Sewing on the road

Al and I are on our way to my brother's farm in the U.P. of Michigan. They called us to say they needed help with the harvest...which means they've canned all they are able to and would like us to haul tomatoes and other stuff back home. I usually can tomatoes into sauce each year because my husband (being Italian) requests spagetti about once a week. We go through a LOT of sauce!

So yesterday I dug through my 30's for scraps to for the tumbling blocks quilt so that I could work on it as we travel.

I have quite a few 30's reproductions and originals, that I've collected over 20 years or so. I'm trying to use up all the small pieces in this quilt. And if I need some color that isn't a scrap, I'm cutting one. 

Having these papers cut and pinned to fabric makes basting so much quicker. I prepped about 25 of these diamonds then grabbed a stack of scraps so that I'm not bored in the evening up there.

We are on the road, I'm sewing, he's driving...both of us doing what we love best!

 

Working on 3 or 4 quilts at once

It's no surprise to anyone that knows me that I'm working on multiple quilts. I get bored VERY easily. I love to spend a little time on each quilt every day.

I'm currently working on piecing my Pyramid quilt, basting a quilt for a grandniece, hand quilting on Lisa's quilt and just finishing up a vintage looking quilt that uses old fabrics.

This is Lisa's. It's all hand pieced (epp). It took me over 7 years to piece so I felt it needed to be hand quilted. ****** Below are some of my vintage fabrics that were cut up for the vintage-style quilt. I wanted all "older" fabrics so that I would get a true vintage feel.

This would be cute done with all 30's reproductions or all civil wars style fabrics, or anything bright...but I think using a variety of old fabrics gives it an olf look. It looks like many that I see in antique stores. Anyways, if you'd like to stitch one up, this is what I did: Cut: (240) 4" sqs from assorted fabrics (16) 3-1/2" x 18" from solid blue for vertical sashing (15) 3-1/2" x 14-1/2" from solid blue for horizontal sashing (20) 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" red print for cornerstones Layout 20 squares in a 4x5 grid. Sew 4 squares per row...5 rows per block. Make 12 blocks. Sash blocks using blue strips and red cornerstones. Quilt will finish at 65"x 71-1/2"

These blocks were easier to put together if they were laid out next to my machine. I could have just randomly grabbed pieces but I wanted to alternate darker and lighter or busier with plainer pieces. It didnt always work out that way but I'm happy enough with the results.

Blue and White Quilt Top

Check off another quilt top! 

Im finally done with this blue and white quilt top after...oh...maybe 10 years? It's going onto a hanger with the rest of my unquilted tops, mainly because I haven't decided how to quilt it (hand, domestic or longarmer) and I haven't found the batting or backing. It's not a rush...I have PLENTY more UFOs to work on. 

This one started YEARS ago as a class sample. I was teaching from a book with lots of jelly roll quilts. I had a finished sampler quilt to show the class but I started this solid one to explain cutting and piecing. The center star and some of the surrounding stars were taught in the class along with the 12" corner blocks in the next round. They were never put together...just stuffed in a box for 10 years. I'm just thrilled to have finally finished this much of it. It's 80"square. 

I love two color quilts and am so happy to have one. They feel vintage to me. I suppose that means I should hand quilt it. Yup...maybe.

Start of a vintage style quilt

Here I go again....off on a tangent! I'm blaming my daughter for this... She wanted to borrow som shirting pieces and as I was digging through the box I found two small 9 patches. These were just small pretty scraps that I put together YEARS ago for no real reason than that I thought they looked nice together. They were then packed away and forgotten.

Well, once I found them I just couldn't stop thinking that they would be great in a vintage type quilt. Digging through my old quilt magazines, I came across a perfect pattern... The double 9 patch or Irish chain.

The pink is old....from the 80s. It was at the bottom of my solids tote and I'm crossing my fingers that it will be enough to do a twin size quilt.  The scraps for the small 9 patches are getting cut from shirts, old blocks (very old!) and old calicoes. These blocks above are very vintage.... If they were salvageable I would use them as is in a quilt but they have stains and holes. 

This star quilt top was a mess....puckered...torn...stained ....so again CHOP, CHOP!

These pieces were cut from those old blocks... They look so much neater.

I'm stitching them inti 3" 9-patches and not worrying if they are a little wonky. They'll just look that much more vintage :)

Seven Double 9-Patch blocks are done...I need at least 25 but hoping to get 32 made. I'll be alternating with the pink (hopefully!).  There won't be a border on this quilt unless I decide on a very small one. Got to keep it looking old.