Dear Prudence, Pin-Basted - One Monthly Goal Finish

This is my version of Pam Buda's Quilt Archaeology sew-along quilt, Dear Prudence.  And I'm barely in time to post my One Monthly Goal for November.  (You never know what a month will bring that will delay a goal.)  I just finished making the backing, layering, and pin-basting it tonight.  But, it's done!

In the photo above the brown at the bottom captured the color of the fabric I used better than in the photo below.  I'm satisfied with the colors I chose even though I know the grey border is really close in shade to the brown.  I think they will be fine together.

I'm looking forward to quilting this though I don't know when I'll get started, though I'm still undecided about how to quilt it.  Since it's small maybe I can handle this now, while sciatica is preventing me from doing other things.  We'll see.

I'm linking this post to One Monthly Goal November Finish Link-up at Elm Street Quilts.  Thanks for hosting, Patty.

--Nancy.

Still November - Saturday Snapshots

I know so many people are ready to decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving, but I can't give up this beautiful month yet, this wonderous time of focusing on gratitude.  So here are a few snapshots, before Christmas celebrations begin.

I've always been amazed at the leaf prints left on pavement after a rain.  Leaves, but not quite leaves.

A few Sundays ago when we left for church, we discovered frost on a chrysanthemum plant.

It looked like spun sugar/cotton candy, but it's called frost flowers, rabbit frost, rabbit ice, or ice ribbons.  It was just totally amazing, one of those wonders of nature you read about and see photos of but never see in person.  (You can read more here, here, or here.)

Just for a little perspective, this is a photo (of a photo) of old-growth trees in Kentucky, probably late 1800s or early 1900s.

While visiting my daughter in Kentucky we went to a Chautauqua presentation at her local library given by a reenactor presenting Lilley Cornett, a miner who worked to protect the old-growth forests of Kentucky.  I was simply amazed at the size of the trees!  There is still a protected section of old-growth forest in Kentucky.  Some day I hope to visit.

And now for some refreshment....  Are you old enough to remember choosing one of these?

Which was your favorite?  My grandmother chose Beeman's.  My favorite was Black Jack.

I suppose we'll be needing a sign like this soon, if not already.

To those of you who celebrated Thanksgiving, I hope you had a wonderful one.  As for me, I've been in pain from what my doctor suspects is sciatica.  Oh, ouch and double ouch.  For the most part I missed most of the joys of this holiday.  Still, there are plenty of blessings and challenges to be grateful for.

--Nancy.

Wishing You . . .

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nancy.

Oh, Ugh!

It's just too much pink!  I cannot keep this border.  Okay, granted, it may look fine in the photo, but in person--ugh. 

What happened between seeing the quilt below, the original quilt for Pam Buda's Dear Prudence sew-along, and making the quilt above.  What did my eyes not see?  Maybe I focused on those tiny Birds in the Air blocks made in those awesome colors?  I don't know, but somehow I missed the mark--the likeability mark for my own eyes.

Of course the border is already sewn on.  I'm grateful it's a small quilt and won't take too long to unstitch.

Now I'm auditioning fabrics.  The four fabrics around around the edges in the two photos below are the ones I'm considering.  They were options for the blocks that I didn't think were close enough to the fabrics in the original quilt to use.

The fabrics on right and left are reproductions; the other two are not but I thought the colors worked well.  Below is a different view that shows the fabrics better.  It would be good if I could manage at least a hint of contrast between the inner and outer borders.

It is a sad fact that I have impaired vision when it comes to imagining what fabrics will look like in a finished quilt, or anything else for that matter.  Somehow my brain doesn't register the full effect until I see the finished product.  Thank goodness we live in a brick house!

I hope whatever you're sewing or quilting or otherwise working on is going great!

I'm linking this post to
> Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and
> Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
Thanks for hosting, ladies.

--Nancy.

Border Questions

Let me tell you, there is nothing like a quilt made from blocks with many small pieces to let you know how you're managing your quarter-inch seams!  A block with 97 pieces has a lot of room for error.  

I'm still considering an applique border of oak leaves and acorns for this quilt and thinking about how to do the border.  I have a question for you with experience.  Is it better to applique the border before sewing it to the quilt or better to sew the border to the quilt and then applique the pieces?  I know it would be easier to handle just a strip of fabric when appliqueing but isn't there a good chance of stretching it out of shape?  What say you dear quilters?  What are your experiences?

I have another question about a border for this little quilt which will finish at about 18" x 23".

I have a fat quarter of fabric which is definitely large enough to cut the border, but it's not long enough, going with the grain, without piecing.  Because it's a small quilt will it work to cut the fabric cross-grain for the border?  I know cross-grain stretches.  I would never do that for a large quilt but I thought maybe I could get by with it for this little one.  Does anyone have experience with cross-grain borders on small quilts??  Thanks so much!

Whether or not I have to sew strips to make borders, I think I'm still on track to get this little quilt layered and pin-basted by the end of the month.

I hope you're having a good week.

--Nancy.

A Few Miscellaneous Saturday Snapshots

Just a few snapshots today, in no particular category or order, are views that caught my eye.

The dome of the Ohio Statehouse.  It's more beautiful in person.

How many trees?  They looked like more than four when I first saw them and then I realized I was seeing shadows too.

Cowboys!  These scraps of fabric, cut at odd angles, were at the recycle center a few years ago.  Whatever shall I do with them?!

Ice cream gets a halo when in a vintage bowl, with just the right light.

Recent autumn glory.  We walk by these maple seeds every day and every day they change color a little more.  They usually wing their way to earth in spring: it's unusual to see them now.

A few nuts and seed pods.... Too beautiful not to keep and enjoy, at least for a while.

I hope you have a great weekend.

--Nancy.

Making Dear Prudence, A Little Quilt

Wendy the Constant Quilter hosts a monthly miniature quilt link-up at the end of every month.  Such beautiful quilts the ladies make!  I love the mini quilts and have made a few but always wonder what to do with them. Then, early in October, Rogue Quilter Janet (who is one of the queens of miniature quilts) extended a challenge in conjunction with Wendy's mini link-up:  use a bag of leftover scraps and make a miniature quilt from them.  She offered a few of her bags to readers who were already participating in the monthly mini link-up.  I admired several of her color combinations in the bags but said I just didn't see myself making miniature quilts (because, of course, what would I do with them?).  Janet may read this post and chuckle.

And then, when I saw Pam Buda's new sew-along for a miniature quilt she calls Dear Prudence I caved.   (Thank you for the sew-along, Pam.)  Her inspiration quilt had 18 tiny birds in the air blocks.  I fell in love with the colors of the birds on that little quilt.  I have a small collection of fabrics in the gold-to-copper-to-bronze-to-green-to-brown color range.  Pam use pinks and blues from her fabric line for her beautiful quilt.  My version uses the original colors as much as I was able to see and copy them.  Except I didn't have enough of any double pink.  I also didn't have the pattern.  My only clue to size was that the tiny birds, unfinished, were 1½" square.

My quilt top is together except for the two borders.  I still need to trim around the edges because I wasn't sure how big to make the side-setting and corner triangles.  Oversize is better, I thought.

I'll try to find fabric for the narrow inner border that has the coppery/green tones from the fabric in the blocks, perhaps a plaid.  I've already chosen the fabric for the outer border.  You can see it on the right in the photo below.

I think the pink is an unusual choice to go with the rest of the fabrics but because I was copying an old quilt I went with it. 

I forgot how dense little quilts can become.  The seams in the tiny half-square-triangle blocks almost cover the triangles on the back. 

Finishing this top (trimming edges and adding two borders), plus choosing backing, deciding whether to use batting/flannel between, and basting are my One Monthly Goal this month. 

I'm linking this post to
> November One Monthly Goal Linkup at Elm Street Quilts.
> Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts
> Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation
> Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More
> Off the Wall Friday at Nina's blog
Thanks for hosting, ladies!

--Nancy.