My First One Block Wonder

I bought this fabric almost 10 years ago thinking I would make a One Block Wonder (OBW), but I didn't buy enough so it has been patiently waiting in my stash for me to do something with it.  

A friend of mine was teaching the OBW in an online quilt group I help moderate so I decided to see what I could do with it.  I didn't have enough repeats of the fabric to make a very big quilt so I set out to do what I could.  I liked the way the blocks were looking.  With only 33 blocks I was still only going to have enough for a wall-hanging, though, and I wasn't sure I wanted that to happen.

Since you need six repeats to cut out enough triangles for hexagons, and I only had three repeats left,  I decided to play.  I made half-hexagons with some of the triangles and put them together .....

..... and I just cut out whatever triangles I could using the leftover scraps.  I mixed those up into half-hexies.

It was fun to really play and see what kind of layout I could come up with.  It went from this .....

..... to this .....

..... and once I got the borders on it looked like this.

It's still not very big but definitely big enough for a fun baby quilt.   A trip to my LQS ended with the perfect backing fabric.

I'm going to go a little outside the box on this one and do some big stitch quilting with Perle Cotton.   It's all basted and ready to go.  I'll keep you posted!

Linking up with Tish's Adventures in Wonderland

The Quilts of Christmas Past

I can't believe I haven't blogged in almost three weeks. Well, I guess I can, really.  This has been a crazy-busy December!  I have barely been in my sewing room at all. Since I don't have anything new to share I thought I'd show some of the Christmas quilts I made in the past.  

This one is probably my favorite.  I made it in 2007 from blocks I received in a quilt guild row-robin.  Each person in the group made a row using the Christmas fabric I had provided.  When I got it back I didn't love it.  Naturally, there was only one thing to do - take it apart and put it back together in a different layout.  It took a lot of imagination to come up with this plan, and I had to add the piano key border make it more balanced.  It's about 47" by 57".  I call it "Christmas Hodge-Podge" and it's the perfect snuggle quilt!

In 2004 some friends and I exchanged 5" squares of Christmas fabrics and I used mine to make this 33" by 34" Tumblers quilt.  (There I go again - adding appliquéd holly and stars in the border to make it my own!) 

I love how it looks draped over the chair next to the chair with my snuggle quilt!

I started this one at a retreat in 2001.  I had to spruce up the negative space with some appliquéd and embroidered poinsettias. You know I can't just make a pattern the way someone else says I should!  This quilt is about 44" square.....

..... and makes a great table topper!

When my son was setting up his own home in 2002 I made a tree skirt using a pattern from American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine for him.  

I also made him this little snowman wall-hanging from a McCalls Quilting Magazine pattern.  It was one of the few times I worked with homespuns, and I really like how it turned out. 

The third thing I made for him is this 28"  by 43" wall-hanging called "Cranberry Township" from Quiltmaker Magazine.  Like all the quilts above it's hand-quilted! 

About the time he was turning 5 years old our grandson, Gavin, asked me to make a quilt for his stuffed kitty.  He specifically asked for candy cane fabric.  Lo and behold I had some in my stash!  This little quilt is only 14" square .....

..... and just the right size!

In 2008 when our grandson, Aidan, needed a Christmas stocking, I found the perfect pattern in the 2002 issue of Quilt It For Christmas. I used some lame' fabrics in Christmas colors along with a few cotton prints and appliquéd his name and some gold stars to make it extra special.

I really hope you've enjoyed this Christmas Show and Tell.  I sure had fun putting it together!

Old Wedding Quilt - Update

After setting aside the Old Wedding Quilt for a while I've been excited to be back to work on it.  I don't think any of the blocks from the original quilt were the same size, neither were the sashing strips or cornerstones.   That made it interesting (and a real challenge!) to put it all back together and get it to be square.  In order to make it lay flat I cut and marked the backing and batting and made the reconstructed top fit within those lines, then used a lot of pins to baste.  The plan is to quilt it into submission!

I've  tried to maintain as much of this quilt's character as possible.  It was originally hand pieced using a heavy thread I haven't been able to identify and quilted with what looks like crochet thread.   I used hand quilting thread to piece it, and I'm using a medium weight Perle cotton to hand quilt it.  

I'm making steady progress every day and loving every minute.  

It won't be long now, and I'll be putting on the finishing touches.  As long as this is taking it is still a labor of love.  

When it's done I'll tell you a little about the love story behind the quilt!

Up Next - - - A Real Challenge

I do love a challenge.   My friend's parents received this quilt as a wedding gift (I think) sometime in the 1960's (I believe.)  I need to find out a little more about the history, but it was obviously a much loved quilt. 

It was definitely much used.

 And is much worn!

I know for sure that orange and turquoise were popular colors to use in quilts in the 1960's.  I'm not so sure about brown.  I need to look through some quilt encyclopedias for the name of this block.  I don't think I've seen it before.  

The owners want to keep it for sentimental reasons, but it's in pretty rough shape.  Pattie said I can do whatever I want, so I'm thinking of using the best parts of it to make a wall hanging.  Step one is to deconstruct.

The fabric is very fragile.  It ripped when I was simply spreading it out to get a photo.  

  

 I'll need to come up with a way to protect it from further damage once it's reconstructed, but I don't want to change it so much that it's no longer the same quilt.   I'm nervous but excited about this project.  Aren't you glad you get to watch?

Playing

I've played with art quilts a little, usually because of a challenge or something, and I'm always putting my own twist on a quilt when I use a pattern, but this week I decided to try something completely different.  I was inspired by a friend in a Facebook Art Quilt group when she made a small wallhanging with a woven background.   I wanted a raw edge look so I cut a piece of batting, tore some strips from neutrals, and started.

This is what my sewing room looks like after I've pulled neutrals and played a while.

So far so good......  

......but after sleeping on it I decided I really did not like that pinkish strip across the middle.  

Ahhhhh, that's much better!

It needed a little pop.

I couldn't think where to go next, but my grandson Gavin suggested that  I add my favorite flowers somewhere.  Poppies!  How could I go wrong with poppies?
Naturally, my first thought was to appliqué them, but I woke up during the night thinking of the fabric I had left from my "Poppies-A-Plenty" quilt which I shared in this post.

I've never done broderie perse before, but now is the time to try new things, right?  So I cut out some poppies.

This is what it looks like tonight.  A good start I'd say.  

I'm feeling pretty pleased so far.  The little green strip I added looks good.  I'm waiting for the next wave of inspiration to hit.  Who knows where it will go from here.....

November's Goal Met! -- "Otherness"

 I have to say this was a fun goal to work on, and I'm glad I finished it.  It was outside my comfort zone, but something I want to do more of.  The little art quilt I started for my sister last April has been pinned and basted for a long time.  I had tried to do a little free motion quilting on it and hated it so much I ripped it all out and threw it into a pile of "stuff!"

Starting over, I decided to take it one section at a time and see what happens.

Straight-line quilting gets a little boring, but it sure looks good!

Once I had the binding on it still needed a little something so I dug out the BeJeweler I bought and never used.  (I have tons of tools, notions, and rulers that have yet to be removed from their original packaging.  I bet other quilters never do that!)

That was fun!  It's a good thing I'm not a sweatshirt gal or I might have been up all night BeJewelling away.

I did "just enough" to give it a little pizzazz.  

I call it "Otherness" which is a word I came across in a novel and loved.  It perfectly fits my sister.  I can't wait to see this hanging in her home. 

I am linking up with the ALYoF November Finishes Party at Fiber of All Sorts.   My original goal was #66 and my finish is #41.