wedding quilt--process

My niece Emilee asked me to plan a signature quilt for her wedding to her Andy last September. (We have three Andy's in the family now, so each is referred to by the woman he belongs to.)

I decided to use Bonnie Hunter's Bricks and Stepping Stones pattern.

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2005/06/bricks-stepping-stones.html

I cut out 3 1/2 by 6 1/2 rectangles from a variety of paler lavenders and periwinkles and sat at a table at the wedding helping people ink their sentiments. 

It was a clash of cultures. Her northwest Iowa family and friends tended to write blessings and prayers. Some of his central Iowa family and friends were inclined to include sly references to what would happen in the bed this quilt would end up covering.

Yesterday I decided it was time to get this put together before it became a millstone. There were about 58 signed patches. I am making the quilt with 144, so they can get additional signatures added once it is done--her parents and sisters didn't get to the table, and I assured them I'd have plenty blank ones for them.

(I did play the aunt card and threw away one block that was very vulgar. Yeah, I'm that aunt...)

Most of the blocks will need to be gone over with the ink to darken them. I'll do that with my sister when it is finished.

I bought an Accuquilt Studio Cutter this spring and have the strip dies. I used the 2 inch strips for making the four patches. I tore off 13 inches from the purple and the floral batiks, used the die to get twenty 13" strips, sewed them, then ran through the cutter again to get 120 2-patches to sew into 60 4-patches. I did this 3 times, so I have 180 4-patches to work with.

It was an efficient process and a good way to get to know the cutter better. I've used it on a few other projects this summer and am seeing its potential.

I hope to have this off to the quilter before Faculty Week starts mid August. My summer of sewing is drawing to a close.

another sew-a-long! Calico Rose

I thought I had one shoe box of 2 inch squares--then this weekend found another that was pretty close to being full.
In a quest to find a project to use some up, I came across Deanna's Calico Rose sew-a-long on her Wedding Dress Blue blog.

https://weddingdressblue.wordpress.com/calico-rose-quiltalong/

The sew-a-long started in March, so I will have to fit in lots of machine time in to be ready for the August show and tell. But, with all the squares at the ready, I think I can make it!

And, I am enjoying my birthday flowers--Eve told them to make it wild and yellow.

 

birthday!

I remember this cake! It was beautiful, mom!
It looks like 3 candles, so 54 years ago.

 We celebrated at a new restaurant--the Dutch and Indonesian influenced De Quay on Lincoln Avenue. Stroopwafels for dessert!

My small group gives fabric based on the birthday member's theme choice. This year I requested "man made objects".
What a delightful assortment!
typewriters
windows
trains
sphygmomanometers and stethoscopes
license plates
purses and shoes
bicycles

rail fence in streak of lightning set, top completed

It is huge! About 84 by 102 inches.
The unit (finishing 6 inches) is a rail fence, with two rails made from 2 1/2 inch cut squares and the third with a solid 2 1/2 by 6 1/2 inch cut strip. I used a Moda Blue.
I put 4 of these units into a 12 inch block. If you go to my earlier post you will see my pressing plan.
You may notice the odd floating units along one edge. I could have figured out how to make that edge flow, but decided the simplest solution was the lazy way, and let them float.

And, it used up 1/4th of my 2 1/2 inch squares! Just one and a half shoe boxes left of them. I am trying to pull together my sewing room, so I fear they both will be full again soon. I need a new 2 1/2 inch square project...

paint box--top completed

I saw this idea on Aunt Marti's blog from a kit called "Bit 'o Color" from Nala's shop.
http://www.52quilts.com/2015/01/on-design-wall.html
http://nalasquiltshoppe.webs.com/

I drafted my own using 2 inch cut strips. I had all the color centers already in my solid scraps bin.
The black and whites are cut two pieces 2 by 5 inches and two pieces 2 inches.
A hint in cutting the black and whites, as I used fabrics in different lengths.
Cut one 5 inch strip and one 2 inch strip from the fabric. Then cut 2 inch pieces from each, and you will have pairs of each to make the blocks. When I tried cutting them from just 2 inch strips I was always loosing count of how many of each size I was cutting.

By flipping the blocks there are only corner seams to match. I included both white and black and cream and black.

It looks like the watercolor paint boxes from my grade school days. They would be all dirty when we opened them. We would run the boxes under water, washing off the mixtures, and the little squares of clear color would be revealed.
The solids have the illusion of hovering over the quilt.

...and all ships at sea--top completed

This quilt was made from the tutorial on Claire Witherspoon's blog Cspoonquilt. She wrote it inspired by a vintage quilt posted by Barbara Brackman. You can follow the ships label below to my previous posts showing the process of making this quilt. The block is 10 inches finished and the top measures 70 by 80.

One thing I found in putting the quilt together, I first was forcing the pressing method to ensure no twisted seams. I discovered the top would go together easier and lay flatter by allowing those "twisted sisters" to happen. By letting the seams decide how to lay by the end of putting it together it was easier. (I did not go back and resew those I forced.)

Thanks, Claire and Barbara for your inspiration.

Here is the tutorial:
http://cspoonquilt.blogspot.com/2015/06/june-bom-accurate-piecing-continuing.html#comment-form
Here is the quilt on Barbara's blog.
http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/2015/03/symbolism-in-abolition-quilt.html

It was so much fun pairing big loud prints and solids. I have several favorites but especially like the hot pink ship on the pistachio ground with big brown dots. I purchased that fabric at Mood in New York and the cutter smiled when he saw I chose that fabric.