WIP: Napoleon plus

While I’m giving The Carter Quilt a chance to relax and release some of its wrinkles, I decided I would go against my not-so-hard rule about starting new projects.

This is a simple one, though, and I’ve set a deadline for the top to be finished by my April guild meeting. Here’s where we start:

If any of you have been on my modern quilts Pinterest board, it won’t take you too long to see that I love plus-sign quilts. (Check it out for inspiration, I’ve got nearly 800 pins of quilty goodness!)

I’ve wanted to make one for quite awhile, and after I saw the large plus sign from Ashley over at Film in the Fridge, I knew it would be the perfect way to use some old large scale prints I had from my traditional fabric stash. These were from Sharon Yenter at In The Beginning, a great fabric store in Seattle that, sadly, is no longer in business.

I originally intended to use these fabrics in a blended medallion quilt that had a very Napoleonic look to it, but one of the things I love about the modern quilting movement is using traditional fabrics in non-traditional ways. And plus-sign quilts are a pretty quick cut and sew.

What’s making this go faster is that I’m not obsessing (hard to believe!) about what colors go where. This is just cut it, slap it on the board and get sewing.

(I need a step stool to reach the top row.)

I also need a third board to have a design wall large enough to do an over-sized queen bed quilt, which is what this one will be. Here are some detail shots of the fabric:

I love these little birdies!

This gold floral will make up most of the back.

This is the binding as well as a couple of plus signs. I just love the way stripes in binding look, don’t you? The style is so Empire, it reminds me of the kind of fabric Josephine would have had on one of her many boudoir chaises.

I hope to have the rest of the plus signs and partial pluses cut out and ready to go for a major sew-in this weekend. I’ll also have a few photos from this past Saturday’s Quilter’s Day Out in Louisville, Ky. Our guild had a primo spot and got nearly 50 emails from people interested in joining!

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

XOXO,
Sandra

Finished: striped garter stitch not-so-baby blanket

After quite a few nights watching TV, along with a few relaxing weekend mornings, I’ve finally finished my striped garter stitch blanket.

Finishing at 49×53 inches, I think it makes for a nice baby blanket, one that can grow with a child. It could also go to a toddler or slightly older child at that size.

What’s even better to me is that it used up the rest of my washable wool stash, not to mention I feel great about another finish!

I plan to donate it to Project Linus, who gives quilts/blankets to ill and/or traumatized children of all ages, from infant to teen. I’m sure it will find a good home, and I hope it brings a great deal of comfort. It was definitely made with love.

XOXO,
Sandra

The Carter Quilt: day one

I’ve been keeping a little secret from you guys. Well, not exactly a secret, just not exactly admitting to something.

At the beginning of the year, I decided my craft focus had to be on finishing things. I’m notorious for being ADD when it comes to my projects, and I just have too many that are undone.

I didn’t want to say anything in case I didn’t make good on my quest. It’s the perfectionist in me, but it’s time to get over it and get to work.

But, you guys, wait till you see this. You’ll know immediately why I had to say yes to something new.

One of my friends at work, Carter, has heard me talk about quilting and happened to mention he had found a hand-sewn quilt top at his mother’s house started by his great-grandmother, who passed it down to a daughter (or daughter-in-law, he’s not sure), eventually winding up with his mother.

Since sometime in the 1970s, we figure, it’s been folded up in a plastic bag in a closet. Take a look at this beauty:

(OK, try to ignore the toile curtains and checked bed skirt – they are so going!)

Isn’t it gorgeous? I love all the solids in it and how even though it was likely started with fabric from the ’20s and ’30s, it has a really modern feel to it. Thankfully, the fabrics appear to be in terrific shape, just a few loose threads from the frayed edges on the back. Take a closer look at some of the blocks.

I love this block – with its little S and star, almost like it was destined to come to me!

Here’s an interesting detail. All of the blocks are square in shape except for a row at the top, which looks like it was cut in half. (The blue stripe at the top is my Mariner’s Sky quilt.)

So, what happened? The cut is too clean to be an animal’s work. Was there a spill and the ruined part had to go? Or did the sewist think she didn’t have enough fabric to complete a full row of blocks? Carter said there’s another top and a couple of additional blocks at his mom’s house, so lack of fabric seems unlikely.

I love trying to determine the history behind something like this.

The top measures approx. 76×85 inches, great for a full size mattress. As you can see, though, there are a lot of wrinkles. I put the question out to the MQG community forum and asked for feedback on ironing/quilting/etc.

They suggested laying it out flat for a long time (up to a month) and smoothing it with my hands and let it work out some of the wrinkles on its own.

You’ll see what I mean when you look at the back. Stitching by hand, obviously, doesn’t give you the straight lines a machine will. Also, the seams aren’t consistent in direction, making pressing difficult. I think eventually I’ll try using my Clover mini-iron and see how that works.

Everyone also agreed (as do I) that it should be hand-quilted, but didn’t offer any suggestions as to how. What do you think? This will clearly be a long-term project, and I’m so honored Carter would let me finish a family heirloom for him, so I’d love to know your thoughts.

I’ve done very little hand-quilting, although lots of stitching, but I think I’d like to do something very simple, like stitch in the ditch. But first, I need to decide what to use for backing – should I use a ’30s reproduction print or a solid? How about the binding?

I hope my excitement for this project will keep me going. Once I finish my garter-stripe blanket, it’ll be the perfect watching TV activity.

But just in case, it’s a really good thing Carter isn’t in any hurry for it.

XOXO,
Sandra

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

Finished: black and white table runner

A few weeks ago, I posted some pics of a little mat I made for my someday black and white kitchen:

I knew I wanted to make a new table runner and decided to use the same basic idea for it as the mat. Especially since I’m saving all the lovely black and white fabrics I’ve collected over the past 12 months for a bed quilt.

Well, there may be a few exceptions to that decision.

Like the mat, I did a pretty simple block design, focusing on the fabric than either the piecing or even the quiltin. And because people will look at it from all directions, I put the prints in all four directions.

Here are a few process shots:

Here’s the finished piece, with today’s lovely snow serving as backdrop (I tried to get indoor shots, but my kitchen is just too dark, even on a sunny day, to do the runner justice):

Hope you’re staying warm wherever you are. Thanks, as always, for stopping by!

XOXO,
Sandra