BEAR PAW QUILT

This beautiful Christmas quilt was done by MC of Jasonville, IN - it is completely hand pieced, yes even the borders!

So I hand quilted it for her during Oct. - Dec. 2017. I kept the quilting design really simple - just straight lines from corner to corner in each block plus in the white in the center of each block. On the back it looks very similar to a lot of  asterisk marks.

The batting is a cotton blend and the back is white muslin. She will bind it herself.

 Queen size.

 155 yards of hand quilting.

BIRDS IN THE AIR

I am trying to use up the scraps I have managed to collect over the years. In July, I started cutting 3" squares from scraps of both white/cream and colored prints. I hate the stretchy bias seam there is if I actually cut out triangles, so I am drawing a line diagonally on the white blocks, putting a colored square with it right sides together, and sewing a quarter inch away from the line on each side, then cutting them apart on the drawn line. So I end up with lots of little white triangles sewn to colored fabric. If I do a few each day, it does not take long to fill up the shoe box of sewn triangles, and if I have a little more time then I actually put them together in blocks.

Doing this sewing process also works great for Flying Geese, and other patterns that call for alot of triangles. I've also done this for saw tooth borders.

SUNBONNET SUE 2

I hand quilted this Sunbonnet Sue twin size quilt for the maker during July - Aug. 2017. I like the bright fabrics. There are 112 yds of hand quilting stitches in it. This one and the previous one I hand quilted for her are the same size and many of the same fabrics.

PRAIRIE WINDMILLS

Updated 04/29/2019: Prairie Windmills is done and I love it !!!  The blue is perfect to represent the Montana sky of my childhood and the quilt has been put on the bed for the first time. The quilting is close lines across the quilt to represent the constant wind. Here are the completed photos:

The back is 2 toile fabrics I can't bare to cut into little pieces

Close-up of the 2 toile fabrics.

I grew up in Montana, and those old wooden windmills are a big part of my memories. The wind blows constantly, and the clacking noise the windmills made was a comforting background noise. Also, how big and blue the sky was (and is), so I decided to try my hand at a windmill quilt. It's a pattern I have not made and thought it would be a great way to use up more scraps. The only purchased fabric was the blue background that looks so much like the big Montana sky of my childhood. I took this project to Maine to work on this year, and got all the bigger windmills pieced and sashed. After piecing 2 of the rows of smaller windmills, I ran out of the blue so I had to put on hold until returning home and getting more matching fabric. The windmill sizes are 4.5" square and 8.5" square, so I am using the smaller pieces of scraps that I have pulled out of my stash. Here's how the blocks and sashing look so far:

I completed the top on 2/10/2018. It is 100" x 106". I could not find a fabric of blowing wheat to use as a border - the closest thing I found was this blowing grass:

I really like the way the sky blue sets off the scrap windmills. Here it is hanging on the laundry line on 2/10/2018:

CHRISTMAS SCRAPS

I found this pattern in the book "Facts and Fabrications: Unraveling the History of Quilts and Slavery" by Barbara Brackman. I thought it looked simple and would use up some of the larger scraps in my stash.

 This was a project I took to Maine with me this year as a quilt top I wanted to complete. The blocks are 15" and I only did 12 of them - you know, only 12 so I could actually see if I liked the pattern and how it went together. I found out that the pattern is really easy to piece and the blocks go together easily. I've already cut more for a queen size quilt. Anyway, here is how the first 5 blocks look:

Once I got home from Maine, I added the 2 borders. I like how the black really makes the green and red Christmas fabrics "pop".

I sewed together all the green left-over bindings, so even the binding is ready to be sewn on once the top is machine quilted.

Update on July 30, 2019:

This quilt was machine quilted by RLM in 2018.  I finally got the binding on and a tag added to the back in 2019.

Toile backing

Here's another photo of this quilt hanging up outside.  The colors look so bright in natural light. Link to post on new blog: https://indianaquilter40.com/personal-quilt-show-road-trip/

SUNBONNET SUE

I hand quilted this twin size quilt over the past few weeks for the maker. I believe it is for a new grand-daughter. While I am not a fan of this particular pattern, I really like the bright happy fabrics. It is hand appliqued. Cotton backing and top with poly batting. She was doing the binding herself.

PRESQUE ISLE QUILT SHOW 1991

Loring AFB had a great group of quilters when I was up there in 1990-91, and we had an equally great group of civilian quilters to meet and quilt with from the surrounding communities. Several of us made up a group we called the "Loring Quilters". When Desert Storm started in 1990, we determined that we would plan and make a quilt to give to the base to show our appreciation for our troops. Closing the base was already in the works at that point, so we specified that when the base closed the quilt would be given to the Limestone Library for permanent display. Our quilt "Desert Storm" got alot of great comments at the show, and we were the proud "parents" of it. It was fresh, new, and unfaded in 1991.

Here it is at the Limestone Library in Sept. 2012 - faded, but still a testament to patriotism and teamwork.

The only other picture I got at the show was of my "9 Patch Basketweave", which has long since been used to death and is a ragged mess. I did not own a rotary cutter when I made that quilt and I was simply cutting up small scraps into the right size with scissors (nope, no strip piecing either), and I cut enough for four large quilts, three of which I eventually completed and gave away.

TWO TWIN SIZE STRIP QUILTS

Strip quilts are easy, fun, and a great way to use up leftovers. I did these two twin size quilts in early 2007 for my nephew and niece in Minnesota.

The nice thing about this pattern is that the strips can be any width that you want or that works best for the width of the scraps you are using.  I personally have made them with 2", 4" and 6" strips.

The nephew's quilt was leftover homespuns and dark boyish prints with a frog print border.

The niece's was mostly flowery pinks and purples strips. The border is 4 yellow prints, with one that especially cute - cheerful monkeys.

Both had plain sheets as the backing, and were tied with yarn every 2-3".


They were made to be used and the last time I saw them a couple years ago, they were looking pretty ragged. I'm glad they liked them and used them.

PADUCAH 2017 (Part 4)

I was able to spend two days at the national quilt show in Paducah, KY the last week of April. The quilts were really nice this year, with lots of fresh ideas. We also followed the first wave of rain north as we headed back to Indiana, guess from the news we got out before so many of the roads flooded. There is no particular reason for any of the photos that I took, other than the quilt caught my eye. Remember that there are quilts displayed all over downtown, not just in the "show". If you go, a fun thing to do on Friday night is the Ricky Tims concert - well worth the ticket price.

PADUCAH 2017 (Part 3)

I was able to spend two days at the national quilt show in Paducah, KY the last week of April. The quilts were really nice this year, with lots of fresh ideas. We also followed the first wave of rain north as we headed back to Indiana, guess from the news we got out before so many of the roads flooded. There is no particular reason for any of the photos that I took, other than the quilt caught my eye. Remember that there are quilts displayed all over downtown, not just in the "show". If you go, a fun thing to do on Friday night is the Ricky Tims concert - well worth the ticket price.

PADUCAH 2017 (Part 2)

I was able to spend two days at the national quilt show in Paducah, KY the last week of April. The quilts were really nice this year, with lots of fresh ideas. We also followed the first wave of rain north as we headed back to Indiana, guess from the news we got out before so many of the roads flooded. There is no particular reason for any of the photos that I took, other than the quilt caught my eye. Remember that there are quilts displayed all over downtown, not just in the "show". If you go, a fun thing to do on Friday night is the Ricky Tims concert - well worth the ticket price.