Starry Path

Starry Path

Over the last couple of months I've made a pile of blocks I sewed as leader/enders. To be close to an ailing husband I moved my sewing machine upstairs to the dining room table to be near him should he need attention. He is too sick and weak to do too much on his own right now. My ironing board and cutting mat are still downstairs in my little sewing space so I don't get down often enough to be able to iron and take photos of all my leader/enders. 

These blocks are called Starry Path. I have been making them with '30s repro fabrics and old shirts.  I was inspired by a vintage quilt and did not know the name of the block. I figured out how to make the blocks and asked visitors to my blog back in October to name the block.  

I'm aiming for 35 blocks and now have 10. 

And sew on...

 

Tutti Frutti Finish

A wop bop a loo bop a lop bom bom - It's a finish!

Tutti Frutti

Log Cabin

65 x 65

I made the top August 2022.

I used '30s reproduction fruity prints and solids to make the blocks. I quilted it on my DSM with swirls in a variegated thread. 

The binding is a stripe.

There's lemons on the back.

And sew on...

 

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

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

 

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...

 

Eight Patch Top Assembled

Eight Patch

It's a top!

60 x 80

The blocks have been in my SAR (Some Assembly Required) bin since last year.  The blocks finish at 6 x 8 inches and are made of two sets of four rectangles 2.5 x 3.5 inches. Although they could be strip pieced I prefer to cut pieces to size first and sew them together especially since some of the rectangles in the shirts had to be cut separately because there was not one piece long enough for a strip. 

This is one of several block sets I made last year when I was working with '30s repro fabrics and old shirts and other plaids. 

This month the theme in my sewing room is 1930s so this one made it out of the SAR and into the TBQ (To Be Quilted) pile and may even get finished by the end of the month if I find a backing. 

And sew on...

 

Decisions, Decisions! Moving Forward!

This month's theme in my sewing room is 1930s.  Back in January 2011 I started making Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks with 1930s reproduction fabrics. I chose those fabrics because my grandmothers were farmer's wives and those fabrics remind me of them. 

The Farmer's Wife Sampler calls for 111 six inch blocks.  As I made blocks I just inserted them in the book. 

I haven't worked on this quilt for a very long time and I think I completed almost half of the 111 blocks. 

Back then I worked on the simpler blocks that did not require me to use the templates. And now all these years later I don't think I want to make any more sampler blocks but I do want to use the ones I have made.  I was thinking maybe I could use an alternate block.  And I figured if I did use an alternate block then maybe I could make a quilt with 10 blocks x 12 or 13 blocks which would be a 60 inch by 72 or 78 inch quilt. 

I do have some six inch orphan and swapped blocks I can use to supplement my Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks and so came up with 65 blocks to use with an alternate block. 

I tried a Quarter Square Triangle (QST) as the alternate block. I chose Kona Snow and Kona Spring Green to use as the fabrics and made sure I had enough of both of those before I tried some test blocks. I stocked up on those two Kona colors before I retired to use with the '30s repro fabrics. The green reminds me of the color green my paternal grandmother (of Irish ancestry) used in her quilts and the Kona Snow is a good alternative to muslin. Although I do think I have some whiter Kona than Kona Snow mixed together in the stash. I'll use whatever.  

Ok. So I guess I like the QST as an alternate block so guess I need to make a few more and move this really old UFO forward. 

And sew on...

 

What's In The Hoop?

What's in the hoop?

Shirts and Giggles

76 inches square

Top finished in March 2019.

Inspired by a vintage quilt.

Made with thrift store shirts (shirts) and fabrics I thought might look like dresses my grandmother wore back in the day (giggles) - 1930s reproduction fabrics. 

My grandmother who taught me to sew used old clothes to make her quilts and I used to love to look at all the fabrics. Sometimes she would tell me stories about the fabrics - "that used to be Uncle Leo's shirt and then later I cut it up to make a shirt for your Dad" (13 years younger than his brother Leo) or "your Aunt Betty made that dress to wear to a dance and many dances thereafter then she handed it down to your Aunt Elsie and later I made an apron out of it".  

Big stitch hand quilting with perle blanc #12.

Previous post with finished top as well as vintage inspiration on March 26, 2019. 

And sew on...

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

 

From SAR to TBQ

This month I declared 1930s as my theme to move stuff in my sewing room forward. 

I started with the "low hanging fruit" - complete block sets for small quilts in my SAR (Some Assembly Required) bins.  

I have now assembled 5 tops and moved them to the TBQ (To be Quilted) pile.   I hope to find backings for them and get them quilted before month end.   I made the block sets last year with 1930s reproduction prints (or similar prints) that have animals and children playing. 

1. Happy Blocks

2. Snowball and Nine Patch

3. Sixteen Patch

4. Weave ???

Not sure of the name of this block. They are six inch finished blocks. They have 4.5 x 6.5 inch centers with 1.5 x 6.5 inch sides.  I've made several of these and varied what is used as the 4.5 x 6.5 inch center. In this case the center is a four patch  made of 2.5 x 3.5 rectangles.   I really wanted to use yellow for the sides of the blocks but didn't have enough so I used a piece of orange that was big enough to do the job. 

5. Log Cabin 

And oh joy! Look what I found in the law near the clothesline today! Crocus! They would probably be open if there was some sunshine.  And I think I have heard robins sing; however, I have not yet spotted one.  

And sew on...

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More