COLONIAL TIMES 2

COLONIAL TIMES 2:

I pieced the English paper pieced sections from Jan. 2013 to May 2016. It's pleasurable and there was no hurry. I alternated dark and light blues from my scrap bin. The strips of hexagons are appliqued to plain unbleached muslin.  

I hand appliqued the middle 5 strips and machine appliqued the 2 outside strips just to be creative. Here is the link to the discussion on the paper piecing.

Below is a photo of the finished top.  Made of cottons.  Size is 86" x 94".

I like the choice of fabrics and the look of this top.  It does look historical and might end up being a quilt to hand quilt at a demonstration.

DOUBLE WEDDING RING

I hand quilted this double size Double Wedding Ring for a customer (KD of Esperance,NY) with 450 yards of stitches.  The owner wanted it heavily quilted so each square was outlined stitched, the arcs were stitched on both sides, the pieces inside the arcs were quilted, and the large blank area inside the arcs was quilted in interlocking rings.  I used the top of a drinking glass as the pattern for the interlocking rings. The rest of the quilting was eye balled a quarter inch.

The top was what appeared to be 1930's and 1940's cotton fabric with muslin. The batting was some sort of poly mix and the backing was muslin to match the front.  I did not bind the quilt.

Quilted Oct. 1995 - Jan. 1996 in Laurel, MT.

In my scrapbook, this is quilt #156.

ENGLISH PAPER PIECED GRANDMA'S FLOWER GARDEN (or a take along project made from scraps)

I have been gone to a family reunion over the long weekend.  I opted to not take my sewing machine and just take some small project that could be hand done while visiting.  Plus there are many interruptions so I wanted to be able to put down the project and pick it back up as time allowed.  I didn't get much done (sewing wise - had a great time visiting), but here are the "flowers" I did complete.

I pre-cut the fabric into manageable squares and used "re-purposed" paper (already printed on one side) for the stabilizer to sew the fabric too. All the cutting was done at home prior to the trip. I picked a spool of thread that I had on hand and just baste the fabric to the paper as the paper will come out once the "flower" is appliqued to a background block.

"Flower" from front - basted to paper and petals are whip stitched together

Flower block reverse

This is another way to use up the scraps I seem to collect  by just putting two pieces of fabric is a dark corner or box together.  I am pretty sure that my scraps multiply without any help from me :)  When I have enough flowers to make a quilt, I will applique the flowers down to a background fabric and then cut away the back enough so that I can get the paper out after pulling out the basting stitches.

These are easy to make and really good for a project that you just want to take along and do as time allows.  These are large petals (about 3" each) - I have seen them in everything from dime size to about 5" each. Find a pattern that works for your comfort and desired project size.

Fabric hexagons to baste fabric to for making petals.

I like to do English paper piecing - here is a link to a previous project:   https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2014/01/english-paper-piecing.html 

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT (or how to tips for recycling and reusing in your sewing room)

The current movement to recycle, re-use, and re-purpose items is not new to me.  I grew up in a poor home and we just did not have anything to waste so we learned early to re-use items somehow if it was possible. I still follow this premise - I would rather give away or sell something I am no longer using, or somehow re-purpose it.

Fast forward to now........I have a budget for quilting and I rarely go over that monthly amount.  In fact, I usually do not spend it all so that gets saved for something big that I might want for quilting (I usually save it toward my trip to the quilt show in Paducah, KY each spring).  That being said, I do not want to spend money on organizing or storage for my sewing room - I would rather use items I can get free or second hand or already have.  I want to spend money on fabric, patterns, or quilting.

I was given this big old wooden desk if I would just take it away. I should have refinished it first but I was excited to have all the drawers and space to sew. I got it because I saw it sitting outside of a house and asked if I could take it.  The owner was thrilled. It isn't pretty but it sure is functional and other than being scratched up nothing was wrong with it.  My husband says it is from the 1950's.  Lesson: Ask, the worst you can be told is "no".

I have UFOs (unfinished objects) that I have started and for whatever reason end up needing a place to be stored.  I like to keep the pieces, directions, and fabric all together.  For many years, I would save the shoe box when I got new shoes and use those those for UFOs. Gradually I am replacing them with plastic boxes as I find them at yard sales or Goodwill.  I like the plastic boxes better simply because I can see what is in them while they are stacked on a shelf.  I always forgot to mark the shoe  boxes and then I had to look in each one to find the project I was after. Lesson: being frugal is not bad.  Spend the $$ where you really want to spend it, not on things you can get for free or almost free.

Then - real shoe boxes

Now - gradually moving to plastic boxes as I find them second hand

Jars are great for storing needles, thread, buttons, pins, pencils or markers, etc.  I have lots of canning jars to use, but sometimes I find pretty jars for almost nothing.  I found a dozen of these nice looking decorative jars for 50 cents a piece at Goodwill. Tip: check out second hand sources for storage or organizing items - think outside the box.  How can you re-purpose items for your own use??

Peg boards are great items for storing sewing tools. This one was given to me along with all the pegs. It is wonderful for so many items I use frequently while sewing.  The items each have a peg and are ready when I need them.

Rulers, stencils, scissors, rotary cutters all have a home now

When I bought new fancy shower curtain hooks, I re-purposed the old hooks for holding my quilting stencils.  Each hook holds a theme of stencils such as narrow borders, wide borders, blocks by size, all over design, etc.  No more stencils getting bent or sliding behind the fabric.

When a friend got rid of her gardening magazines, I saved her throwing out these cardboard magazine organizers by bringing them home and using for quilting magazines. The binders for my quilting scrap books are from Goodwill at 50 cents to $1 each.

So as any quilter can tell you, there are tiny scraps of fabric and batting that really are too small to use and so end up in the trash.  Where I live the Humane Shelter always needs rags and stuff that can be used for bedding for the animals.  Years ago I started making a bag from left over fleece (sew 3 sides like a pillow case) and keeping it on the cutting table. As I have tiny scraps they go into the bag. When it is 2/3 full I sew the top shut and there is a soft animal bed that is completely washable and machine dryable. The shelter can't get enough of them and any size is appreciated.

Soon to be an animal bed for the Humane Shelter

People donate all kinds of fabric to me for the donation quilts I make.  What I can use is organized in a closet (separate from my own fabric) and what I cannot use is given to others, or the Humane Shelter.

I make it a game to figure out how to re-use or re-purpose items.We throw away very little each week.  Look around your sewing area or house.  How can you re-use items instead of throwing them away?  Don't hoard but do re-purpose items.  Save money and the environment in one swoop.

DRESDEN PLATE AND FLOWER GARDEN QUILT #2

This is the second quilt I have hand quilted for a customer (PB of Brazil, IN) who made this very unusual quilt from a mix of Dresden Plate blocks and Flower Gardens blocks that she had on hand. It is similar to the first one that I did earlier in 2019. You can see the first one in a previous post at https://indianaquilter40.blogspot.com/2019/05/dresden-plate-and-flower-garden-quilt.html

Final stitch went in on June 29, 2019

For the Flower Garden blocks she did an added dimension of appliqueing a block under the flower garden block and between the solid color block. The sashing is only vertical between each strip of 3 blocks. I don't know what the story of the actual blocks are but I am very certain the prints are real 1930's feed sacking and fabrics due to the feel, colors and designs.

Size: 65" x 76".

Materials: 100% cotton top and backing, and a poly/cotton batting.  The batting had enough poly to make it fairly easy to quilt.

Hand quilting: The customer had no real idea what she wanted quilting-wise, and left the choices to me. I debated about an all over design, but finally opted for quilting around and in the blocks themselves as it really made the design of the blocks stand out. There are 164 yards of quilting in this quilt. Instead of a rope design in the sashing like in the first one, for this one I simply did straight lines every 3".  This way the quilts (who are going to her daughters) are not quilted exactly alike - similar but different.

Here it is still in the frame with only one row to quilt.........