Flying Geese Dilemma and New Fabric!

Am having a dilemma about these paper-pieced Flying Geese....can't decide the setting/border fabrics.  These two look too bright to me tho I really like the fabrics!  Can't use brown as I used that for the first FG quilt (Jo Morton club pattern).  Maybe I should go take a look at blue again.  Black would probably look nice for the contrast but I don't care for black in my little quilts.....oh what to do?  I want to finish and get on with others! Ideas welcome!

 This is a little eye candy of recently-arrived fabrics.  First two photos are the huge line of "Metropolitan Fair" by Barbara Brackman (1840-1870)....love that it comes in 7 colorways.....(green, red/pink,dark brown, grey blue, tan, and blue......sorry, missed the tan and blue!)

 This is "Toasted" by Jo Morton.......luscious backgrounds!

Representing the "Warmth" collection (Collection for a Cause from Moda) is this little wallhanging I made from a pattern handout that is free with any charm square purchase.....simple little quilt.......based on similar theory as "Yellow Brick Road" or "Turning Twenty" in that there is a formula for cutting the 5" charm squares similar to the formulas for cutting fat quarters in YBR and TT.  When I laid out the blocks, intending to mix them up more and/or twist them, I found that I liked the arrangement of all blocks in the same position....so I left them that way!  

These bolts are from the luscious "Dancing in the Rain" by Edyta Sitar.....love her print fabrics!  

 From 3 Sisters by Moda, this is "Double Chocolate".....didn't get enough of it the first time around so more have been printed!!

Finishes and New Fabrics

Sure feels good to have some Finishes once in a while!  Like everyone else, I have way too many WIPs, but it is hard not to start something new.  I often think I can "finish this in no time" but it soon becomes a WIP as I find yet another project that I want to start........... One reason I attribute my "Finishes" to is that I have become rather addicted to audiobooks!  The cd player is in my sewing room so I spend more time than usual here as I am eager to hear more!  Just finished "Atlas Shrugged" (50 discs!) and before that "George Washington" (30 discs), and now I am listening to "Anna Karenina" which is also 30 discs........I like the Unabridged versions....don't want to feel like I am missing anything!

I joined the worldwide craze of making little 3" paper-pieced houses....goal was to make one a day for 365 and this is how far I have gotten!  I really like making these scrappy little houses but they are not FAST....at least not for me!  I may make some hand-piecing templates for pickup work, but what I Really Should do for that is to get back to making Jane Stickle Civil War blocks!  And, little 3" Posey Packet blocks from Froncie Quinn's reproduction of a Florence Peto quilt!  Both projects are neatly packed in their little boxes waiting for me!  I like "containers".......my Jane blocks are in a tortoiseshell plastic box in which my father got cigars in the 1950's......on the top is written  "For My Sewing" with various sewing implements pictured.   The little 3" Florence Peto ninepatches with alternating applique blocks by Froncie are in a little lunchbox sold by Moda a few years ago.  I'll take photos so you will see what I am talking about.......you know how a picture is worth a thousand words!

 This is a little (about 9" x 16")  runner I made to demonstrate to customers that you can create your own projects without patterns.....just make blocks (mine are 3" Shoofly, but make whatever block you like in whatever size you need!), put together with sashing (or not!), add a border (or two!) and bind!  I made this for the shop to show off 3 brown/pink fabrics from the "Addison" line by Nancy Gere for Windham.  The green sashing is by Jo Morton....was at a loss for a fourth fabric so decided to go completely different!  Have always loved brown and green together!  Actually like brown/pink, brown/blue and brown/red too!!!

After about two years of working on this Applecore Tablerunner, it is finished! Completely finished!  I absolutely love it!  There are 7 rows of 21 applecores.....147 total.....all Moda except for two.  Made from Cindy Blackberg's rubber stamp, I hand-pieced the top, hand-quilted inside each little applecore and then hand-basted the bias binding.  Went back and machine stitched the binding on and finished by hand on the back.  

Closeup of the quilting......I didn't mark any quilting lines, preferring to just "eyeball" the 1/4" and it is sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, but I don't care.  I am such a slow quilter that I need to skip any steps I can!

This was just a little fun project I did when I needed coasters for my coffee/tea mug.....tired of using a napkin or paper towel!    I did make a log cabin block a while back to use as a coaster, but could not bear for it to get dirty with use so I handquilted it and it is now a Christmas tree ornament!   As you know from previous posts, I love Cheater fabrics and this one (I think the line was called Acorn from Moda a couple years ago) seemed to be just the right size for small coasters (about 3-1/2").  Because there is no separate binding, they go together quickly!

Well. it seems the photo of the Coasters did not come through!  Could have sworn it was there last evening!  Back later!

Here is the photo promised of the finished little coasters for my coffee mug....quick as a wink to make and most useful too!  

Will leave you with one of my new fabric deliveries, "Warmth", the new Collection for a Cause from Moda!  Took photos of what came in this week but the camera I used wasn't cooperating so will retake those ("Toasted" by Jo Morton, "Dancing in the Rain" by Edyta Sitar, "Double Chocolate" by 3 Sisters, and  "Metropolitan Fair" by Barbara Brackman) tomorrow with a different camera!  

Antique Quilt and my Copy

Here is the Antique Maine Medallion owned by my friend Wendy.  In 1994 I copied it using what was available for what looked like "olde" fabrics!  Little did I know then what wonderful reproductions were in store for the future!  The original quilt is very light and likely contains a wool batting.

Closeups of some of the gorgeous fabrics.....I took lots more photos but do not know if there is a limit on the number of photos one can post at a time!

These red/black "Garibaldis" were from 1880-90's/

That plaid looks like those still produced today!

This is the alternating plain block along the outside edge.

Isn't this Paisley gorgeous?

I wonder if the light fabric might not be earlier in the 19th century?

This is the vibrant red backing!

Now we start with my copy!  I enjoyed making this quilt...even the Math!

Thanks to Judie Rothermel for producing old-looking fabrics beginning in the 1980's!  I've seen the original of the shirting with the bicycles.....very good copy!  

Thanks to Roberta Horton for producing the old-looking stripes, plaids and tickings!  Still love those fabrics and am hoarding.....eerrrr....collecting them!

This bright one may have been Pilgrim/Roy............

The Roberta Horton beige stripe on the left is the closest I could come to mating the color of the alternating blocks on the outside edge of the original.

I recognize the blue on the left as being part of Jinny Beyer's "1492" line and the blue on the right is by Elly Sienkiewicz

 These fabrics looked "olde" to me at the time so into the quilt they went!

 Will always love this pink from Judie Rothermel and the alternate fabric may have been from the Pilgrim/Roy line by P&B

 Used a vibrant red on the backing of my quilt too!

Home for the Winter!!

This is a shot of my booth at the Cocheco Quilt Show in Rochester NH last weekend.....hence my Home for the Winter title!  No more shows until next July so hopefully more time will be available to me! Hope this means I will have more time to post on this blog....really love doing it but time is always a problem...... Of course, I hope to find major sewing time too!  Booth rather looks similar in photos of other show setups but there are a few different quilts.  The quilt on the left is an antique c.1900 owned by my friend Wendy.  The quilt straight ahead in the middle is my copy that I made in 1994.....before real reproduction fabrics hit the scene!  I have taken many photos of both quilts and will post them in the near future......many closeups for fabric comparisons!   My pattern is available for sale, but only because Wendy could readily find hers and I could not find mine!  I know I saw one in my Mother's things when I cleaned out her sewing room but can't find that one either!  It was on an old computer so I will now put it on two computers ....nice to find my favorite old Font on this new operating system.......Lucinda Handwriting!  Maybe more "time" mentioned above will also allow me to my find all that is misplaced!

The little quilt below is one that I recently unearthed from a pile that I intend to repair (replace the few worn fabrics), if not remake completely because it has a thick batting that I am not sure I want to leave in place.  This comfy, simple little quilt (50" x 52") is made up of 3" Hourglass blocks and some of the fabrics are quite early, indicating to me that the quiltmaker used a deep, or perhaps generational, scrapbag!  In the 7th photo, you will see a fabric that has been reproduced several years ago by Judie Rothermel.  My new fabric is along the right side.

The orange with dark brown dots is mid 19th century.

Here is the old fabric compared to the new! I don't remember the name of the line....it is not writted on the selvage, only Judie's name.

The blue/buff fabric in the lower right corner is 1840's.

This is a new little quilt that Wendy made using the "Pomegranete" line from Blue Hill Fabrics..nice old PA colors that Wendy loves!  The border is an old Benartex that I Love...still have some in the shop but only in light background.  We both love simple-patterned quilts that let the fabrics shine! 

Lastly, here's a shot of New England Fall Asters that I let grow wherever they land!  I love Wildflowers !  The asters bloom in two shades of purple and pink......took this photo a while back.....I'm afraid they are just a lovely memory now.....until they come back next year!

Hello Fall!!!

Days are cooler now and a couple nights have been actually cold!  Love it!  My Energy is coming back!  Can't work as I would like when we have high heat and humidity!   My sewing room is on the second floor and is very comfortable in the Winter but hot in the summer.  So, I set up a cutting station on my dining room table and did a bunch of prep work!  And I can always read books and magazines even when it's hot!

First photo is of a little quilt (actually #2 of the same quilt except sashings are different) I made.....inspired by Kathy Tracy's Quilt of the Month on her Yahoo Group, SmallQuiltTalk.  My blocks are slightly larger as I wanted to kinda showcase some larger print fabrics that I love and wanted to use!  Had so many favorites it was hard to choose which ones to use......may have to make a larger quilt in the same simple format!  I like simple patterned quilts that let the beauty of the fabrics shine through!  The first quilt I made had lighter sashings and I decided I would like slightly darker sashings..... just love this old Apple Cider line from P&B!  I'll take a photo of the other quilt and show it another time.....camera lost its charge!  

These are six little Ohio Star blocks (need six more) for a current Jo Morton Club.  Tonight I'll sit with my boxes of scraps and pick out the fabrics for the rest of the blocks.  And also have some 4-patches of Yet Another Project that I need to clip the centers so the seams will go where I want them to go!  AND, I am nearly finished handquilting my little Applecore Table Runner....try to work on it each evening but sometimes I fall asleep with my needle in my hand!

 I have so many (TOO many!) Works in Progress!  This will be a little Flying Geese Quilt......also a Jo Morton Club quilt.....second one.....using paper-piecing instead of the usual No-Waste Method.  Thought it might be faster but I am not sure it will be!  I like to get all my fabrics ready so I can just sit and sew!  Well, sit for one seam, and then get up to iron, do another seam, iron.....you get the picture!  I don't have an iron next to my sewing machine as I think it is good for me to get up each time..........need the exercise!!   

This is a quilt block I picked up in PA in June when I went with my friend Judy to her home in Doylestown (lovely town!) to get the quilts ready that she needed for her exhibit at the Maine Quilt show.  I wanted a little souvenir of my trip and found this in an antique shop......this block is in very good condition....some color migration of the green but the reds are vibrant!  Workmanship is superb!   Another highlight of our trip was to go the the cool movie theater matinee on the first hot day......we saw "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and I highly recommend it!  Hadn't been to a matinee movie in decades!

My Gardening time has decreased to nearly nil in the recent past few years but I planted this Hydrangea bush at the corner of my shop Many Years Ago.....had no idea it would grow to this size!  It is beautiful but gigantic!  Obstructs my view of my shop driveway from the house!  One of my granddaughters, now grown, peeked in the middle of it and said she could have used the center for a hideaway playhouse when she was little!