Pieces of the Past

If you've read my blog for awhile,

you might remember one of my 

projects from last year was unsewing 

and then resewing

vintage 1940's Ocean Wave blocks.

The fabrics were in  perfect condition.

It was just the stitching that needed help.

So with a lot of help from Jack the Ripper

and a bit of patience, I hand pieced

these "pieces of the past"

back into a quilt.

 52" x 68"

My goal was to have it done by 2017.

The last stitch was taken

January 2, 2017.

I'd like to think that the original quilter

would be pleased with my interpretation.

There were several triangle pieces that became my favorites

I loved the chrome orange and navy together

and the other two much older pieces were possibly leftovers

from a grandmother's scrapbasket.

These 60 unruly blocks were given to me

by a quilting friend who was doing some

purging and thought I might enjoy the challenge.

When the top was finished,

I was glad I had some triangles

leftover and pieced a small quilt for her.

I even had a few more leftover pieces

and stitched a mini "sister" quilt  for myself.

Like sisters,

similar yet different.

"Old Goose"

Now this quilt must wait patiently again
  in the queue for hand quilting.

But that's okay.  It's only

been waiting about 75 years already.

Until Next Time-

Kyle

Hula Hoops?

 Many of us might remember

this craze.

1958

The hula hoop fad started.

It took some waist and hip action

to get the plastic hoop rotating, but

once you got the momentum going

just a slight movement of the body 

kept the hoop going round and round.

A couple of  months ago this project

came into my sewing room.

The fabrics were in pristine yet fragile condition.

It was just that the sewing was way off

and the pieces would never fit together happily.

It was like stepping into a hula hoop,

gripping the hoop firmly with two hands

and starting it spinning around my body. 

The momentum has gotten faster and faster.

That's what's happened with these

innocent vintage blocks.

I can't seem to stop.

It's pushed it's way to the top of the pile,

and I haven't been able to work on anything else. 

I knew if I put them away in a cupboard,

there they would stay until someone else had

the chance to figure out what to do.

So, I've just gone with the flow.

Taking 60 blocks apart...

laying out the triangles and

getting them all pressed.

With no consistent seam allowances

I knew it would have to be a hand stitching project.

That has required marking the sewing line 

 on each triangle piece.

The real trick comes now

Keep up the momentum and

all the hoops spinning.

I'm ready to start hand piecing.

 
Until Next Time-
Kyle