A Finish, More Hexagons, New Books and an Oddity

Finally finished this little Jo Morton club project!  Blocks are only 3" but I have been working on this since April!  But, I will say it has been enjoyable time spent to applique and then handquilt it.  Looks great on my dining room tablecloth so that may become its home when done being a sample.

 More hexagons for my new quilt!  Spent a pleasant afternoon in my sewing room (while listening to wonderful audiobook, "The Sisterhood" by Helen Bryan......really holds my attention!......finished my 5 Ken Follett books but will be looking for more!) going through some fabrics to find interesting things to fussy cut and also some Toiles.  The hexagon in the middle has my metal window template by Ardco on it.  I trace inside the template for my handsewing seam line.  Believe me, sewing on these Hexagons goes much faster than sewing Applecores so I don't think it will take me so many Years to finish!

New books arrived in the mail today!  American Toile includes many of the reproduction toiles we are using today.  Very interesting book that inspires collecting samples to include with the book!   Author Michele Palmer has a website www.fabricmuseum.org

The book titled "Toile" is a wonderful picture book......lots of antique toiles.  Very inexpensive book with lovely photos but no history.

 

 And this is the "oddity".....found this moth (at least I guess it is a moth!) on the barn yesterday morning around 11am and took a photo.....just checked and about 36 hours later he is still there!  And it poured for much of the day!  I should do a search for information but will save that for another day!

New Project and Some Musing

Sure has been hot here in Maine this week!  Time to find another handsewing project that can be done while quietly sitting!  Feel rather guilty saying that as my husband has been spending some brutal days in the hayfield!  He's never minded the heat.....he minds the cold and I don't.....opposites attract I guess!

My Applecore handpiecing project is nearly done so I thought I would make another charm quilt using the hexagon "window" template that is lying on top of the blue hexagon below.  It is an Ardco template of metal with something like sandpaper on the bottom that holds it onto the fabric as I trace the seam line.

Funny how different companies size Hexagons......this one is 2-1/2" but it is much larger than you would think......the measurement from point to point is 5"......each side measures 2-1/2".   At first I thought this size would be too large but am continuing with it because it does showcase the fabrics nicely.  I recall seeing a gorgeous Hexagon quilt on someones blog header......could it have been Fun with Barb?

Note the little pile of strips on the far left.......leftovers for my little log cabin and/or railfence blocks from cutting the hexagons from 6-1/2" squares...... that's another thing I've been doing a lot lately ......cutting 6-1/2" strips from all my fabrics and then making two 6-1/2" squares for my scrap quilt boxes.  I've got scraps like everyone has but I want Organized Scraps.....if there is such a thing!  Been fun visiting with fabrics I haven't seen in a while!

I've mentioned before that I love "containers" ......this little "Etui" was made by my mother about 20 years ago when I was teaching classes for it and making them for sale. This past spring I gave my last one away to a visitor from Chechnya who was enthralled with it..

This is what it looks like when open.......designated places to hold your sewing implements.  Thimble goes in the little box in the center.

 Looks like this quilt will soon be in my future!  Fell in love with it when I found it in the J/A 2013 issue of Fons and Porter's "Love of Quilting" magazine.  I have been anxious to use that reproduction center for a medallion quilt.....

Would love to make a Hewson replica like this one made by my friend Susan but it is far too large for my bed .....about 108 x 108 if I remember correctly.  Was thinking today that maybe I could make one using the center Vase medallion but eliminate the florals around it .....we'll see.....will think about that another day!

Time to settle in for some handquilting!  Am working on the Jo Morton applique quilt I wrote about earlier.  When that is finished, I have my "Hope" strippy star back from being basted by the longarmer to handquilt............that will take me a LONG time!!   

I see some new Followers have signed on so I will check to see if they have blogs to read!  And don't forget....am working on another scrap box for a Giveaway!!

Trying New Applique Method and More Little Quilts

This is one of my current projects.....a Jo Morton Club 12 quilt that is taking a lot more time than I anticipated even knowing that I am rather a slow appliquer!  The applique is an experiment for me in "back-basting", a method that you can Google and find tutorials.  I think this is the best method for this particular little quilt but am not convinced I will like it for more complicated blocks.  I love to applique but I like to get to the needleturn without quite so much prep work!  This project requires that those little slices and block corners nest together nicely and that did happen most of the time!  Now the project turns into my evening work as I handquilt it.

These little (quite little....the wholecloth on the far right is 8" square) quilts hang on a clothesline in my shop.  I made them in the early 1990's, a time when for some reason there was a great interest in miniatures and several books were published.  These were made before Paper-Piecing was known (at least by me!) by traditional sewing.  The little Ohio Star is made with late 19th century fabrics and may have been the first quilt I made making it up as I went along.  The fabrics were given to me by my brother-in-law who was living in Vermont at the time.  They were being thrown out while cleaning out the home of an elderly neighbor!!  Wonder how many times that has happened to fabric/quilts over the years!

This little quilt was made with a fragment salvaged from a neglected and filthy quilt ....had nothing to lose by washing it in the machine and low and behold it survived nicely.  I have more fragments to make more little quilts if the time ever presents itself!  Piecing in some areas looks to have been done by a child.  Most of the fabrics appear to be late 19th century except for that bright blue/buff piece from about 1840-50.

Newest fabric arrivals!  Five bolts from Judie Rothermel's "Dressing Gowns" #3. Love these busy little prints for block backgrounds!

Three bolts from Molly B's "Harvest Palette"....... Large prints are a particular favorite of mine and good rusts are hard to find!

More from Judie Rothermel......Chocolates, Strawberries.  Always on the lookout for nice double pinks.

I really mean it when I say I love large florals.....especially ones that look olde! These Jacobean-type florals are perfect for reproduction quilts......Molly B Studios from Marcus Brothers.

And this is "Gabrielle" by Mary Koval for Windham Fabrics.

And if you have stayed with me this far, I want to share this old sled that was recently found by my husband while taking down an old chicken coop on the property.   Sled was probably made in the 1930-40's, repurposing old skis for the runners.  The kids had a great time on a nearby road that has the perfect hill for sliding......in those days of sparse road traffic, the road would even be closed so the kids could slide!