A Fine And Dandy Finish!

Fine and Dandy

51 x 63

It's a finish!

And it is hand quilted.

(Pictures were taken several days ago before yesterday's big snow storm.)

I finished the top back in December 2020.   The center blocks were orphans. The Flying Geese and coping strip were scraps and the fabrics used are '30s reproductions. 

The block is called The Dandy Quilt and the pattern for it is at Quilter's Cache. 

I hand quilted it with blanc perle cotton #12.

The binding is scrappy.

The back is a sweet floral.

I must really like The Dandy Quilt block. I've made several Dandy Quilts over the years and I also have an incomplete block set made with floral scraps.  

Dandy Garden in '30s repros 2010

Dandy Garden in Kaffe Collective fabrics 2013

56 Shades of Envy 2015

QOV Dandy 2022

And sew on...

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

 

Monkey (Wrench) Business

Five Inch Monkey Wrench Blocks in Green '30s Reproduction Fabrics

This month the theme in my little sewing space is 1930s.  The Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month is green.    I keep my '30s repro scraps in a bin all by themselves.  I had a lot of HST parts in there so I first pulled out all the 2.5 inch HST parts in green and made some Monkey Wrench blocks.   I've been making Monkey Wrench blocks in 3 sizes from scraps since last year and have quite the collection. Near the end of the year I will make some donation quilts with them.  I'm thinking for now that I will keep all of the ones made in '30s repro scraps in a separate box and decide later if there are enough for a quilt or two with just '30s repro Monkey Wrenches. 

When I was finished with the greens I moved on to the orange HSTs....

...then the yellows...

...the pink, purple and mixed colors...

...the reds...

...the blues...

...the browns.  

And that makes 65 five inch Monkey Wrench blocks made with '30s reproduction scraps. I also have an empty baggie that used to hold 2.5 inch HST parts. 

Speaking of five inches...this was the view outside my kitchen window this morning. Five inches of snow and it is still snowing. 

This was the view from the living room door out to the deck.   And it is still snowing. A few days ago I was outside in shirt sleeves most of the day pruning my blackberries and cleaning up flower beds. 

A few tree branches cracked a little and now laden with snow they are laying over the power line to the house. That kind of worries me. Guess I'll go sew.

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

 

A New Top

It's a top!

It's a flimsy!

60 x 72

I've seen this block called Pieces of Eight and I've seen this block called Cheyenne. I saw a picture and made my quilt with no name. 

I made my set of 30 twelve inch blocks last year when I was working with my collection of '30s reproduction fabrics. I added some muslin as well as some plaids, homespuns and old shirts.

And sew on...

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

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Three Little Finishes

 

Three Little Finishes

All contain some '30s reproduction fabrics with little animals or kids playing. I made all the block sets last year and assembled the tops and finished the quilts this month. 

#1 

Snowball and Nine Patch

'42 x 42

'30s repros and muslin

Quilted on the diagonals on my DSM.

Backing and binding.

2.

Basket Weave

42 x 42

'30s repros with an orange solid "woven" in. 

Quilted with horizontal and vertical lines on my DSM.

Backing and binding are the same multicolored orange batik.

3.

Log Cabin Variation

40 x 40

This one was actually inspired by a vintage one that had more of a zig-zaggy look - maybe more like  Fields and Furrows layout. Well, anyway, when I went to lay out my blocks like that I went "ewwwww, yucky, icky". So I played around with the little five inch blocks and came up with this layout. 

I quilted it with spirals in a multicolored thread on my DSM. 

And here's the backing and binding. 

Now the little finishes are ready to comfort some little ones. 

And sew on...

A Farmer's Wife Sampler Top

Farmer's Wife Sampler

66 x 84

It's a top! Finally!

The theme here this month in my little sewing space is 1930s. I blogged earlier this month about some Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks I started in 2011 made of '30s reproduction fabrics. I made some blocks but didn't want to make all the blocks included in the Farmer's Wife Sampler (FWS) so came up with an idea to use an alternate block - Quarter Square Triangles (QSTs) - and to add in some 6 inch old swapped blocks made with '30s repros.   I chose to use some Kona Spring Green I had on hand for the QSTs because it is very close to the green my grandmother, a farmer's wife, used in her quilts.   How do I know that? Well, I inherited an old worn out quilt of my grandmother's and I made my version of that quilt and have a photo of them side by side as you can see below.

My grandma inspired quilt next to my grandma's quilt with their green borders. 

So, anyway...back to my FWS.   I didn't want to fuss around all that much with the block layout so randomly sewed blocks together.  If I had fussed around I would probably still be fussing (I never come up with the perfect arrangement) so why bother with all the fuss? After I made the top with the alternate blocks it looked incomplete around the edges so I added a border all around of Flying Geese and rectangles so it would complete the Square in Square look around the blocks. 

And now I'm so glad I moved that old UFO forward! 

Hooray for Farmer's Wives and for Grandmas! 

And sew on...

 

A Finish! Buckeye Beauty Variation?

It's a finish!

I still haven't found the name for this block but I'm calling it 

Buckeye Beauty Variation

60 x 78

Yesterday afternoon the winds died down and the temperatures rose to 50+ so I enjoyed some time outside to take photos. 

The blocks are vintage inspired. I found pictures for them while doing a search for vintage quilts because I like to make my own version of vintage quilts. 

Last year I made a series of different block sets using 1930s reproduction fabrics combined with thrift store shirts and other plaids.  My grandmother made quilts out of old clothes like floral dresses and men's shirts so that is why it occurred to me to combine the the 1930s with plaids. 

I quilted it on my DSM with spirals in a natural color thread. 

I had just enough of a plaid fabric for the binding.

The snow has melted but  I can still see a few patches of wimpy looking blue crocus here and there in the lawn near the clothesline where evidently squirrels have planted them over the years. 

Here's what the back looks like. 

And sew on...

 

Monkey Wrenches in Green

I've been making Monkey Wrench blocks from scraps in three different sizes since last year. I have quite a collection now but have not counted them yet.  Toward the end of the year I'll make them into donation quilts. 

A few green 10 inch finished Monkey Wrenches. 

A couple more 10 inch green Wrenches and some 7.5 inch finished Wrenches. 

A few more 7.5 inch Wrenches. 

Then when I was finished using up the 3.5 and 4.5 green scraps in the general population of scraps I made some Monkey Wrenches out of green '30s reproduction scraps kept separately from the general population.  (This month the theme in my sewing space is 1930s.) I'm thinking I will use all of the Monkey Wrenches in different sizes that I make out of '30s reproductions in one quilt. 

10 inch finished Monkey Wrenches

7.5 inch Monkey Wrenches

I have more HSTs made in '30s scraps in other colors besides green but I have not gotten around to getting those made into Wrenches yet. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday

And sew on...

 

Two Finishes

Two Little Comfort Quilts

Two little finishes! 

Each 40 x 60 inches

I made the blocks for both quilts last year and tucked the block sets away in my SAR (Some Assembly Required) box until this month. 

I didn't think I'd be able to take photos this morning. I woke up to howling winds, freezing temperatures and a new dusting of snow on the ground but when I noticed a break in the winds I rushed out with the camera and was able to snap a few photos before the winds picked up again. 

1. Sixteen Patch

It is made of '30s reproduction prints of little animals and kids at play mixed with shirts and other plaids. The blocks finish at 10 inches and are made of 3 inch squares.   I quilted it on my DSM with swirls. The binding is a  gray/blue check. 

2. Happy Blocks

I used some of the same '30s fabrics for the 6.5 inch centers and bordered them with 2.5 inch solids. I made 24 blocks and bordered four in each of six colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet. Then I arranged them in rainbow order.  The blocks finish at 10 inches. 

I also quilted it on my DSM with swirls. The binding is a multicolor stripe. 

The backs.

I mentioned a light dusting of snow fell last night. My little patches of crocus survived last week's snow. I'm hoping they will survive this one too and stay in bloom a little longer. 

And sew on...

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