MOD MEETS REPRO

In the tradition of frugal quiltmaking, most of my quilts are made from the scraps of previous quilts and sewing projects.  However, a couple times of the year; I think about making a quilt requiring only 5 or 6 different with larger amounts of fabric.  Most of my scraps are very small pieces of many different fabrics.  I NEED an infusion of new fabric.  So what do I do --- Sally goes shopping!  This is what I came home with -- some reproduction fabrics.

 I off-set the blocks in half of the rows.  It is always interesting to see how that impacts the design.  In this case, it hints at a contemporary, modern vibe. Does that mean that repros from another era can coincide with modern design?

THE STATS:  Mod Meets Repro, 2023, 25"x 34", Paper Pieced, Machine Pieced, Machine Quilted.  56 3" blocks

This was my favorite book as a child.

 My grandmothers taught me how to shell peas, snap green beans, and quilt, etc.  But, it was my mother who taught me how to shop!!

OUTDOOR QUILT PHOTOGRAPHY

 I have been fascinated for 30 years with the juxtaposition of quilts photographed outdoors with God's marvelous creations and the endeavors of my predecessors.  I have taken thousands of such pictures over the years, but I have never placed them in a format that could easily be viewed.

Recently, I added a page entitled "Outdoor Quilt Photos" to this blog that has many of the photos listed according to location.  The photos can be accessed by clicking on that title in the above header.

If you are interested in them, I hope you enjoy them as much as I have during the process.

PARCHEESI

I have admired old game boards for years at antique stores.  To me, their designs remind me of a quilt.  Always thought I would make a quilt and call it 'parcheesi', my favorite childhood board game.  I even bought this star fabric back in the early 2000s just for that purpose.  Sometimes, I'm a slow starter!!

This was a quick, easy project -- a couple of days and done!!  What have I been waiting for?

THE STATS:  Parcheesi, 2023, 18" x 18", Paper pieced, Machine pieced, Machine appliqued, and Machine quilted.

 This quilt is just my interpretation of a homemade, folk-art style game board before printed boards were available.   Modern board games took off when Parker Bros. acquired the patent for Monopoly.   This was my childhood era, and below are my board games that have survived and been played by my immediate three generations of family.

TERTIARY TRIALS

 I've often combined two different blocks together to produce secondary designs.  I even wrote a couple of books about it.  A couple of times, I have also flirted with combining three different blocks.  Does that result in tertiary designs?  Time to try again!

The three blocks involved:

THE STATS: Tertiary Trials, 2023, 31" x 31", Paper pieced, Machine pieced, Machine quilted.

STEPPING STONES

Not much thought expended on the design and choice of colors/fabrics for this quilt; plus just some mindless sewing on these hot summer days. 

In the past, I have struggled working with high-contrast floral, pastel fabric.  Not over- thinking about choice seemed to work better.  However, I'm still not satisfied with the  pattern definition of this type of fabric in a very scrappy quilt!

All fabrics were pulled from my scrap bins.

THE STATS:  Stepping Stones, 2023, 25" X 25", Paper Pieced, Machine Pieced, Machine Quilted, 494 pieces.

HOORAY FOR HOOPLA

I was in the mood for something fast and easy, so was perusing one of the books I wrote in the 2000s for an idea.  In the book, "Traditional Two Block Quilts", I came upon "Hoopla".  At the time I designed and made it, the publishing process was in a rush; and there was no time to remake it.  I was not satisfied that the stars did not show up in the quilt because of the fabric I chose.  It was shipped off for photography anyway.  Major regrets!!!!  

In this remake, I think I rectified that; plus changed the connecting block design to simplify.  Because of the more definition of the pattern with these fabric choices; I decided to forgo a border and just use a yellow binding.  Do-overs are satisfying.

STATS:  "Hooray for Hoopla", 2023, 28"X28", Paper pieced, Machine pieced, Machine quilted.

The original, regrettable "Hoopla":

TREASURE CHEST

My favorite fabrics, Civil War repros, are calling.  Not all quilt blocks need to be square, so I decided it was time to develop a rectangle block design that has been stored in my brain for awhile. 

Here is "Treasure Chest":

The Stats:  Treasure Chest, 2023, 33"x 34", Paper pieced, Machine pieced, Machine quilted.

This was an enjoyable one to machine quilt.

Photographed at The Winery at the Holy Cross Abbey in Canon City, Colorado.

OUT AND ABOUT

I have made pineapple-block projects in the past.  In the beginning I was apprehensive about maintaining accuracy; but decided paper piecing was the way to go.  That makes it super easy, accurate, and fun to do.  It also involves using scraps only 1.25" wide.

THE STATS:  Out and About, 2023, 33" x 33", Paper pieced, Machine pieced, Machine quilted.

The only large quilt I have hanging in my house is an antique log cabin from the 1800s of 81 blocks primarily in the colors of red, blue, beige/tan, and black.  I never tire of examining the fabrics and colors used in it, and how they interact.  I pulled these same  colors from my scrap bins to use for this pineapple-block quilt. 

This is my favorite for 2023 so far.  It checks all of my boxes.  176 different fabrics, 721 pieces in a 33" square -- (I'm a numbers nerd!!)  Using that many different fabrics in a small quilt reminds me of all the years of 'being out and about' to quilt meetings, national teaching gigs and symposiums plus family travels.  I've always been on the lookout for fabrics that appealed to me, and would purchase a fat quarter to take home to use in a future quilt.  Plus, there have been many trips to my local (within 50 miles) quilt/fabric stores to pick up a needed color to complete a project.  Building a stash of scraps over 45 years has been easy -- 176 fabrics is only a drop in the bucket!

P.S.:  Below are photos of the other projects I have done with the traditional pineapple block.  In the new quilt above, I used a different distribution of the light and dark fabrics and sashed the blocks. The different outcomes from the four projects shows how the choice of color, fabrics, and layout change the look.

"Pineapple Salad", 2018, 24"x24"

"Scalloped Pineapple", 2021, 18"x36"

"Down the Rabbit Hole", 2021, 22"x22"

FUSION

Kathleen Tracy (https://sentimentalquilter.blogspot.com/2023/03/simple-sewing-mindless-piecing.html) recently did a post on simple sewing, mindless piecing with the thought that it promotes creativity.  I needed some mindless piecing, so decided on a simple bars quilt from the scrap bins.

THE STATS:  FUSION, 2023, 33" x 33", Machine pieced, Machine quilted, 424 pieces sewn together to make one entity - a fusion. 

After all of my quiltmaking years, I'm still experimenting with how colors and patterns in fabrics react to each other so this wasn't completely a mindless task.   No representational thoughts, however -- just simple sewing and fabric.

It was so beautiful at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs that I couldn't stop taking photos!

HOME SWEET COLORADO HOME

  My family homesteaded in southeast Colorado in 1876, the year that Colorado became a state.   One grandmother, both of my parents, and I were all born in a small town in southeast Colorado.  Our roots run deep!  I've been blessed to be raised and live here; never wanting to reside anywhere else.  There are many places and things that remind me of how special Colorado is to me.  In this quilt, I wanted to highlight some of those memories. 

  Using the medium of wool applique, I decided to showcase vignettes in a format similar to a gallery wall.  That was the concept; this is the quilt.

THE STATS:  Home Sweet Colorado Home, 2023, 26" x 26", Machine Appliqued, Machine Pieced, Machine Quilted

I have done wool applique small quilts before, however this is definitely a design-as- you-go quilt with no pattern  --  just scribbles and scissors. 

ROW 1 (left to right)

 1.  The Colorado State flag -- to me it is beautiful in its simplicity.

2.  Fond memories as a boarding student at St. Scholastica Academy in Canon City with a nod to the Holy Cross Abbey now a winery.

3.  A field of sunflowers in Colorado makes my heart happy.

4.  The Clock Tower on Canon City's main street was originally on the top of the county courthouse, a beautiful building but demolished c.1950s.

ROW 2:

 1.  Canon City's annual Blossom Festival was begun in the middle 1800s and continues today.  Fun times over the years!

2.  The Royal Gorge Bridge and Park owned by the City of Canon City with lots of family time spent there over the years.  My mother was there on the opening day of the bridge in October 1929.

3.  The river, ponds, and mountains abound in our area.

ROW 3:

1.  My family's homestead in southeast Colorado established in 1876.

2.  A sunset in Colorado -- always beautiful setting behind the mountains.

3.  The state flower, the columbine, and the beauty of the aspen trees in the Fall.

ROW 4:

1.  Colorado's license plate with the mountains supposedly as the view of the foothills west of Canon City.

2.  The picket fence in front of our home in Canon City.

3.   My birth place, Rocky Ford, was once known as the "Melon Capital of the World" and for the fields of zinnias grown for seed.

 There is no place like home!