Saturday, January 5, 2013

Hope Quilt and CW Quilt Plan



This Quilt-in-Progress is a copy of a circa 1830 quilt in the collection of Mark Dunn (owner of Moda) who produced the fabrics in his "Collection for a Cause" series in 2011.  So it's been close to two years that I have been working on this on-and-off.  Am hand-piecing the Stars and assembling the six offset strips of 6-1/2 stars by machine.  The photo is a horizontal shot......the seam is right in the middle of the photo but the fabric is so busy, it is hard to discern!  Have 9 stars left to piece.....hope it is down to 8 by the time this evening is over!!



These are two blocks trimmed and ready to make into the fifth strip.



This is the block I hope to finish tonight.  At some point during the making of these blocks, I was looking for ways to make them go faster (I am a slow sewer!).  I had been marking the seam lines with pencil on all the shapes, but experimented with just marking the seam lines on the diamonds and rotary-cutting the squares and triangles with no seam lines penciled on them.  I figured that by simply using the marked lines on the diamonds and lining the raw edges up just as in machine-piecing, I would spend no time checking to see that both lines were aligned and it worked!  I can make the blocks faster now.........bet others have already figured that little trick out!!  After I sew across the center seam, I can start anywhere setting in the squares and triangles and won't even have to break the thread as I go from one to another.  I do secure the stitching at the beginning and end of each shape but can just sew until I run out of thread!  (usually work with an 18" length).




Since I have so many quilts in my head that I want to make, it is so Hard to Resist just making a block or two!  I have had this book, "Reproduction Quilts from the Civil War Period 1850-1865" by Judie Rothermel for years and would like to make most of the 16 quilts, but know that I will need to choose only a few.  The cover quilt is a bar quilt with a variety of blocks and I believe based on an 1843 New Jersey Friendship quilt in the Smithsonian collection.  Have a photo of the original.


Sooooo, this is my first block.....the top and bottom rows use this Chimney Sweep pattern..........and it is quick to make!  Might progress on this one a little faster.  Sewing machine-piecing is daytime/early evening work and later in the evening, it is hand-piecing (yes, I am a NightOwl!) cuddled on the sofa in the living room.




Below is the book with a little roll of 14 fabrics I put together called "Snippets" for folks who don't already have a bunch of little scraps and want to make Scrappy Quilts.  I spread one roll open so you could see them better........these happen to all be Civil War reproduction fabrics.


Here are two more of the quilts in the book.........the 25-patch has 1" squares with sashing.........I have a few blocks made but of course, I have to be Different!  Mine are scrappy as I did not want to have each block contain only one fabric with the muslin-type fabric!!  And, Of Course, that fact makes them harder to piece because they cannot be strip-pieced as they could if using a single fabric for each block!!!  But, I have sewn a few hundred of little 1-1/2" squares with muslin as my Leaders and Enders so I have a good start on them!!!


Love this Quilt too!  Would look great as a Charm Quilt.......each fabric used only once!!  I have copies of the book for sale if one cannot be found locally.

18 comments:

  1. I have the top quilt as a kit and still have not touched it. I love the lunch box it came in too. You are making great progress the look amazing!

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  2. Beautiful stars, Cyndi. That book looks like something I need to try and find!

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  3. Your stars are all so beautiful! And that bars quilt is so great! I love that 25 patch, too! So many great projects! Woohoo!

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  4. Cyndi your stars are gorgeous. I love hand piecing and I think it gives us an opportunity to just be in the moment and appreciate what we are doing. Everything is so rushed and quick nowadays it's nice to take things slowly. Also gives us a chance to play with our fabric more.

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  5. Love the "Collection for the Cause" quilt. I am not familiar with it as I have been out of the quilt world for the past 4 years while getting my BSN. I really like the unusual zig-zag setting. Is the pattern still available. I have some great fabrics in my stash that would be neat to do in that setting type.
    I also have Judith's book and love it too. She is my all time favorite fabric designer.

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  6. I just couldn't wait and had to go searching for the pattern. Found it! Thanks for the inspiration.

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  7. Your off to a good start in 2013 Cyndi. I think we can all relate to quilts whizzing around in our head. If only we could make them that quick.

    Great moda CFAC quilt .

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  8. Just so love those stars Cyndi and that sashing makes everything sparkle. Doen't matter how fast you are as long as you are having fun :-) I am a bit of a snail too.
    Cheers
    Lynne

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  9. I wonder if I still have that Judy Rothermel quilt book. I wanted to make that bar quilt at one time but never got to it.

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  10. All of the quilts you showed are so very pretty. I especially like the last one pictured in the book. I think I will add that to my to do list! Have a wonderful day.

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  11. I love this book too, and admire it once in awhile, but I haven't made any of the quilts! You are off to a great start.

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  12. Love your star project! The setting fabric is gorgeous!!
    I've always admired that book, but never purchased it. I may have to add it to my collection.

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  13. Your row quilt is going to be spectacular - you've got a great start on it! I look forward to seeing it progress......

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  14. The star pattern is great. I remember the first time I saw that pattern I loved the way the stars were sashed. And the large print that's used is wonderful. Hand stitching can be so soothing and sometimes saves hours of stress with the machine. Great tip with marking the seam allowances. I'll remember that!

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  15. Judie is still my favorite. I have that little bricks kit that I got from her about 10 years ago. So sad that Bob passed away... I lover her fabrics so. I always enjoyed her booth and seeing her quilts in person.
    I have that Moda kit to make. It's very pretty, you are doing a great job.

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  16. Cyndi, I always love your fabric choices. The star quilt is going to be great. I have that book too, but have never made any of the quilts. There are some real beauties in there.

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  17. Oh my goodness, I am in love! WOW! Love the fabric, love the blocks, love it all!

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