Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Something New, and Something Old, too


I had several false starts on the background for this block and finally settled on the one above.  (Close-up below.) 


I still have to settle the placement of the pieces, including the leaves at the bottom, and trim the strips across the bottoms of the flowers, before I can start stitching the appliques in place.  The background for this block is 16½" x 19½", which seems huge.  I've never worked with such a large block and wasn't sure how to square it up.  I finally used the lines on my cutting mat.

This is a block of the month sew-along of Linda Brannock's "Flowers" quilt.  (I'm already behind a few months.  It feels like I'm always late these days.)  I love some of the blocks, others I could leave, but I thought there was plenty of variety to give me more applique experience without the challenge of creating the patterns myself.


I go through cycles of wanting to make my own patterns, then wanting to use ready-made patterns.  Both can be a challenge for me.  With the ready-mades, I struggle to use a pattern as is, often choosing to make changes.  And sometimes I find it hard to get beyond the colors the pattern shows.  When creating one's own pattern there is lots of trial and error to make it the way one wants or imagines, but then there's plenty of play and fun involved with that, too.


I went to a little quilt show a few weeks ago.  It was in a small town, inside a house that had become an art center.  There were perhaps two dozen quilts, most were folded over furniture.  The lighting was so poor that I didn't take photos.

The two best things about the show were quilter's yard sale (I couldn't resist) and this great old quilt which was folded over a railing at the front of the house.  The color in this first photo is most accurate.


I fell in love.  It was so scrappy and I thought the quilting was interesting, too, with its imperfect Baptist Fans.


The batting was very thick.  It was the kind of quilt I'd like to nestle under on a cold winter day.  Is super thick batting available these days?  It's interesting that the stitches were as small as they were considering having to go through so much thickness.


Also at the show they were handing out this flyer about folding quilts on the bias instead of with the grain.  I hadn't heard that suggestion before but I know that when I pull out a quilt that's been folded for a time it doesn't like flat as it did when it first came out of the dryer.  Nor do my quilt tops lie flat when I pull them out.  I'm going to try this diagonal fold and see how it works.

The next project I need to think about is which top to quilt and what backing to use.  I like to have a quilt in a hoop at home and applique to take in the car so I always have something to do.

I wish you well!

--Nancy.
. 

12 comments:

  1. might be an old cotton batting....they were quite thick...it's a beauty tho

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Grace. I think you're right about it being a cotton batting. It just had that look about it. I wonder, though, how the quilter was able to quilt through such thickness! However she managed it, she created a wonderful quilt.

      Delete
  2. I love that old, old thick quilt...gorgeous! Your block colors are so pretty...lovely work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Julie. Yes, isn't that old quilt gorgeous?! I should have asked someone about the history of it but I didn't think of it till just now. It would have been fun to see the whole quilt and interesting to have checked it out a little more.

      Delete
  3. That is a really pretty block, Nancy. You do such nice work choosing and coordinating fabrics.
    Such a lovely old quilt. Was it for sale, or on display?
    I have heard of the importance of folding your quilts this way. A handout is a great idea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Janet. I wish I had a little more confidence when choosing fabrics and colors, especially when using someone else's patterns. But it's nice to hear you say this one works. (What can go wrong with 4 colors, though, right?)

      The old quilt was display. I wish I'd asked about it, to see if I could have opened it and looked at the whole quilt.

      I just folded the last quilt I made on the diagonal. I'll check it in a few months to see how it is compared to one that's folded straight grain.

      Delete
  4. What a sweet new project. I like the little black and white fabric you've chosen. It is a subtle but satisfying change behind the vase of flowers. This is going to be a fun project. It seems so sad, Linda Brannock is gone too. I guess we are both paying tribute to well remembered and treasured designers in our current projects.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Robin. I chose a different fabric for the bottom of the quilt because it seemed to me like the vase of flowers was floating in air. I thought it should be sitting on a table or table cloth/cover or something. I don't know what I'll do with the rest of the blocks because I think they are all like that. I noticed someone added a narrow strip of fabric under the vase as a base to sit on.

      I didn't know Linda Brannock's work but after you commented that she was a well-known designer, I looked up some of her quilts and patterns. I like this particular quilt pattern less than her others but this will offer me a challenge (plenty of challenges, really!) and I'll learn and grow from it (if I don't give up first). I really wish I were doing Sweet Land of Liberty but I think that would be even more challenging. I still feel like such a novice, especially when it comes to applique.

      Delete
  5. Your choice of background fabric looks great - it adds interest without distracting from the applique designs. I'd never heard of folding quilts on the bias - very interesting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Allison. As I told someone else, it seemed to me like the vase was just floating in air.... I've folded one quilt on the bias just to see if I notice a difference.

      Delete
  6. I love the Baptist fan quilt-funny how someone elses imperfect quilting is so charming and delightful but our own imperfection seem like obvious errors :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Pam. Yes, that's so true. One of the things I love about the old quilts is the odd little quirks, the unusual choices of fabric, the make-do efforts I see. I wish I could be a little more forgiving of the imperfections in my own quilts.

      Delete

I appreciate your comments and look forward to reading what you have to say. Thanks for stopping by.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...