Nesting In The 21st Century

Punkin' Quilt Time

I pulled out some more Autumn/Halloween this week.  This is my favorite Autumn quilt.  I especially like the way it is quilted...pumpkins and vines all over it.  It is like a huge pumpkin patch draped over the couch. 

I made it a few seasons ago and I really enjoy putting it out each year.  The pumpkins were simple to piece and the other blocks are just four squares.  I used lots of homespuns and plaid flannels and even some cottons for the blocks.  It didn't really matter to me as long as the colors were right.  I didn't want it to be at all Halloween-y so that I could use it all through the Fall rather than just in October which I think was a good idea.  I usually have it out through Thanksgiving. 

Sometimes I make things so holiday specific that I don't get to enjoy them as much as I would like.  I am trying to make things which can be used for a whole season and not just one month.  I have a pattern for a watermelon quilt which I would like to make to use all next summer.  I'll post some photos of the pattern and fabric stack once I get it all together.  Here I am making watermelons in September and I recall that I made the pumpkins in January.  I guess it is best to make things when the inspiration hits....whenever that may be.

Sunbonnet Sue

This is a fun Thrift Thursday for me.  As I have said before, My Mother is a world class thrifter.  It is amazing what she finds and at what price.  It is like the thrifting gods are always smiling down on her.  Her latest find is this sunbonnet sue quilt.  Hand appliqued and quilted.  It is in perfect condition. 

The details on the little girls are hand stitched as well.  I love that it is stitched on the applique and then the details (like the bow on the back of the hat) are stitched on the background.  The fabrics on the little girls are adorable.

The lady at the thrift shop said it was purchased at a craft show about 35 years ago.  I don't care if it was made last week it is so well made.  I do wonder whether it was a kit of some kind. 

Now something that makes my Mother a fantastic thrifter is that she can find super duper things at the most amazing prices.  This quilt was under $100.  I couldn't buy a mass produced quilt at a department store for that.  (Not that I would.) 

I don't want anyone to think I am gloating (okay....much) but I am so darn proud of my Mom.  She amazes me with what she can find.  I think that part of it is that she has been thrifting her whole adult life.  In fact when my parents were first married it was out of necessity rather than fun.  They had little money and this is how she furnished her home.  It became a habit and a way of life for her.  She loves the hunt.  Her friends know that if they have a particular collection or something unique they would like to find she is the one to ask.  It is not unusual to get a cell phone call from her asking if I would like this or that.

Yesterday she took the boys with her.  They love to go and see what she can find.  My  middle son brought home a Pokemon book and the oldest a wonderful old train engine.  It is now in a place of distinction on his dresser.  I can only hope that the beauty of something handmade and vintage will rub off on them.

Applique Garden

Yesterday I pulled out this hydrangea quilt I made a few years ago.  I really loved the pattern when I saw it.  It is called Stars In The Garden  and is from Piece O' Cake Designs. It is actually part of a much larger quilt each block is 20" x 20" and the whole quilt is 70" x 90".  I fell in love with this block but was really nervous about trying to make it...I didn't know how to applique at all.  Eventually the love of the quilt over road the fear and I set out to learn how to hand and reverse applique so I could make it.  It did help that this pattern has super directions, even for a beginner like me.  I sat in the car pool lane waiting for my preschooler stitching each of the blossoms on.  I thought it might take forever before I started but actually it took just a couple of months.

I like this not only for the design but because it reminds me  that sometimes its best to just jump right in...especially when doing things which are creative.  It is funny how often fear of tackling something new stops us.  It is just fabric (or mosaic tile or paper or whatever) for goodness sake.  I guess I could have started with something small and safe, sort of a "starter project" but somehow working on a design that I really loved made doing it easier.  Once I sewed that background together and started stitching all the fear went away and didn't come back.  It isn't perfect...not even close.  But I love it because it represents having fear and going ahead anyway.  I have a couple of projects on the back burner that I would like to try but am hesitating because it is new territory.  I thought that hanging this would encourage me to move forward.

Independence Day Quilt

This is a scrap as you go type quilt which I have been working on since before my littlest was born.  (Okay, 4 years.)  The idea of a quilt-as-you-go sounded pretty good.  Once it was done, it was done.  But it didn't turn out to be as fun as I anticipated.  It is endless hand stitching.  Normally I really enjoy hand sewing.  Except when it is in endless ribbons of blue. Daunting isn't it?

I really like this photo of the quilt because it really shows off the highway of stitching I have done and still need to do.  This lazy 4th of July weekend is just the time to tackle it.

I am determined that this will be the year I finish this quilt.  It originally called for quilt-as-you-go borders but those are not going to happen.  Instead it is bind and finis!  Then I will display this little pain in the patootie for the rest of the summer.  In fact I may display it all the way through Halloween. 

I should really start finishing up these projects that have been sitting around gathering dust.  The thanksgiving cross stitch, the garden quilt, the floral table runner, the pumpkin quilt, etc. etc.   It is so fun to start a new project but for some reason some just stall somewhere along the line. Okay, I am pretty sure that resolutions are for New Year's Eve but I don't think I can wait that long.  Perhaps a good kick start on the ones I like the best and either the garbage or a giveaway for the rest. 

Summer Quilt

This is a quilt I named Summer.  It really only has four colors in it; yellow, orange, pink and red.  It is the largest quilt I have ever made and I love to drape it over the creme chair in the family room.

The whole quilt is made from half square triangles.  I cut loads of them in the orange and yellow and put the triangles in separate paper bags.  Then I randomly pulled out the two colors and sewed them together.  It didn't matter to me what shade of yellow ended up with what shade of orange.  In fact if you look closely most don't match at all.  I just wanted  one of the colors lighter and one darker although I didn't even worry too much about that.

I have to say it really helped to have a large design wall when it was time to lay this out.  I did it in sections because the quilt was so darn big there was no other way to comfortably handle the sections.

The border is done the same way as the center but with reds and pinks.  I really like the way the denser colors on the outside hold in the pattern in the center.

This is a close up of the block itself.  Just half square triangles in two colors.  The only difference in the border was that the blocks were layed out differently.

I always make sure to label my quilts.  When I first started quilting I was sure that because each quilt took me such a long time and that I really "lived" the quilt while I was making it that I would certainly remember when and why I made it.  Not even close.  I regret not labeling some of my early quilts so I could remember what year I made them in!  This little sun was from a  Bernina embroidery card by Mary Engelbriet and it seemed to capture the feeling of this quilt.  I named it Summer because of the backing batik fabric which looked like a sun pattern to me.

The quilting itself is flames.  What else!  I wanted an allover pattern rather than something which would separate each block.  I wish I could say I quilted it myself but alas no.  I had is quilted on a long arm at The Flying Needle which isn't in business anymore, unfortunately.

The pattern for the quilt is in a book called Spectacular Scraps by Judy Hooworth and Margaret Rolfe. 

This is the Winter version.  Same star batik for the backing but this time it looks like snowflakes.  The colorway I used for this one was a lot narrower; blue, green and purple.  Oddly I use this most of the time in the summer as a table covering.  It looks great with white dishes.