Applique Update

Block seven of the Chester County Criswell quilt.  It’s called Royal Palm.  There are two blocks of this design in the Chester Criswell Quilt, one for six year old William and one for three year old Harry Clendenen.  The blocks were  made by their mother Elizabeth Clendenen.  I am only making one.  Block eight is already out and I need to get busy on it.  Don’t want to get behind.
The history behind this quilt is very interesting and if you would like to read about it go to this link.

These are the next three blocks of the  Sally Post quilt.  I have added the setting triangles and I think they look a lot better when you see them on point.  The patterns are available for free on Sentimental Stitches.  A new block is released each Saturday.  Be sure to click on the words below the picture not the picture if you try to download them.  

This is the group project for the year for “Prim Folk Art Quilts” yahoo group.  There are 36 blocks and the goal is to make three a month.

I am happily stitching, 

Nancy

UFO's

 I have spent the last couple of weeks trying to do something about all these  quilt tops.
They have been hanging over this door for several years and I think people are getting tired of bumping into them every time they come into this room.  Not to mention this is the room where my DH's computer is.

This is the result so far.  I put an all over design on these simply because there were so many to do.  I know some of them would look better with a little custom quilting but I want to get finished before the end of this century.  They are trimmed but not bound and I will post about each one as I get the binding completed.

This is what I have left to do except for the little ones that are not hanging.  There are 5 of those.

I need to buy backs for some of them and some of them need something more than a pantograph.

Oh, and I am not counting all the appliqued quilt tops in the plastic bin. Oh my!   Those will require a lot of thought.  I have put so much work into them and am not the best custom quilter out there.

One thing I am earning from this experience.  No more making quilts just because they look pretty in a book or a magazine or because a friend makes it.  I need to have a purpose for the quilt and it needs to get quilted before I start on something else.  I mean I am running out of places to stack quilts.
I wonder is there anyone else out there like me?
Happy stitching,
Nancy

Flower Garden and Sally Post

Yesterday I finished putting the sashing squares around my Flower Garden Quilt.  It took quite a bit of time to cut and sew all these little 1 1/2 inch squares but I think it was worth it.  I really like all the variety of color they bring to the quilt.  I am still stitching on the final border between stitching on my Sally Post blocks.

These quilts are so different and I like them both. Here are blocks four, five and six of Sally Post.  I still have some embroidery to do on block four.  Maybe the embroidery will  help that big green leaf.

And on another note - Is anyone else out there having trouble with blogger.  I am not able to make any changes to the look of my blog at all.  This has been going on for quite some time and it doesn’t seem to me like they are doing anything about it.

Have a great day and happy stitching.
Nancy

Happy Valentines Day

                                   Happy Valentines Day
                       Being a grandparent is the best there is.

Sally Post Floral Sampler

I started the Sally Post Floral Sampler quilt that is available from Gay at Sentimental Stitches  and here are my first three blocks. 

 Gay started offering the blocks for free again to go along with the  Grandmothers Choice Votes for Women quilt that Barbara Brackman is posting each week.

 I choose to just make the Sally Post blocks

The blocks trim up to  7 5/8 inches so the applique pieces are a lot smaller than the ones in the quilts I have been working on and stitch up a lot quicker.

At the moment I am considering using these fabrics for the setting triangles and sashing.   

What do you think?

I am also linking up with A Quilting Readers Garden applique Thursday.

Happy stitching,

Nancy

Easy Street, Whew!

I know some of you have heard of the Big Green Egg, well this is the big green quilt.
So big it won’t fit on the wall to get a good picture.  I still have to decide on the borders.  I am leaning towards something like this but am not sure I want to do this much more work.

I could just leave it as it is and not add a border or just add a plain border although I may not have enough of one fabric to make a plain border.  

It needs to just rest a while and so do I..

Happy stitching,

Nancy

Flower Garden

I washed all the blocks and borders for my Flower Garden quilt and not a single one bled.  I thought for sure I would have a problem with all these bright colors but everything turned out just fine.  Now on to the squaring up of the blocks.  My least favorite part of quilting other than the actual quilting of the quilt.
Happy stitching,
Nancy

Flower Garden by Kim McLean

I am about half finished with the last border  for my Flower Garden quilt so I thought It was time to start thinking about putting the center together.  The pattern calls for  the sashing to be made from one inch finished squares so I started cutting.  So far I have cut 1150 squares and I hope this will be enough. It seemed to take forever to cut these little squares since I didn’t want to cut too many from the same fabric.

Now I need to wash and square up the blocks.  I don’t usually pre wash my fabrics, too lazy, but on this one I probably should have with all these bright colors.  I am going to use lots of color catchers wish me luck.
Nancy

Chester County Criswell

 This week I finished block six of the Chester County Criswell quilt and am ready for Sharon to post block seven on February first.  Each month Sharon posts a new block along with some very interesting history about it’s maker.  The history behind this quilt is the main reason I am making it.  If you enjoy reproduction quilts and the history behind them you can go to Sharon's blog and read more about the history of this quilt.

                                       Block one Jane Wilson

                                      Block two Elizabeth Cowan        

    

                                       Block three Priscilla Turner                

                                      Block four Nancy Smith

                                    Block five James Carlile

                                      Block six Reuben Stubbs’

                        All six of my interpretation of the blocks.

It’s been very interesting to follow the making of this quilt.  I never knew there were so many different ways to applique’ one piece of fabric to another. For this quilt I am using the starch method with the freezer paper on the bottom like I show here, but some are doing back basting,  freezer paper on top or underneath with needle turn, glue basting.  Some mark the pattern on the fabric some use an overlay and I am sure I have missed other methods.
However you applique I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Nancy

Feathered Tulips in Vases

I bought the fabric for this quilt in August of 2012 and started stitching in September.

Sunday I completed the top of Feathered Tulip in Vases.  

She measures 90 x 90 and is a lot prettier than the picture shows.

The original pattern only had three borders but it seemed more balanced to me with four so I added one more. I suppose it depends on how you use the quilt.   On a bed the top row would be covered by pillows and you wouldn’t see it.  
I enjoy doing reproduction quilts.  This pattern is from Collector With a Needle.  Dawn has several wonderful patterns she has drafted from antique quilts.
Hope you are all finding some time to stitch.
Nancy

Easy Street

This weeks blocks were really easy.  Not at all like past Bonnie Hunter mystery quilts.

I  was also able to find the time to complete one of the side borders on my Feathered Tulip in Vases quilt.  You can read more about this quilt here.
I hope your Christmas is blessed and you find a little time to stitch.
Nancy

Santa’s Helper

Lillian asked Santa for a Caterpillar skirt for Christmas.  Where she saw one we can’t figure out but her Mom found the material and Santa’s helper made the skirt.  I made an owl skirt first to be sure of the size because I didn’t want to waste that caterpillar material.

Happy stitching and Merry Christmas.
Nancy

Easy Street Part 4

Now it’s starting to live up to it’s name.  This week was quick and easy.  Thanks Bonnie.

My Chester County Criswell Quilt

I have completed blocks 1, 2 and 3 on this directional background fabric and decided it just isn’t going to work.  It would be fine if there was a sashing between the blocks but with them all being sewn together it just looks confusing.

I like the color of this fabric with the different shades of cream so I am looking for something similar that is not directional.

  

Blocks 4 and 5 are ready to stitch.  I tried them on this background but think it might be a little lighter than I want.  I could do the whole quilt scrappy and use several different fabrics.  I believe this is the way the original quilt was done.
Oh happy day more fabric to search for.  Anyone know of a good one?

On another note “MARY LOU " has some good thoughts in her posts today you can check them out here and here.

One More Stocking

I made Lillian’s Christmas stocking last year when she was the only one. This year we have a new member of the family Evelyn

 so I had to dig around in my scraps and see if I could find enough  Figgy Pudding fabric to make a stocking for little Evelyn. Finding the fabric was the easy part---remembering how to use the embroidery attachment on my machine took most of the day.
Happy Stitching,
Nancy

Easy Street

My thoughts about Bonnie Hunters new mystery quilt Easy Street .  I won’t do it this year..OK maybe I will.   NO, not enough time too much else to do.  Oh, what the heck everyone else in my little group is doing it might as well join in.
I started a little late and I must say not my best work but I am all caught up.  I had everything except the grey and a couple of white & blacks in my stash.  I am still trying to figure out why it is called Easy Street.  I find flying geese to be one of the hardest blocks and those shaded four patch good grief but Bonnies quilts are always worth the effort.
Happy stitching,
Nancy

Monthly Mini and Log Cabin ebook

Temecula Quilt Company has a monthly mini program and I have been working on their little quilts since July.  Each month I receive a little brown package in the mail with a new quilt.

 July’s quilt was called "Freedom Rings" and is 12”x 16".  Each little bow tie block finishes at 2 inches.

August had two little quilts to make "Little Stars" 9”x 12” and "So Small Shoofly" 10”x 13”.  I love the cheddar in Shoofly.

September’s little quilt "Red Cross" 17”x21" is one of my favorites with all the little red crosses.

The quilt for October "Four Patch" is a little larger 16”x16” with 4 1/4” blocks.  I like the grey in this one.  I think grey has become the new cream in quilts lately.

and finally for November my all time favorite "Courthouse Step" finishes 15”x15” with 5” blocks.

If you like log cabin quilts as much as I do you should check out the new ebook here it’s free.  I especially like the block charts that tell you what length to cut your strips for different size blocks.

Hope you are finding a few moments to stitch.

Nancy

In Full Bloom

One day  while reading some of my favorite blogs I came across this post on Karen’s blog Log Cabin Quilter.  

It was a free pattern by Edyta Sitar found here..  

Well, not having enough to do and thinking it was very cute I decided to make it.  I commented on Karens post and asked her where she got her background fabric.  To me the background is what makes this little quilt so special.  Karen being such a thoughtful person offered to send me a piece of the fabric.  So here is my version of  "In Full Bloom".

If you enjoy looking at quilts especially applique’ you should visit Karen’s blog.  She does beautiful work.  The headers alone are worth a visit.  

Happy stitching,

Nancy

Feathered Tulip in Vases Progress

 Sunday afternoon I decide to square up all the blocks and put the center of my Feathered Tulip in Vases quilt together.   Well, let me tell you---Squaring up applique’ blocks makes me break out in a sweat.  I think it is one of the scariest things I do.  I mean all that work and one wrong cut and it’s all to be done over.  If you have extra fabric.  I must have spent several hours measuring and marking before I began cutting.

I decided to trim my blocks to 25.5 inches instead of 24.5 since I had the extra fabric and it would space the applique’ a little further apart.

Next, I would need to cut my setting triangles apart because I appliqued' them all together to prevent stretching of the bias edges.

Because the blocks are now 25.5 inches square I  added a half inch all the way around the setting triangles when I trimmed them so they would fit on to the blocks.  I am sure all you experienced quilters that are good with math know this but it took me a while to figure it out.

"Here’s Tulip!"  Not the best picture.   I just don’t have space enough to get a straight  shot of the quilt.
I am well pleased with the result so far.  This is a pattern from Collector With A Needle and it’s really pretty simple applique’.

My big decision now is do I want three borders like the original or four and what color to make the border flowers?
Happy stitching,
Nancy