Blog Friends and the Quilts They Inspired

Meeting blog friends 

in "real life" is a very cool experience. 

In fact, it's a thrill!

 

A few weeks ago I met

Doreen

of Aunt Reen's Place

at the home of Dawn

whose blog is 

Collector With A Needle.

Both of these women are

incredible quilters and collectors.

They are a wealth of information

on antique quilts, fabrics,

the history of quiltmaking

and eagerly share their knowledge

on their blogs.

I wish I had thought to take

a photo of the 3 of us, but

 instead you'll have to see 

(photo from Dawn) 

   Doreen helping me hold 

up my Noah and Matilda quilt.

The other quilters in the room are

 the friends Doreen traveled with

all the way from Virginia

for a Rocky Mountain high quilting trip.

Now try and imagine seeing

Doreen and Dawn

 

as they hold up my Noah and Matilda quilt

with the original Noah and Matilda quilt,
which Dawn owns,

that's dated February 22, 1851.

You can still order the pattern 

from Dawn's website.

My quilt was thrilled to see the original

and me too.

***

I also was able to share

(Photo from Doreen's blog)

my Triple Irish Chain quilt 

that I finished the night before.

The reason I brought it was

because  on Doreen's blog
 she had shared
the pattern instructions  called "The Big Leap".

You can still find the info here.

 These are great instructions

to make a classic pattern.

You can't beat a two color quilt and

a well loved pattern.

It's hard to see the quilting until

you get up close.

I really like what my machine quilter, Kathy
and I came up with to fill in the open space.

I also love what she did with the 2" squares.

The border design combines it all.

It really was wonderful to be able
to share two quilts that were
inspired by these two
fabulous quilters, Dawn and Doreen.

 If you're not a follower of these two 

extraordinary quilters, 

you need to link up immediately.

You won't be sorry. 

 Until Next Time-

 A few weeks ago I

bought a bunch of daffodils.

It made me feel like spring was just around the corner.

Don't you love daffodils.

(And Yes, I remind myself, that

March is suppose to be snowiest month of the year

here in Colorado.)

*****

 Yellow is a color I like to wear in the summer,

but I don't have much of it in my house.

It's a wonderful color.

It reminds me of happiness,

energy, and joy, but

it generally isn't the star in a quilt.

Doreen over at 

Aunt Reen's Place

posted some instructions for a Triple Irish Chain quilt

using a jelly roll.  

I had always wanted to make an Irish Chain

and I had always wanted to make a yellow and white quilt.

Why wait.

Perfect timing.

It's interesting the affects a bouquet of daffodils can have

on you.

Doreen's instructions were great and I

opted to do the largest version  82" x 82".

The quilt went together as slick as butter.

I reversed the placement of the typical background and the dark pieces.

It didn't make much difference in the blocks with the  2" squares,

but it made the large squares my daffodil yellow.

Recently, I've been sewing with smaller pieces

and doing a lot of hand work.

I found this so much fun.

It was quick and easy in comparison and

nice just to sit at my machine and sew.

 Working with solids is always a challenge for me.

The quilt top can appear flat and uninteresting,

especially with a lower contrast, like the white and yellow.

Then I remind myself that it's the quilting that

will bring it to life.
I just have to be patient and wait.

Daffy-down-dilly

Daffy-down-dilly
Has come to town
With a yellow petticoat
And a pretty green gown.

Happy Spring!

 Until Next Time-