Monday, January 23, 2023

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






Wednesday, January 4, 2023

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