A Mini-Version of the Super Star

I joined Deanna at Wedding Dress Blue  to make two Super Star cushions.  I had some leftover jellyroll strips of Civil War reproduction fabric and thought this pattern would be a good one to convert to a small size to fit my table topper rack.  I cut the strips into 2-½ inch blocks for half-squares and then trimmed them down to 2 inches to use with some 2-inch white squares, following Deanna’s instructions.  The center block measured  6-½ inches unfinished.

I had seen a pattern somewhere that used a Lemoyne star center surrounded by portions of the star to form a frame.

I used 2-inch half-square triangles and squares to do this.  It took awhile but I finally got these portions all in the right position.

I put the top and bottom portions on first…

…then added the side sections.  This made an unfinished 12-½ inch piece.  I used a few strips to make a top border which made it exactly the right size for my table topper.  I quilted in the ditch and used some decorative stitching in the background blocks.

It would have been difficult to do a traditional Lemoyne Star in such a small size.  This easy pattern gives me similar results.

Click on pictures to enlarge.

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Super Stars and Sofa Cushions

Wedding Dress Blue has an interesting quilt-along and tutorial for an easy version of the Lemoyne Star called Super Star that is fun and quick to put together.  Click here for her tutorial.  I have a large, deep-seated sofa that requires large cushions behind my back if my feet are going to touch the floor.  I had salvaged two large foam cushions from a discarded couch and the 16-inch star was perfect when I added some strips and additional half-squares to make the block larger.  I made the block for the front and back of each cushion and chose not to quilt the covers which will have to be laundered frequently.

I used only scraps in these two cushion covers, including a large bag of white scraps I had bought last fall in Ohio Amish country.

I made a total of 80 half-squares that were 2-½ inches and for this many pieces, I turned to my Wonder Cut Ruler which made quick work of them.

I also used scraps for the side sections, cutting 6-inch wide strips of various lengths of fabric.

I had salvaged two long zippers from the original cushions and didn’t have to buy anything to complete the project.

My dog, Addie, wondered when I was going to be finished taking pictures so I could fill her dinner bowl and also when I was going to get out of the way so she could get back to her favorite spot on the couch.

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Cats and Dogs Springtime Wall Hanging

My youngest daughter likes to have a quilted wall hanging in her family room and hinted broadly that she’d like one with some spring colors.  She didn’t have any other ideas and said something with her kids would be OK.  I’ve already made several hangings featuring her kids, so I thought this time it would be nice to feature the pets she has owned since she was married.  I scanned the pictures and then printed them on June Tailor Sew-In Colorfast Fabric Sheets for Ink Jet Printers.

I added borders to the pictures to make 6 inch blocks.

The alternate blocks were simple Diamond in a Square to showcase some beautiful 5 inch florals I had along with some pale green gingham.

For the backing, I used some pink fabric that had been a dress for her daughter a few years ago.  The quilting is simple straight line and stitch-in-the-ditch.  I also made a sleeve (the drapery hooks were used just to take pictures).   The wall hanging measures 30×30 inches.  The label includes pictures of the animals.

The beagle Bailey in the center was her first dog who passed away a few years ago. The rest of the group is still running amuck in her house – the black dog Frank was adopted after he was found abandoned in the neighborhood; Jimmi the Blue Tick Coon Hound came from a local rescue (Recycled Doggies); the cats showed up at her front door on two successive Halloween nights – their names are appropriately Milky Way and Snickers.

My daughter likes having the rest of her “family” featured on a wall hanging.

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Disappearing Nine-Patch Quilt-Along

I wanted to participate in a quilt-along offered by Freda at Impera Magna and try the Disappearing Nine-Patch block.  My problem is that I’m not good at reporting my progress on quilt-alongs and before I know it, I’ve completed the quilt without really participating.

To audition the block, I made a doll’s quilt first ….

http://lillianscupboard.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/disappearing-9-patch-qal-and-a-doll-quilt/

Then, I started making a child-size “I Spy” quilt for our local Linus Project which distributes quilts to children in  hospitals.  I used all scraps for this quilt and bought only the fleece for the backing (which the Linus group prefers) and thread.  It turned out to be bigger than I expected – 47 inches wide x 58 inches long.  I’ve been having back problems and didn’t want to wrestle a large quilt through my Bernina.  This quilt was bigger than I intended, but manageable.

Instead of turning the blocks as shown in Freda’s instructions, I simply switched the top right and bottom left square in each block so that my I Spy blocks would not be turned.

Rather than buy more fabric for the border, I made an extra row of blocks and did not use a border.  I used the fleece as backing and batting and did a very simple quilting pattern on the machine.

I draped the finished quilt over my couch and left the room to get my camera.  When I came back, Addie, the beagle, was well settled on the quilt, looking as though I had made it for her.  Luckily, the Linus group meticulously washes all of the quilts that are donated so I know it will be in good shape when it goes to the hospital.

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Disappearing 9-Patch QAL – and a Doll Quilt

When I saw that Freda at Imperamagna was hosting a QAL featuring a Disappearing 9-Patch, I was interested but just didn’t want to get into a big quilt at this time.  Then, I thought maybe I could make a child’s quilt for my local Linus Project, and going even smaller, I could first make a doll quilt for my granddaughter’s American Girl Doll bed.

The doll is American Girl’s Kit from the depression era and her metal bed is the perfect color of green.  I had some Windham Storybook IV c 1930 Scottie fabric that was ideal and the Disappearing 9-Patch block was easy enough to be able to work with the small blocks.

In keeping with the 1930s theme, I added some rickrack to the top and bottom borders.

Now, Kit has all of the proper bedding, including my daughter’s hand-knitted bedspread.

I’m still participating in the QAL and working on blocks for my Linus quilt.

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Country Fair Mini-Quilt – Table Topper

When I gave my youngest daughter an anniversary mini-quilt and rack in October, I knew I would be supplying new quilts as the occasion arose.  I made Thanksgiving and Christmas quilts, then realized mid-January she didn’t have a quilt for her table topper.  I made what I call an “interim quilt” which means it would work out for non-seasonal, non-holiday display.

Last year about this time, I spent some time making some of Judy Martin’s variations on LeMoyne stars.  I particularly liked this one called “Country Fair“.  The block I made is far from perfect and convinced me I didn’t want to make a big quilt from this block, but I still think it’s nice as a mini-quilt with some strips added to fit the rack.

I quilted it to a fleece backing, added sleeve, label and binding – and my daughter has an interim quilt to display until time to put up the Valentine’s Day decorations.

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An Anniversary Table Topper

I wanted to make a table topper for my youngest daughter’s 17th wedding anniversary.  Over the past 17 years, I’ve used the picture of the bride and groom many times.  This time, I wanted to use just the picture of the bride and found the perfect block on crafty.com – an Inverted Star.

This block in a 12-inch size gave me the large center portion to insert a picture of my daughter as a bride printed on  June Tailor Sew-In Colorfast Fabric Sheets.

For the four center blocks I wanted to use a picture of her bouquet and my oldest daughter was able to place the bouquet on a doily and maroon background  to give the flowers the right design elements.  She worked with both pictures to make them perfect for this piece.

I used my daughter’s wedding colors of white and burgundy in this topper and quilted with simple machine stitching.   I had made the dresses for the wedding for the bride, the maid of honor (my oldest daughter) and for me as the mother of the bride. The label includes the remaining small scraps of fabric from each of our dresses.

I was able to buy an Ackfeld 12×14 single scroll stand at a recent quilt show to complete the gift.

My son-in-law could care less about quilts and always receives a check for his gift.  My daughter was very pleased with the table topper when I gave it to her on Sunday, October 14.

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Honey Bee Table Topper–Mini-Quilt

My daughter gave me an embroidered piece she had made several years ago and I wanted to make a table topper quilt out of it.  I didn’t want anything too colorful or elaborate to draw attention away from the beautiful embroidery and decided on strips of Civil War reproduction fabric with the deep, rustic colors that are in the panel.

I quilted the topper with machine embroidery along the edges of the strips.  The backing is one of many I have stored away made of scraps.  As beginner/ender projects or just as some mindless sewing to do when I want to relax, I make up backings from scraps and orphan blocks.

I’m glad to have another honey bee item to add to my collection.

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Pie Contest Table Topper–Mini-Quilt

In the 1990s, I did a large painting of our county fair pie contest.

I took a picture of this painting and printed it on June Tailor Colorfast Fabric for Inkjet Printers.  I left the backing paper on while I touched up the acrylic paint and re-inked the picture.  Then, I removed the backing paper and sewed on strips of fabric plus rick-rack to complete the top.

I used all scraps for the backing and completed a memory piece for my table topper rack.

The little pie was hand carved from wood by a good friend and I borrowed one of my daughter’s miniature blue ribbons for this display.

In 1995, I had used a version of this painting to make a floor cloth for my daughter.  It has been in constant use since that time and I’m going to freshen the paint and apply another couple coats of clear acrylic so it will be bright for a few more years.

In 1993, the original design was on a sweatshirt which won a blue ribbon at our county fair and at the Ohio State Fair.

My inspiration for the sketch was my first pie contest in 1983.  The story is posted here.

http://lillianscupboard.wordpress.com/2008/07/29/the-pie-contest/

As hectic, hot and tiring as the experience was, it stands out in my memory as one of the highlights of my life.

My oldest daughter, who was there at the time and has entered contests herself, has a delightful poem about pie contests on her blog.

http://www.nudged2write.com/archives/2692

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County Fair Table Topper

In a previous post, I wrote about resurrecting some old decorative art sketches to make pen and ink panels for a tri-stand quilt rack.  That post is here:

http://lillianscupboard.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/july-4th-parade-tri-stand-mini-quilts/

I thought I’d give another favorite sketch a try and made a panel for my larger mini-quilt rack using a design from 1996.  I thought it would be nice to do a crazy-quilt border using actual fair award ribbons.  Although I have a box full of county and state fair ribbons I‘ve won through the years, I didn’t want to cut those up.  Luckily, my daughter found a box of Montgomery County award ribbons (Dayton, Ohio) in an antique mall and I used some of those.

It’s rather ironic that I’m using ribbons from this fair because it was a major event that we attended all the time I was growing up in the 1930s-40s.  I even posted about their big Labor Day Fair here:

http://lillianscupboard.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/labor-day-in-the-1930s-40s/

I added strip borders and quilted in gold thread to match the lettering on the ribbons…

…and a sleeve, label and binding.

Back in 1996, I had made several wood projects with this design to sell in our craft mall booth.  It was like meeting an old friend again after all these years.

Click on pictures to enlarge.

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