Quilting on the Edge

First Spring Quilting Project: Quilt Mom's Top

My mother has been in Assisted Living since my Dad passed in 2005.  Mom stopped doing her crocheting, knitting, and quilting for the past two years or more, but she was still piecing small tops by hand up until then, while in the facility.  I have gathered about three of these tops and decided that this year, I would begin quilting them.  Here is one of her tops, the pinwheel block.  Blocks are 8 inches square, and this one if 64 by 56 inches.  Today I layered it and pinned it and now it is ready for me to hand quilt while I watch TV or at other quiet moments.  I love what I call "surprise backs", by which I mean an unexpected backing fabric.  So here's what I chose for this quilt:  I think it goes well with the many different scraps and colors in the top, and it will be fun to see when you turn the quilt over.  Maybe someday I can give this to a grandaughter or great granddaughter in memory of my mother. 

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New Quilt Project: Quilting in Strips

I am working on this bed quilt now, and am machine quilting it.  Instead of trying to quilt this 84 by 84 inch quilt on my machine, I pieced it in four sections, and am quilting each section first then joining them into the whole quilt after quilting.  This first photo is two strips completed and joined.  This is half the quilt.  The next photo shows the back of this piece.  You can see the narrow binding strip that joins the two sections.  This creates a small thickened area in the quilt, but not enough to be a problem in my opinion.  I find this an effective way to deal with quilting large pieces. And, it allows you to created interesting backings to create a potentially reversible quilt.  I'll post photos of the completed project when I'm finished.  This is not my original idea, but one I learned along the way from reading periodicals and books. 

New Quilts for Grandsons

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036985&id=1193804029&saved#        Check out this album on my facebook page to see the quilts I made for grandsons' for their birthdays. They looked great on their beds!

Quilt Auction at Pioneer Land La Porte County Fair

 

This quilt will be auctioned at the Pioneer Land of LaPorte County Fair LaPorte Indiana on Saturday July 26th at 1:00 PM.  I made this quilt top for this occasion, it is queen size, and it was quilted over the winter by the quilters at Pioneer Land.  All proceeds go to the Pioneer Land fund, so come on out and support this worthwhile project!

New Home for an old House Quilt

This House Quilt I made back in 1992 has found a new home!  My son and daughter in law are decorating a spare bedroom, and asked if I might have quilt for the bed in that room. I have quilts stored in an upright cabinet made by my husband, so off I went to see what quilts may work for them.  This turned into a wonderful experience, as I uncovered several quilts I had made years ago that I had long forgotten about.  This one is machine pieced and all hand quilted.....there are tree shapes quilted in the sashing.  I remember the joy I had while making this quilt, and now I'm so happy that it will get out of the cupboard and onto a bed for display.  I had a bit of melancholy about letting it go, but then I realized I would have the benefit of seeing this quilt enjoyed while I am living, instead of wondering who might take it when I was no longer here.  I saw other old quilts I've made as I searched the cupboard, and had memories to sift through about each of them as well.  My quilting roots have come out to play, if only for a bit, and one of them is no longer being sent back to wait for a new home.  I've given quilts away from time to time to friends and others, sometimes I hear of someone in need of some comfort, and a quilt I've made comes to mind as perfect for the situation, and off it goes to a new home.  I think that all quilts made are possibly just waiting for the right place to call home.....sometimes we make them well in advance of the arrival of that time, but they remain in their storage space just waiting to be called to the front of the line.  I hope any other quiltmakers reading this post have this experience as I have.  Maybe it's a good plan to sort through your old quilts to refresh your mind about just what IS in that cupboard, and maybe a perfect match between quilt and recipient is just waiting to occur!

Scrap Quilt

Yes, I still make traditional quilts too, and this is the one I just finished.  It's about 80 by 80 inches, machine pieced and hand quilted.  It's for a friend of one of my son's who asks me whenever I see him "when are you going to make a quilt for me?".  So, the next time I see him, and he asks, guess what?  He'll get one!  Enjoyed making it.

Alphabet Quilt for Aidan's First Birthday

Here's what I made for Aidan's first birthday.  He's our third grandson, and his party is tomorrow.  It was so much fun thinking of unusual items to represent each letter of the alphabet.  I made this quilt last winter while we were in Florida, blocks are eight inches square.   I think my favorite blocks are Yarn for "y"  and octopus for "o".  What are yours?  Chris