a five-generation quilt

38 by 37 inches

In 2013 my friend and pastor Avena asked me to make her a liturgical stole to wear during the white seasons (Christmas, Easter, and special occasions like weddings). You can read about the stole here:
https://kleinmeisjequilts.blogspot.com/2013/04/making-liturgical-piece.html

She asked me to incorporate a quilt top her grandmother made from Avena's childhood and youth clothing and other family sewing projects that her mother cut into squares. Her grandmother was quite far into dementia and the construction of polyesters, rayons, and cottons was puckered and poofed.
I used it as the lining of the stole so it was close and private to Avena. I loved how when she walked the bottom hems would flare out and we could see a peek of the patchwork.

I asked Avena what to do with the remainder of the patchwork and she said I could discard it. Instead I tucked it away thinking someday there might be a grandchild. And, over 7 years years later, and despite our move and Avena's retirement and move across the country, I knew where it was when I heard Baby was with us.

It was too fragile to handle quilting on my domestic machine, so my friend Sue Divarco took it on her longarm with my request that all I wanted was for it to be flat, let tucks form where they will. She quilted it quite densely. I used a 1930s reproduction for the back, a nod to Avena's grandmother. The fabrics of the patchwork I date to range from the 1920s to the 1970s. I used 6 leftover pieces of red binding from my own quiltmaking.

Because I had cut away a portion of the patchwork for the stole there was a remnant rectangle of patchwork I trimmed and bound to make a small table mat. I like that there is a stain in the black gingham!

14 by 5 inches

In the end very little was discarded. Most of the patchwork went into the stole, the quilt, and the mat.

I left about 6 inches to sew in the binding so Avena and her daughter can put the final stitches in the quilt.
The quilt is finished. It was made by the hands of Avena's grandmother and mother, by Avena and her daughter. And now, ready to swaddle Baby.
Five generations.

working on the alphabets

It has been a busy semester, but I have found time to make a few letters now and then. They will be my tax-prep-respite for the next few weeks.
Using the Moda alphabet, with my own modifications.
 

calendar quilt--a year half passed

I started this calendar quilt on my birthday in July. The thought behind it was marking off the days during quarantine. A bit of hubris to start a year-long project when we are in danger of the pandemic.
Most weeks I catch up on Saturdays as I do not work on it every day. I choose a square based on events, thoughts, moods. Most often I choose a fabric that reminds me of a family member or a friend, selected because I thought of them that day. Some of the fabrics are from these people. Sometimes it is just a fabric or color I love.
And sometimes it gets the mood of the day. There are little nurses and a Dr Fauci back when the vaccine was released. There is a Ruth Bader Ginsburg too.
Sadly, this week I included a chaos block for when the Capital was stormed.
Let us hope for calm going forward.

I cut solids when I have solids out for other projects. I cut squares ahead too.
Blocks are made ahead and kept in a box ready to pull from as they fit the day, or a fabric is sought out to commemorate a day.
The smartest thing I did in designing the quilt was to have a spacer between each Saturday and Sunday, making it easier to see where I left off.

Click on the "calendar quilt" label below to read previous posts detailing block construction and quilt design.
My design, use at your pleasure.

start at the very beginning

I started this alphabet today--actually two. One with batik scraps and the other with 30's repros and a constant green. I think I will go forward with both.
https://my.modafabrics.com/2019/02/moda-spell-it-with-fabric

Here is a link to the pattern:
https://www.fatquartershop.com/moda-spell-it-with-fabric-quilt-free-pdf-pattern

If you download it and print double sided, then fold in half at the horizontal, staple it, it makes a book.
Letters finish 10 by 8 before sashings/spacers

I have learned so far:
-Write the cut sizes larger as they are small and in green print. I have already made mistakes.
-Change the cutting when it doesn't make sense. On the B the right side does not need so many pieces. I made the two squares and two rectangles of that side into two rectangles 3 1/2 by 2 1/2.
-Press the way it wants to be pressed, not the way they say to. With the batiks behaving differently from the 30's fabric, I let them do what they wanted.
-I am using Doug Leko's simple folded corners mini. Any flipped triangle method would work but I like this one. Link below.

Anyone want to join me on this?
I am not rushing this. It may turn out to be a several months project.
I am not worrying about the sashing/spacers/layout for now.
There is also a mini version of these. Link below.

https://www.primitivegatherings.us/mini-alphabet-quilt?search=mini%20alphabet&description=true

https://antlerquiltdesign.com/collections/notions/products/mini-simple-folded-corners-ruler

16-patch with orange medallion, quilt completed

16-patch with orange medallion

72 by 72 inches

Made from 16-patches using up many of my bin of neutral 2 1/2 inch squares, plus those gathered from my quilt group's covid round-robin where we put squares in envelopes and send them on, removing what we want, adding more to share.
The quilt was influenced by Kirstin Klasen and Wanda Hanson. You can read more about how it came together here:
https://kleinmeisjequilts.blogspot.com/2020/09/neutral-16-patch-with-orange-medallion.html
I do tend to push my neutrals! There are fabrics of my mother and grandmothers in this. I really like this soft orange used for the medallion and binding.
Quilted by Sue Divarco.

My design. Use at your pleasure.

My final finish for 2020.
I plan to hang this in our bedroom.

propeller, top completed

Propeller
90 by 72 inches
80 blocks set 8 by 10

Block finishes 9 inches
Solid: one square cut 3 1/2 inches, four rectangles cut 1 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches
Print: four rectangles cut 3 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches
Block construction details are posted here:
https://kleinmeisjequilts.blogspot.com/2020/05/propeller-2.html

Assembly:
Sew into 5-block units. Press joining seams in one direction
Sew together two 5-block units, flipping the second unit so seams nest

Sew together two rows each made up of four of the larger units
One final horizontal seam
My design. Use at your pleasure!

Merry Christmas 2020!

A Merry Christmas from the Dykstra Davis family in Chicago. 

letter box, quilt completed

My adaptation of the pattern Letter Box from the June 2009 McCalls Quilting magazine.

I worked with plaids a lot back then. I remember wanting to make a summer feeling quilt. The best source of these light plaids is in the women and the children sections of the thrift stores. The fabric yield is not as good as in a man's shirt, as they are smaller and a woman's shirt has darts that take up lots of fabric. But, the variety of plaids from these sections is really worth it.

 After more than 10 years as a top it is finally quilted and bound and in the mail from Tante Lynn to my great-niece Sybil. Sweet dreams my sunny child!

alphabet stars, quilt completed

This quilt predates the blog! I remember making the top while Eve was learning to read. I had the wonderful alphabet fabric I used for the border to honor her reading efforts.
I took little tucks here and there so the border grid would work with the center.
The center I think was from a magazine, long lost to my memory.
The top was made over 20 years ago, it was quilted shortly after that, then languished until Covid time when a binding was finally put on.
With Eve's blessing, it is on its way as a gift from Tante Lynn to my great-niece Meta whose reading efforts are impressive.

propeller

Propeller 
Block finishes 9 inches.
I plan to set 8 by 10 to finish 72 by 90 (80 blocks) or 9 by 10 to finish 81 by 90 (90 blocks).

This is a simplified version of Tines I posted about a few months ago, again using partial seaming.  The orientation of the blades is different with them sewn to the short side of the print rectangles instead of the long side.
https://kleinmeisjequilts.blogspot.com/2020/08/tines_9.html

It is also visually a variation of the St Brigid cross (Whirlygig) that I made in 2019.
https://kleinmeisjequilts.blogspot.com/2019/09/whirlygig.html

Cutting
Solid: one square 3 1/2 inches, four rectangles 1 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches
Print: four rectangles 3 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches

Construction
Sew solid rectangles to prints, press towards the solid

Sew rectangles to center square using partial seaming, always stitching from the square toward the edge of the block, keeping the square on bottom and the seams off the center square pointing away from the square.

Press these seams away from center square first from the back, then from the front. I do a bit of spray starch for my final press.

My design, use at your pleasure.

cake stand, top completed

Cake Stand
About 80 by 90 inches
Set on point with 98 blocks

Block finishes 8 inches
Cutting (using the EZ angle or Bonnie Hunter's tool for triangles)

Solid: one triangle from 4 1/2 inch strip, six triangles from 2 1/2 inch strip
Print: two triangles from 4 1/2 inch strip, four triangles from 2 1/2 inch strip, one 2 1/2 inch square, two 2 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch rectangles

Piecing directions are posted here:
https://kleinmeisjequilts.blogspot.com/2020/06/cake-stand.html

Setting triangles
I over-cut these so there would be a float. 
Corner triangles cut with sides about 8 1/2 inches
Side corners cut with hypotenuse about 14 inches

On point quilts are a pain, but I like the effect when it is done. Also, those setting triangles are a great place to use directional fabrics.

My design, use at your pleasure.

Dr Fauci made it into a setting triangle
Fabric from Spoonflower

bindings ready for winter handwork

It has been a busy semester. I manage to fit in a little piecing, quilting, and machine binding work. The larger quilts were made years ago and are finally quilted. Always good to have quilts come back from the longarmer!

The little Vote quilt was made in the lead up to this year's election, I quilted it  with the Bernina squiggle stitch.

My handwork pile is replenished for winter.

calendar quilt--three months in

My calendar quilt started on my birthday is coming together well. I catch up on weekends. Blocks finish 4 inches.

neutral 16-patch with orange medallion, top completed

16-patch with orange medallion.
72 by 72 inches

Made with over 1200 neutral (low volume) 2 1/2 inch squares pieced into 16-patch blocks.

How an idea is sparked.
When I sorted out the light 2 1/2 inch squares from the dark squares used for the Jack and Jill Round Robin Squares quilt, they sorted themselves into a pile that had me make neutral 16-patches.

I loved Kirstin Klasen's purple scrap squares with its off-center medallion. Then Wanda Hanson posted her bowties with medallions that messed with the grid.
These two ideas came together with the neutral 16-patches.

Kristin's quilt

Wanda's quilt top

Influenced by Kirstin Klasen's purple quilt on her July 26th Instagram augusthimmel and Wanda Hanson's blog Exuberant Color August 25th bowties quilt. (screenshots taken with permission)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDGsVb5nu45/
https://exuberantcolor.blogspot.com/2020/08/a-quilt-top.html

I first worked on graph paper to get my proportions. Moving to cloth had me re-think and I added some more blocks.
I made a pile of 16-patches, then assembled the medallion. To complete the quilt I worked my layout with the blocks showing back-sides to ensure nesting of most seams. There are a few "twisted sisters" on one side of the medallion.
This could be planned out in advance, but it worked well improvising.

I wanted the medallion to mess with the grid in two ways, that not all the squares in it line up with the 16-patches. And the medallion itself is a rectangle and is not in the exact equivalent proportions of the 16-patches.

16-patches, made from:
16 neutral 2 1/2 inch squares
Blocks finish 8 inches.

Medallion piecing: (I intended to use a stronger orange, but this soft one worked better. I am not sure of the manufacturer.)
23 orange rectangles cut 2 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches
8 orange squares cut 2 1/2 inches
THEN I added 3/4th sections of 16-patches to the bottom of the orange section so the medallion would measure 2 by 3 16-patches and it could nest into the surrounding 16-patches.

Because this was improvisational work the blocks were not assembled in rows. I did manage to make all seams nest except along one side of the medallion.

This quilt is leading to another using 16-patches made with darker squares and a different medallion.
I'll also work on a post about how I construct 16-patches with an eye for how they will nest later into a quilt.

tines, top completed

Tines
90 by 80 inches
Block finishes 10 inches
72 blocks set 9 by 8

Details on making block at
https://kleinmeisjequilts.blogspot.com/2020/08/tines_9.html

My design, use at your pleasure.