Farewell 2016

Once again I remember I have a blog.

I haven't shared any quilts for a long time...because I haven't made too many recently!  I made two quilts this year; rather, I finished one that I started in 2015 and I made just one quilt from start to finish in 2016.  They both stayed in my sewing room closet for a few months.  And then....I took them to be quilted on a real longarm quilting machine.

What a difference that longarm makes!

The first one is the one I started in 2015 and then finished this spring. It is my third (and final?) black and white quilt.   Obviously I added in a bit of red on this one and love how it looks.  This has long been one of my favorite color combinations.

I don't have the measurements for this one handy...it's what I like to call a "large throw" size.  I sized it so it would be just the right size for me.  I'm very average height, about five foot six, so it's approximately that long.  Here's a closeup of the quilting:

So much better than plain old straight-line quilting!

Next up, the Wild Horses quilt.  Named after one of my favorite songs.  Yes, sometimes quilts need names. Some of you may recognize those Cotton + Steel prints, designed by the fabulous Melody Miller (see my post about my typewriter quilt from 2013).

Doesn't that look lovely?  Serendipity gave me the ideal craft-show spot to display a quilt earlier this month at Lucky Star Market in Ames.  We were in a new location this year (ISU Research Park) and I got a fabulous booth location!  As luck would have it, I had some quilts to sell....here's a closeup of the quilting:

My photos may not do the quilting justice, but my fellow quilters will understand the huge difference between longarm quilting and quilting it on a regular sewing machine.  I'm hooked.  I'm hoping to make more quilts in the new year!  And that's as close to a resolution as I am going to get.

Thanks for following along with my sporadic posts.  For those of you I have met in person at markets & events, thank you for your support of my little handmade business.  Online readers and etsy customers, many thanks to you as well.  I look forward to more handmade projects and vintage finds in the new year.  In light of many events that have occurred in 2016, I find it more important than ever to carve out a happy place for oneself amidst all the bad stuff in the "real world."  May you find your happiness in 2017.

Quilts of All Sizes.

I love working on a big quilt top, but sometimes I need a break in the middle of a long-term project.  A couple of weeks ago I needed a break from making quilt blocks--so I made a couple of mini-quilts.  (Makes no sense, now does it?)  I've been waiting and waiting to make something with this pink typewriter fabric (from Melody Miller's Ruby Star line, 2012), which is of course so very different from the aqua typewriter fabric I've used before...so I whipped up this mini quilt.

You might be asking yourself "what's so fun about a mini-quilt?"  In fact, a very good friend of mine, who is quite the crafty gal herself, told me that she thought a little quilt to hang on the wall was about the silliest thing she'd ever heard of.  (And she hadn't heard of it before I explained to her what it is I was making during our in-depth discussion of sewing, quilting, crafting, etc.) 

So here's the answer to that burning question--what's so fun about a mini-quilt?
1.  They are quick to make.  Almost-instant gratification.
2.  Things that are small tend to be cute. 
3.  Great way to try new fabric without a long-term commitment.  I admit, I have struggled with commitment in the past. 
4. Perfect for experimenting with design & technique. 
5. A great way to use up scraps. 

And....mini quilts are also a good excuse to cut into fabric that you buy for absolutely no other reason than you simply could not resist it.  Case in point:

I really, really, really loved this sewing-machine print fabric. (I found it at Stash Modern Fabric on etsy; she has an awesome selection!)  And I was dying to sew with it.  True story: my 5-year-old son was even excited when he saw the fabric and immediately said, "We gotta make a quilt out of that!"  Yep, that's my boy!  He's learned to like fabric the way I've learned to like Disney Jr. 

I had some fun experimenting with colors I don't normally use (hello mint green and purple!) and continuing my pursuit of that ever-elusive scant quarter-inch seam allowance (a piecing foot for my machine sure helps!). 

There are getting to be quite a few quilts around the house, so these two minis are listed on my etsy shop.  Another one will be going out the door this weekend: to my mother for her birthday.  She always tells me not to spend any money on her, but one year I actually did that and got her nothing for her birthday and believe me, I won't do that again.  So, she is a getting a scrappy improve quilt made up of mostly leftovers from the very first quilt I made, last spring.  It looks like this:

 
She likes green so this will work for her.  And I will claim that I didn't buy any new fabric for the quilt so she won't suffer from motherly guilt.  Everybody's happy.  And I have room for another quilt in the house, which is good. 

Patchwork, Then & Now.

You may have noticed that I've gotten pretty interested in quilts recently.  I have always loved them and wanted to make them for such a long time.  I am so glad I decided to try.  I am having a wonderful time practicing and improving my skills with each project.  Because as all Pride & Prejudice fans know, the only way to become truly proficient at something is to practice!  (Which character said that?  If you know, leave a comment!)

My interest in quilts stems from the quilts in my family that I have seen and used over the years.  My mom has said more than once that I must get my crafty "talent" from my father since she does not craft in any way, shape, or form, and has never been interested in learning how to do crafty stuff.  I was thinking about this and realized that while I am like my dad in many ways and have certainly inherited several things from him, the urge to make stuff comes from other members of my family. 

Both of my great-grandmothers could and did sew and make quilts.  Of course, this was very common for women long ago--they made quilts out of necessity and to make good use of clothing that had been outgrown or served its purpose as a garment.  Rather than waste the fabric, they cut it up and make quilts.  They made quilts out of feed sacks.  Waste not, want not. 

Last year, when I decided that I was going to learn how to make quilts despite my fear of the sewing machine, my initial intention was to repurpose old clothes and make quilts.  I thought I could make quilts without spending much money. 

Ha. Ha. Ha. 

I have a pretty good hunch that my great-grandmothers would turn over in their graves if they knew how much money I've spent on fabric in the last six months, or how much a yard of "designer" fabric costs these days.  Keep in mind, of course, that both of my great-grandmothers were born before 1900.  I knew only one of these ladies, and she died when I was four so I don't remember much about her.  I would have loved the opportunity to know these women.  Through their quilts, though, I feel like I do know them a little. 

I'm lucky to have quilts made so long ago by women in my family.  My grandma was an only child so in addition to her mother's things, we also have several quilts that we know or think her two sisters made.  While I don't remember my great-grandmother, I did have a chance to spend some time with her sisters.  I loved visiting their farm with my grandparents when I was a kid.  They had a big cast-iron stove and I loved to add corn cobs to the fire.  Everything in their house was as neat as a pin.  Everything in their house was also old-fashioned.  Just old, really--but it all looked nice and new because they had taken very good care of it and were excellent housekeepers, just as my grandmother was.  I did not inherit that gene!

So, I thought it would be fun to show a quilt that I just finished up alongside a vintage one made by one of my relatives, either my great-grandmother or her sisters.  My mom isn't for sure as to who made this one and anyone else who might know is, of course, deceased. 

Here's my quilt:

 The back of it is nice and bright.  I might actually like the back even better. 

   
 The blocks in this quilt were based on a pattern in the book Modern Blocks: 99 Quilt Blocks from your Favorite Designers.    (Unfortunately I forgot to jot down the name of this block's designer, but you'll find it in the book!)  I modified (simplified) the block just a bit.   I wanted a few bold blocks "floating" in lots of solid color.  After working with all that plain gray fabric, I was ready for something colorful again, so that's why the quilt back is the way it is. 

Now, here's a long-ago quilt, much more traditional in design than mine:

 Obviously this is a Nine-Patch.  Notice that the binding looks a bit out-of-place; that's because it was added at a later date; my mom says that my grandmother, who did not sew, hired someone to replace the binding when it got worn.  The back of the quilt looks like this:

My mom says that my grandparents used this quilt a lot.  It is in good shape but definitely shows some wear.  And it is so, so soft!  I would love to snuggle up with it but I don't for fear of tearing it.  Or something getting spilled on it, which is a frequent occurrence in our home.  But I do have it displayed on my quilt rack so I can look at it. 

I don't know the exact age of this quilt, but I'd guess it was made in the 40s or 50s.  If my mom can remember it from her childhood, it is at least that old.  It might even be a bit older.  I would love to know what pieces of clothing were cut up to make this quilt.  Work shirts?  Feed sacks?  Probably both, and much more.  There's history here, I just wish I knew more about it! 

I have more quilts to share in the coming weeks, so check back!  It's been fun to get them out and ask my mom what she knows about them.  We even discovered a "mystery quilt" that I will share in hopes of learning a little more about the pattern.