Category: Quilts

A Quilt for Me

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Every single quilt I have ever made has been given away as a gift, mostly to expectant moms or to my own daughter.

This time, I am keeping a quilt for me. It is to hang in our bedroom once Dan nails a short board to our wall.

The quilt started as a cloth calendar that I purchased because I loved the picture.

Not needing a calendar of 1978, I cut the calendar section off and went about saving the picture. Two borders that highlighted the blue and orange color scheme of the picture, which happens to be the color scheme of our bedroom, were added.

Then, I hand quilted around the trees, clouds and shrubs. I learned that a good needle and a good leather thimble are worth their weight in gold.

Finally, I added a black border to make it blend in with the rest of the pictures hanging on our walls. The end result looks like this.

I sewed velcro on the back of the quilt as that is how the quilt will be adhered to the board on the bedroom wall.

 

Though Dan has never been a fan of the bright orange accents I like to add around our bedroom, he does like this quilt, which is a good thing because I’m giddy to see it hanging in our bedroom.

Beginnings of a Dresden Plate Quilt

Marie Haigh3 Comments

I love to quilt, but I hate to cut the fabric all up only to have to piece it all back together again. Plus, I have learned that I hate being relegated to my sewing room. I would rather be hanging out with my daughter, husband and dog.

So, when I ran across Dresden plates already pieced together, I bought them.

The fabrics are kitschy and fun.

Yet, the center fabric looked boring. So, I removed it.

From my stash, I found some fabric labeled “River Qui” on it. Though it doesn’t necessarily match the transportation theme of the Dresden plate, it is still fun.

Quilting while Sick

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Elly was sick the week before her birthday party. Two days after her birthday party, she was sick again. This time, I got sick with her. Misery does love company.

No progress has been made on my Fearless February project. I’m too sick to mount the energy required for it.

Instead I put together a mini quilt.

The winter picture is from an old 1978 calendar.

To turn it into a quilt, I just cut the picture out, tossed the calendar section in the trash and added two borders.

The fabrics were picked out from the huge selection at Generations Quilt Shop. Gosh, I love that store. The fabric is divided by color so it’s like walking into a rainbow. But the main reason I love the store is because they always have just what I want. I have never walked out empty handed.

But back to the quilt, I used fusible quilt batting to secure the quilt sandwich together. Then, I stitched in the ditch along the border seams. The rest of the quilting will be done by hand.

While watching the now memorized movie of Tinkerbell and Periwinkle, otherwise known as the Secret of the Wings, I squeeze in a little hand quilting while listening to Elly as she excitedly tells me what is going to happen before it does.

Repairing a Quilt by Hand

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(Machine embroidered quilt label purchased from CannStitch)

As mentioned in my last post, the Sue Bonnet quilt has been repaired with two days to spare. To do so, the entire top row of Sue Bonnet girls was cut off. Out of the 4 girls, only two could be saved. The saved appliques now adorn a matching pillow.

Rather than rip out all the quilting stitches, I cut around the Sue Bonnet appliques, leaving the batting and backing attached. Then, I bound the edges with bias tape. Finally, I attached the Sue Bonnet mini quilts to a remnant of machine quilted fabric with a simple running stitch. For good measure, I quilted around the Sue Bonnets dresses to make sure the appliques stayed in place.

The pillow was made in the regular fashion though I did insert a zipper first. I am after all giving this to a 3-year-old who will almost certainly get it dirty. Being able to just wash the pillow cover will make my job easier in the laundry room.

The quilt was much easier to fix. The hardest part was picking out a fabric to bind the edges with. At first, I was going to use yellow, but I couldn’t get an exact match to the original yellow. In the end, I chose a vintage looking fabric that complemented the flowery fabrics used in the doll’s dresses. The fabric is also similar to the pillow fabric without it being too matchy matchy.

Cutting the top line of Sue Bonnet girls did make the quilt too short for Elly’s twin size bed, but I’m OK with that.

The original quilting did require a touch up here and there where the stitches had fallen out. Reworking the stitches reminded me how much I enjoy quilting by hand. I already have my next 3 quilts planned in my head.

A Tradition Made

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Without planning it, I have started a tradition that I’m not entirely sure I can continue.

It seems that I have made Elly a quilt or a blanket for every year of her life plus an extra year.

The quilt I made for her birth

The blanket I knit for her 1st birthday

Look at that chub! I miss it.

The quilt I made for her 2nd birthday.

And now the quilt I repaired for her 3rd birthday.

The odds are good that she will get yet another quilt for her 4th birthday, since I have one in the works for her.

It should be mentioned that she doesn’t lack for quilts and blankets. Her great aunt hand stitched her a Winnie the Pooh quilt for her birth. Her Gram has crocheted her 4 blankets plus made her 1 quilt. I have actually put away all the store-bought blanket I received at my baby shower, since handmade blankets are far superior in my book.

A Broken Quilt

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My aunt may have more faith in my sewing skills than I do.

At Christmas time, she gifted me a vintage quilt. I love it.

It is the Sunbonnet Sue pattern. The entire quilt from applique to embroidery to quilting to binding was done by hand. The tiny stitches are amazing; it must have taken quite a while to finish.

Yet, there is a fault with it. The quilt looks like it has been mauled by a mouse or another small animal.

The entire top right hand corner has quite a few holes. Even if I could find fabric to match the original fabric, I don’t know that I could patch the holes in such a way that it didn’t look like the quilt had a bunch of patches on it.

When I encounter sewing problems, I visit my 93-year-old neighbor who was a seamstress in her day. She agreed with me. The quilt is darling. What can be saved; should be saved. So, together we concocted a plan.

The plan involves a sharp pair of scissors. The entire top row of Sue Bonnets will be cut off. The first two appliques that are heavily damaged will be thrown in the trash. The last two appliques will be reused in a pillow. Then, the original binding that is also fraying will be picked open and the edges trimmed. Then, a new binding will be attached. At that point, the quilt will be completely repaired. It’s a simple plan. I do feel terrible for hacking up a vintage quilt, but it was the only way my neighbor and I could think to save it. It does mean that the quilt will be too short for a twin bed, but I’m OK with that.

Preserving Elly’s Baby Clothes

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Unable to toss the clothes I handmade for Elly and even unwilling to donate them to another baby, including any 2nd child we might have, I had stored them in a rubbermade tote. It had been my intention to save them for the day when Elly decided to become a mother herself.

There were a few flaws with my plan.
1. Elly may choose not to have children of her own
2. Elly may bear only boys and frown against putting them in the dresses
3. I feel an incredible need to use the items we store in our house. If items are not used for a certain period of time, I donate them. Storing clothes – no matter how precious – for 30 years on the chance they might be wanted by Elly for her children goes against my policy. Not only could Elly very well not want them, unused items irritate me and I would have to hit myself over the head repeatedly to not throw them out in 5 years.

So, when I stumbled over the pattern for Audrey’s Keepsake Quilt on Etsy, I was thrilled. Here was the answer to my dilemma. I would use Elly’s handmade baby clothes to make an heirloom quilt. The clothes that took me so long to make for Elly would be preserved in a useful item. The quilt could be used by Elly now and could later be passed down to her children, which was part of my original hope. There is even enough room to preserve some of the receiving blankets we wrapped Elly in when she was an infant.

I am so excited to start cutting up the squares. My thanks to Sandra Saunders of Lullaby Lucy for such a great idea.

First Quilt of 2010

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Made especially for Pat and Marina’s 2nd child, since I had made their 1st child this quilt.

Being a 2nd child myself, I was determined to not let the birth of their 2nd child pass without making something for her.

Stats
Pattern: none. It’s just a simple patchwork design.
Size: 36″ square
Fabric: Top is 100% cotton flannel. The batting is 100% polyester in a high loft. Back is a soft minky fabric made out of 100% polyester. (It does go against the rule that quilts should be made with all cotton fabrics, but I couldn’t resist. It was so soft).
Quilting: Combination of stitch-in-the-ditch, simple geometric designs and cookie cutters.

Timeframe: bit sketchy since I’m not sure when I started but I’ll estimate 2 months
Quality Assurance: Approved by Elly

With the quilt done, I can now start stocking Elly’s closet with handmade dresses. Have I mentioned recently how much I love my new machine?

My New Toy

Marie Haigh7 Comments

The last time I bought a new gadget (my treo) was approximately 5 years ago. Truth be told, I didn’t even buy that toy. Dan bought it for me. I’ve had the same cell phone since we signed onto Verizon’s family plan. I don’t even know how long ago that was. It’s older than the Treo. Let’s just say that my cell phone isn’t slim – at all. Plus, it doesn’t flip open and it doesn’t have a camera in it. So, you see the pattern, right? I don’t buy the latest gadget toys. I don’t even know what half of them are for. I spend my mad money on fabric and yarn.

Yet, today I have a new toy to show off to you.

OK. I admit it. I didn’t buy this toy either. Dan did. But, isn’t it pretty?

It’s a Kodak EasyShare digital camera (model Z1275). Dan found it on Woot.com for $100, refurbished.

As you can see, I’m still trying to figure out how to work the camera. (That picture was a bit blurry).

I did a better job taking a picture of my first completed star block for the Americana quilt.

One might think since I’ve had a whole week to work on this quilt, I might be further along. I would be if I hadn’t detoured. =)

It was my youngest niece’s 5th birthday last week. I tossed all my obligations out the window so I could make her an apron. Pictures of the apron and details of the birthday party will have to wait until Wednesday. In my excitement over the new camera, I forgot to transfer the pictures I took on the old camera. Oops.