time-

Kyle

Chasing the January Blues Away Quilt

This morning,

 I woke up to a gentle

falling snow.

It was quiet, peaceful,

and the light was soft.

It's a good day to share

what I've been working on 

as a new start for 2023.

I love this photo.

It reminds me to always keep going.

On your mark, get set, go!

****

Earlier this month

 I rediscovered a set of 

indigo (more a cadet blue) and shirting blocks (1890 -1910) 

that I had purchased years ago.

It was time to do

something with them or what 

was the point of keeping them in a drawer.

The hst blocks were sewn together with a combination

of hand and machine stitching.

It's interesting, I've found, that no matter

how many different vintage

machine stitched blocks I've unstitched,

 the original stitchers have wanted to use 

a very tiny stitch length. 

Was it the philosophy: 

 More is Better?

You can see here how close the stitches were

and how it almost perforates this 100+ year old fabric.

Each of the hst's measured 

about 4 inches.

I decided to cut each block into quarters and

have two smaller hst's, an indigo square and

a light square.

A simple churn dash block had all

the right elements.  

I love these fabrics.

I had enough to make 16 blocks.

Chasing the January Blues Away

32" x 32"

The blocks were set together with a 

large scale print by Betsy Chutchian. (Maria's Sky)

I had to add a repro shirting fabric as I needed more 

2 inch squares to complete the blocks.  The new

fabric coordinated with the old perfectly.

The center was machine quilted, but the 

border needed simple diagonal hand quilting

to honor those antique fabrics.

The soft winter light last week was

perfect for a photo shoot of a

 blue and white quilt

made with vintage fabrics.

"Chase the January Blues Away"

Fossil Creek Reservoir

Fort Collins, Colorado

****

How to be popular during  

the Great Egg Shortage of 2023.

Too funny!

Until Next Time:

Kyle

A Fence Parade: Quilts Throughout the Year 2022

I thought a year in review might
be a good way to begin 2023.

 I started last January taking monthly 

photos of quilts on the back yard

barbwire fence.

That's 12 months,

and a lot of minis.

Hope you enjoy the parade.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Until Next Time-

Kyle