Cozy Afternoon – Free BOM – Block 5

Jacquelynne Steves has offered another series of free blocks-of-the-month called Cozy Afternoon.

http://jacquelynnesteves.com/cozy-afternoon-block-of-the-month/

There were five blocks in the series, each with a pattern to embroider or applique for the center.  I have a large hassock with a lid which I’m going to cover, using five blocks – one for the top of the lid and four for the sides.

My version of Block 5 is shown in the top picture.  This will be one of the sides of the hassock cover, using a vintage embroidery pattern for the center.

I made all of my blocks with a beach or nautical theme.

Jacquelynne has completed the series with suggestions for setting and borders, but since I will not be making a wall hanging, I will work out how I want to place these blocks using one top panel and four side panels to make the hassock cover.  More on that in a week or two.

Jacquelynne always offers interesting blocks that are simple and easy to make but very pretty.  I’ve enjoyed this quilt-along.

LeMoyne Star Blocks

I love LeMoyne Stars but have never felt completely satisfied with the ones I made.  I decided to devote some time this week to making some LeMoyne Stars and trying to get more comfortable with them.

I have a piece of software by one of my favorite designers, Judy Martin.   Stars and Sets has over 200 blocks for several types of stars – Ohio, Variable, Lone Star, Compass, Spikey Star and LeMoyne.  The software is difficult to find but the patterns I chose are also in her books as noted.

The patterns are rated 1 to 4 stars, with 1 star being the easiest.  There is no one-star LeMoyne block so I chose four two-star patterns to try.  I made all them in the 8-inch finished size.

SALSA – I combined rotary cutting and templates and it went together fairly well.  There are a couple of points that are a little short, but otherwise I like the block.  This block also appeared in Judy’s book, Block Book, pg 38

LAKE OF THE WOODS – I used Judy’s suggestion of cutting the center triangles from the same pattern of fabric to form a kaleidoscope.  The block went together well and I really like it.  Also in Judy’s book, Scraps, Blocks & Quilts, pg 33

BUILDING BLOCK – Made this block completely from templates.  Judy provides piecing diagrams for all of her blocks which made it go together fairly easily.  The center hexagon was quite small and difficult to sew with a partial seam.

While I was working on this block, it didn’t look promising but it was like a puzzle and other than wishing I had made a couple of different fabric choices, the block is impressive.

Also in Judy’s book, Judy Martin’s Ultimate Book of Quilt Block Patterns, pg 31

THE RIVER JORDAN – I used both templates and rotary cutting.  A nice pattern and not too difficult.  Also in Judy’s book, The Block Book, pg 34

I had a fun, challenging week, but now I’m ready to piece something a little easier.  Some day, I hope to actually make one of the 3-star or 4-star versions.

Dolphin’s Butterfly Quilt

When my 7-year-old granddaughter (known here as Dolphin) saw us picking out fabric for an anniversary quilt I was making for her mother, she said she wanted to choose some fabric for a new quilt for herself.  Actually, I started learning to quilt 8 years ago so I could make a baby quilt for this little girl.  She has long ago outgrown the baby quilt and I was happy to take her shopping for just the right fabric.  It took her a short time to pick out butterfly fabric in pink and lavendar and the border in pale pink.  We thought maybe a brighter pink would work better, but she wanted it to be all pastel.

Since this quilt will be drug around the house and probably wind up as a tent, a theater curtain or anything else a first-grader can imagine, I wanted to make it sturdy and without my favorite intricate piecing.  It was a very fast quilt to put together with 12-inch blocks, 1-1/2 inch sashing and borders which became a rather wide 6 inches because of the length and width that Dolphin requested.

For the backing/batting, she chose a flowered fleece which she liked because it was so snuggly-soft.

Her mother also loved the soft fleece backing (and she loves large bright-colored flowers).

The only place I used a bright pink color was in the binding.  I scanned a picture of Dolphin and me and printed it on fabric to make a label so she would always remember how we looked when she received the quilt.

Because of the fleece backing, I could use minimum quilting and just did some very simple straight line and in-the-ditch machine quilting.  The finished quilt measures 50×63 inches.

Airing the Quilts Wall Hanging

This is another collaboration piece with my daughter who in this case did almost all of the work.  She did the redwork hand embroidery from a pattern from Quilting Bee Designs.

Then, she hand-stitched four reverse-applique blocks for the corners….

…and did some exquisite hand quilting.

My contribution was a little assembly, sleeve, binding and a label.

I like the idea of a label showing a current picture so that anyone who might see this piece in the future will have some idea of the person who did such gorgeous work.

The completed hanging measures 26-1/2 inches x 21 inches.

Quilting with Laura Quilt

One of my Christmas gifts was a pattern book by Linda Halpin, Quilting with Laura – Patterns Inspired by the “Little House on the Prairie” Series, published by RCW Publishing Company.

My youngest daughter, who is an admirer of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her books, gave me the pattern and I considered making the quilt for her, although I knew this type of quilt was not her decorating style.  Surprisingly, she volunteered that she would like to have the quilt with all its scrappy blocks, so I started getting the fabrics together.  The pattern is for a large 37″x46″ wall hanging and I added borders to make it large enough for a single bed.

The quilt includes blocks actually mentioned in the television series as well as traditional blocks whose names reflect events in Laura’s time.  Instructions and templates are given for 14 blocks of varying sizes and a diagram is given for the layout of the quilt.  My main complaint is that no measurements were given for the many types of sashing used to separate blocks.  I was able to work it out but beginners might have a bit of a problem.

I’m not good at hand sewing, so all of the piecing and quilting were done on my Bernina.  After the quilt was completed, I made a label for each block, printing on fabric and then making a frame for each from backing fabric.  Each label, sewn on the back of the quilt at the spot where the block appears on the front, gave the name of the block for my non-quilting daughter and a brief explanation of why the block was chosen.  Example:  Nine Patch – a block that Mary was able to make even after losing her eyesight.

The most difficult block, and my favorite, was Doves in the Window, reportedly the pattern used by Laura in her wedding quilt.

The patterns in the book are:

• Nine Patch
• Snowball

• Sawtooth
• Indian Trails
• Flying Geese
• Corn and Beans
• Prairie Queen
• Trail of the Covered Wagon
• Bear’s Paw
• Dugout
• Album
• Log Cabin
• Schoolhouse

• Doves in the Window

My daughter tells me this quilt with low loft batting has replaced her handmade, very heavy afghan and is just as warm.

Two Linus Quilts

I donate at least three quilts a year to the Linus Project.  The quilts are distributed by the nurses in selected hospitals to children with terminal illnesses.

Quilt #1 for this year was a red quilt, designed for a girl.  Quilts #2 and #3 were made using a focus fabric with colorful pirates and aimed at little boys.

I based my pattern loosely on Flip a Coin which was demonstrated on the Fons & Porter TV show.  It consists of wide strips of focus fabric, slightly narrower strips of scraps and  narrow strips of a coordinating fabric.

The quilts went together easily and I used my Bernina to do some meandering quilting.

I hope a couple of little boys will enjoy the quilts and their funny pirates.

Victory Quilt – 1940s Sampler – Completed

On Mother’s Day, I received Eleanor Burns’ new Quilt-in-a-Day book, Victory Quilts – 1940s Sampler Quilts.  I made each of the 20 blocks in the book and posted them (see my Quilting category). 

I made sashing and completed assembling the quilt which fits a queen-sized bed.  I chose darker colors because it was going to be on a bed where a dog and children play quite often and I was mainly looking for something sturdy which would stand up well to pets and kids.

The top went together very easily but I made major problems for myself by deciding to use as much as possible of my big pile of scraps to do the backing.  I used dryer sheets as the foundation for every scrap I could find and also used some full-sized orphan blocks down the center of the backing.  This was very time-consuming but I was happy to have so many bits and pieces of the last six years of quilting stitched into the back of the quilt.  Then, I started a simple meander quilting pattern on my Bernina and had nothing but trouble.  Needles broke, thread broke, and generally it was a nightmare which I’d never attempt again.  I assume the many ridges and edges of small pieces added to the foundation made it too cumbersome for the machine. 

Now, that the quilt is finished, I’m satisfied with it and learned some useful lessons in the process.

Lodge Style Log Cabin Hanging

 

In the relatively quiet week between Christmas and New Year’s, I made a new wall hanging for my lodge-themed guest bedroom.  It was based on a pattern I picked up in September at Miller’s Dry Goods in Charm, Ohio (Holmes County Amish Country).  The pattern is called “Log Cabin”  (#99001) by Pine Meadows Designs.  The pattern size is 23-1/2″ long x 27″ wide and I added a wide border to come up with the size that I wanted to hang over a queen size bed.

The pattern and instructions are very complete for the center cabin and lake scene which is appliqued using fusible web and invisible thread.  There are 22 log cabin blocks around the centerpiece which can be paper pieced (patterns provided) or simply sewn together as I have done.  

I quilted with invisible thread, echoing the design in the center and using stich-in-the-ditch and some cross lines to accent the small log cabin blocks. 

It is a fairly simple pattern and not too time-consuming, resulting in a very colorful wall hanging which is perfect in my lodge style room.

Christmas Wall Hangings

 

I have 3 Christmas wall hangings that I’ve made since I started quilting 5 years ago.  Two of the earlier ones were made incorporating colorful primitive panels.

One of the wall hangings has a primitive Santa panel along with Bear Paw blocks from the Quilter’s Cache. 

This hanging is in the guest bedroom which has a lodge motif year-around.  Two Christmas stocking panels are combined with blocks made from flannel scraps and borders made from wonderful flannel with a village motif which was purchased at one of my favorite shops in southwest Ohio, Fabric Shack in Waynesville.

The third hanging is from a pattern called “A Scottish Christmas”, Mad Dog Marketing, PO Box 5608, Evanston IL 60204-5608.  The pattern was sized for a 37-1/2×54″ piece, much bigger than I wanted, and I sized it down to 17×22 and made a few changes/additions.  Since scotties are among my favorite designs, I love this wall hanging and it also won a blue ribbon at the Warren County (Ohio) fair.

The little crow picture above the scotties was made by my oldest daughter.

Little Boy Blue Quilt

 

I had the idea for this quilt two years ago and made it to enter in the Warren County Fair (Ohio) where it won 3rd prize. 

The pattern was taken from a wonderful book, Embroidered Childhood Memories by Brenna Hopkins & Nori Koenig, American Quilter’s Society, Paducah, KY.  The book includes more than 100 vintage patterns from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s – “Nostalgic needlework patterns capture the enchantment of fairy tales, lullabies and sweet dreams.”  I used the patterns for crayon coloring on white fabric.  I drew the pattern on the fabric with a permanent fine-point pen, using a light box, then colored the pattern with crayon and heat set by placing a piece of white paper over the coloring and pressing it. 

I chose the snowball block to show off the pattern and used a variety of blue, green, yellow and white fabric in the piecing to complement the crayon colors. 

I put the quilt away, thinking it would go to the first great-grandson in the family, and he came along on November 15, 2007.  I made up a label for the quilt and waited for my chance to present it to little Curtis.

 

I saw him for the first time last night.  Curtis didn’t have an opinion, but his mother and big sister liked the quilt.