AUTUMN ALBUM

 I was in the mood for something traditional and easy in the colors of Fall.  This two-block design satisfies on all accounts in a table runner format.

A simple cross-hatching quilting design is easy, fast, and effective for a geometric quilt.  Sometimes simple is the best solution for the situation!

THE STATS:  Autumn Album, 2022, 22"x34". Paper pieced, machine pieced, machine quilted.

IN THE BACK 40

 When I was little, it always seemed like my Dad was out "in the back 40" plowing.  In my childhood mind, I thought that must be where they grew the flowers.  In reality, he was actually growing sugar beets, corn, and/or alfalfa in the remote part of the farm.  Farmland was divided into a section, which was one square mile or 640 acres; a quarter section was 160 acres, and that was divided into four quarter-quarter sections of 40 acres each.  And, that is your farm math lesson for today.  That's about all I know about farming, even though I grew up in a farming family -- I just wasn't the outdoorsy, get dirty type!!  

Actually, several farms in our area, did grow flowers for seed on their back 40s.

I made my "back 40" quilt full of flowers!  Even though small in size, this table topper seemed to take forever --- all those small pieces with bias edges.  I didn't plan a border; but with those bias edges on the outside of the quilt, it needed something to stabilize it or it would never lay flat.  Amazing how a quilt usually tells me when it needs a border even a small one!

THE STATS:  "In The Back 40", 2022, 23"x23", Paper pieced, Machine pieced, Machine quilted.

RED SKY AT NIGHT, SAILOR'S DELIGHT

 Whenever I see a red sky in the evening, it reminds me of an old mariner saying, "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in morning, sailor's warning." The saying is based on Matthew 16: 2&3 in the bible.  It has special meaning for me now that my grandson is in the U.S. Navy submarine fleet.  I've had this quilt in mind for awhile to honor him and his fellow mariners.

THE STATS:  SAILOR'S DELIGHT, 2022, 32"X32", Machine pieced, machine quilted.

For this quilt I have used the "star sashing" concept that adds another design element to a quilt. I always like the look of those little stars in a quilt, but I now need a break from star points after doing these 200, 3/4" points!  

Here are three of my other quilts with "star sashing"; just different choices of color, fabric placement, and size.

KEEPSAKE STAR, 2001

"SPANGLED STARS", 2015-2022

"KEEPSAKE STAR RELIVED", 2021

LEGACY

 This is the last of the unfinished projects hiding out in my closet! It was a quilt top I made in a class at Quilt Colorado '98 entitled "Mason-Dixon Memories" taught by Marianne Fons. It was a great class about the fabrics and quilts of the Civil War.  We were instructed to bring to class fabrics and an idea using a Civil War era block.  There was some trading back and forth with other class members of fabrics in our efforts to construct quilt blocks under Marianne's tutelage. I loved the class and finished up the quilt top when I returned home, but never got around to quilting it.  Now is the time to quilt up the last of my favorite Betsey block projects.

THE STATS:  Legacy, 1998-2022, 50"x50", Machine pieced on my Singer Featherweight in 1998, Machine quilted in 2022 on my Bernina.

I enjoy quilt history; I enjoyed Marianne's class; and now I finally have my finished quilt to enjoy!  After so many years in the making, I regret only that now my shoulder and eye issues prevent me from quilting it by hand; or at the very least, doing a more condensed machine quilting design.  As the younger generation say today, "It is what it is!"

HOMESTEADING

 I've always loved the architecture of log cabins and wanted to someday own one; but that never happened. That doesn't mean that I wanted to endure a pioneer lifestyle.  I admire my ancestors that did, but I didn't turn out to be an outdoor or make-do, rugged individual.  So, I now live vicariously through log cabin quilts with their many variations.

This is a quarter-log cabin block design. There are so many variations, but this is one of my favorites.

In spite of its small size this quilt turned out to be consuming. I spent a lot of time choosing fabrics, then sewing the 294 half-inch logs.  

Homesteading is never fast!

THE STATS:  Homesteading, 2022, 28"x28", Paper pieced, Machine pieced, Machine quilted. 

My ancestors didn't come west and build log cabins --- not that many trees on the Colorado prairies.  They built their structures out of adobe bricks and rocks made from the available resources.

A picture of my family's homestead is below.  In order to prove up free land according to the Homestead Act of 1862, trees were to be planted on the property.  Notice in the picture my great, great Uncle Asa's effort to grow trees to keep his part of the contract.   The claim was filed by Asa T. Haines in 1882, and patented in 1889.

I'm forever grateful for the time and place in which I am able to live and quilt.

PS:  I have never claimed to be an artist, nor have I ever had any training.  I'm only someone who loves quilts, math, fabric, and to sew.  My creative grandson has had some high school art classes and said this about the quilt:  "I quite enjoy the moments of lapse in color with the black. It feels like a void into the uncomplete."  I said, "Is that good?"  He replied, "Yes."  This proves I'm not an artist -- I don't understand their language!

TREASURE TROVE

This quilt has brought two back-stories together----

Back-story #1: I was lamenting to my friend, Tam, that I was having trouble finding interesting brown fabrics in the market.  She and I have a similar taste in quilting fabrics; and being the generous friend that she is, sent me a big envelope full of cuttings from her stash of browns --- the best mail ever!!  

Her gift was just what I needed to get started on a quilt I've been thinking about since 2005.  

Enter back-story #2.  I was in Nashville teaching quilt classes; one which was "How to use stripe fabric effectively in quilts". Just before class started, I was in the merchants mall perusing fabric and found a pink stripe from France containing some of the elements I was going to explain in the class.  So, I bought 3 yards of it (a rather large purchase for me).  I talked about if a quilt was looking bland and needed a spark, add a stripe and let IT do the talking.  Class went well, but I noticed students were packing up quickly --- well, the word was out that a huge huricane (Katrina) was headed to the area. New Orleans is about 500 miles from Nashville, but it was really raining hard in Nashville.  I've talked before about my struggles to fly back to Colorado with my luggage including 30 quilts with weather delays, etc.  Now to make a long story longer, once I got home that 3 yards of stripe just seemed to talk way too loud to blend in with several projects that I've tried.  

I decided that now 17 years later, I'm going to make that pink stripe work with my new brown fabrics from Tam or shut it up permanently in a trash bag!!!!

The fun part was choosing the brown and pink fabrics to use in the thirty 3" triangle blocks, plus I love to paper piece simple, little blocks.

THE STATS:  Treasure Trove, 2022, 30"x30", Paper pieced, Machine pieced, Machine quilted.

As expected, that stripe has a very loud voice -- maybe too loud!

PS:  You know, don't you, that I could never throw 3 yards of fabric into the trash?

DOODLES AND DANDIES

 Psychologists have studied doodlers trying to figure out why they doodle.  The reasons range from "expressing ourselves without words" to "occupying our right-brain so our left-brain can concentrate on listening".  I've always been a doodler for every reason imaginable; except I'm certainly not exhibiting my artistic drawing ability, of which I have none.  My sixth-grade art teacher made that very clear!!!

  I have done some study on the friendship quilts from the 19th century to the present, and notice that signatures are often accompanied with drawings.  I thought I can't draw, but maybe I can doodle; so in 1992 I started experimenting.  Some doodling on quilts has occasionally been going on since then.

I decided a crazy quilt format called for doodles, embroidery, and ribbons. 

Here's the latest ----

 THE STATS:  Doodles and Dandies, 2022, 25"x25", Foundation pieced, Machine ribbon applique, Machine pieced, Machine embroidered, Machine quilted, and lots of thread.

Always fun to work on a crazy quilt with no points to match and no expectations, plus always an unexpected result.

BETSEY'S STORY

 Every once in a while I get the urge to read more about Civil War quilts, then work with my all-time favorite block.

 I've been in love with this little block since it first came to light in 1985 in Linda Otto Lipsett's book, "Remember Me, Women and Their Friendship Quilts".  Ms. Lipsett details the history of this friendship quilt made between 1846 and 1875 by Betsey M. Wright Lee, plus it details the struggles Betsey endured during her lifetime.  I first worked on a friendship quilt with this block in 1987 when a friend moved from our area. Then in 1989, I took a class on Civil War quilts, and made another Betsey quilt.  With local friends, we worked on still another friendship Betsey quilt in 1991.  By then, I was hooked and have made quilts with this block in 2005, 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2020.

Recently, I designed another version using Betsey's block.  Not only is it a fun block to construct, it uses small pieces of many fabrics.  This was definitely a "grab and sew" project with not much consideration as to colors and/or patterns placed next to each other, which was often the method in the 1800s because they used what fabric they had.

THE STATS: "Betsey's Story", 2022, 29"x29", Paper pieced, Machine pieced, Machine quilted.

 For this quilt I chose to center a 2" Betsey block in a court house setting.  I thought it was apropos because of Betsey's months-long struggles to get a pension approved by the government of $8 plus $2 a month for each of her, at the time, surviving 5 children.  Her husband had died while imprisoned at Andersonville during the Civil War.  She continued to struggle financially and with sadness as only three of her nine children survived to adulthood. Since 1846 and before her marriage, she had accumulated friendship blocks from friends and family storing them away.  In her later years in 1875 after several makers of the blocks were deceased, she completed her friendship quilt. I have paraphrased Betsey's story from Ms. Lipsett's book.  I highly recommend the book for the several stories she has researched and included with Betsey's.

Betsey's struggles remind me to always be grateful for the time and place in which I am privileged to quilt!

REBOUND

 In my early assocation with "Quilter's Newsletter" and "Quiltmaker" magazines, they asked me to make a couple of sister quilts -- two different quilts made using the same pattern, the same colors, but with different fabrics creating a different look.  That was 1993.  Finally in 2022, I have made their step-brother.  It's the same construction idea with different proportions, different colors and fabrics, and a different outcome.

The sister quilts were published in "Quiltmaker" magazine in the August 1993 issue.

NOCTURNE #1

NOCTURNE #2

And now ---

REBOUND

THE STATS:  Rebound, 2022, 32"x32", Machine pieced, Machine quilted.

PS:  Incidentally, my absolute favorite and smartest childhood dog was named Rebound.  She lived a very long life with my parents even after I was married! This has nothing to do with this quilt, but I do often think of her allegiance fondly.

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!