MANY MOONS AGO

 Time for a traditional block from 'many moons ago' called Churn Dash.  I have changed the original design a bit and added an appliqued sashing,  In my effort to save money, this is another quilt made completely from my scrap bins.  I don't use green in my quilts often, but I seem to not have any trouble accumulating them.  Needed to find a project to use some of them up!!

THE STATS:  Many Moons Ago, 2022, 26"x26", Machine applique, Foundation pieced, Machine quilted.

The colors of the hollyhock/bush-rose garden were perfect for photographing this quilt.

TWIDDLING MY THUMBS

 

When I was a child, my four grandmothers had just surfaced from the depression/dust bowl era; then had a need to deal with the hard work and shortages of World War II.  They would often admonish me to stop twiddling my thumbs and do something productive. 

I'm not very good at applique, but I do like how applique can sometimes elevate a simple patchwork design.  So, it was necessary to stop twiddling my thumbs and get busy.

 It took a while (there are 64 of those little hand appliqued pieces), but here is my effort to keep my hands busy ---

THE STATS: Twiddling My Thumbs, 2022, 32"x32", Hand Appliqued, Paper Pieced, Machine Quilted.

I still have trouble watching TV, etc. with idle hands.  The grandmothers always had some type of fancy work (quilting, embroidery, crochet, tatting, knitting) in progress during their down time.  Now that my kids and grandchildren are all grown and we are retired, I have nothing but down time!  Because of that upbringing, I have turned into a prolific quiltmaker.

The Twiddling Thumb Police (Yes, I think
I'm twiddling my thumbs in the picture.)

STRATA

 This quilt has been difficult; only in that, I was determined to make it with only fabrics in my scrap bins.  I'm a frugal quilter, plus with the inflation factor, I'm trying to save money on everything.  Over the years, I've used up most of the larger pieces in those bins.  Now I'm finding it is hard to find a piece appropriate and at the same time large enough for a specific project.

This is the result--

The other challenge was figuring out a quilting design since I'm fairly new to machine quilting on a domestic machine without any formal instruction. That's the way I have always worked --- figuring it out myself.  I'm pleased with this one as I was able to quilt each diagonal row of blocks continuously without a need to knot or change color of thread.  I used a neutral gray-green thread throughout with the exception of the rosy setting triangles. It all went fairly fast and easy.  It is not without its mistakes, but I think the overall design turned out well. 

I did NOT purchase any new fabric for this quilt -- "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without" -- according to President Calvin Coolidge at the beginning of World War I.  I pieced the backing fabric from several small pieces; and pieced the binding from 12 small strips left over from the fussy-cut setting triangles.  Don't look too closely for the necessary extra seams!!

STATS:  Strata, 2022, 29"x29", Paper pieced, Machine pieced, Machine quilted.

I always love a good challenge -- it keeps me producing more quilts!

Edited to add:  Our son, Mike, is touring Europe; and not knowing what I was working on, sent a picture of a church in Budapest, Hungary where the facade has a pattern very similiar to my quilt.  Proof that design is timeless, universal, and that inspiration is everywhere!