What Should I do with Sunbonnet Sue?

In 2014 I shared a few of the quilts that I have from my mother's family.  When I wrote about rescuing quilt blocks earlier this week, it reminded me of this quilt:

My great-grandmother might have made this quilt.  My mom wasn't sure so we will just assume that she did, because my grandmother didn't sew.  Anyway, you can see that this quilt has some damage.  Most of it is towards the top of the quilt:

However, there are some holes as well as some mended/darned areas throughout:

There's a patch on the bottom corner:

My original idea was to take the top apart, get rid of the yellow sashing & border, and make a new quilt.  Now that I've seen the condition of the white fabric with the appliqued Sues, I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to simply cut around the Sues and go from there?  The Sues are in good condition and I'd like to save them.  The way this quilt is now, it will just remain safely tucked away in a tote in my sewing room closet and that seems like a shame.  If I salvage the good parts, it could be a new quilt that could be used or even a few pillows too.  I like the idea of working on something that my great-grandmother made; she died when I was only four so I really don't remember her at all.

So what would YOU do with this quilt?  I'd love to hear some other ideas!

Rescued Blocks

Today was a beautiful spring day, so I took a lovely drive north to Story City and Antiques Iowa, where I have a booth.  I made quick work of re-stocking then meandered through part of the mall to see if there was anything that really needed to come with me.  Naturally, there was.  However, I exercised extreme discipline and only purchased a few select items, including these two quilt blocks:

I love Dresden Plate quilt blocks, but I don't think I could make them myself.  So it was serendipity that I found these; my plan is to make them into pillow covers.  They're 17 inches square, perfect for a 16 inch pillow.  When I was taking these pictures, it reminded me that I already had some other quilt blocks I'd rescued last summer at the Valley Junction Antiques Jamboree; there were 12 of them sold as a lot and some of the prints were so pretty that I couldn't resist.  Here are a few of them:

These blocks are hand-stitched.  There is a variety of fabrics, as you can see--I think some are feed sacks and some from old shirts; I don't think this quilter went to JoAnn's and bought yardage, it seems apparent to me that this is the real deal from back when most quilts were made from old clothes and other fabric scraps. And when I see quilt blocks for sale, I feel a little sad, because I always feel certain that the quilter never got the chance to finish the quilt.  Obviously, it's my job to finish it for her.   I think I can get these 12 blocks made into quilt over the summer....

And speaking of rescues, my sewing machine is back where it belongs today.   In February, I took it in for service because the needle position was stuck on the left side.  That issue was fixed the same day.  When I brought it home, thread was getting stuck in the bobbin like nobody's business...so back to the shop. Because sewing machine repair places guarantee their work with a 90-day warranty.  Apparently that also means that "warranty work" might take nearly 90 days.  And here's the kicker: now it only sews a straight stitch!  BUT, that's okay, because that's all I need to make a quilt, right?  And also because I'm not going to let it out of the house again!

Happy stitching!

Summer Quilts

I've spent a fair amount of time working to improve my sewing/quilting skills this summer.  As I've I mentioned, I definitely do not have a natural aptitude for sewing....but I am happy to say that with practice, I am improving!  Here are a few shots of finished quilts that I've completed since my quilting obsession commenced this spring:

 This is a baby quilt, for a very dear friend of mine who will be giving birth any minute now to her first baby!  I used a combination of new fabric and recycled pillowcases for the patterned strips. 

My little Buzz Lightyear requested a Toy Story quilt, so of course he got one.  I decided to be brave and do half-square triangles, using Jeni Baker's technique, which works great.   The back of this one is plain blue flannel and I didn't use any batting in this quilt because my little man is very warm-blooded.  I quilted this on my "new" vintage 1958 Singer machine that was my birthday present to myself. 

And last but not least, here's a shot of the first quilt I set out to make.  I started and finished it back in May.  It's far from perfect, but it's been getting used daily and it's holding together so I'm considering that quilting success!

This one is bigger than the other two, and I quilted it on my little Mini-Ultra.  It's backed with an vintage mint-green sheet that belonged to my grandparents, so it is super-soft and snuggly.  I used a random assortment of fabrics, some that I had on hand, some other cheap fabrics, and one Old Navy dress from 2005(it's the white flower on aqua background).  Despite the imperfections, I felt proud of myself for achieving a goal I'd set for myself and doing it all by myself!  Quilting is hard work, but it's fun, fun, fun!

And for those who might wonder: no, I didn't use patterns for these quilts.  I just made them up and sewed them.  Is that designing?

I have two more quilts + backs neatly folded, just waiting to be quilted and bound someday.  I've found sewing to be quite addictive and sometimes I have to force myself to quit quilting and go back to work making books and collages.  My only complaint is that I have lots of fabric I'm dying to play with and not nearly enough time. 

A Whole New Nancy!

I've been playing with fabric a lot these days.  Especially Nancy Drew fabric, once I discovered there was such a thing.  You can imagine my excitement. 

A couple of months ago I decided I was going to teach myself to quilt.  The problem with this is that quilting is, of course, in essence, sewing--which has never been a talent of mine.  But I was determined.  I love quilts.  Love them.  And for a very long time, I have wanted to make them. 

I started small, with a little table-topper about the size of a large placemat.  I sewed the whole thing by hand.  It turned out pretty good, as long as you just look at the front.  Then I started making blocks for a nine-patch.  Really BIG nine patch blocks.  I quickly realized that piecing them by hand would take me the rest of my life.  I am not that patient.  Luckily, I bought an adorable used sewing machine from a friend.  A pale blue Kenmore Mini Ultra.  Which is surely not intended for sewing big quilts, but I've been using it for just that purpose.  The Nancy quilt was fairly easy to quilt, since it is a much more manageable size(31 inches wide by 39 inches long). 

I suspected that fabric was probably just as addictive, if not more so, than paper, and it turns out I was right about this.  I admit that I get overwhelmed by all the choices available.  The Nancy quilt was easier to design because I used the charm pack (by Moda Fabrics) to design it so it saved me lots of time and effort as far as rotary cutting.  It was rather like putting a puzzle together.  I would also like to mention that I bought my Nancy fabric from Fat Quarter Shop and was totally impressed with the quick shipping: I ordered it on a Tuesday afternoon and it arrived in my mailbox Thursday morning.  I will definitely order from them again!  You can check out their sweet selection of fabric at: www.FatQuarterShop.com. 

I have some Nancy fabric left over and I'm already having fun playing with those leftovers.  If my experiments turn out as I hope, I'll share.  If not, I'll just order more fabric! 

The Nancy quilt will get put to use as part of my show display, so if you're a craft-show shopper in Des Moines, you can come visit Nancy and I in person, if you like.  We'd love to see you.