Strawberry Preserves

Summer is quickly turning to fall, but I’m just not ready for the change of seasons. I'm still focused on this summer’s project, a mid-century inspired doll quilt that features a vintage embroidered strawberry. Perhaps you remember it from here.

Motifs like this are typical of the 1940s-50s when they adorned household linens such as tea towels, tablecloths, and napkins. I added calicos, polka dots, and gingham checks for vintage charm and bordered the quilt with a whimsical retro-style daisy print from American Jane.

                        

The top itself was finished years ago but got set aside when I gave up doing handwork. What a shame, I thought, to leave something like this half-done. Apparently, my friend Ruth agreed because when I finally showed it to her (nine years later) she offered to quilt and bind it for me.

Ruth is a highly accomplished needlewoman who excels at everything from embroidery and knitting to sewing and quilt making. Just look at her beautiful stitches! Can you see how the perle cotton subtly catches the light?

She included me in the process every step of the way, not so much because the quilt, but  she saw how much I enjoyed "talking quilts" again!

 

As it turned out, making this quilt was a perfect way to preserve that vintage strawberry. Thank you to Vicki Haninger for her inspiration and to Ruth, of course, for seeing the project to fruition. I couldn't be happier with the result!

Strawberry Preserves

15” x 17”

machine pieced, hand quilted

2019

Scenes of Summer

Hi everyone. How was your summer? Mine was filled with extraordinary moments shared with extraordinary friends, like Wanda Hanson of Exuberant Color, who surprised me with one of her signature batik color-wash quilts. Isn't it stunning? Read more about it here. 

Of course, visits from quilters are always welcome, especially when they bring "show and tell." Here's Sheila with her Sunflower quilt and me with Wanda's Zig-Zags.

Jenny graced us with fresh-picked basil and cherry tomatoes from her garden. Jean shared delicious peach cobbler (made with real Georgia peaches) and the best homemade blueberry pie I've ever tasted!

Local troubadour, Bill Glaysher, serenaded me one afternoon. Swoon! I even got a copy of his CD!

Which enabling friend helped make this online purchase? I couldn't resist a few new American Jane fabrics in summer hues.

My friend, Bev, volunteered to read aloud to me. If you've never heard To Kill a Mockingbird read by a veteran English teacher, you don't know what you're missing!

There was a delightful new quilt book too: The Magic Forest by Gwen Marston.

 

Jim and I even attended a bridal shower, hosted by friends, Mark and Linda, for their daughter and son-in-law to be. What lured us out on a 97-degree day was the promise of mango mimosas and eight different kinds of cake. Believe me, it did not disappoint!

I can't thank my friends enough for so graciously sharing  their time and talents. We certainly made some great memories, didn't we? Love you all!

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful!

If you live outside the purple zone on the weather map, you may be surprised to hear how bitterly cold it is here in the Midwest. Current temperatures are in the single-digits with wind chills of -25° to -40°. That's breathtaking cold! Bone-chilling cold! FROSTBITE COLD! Needless to say, we're hunkered down for the time being.

In weather like this, my husband keeps his expeditions to a minimum, braving the elements only to trek down the driveway for mail or to shovel us out... not that we're going anywhere. Every time he opens the storm door, it whines in icy protest as if to ask, “Are you sure you want to venture out today?”

I'm keeping warm with a cozy new quilt that my friend, Mary Conley, surprised me with. "The blocks might look familiar," she whispered as she placed it in my lap. Indeed they did. They were red and green nine patches I'd abandoned years ago! 

They look fresh and new in this jaunty on-point setting. Don't you love how the homespun plaid sets them off?

The red homespun backing makes it even more inviting!

Thanks again Mary. Whatever plans I once had for these blocks, your beautiful quilt far exceeded them!

Happy New Year everyone and best wishes to you all!

At Times Like These

Hello everyone. Where were we when I last posted? Oh yeah, smack dab in the middle of the worst year ever! Twenty-sixteen brought an unrelenting onslaught of disasters--everything from wildfires, hurricanes and floods to mass shootings, civil unrest and unprecedented political farce. In the midst of it all, a sudden death in the family left me paralyzed with grief.

It's only been nine months, but I'm ready to start dealing with things instead of just wallowing in sadness. Creative endeavors have helped in the past (here and here), and to that end, we did a deep dive in my sewing room. 

ooking for something to pique my interest. Well, something finally did--an assortment of homespun plaids all cut and ready to sew. Kathie Holland, do you remember sending this kit to me years ago?

Blocks are pieced using Mary Ellen Hopkins' “connector corners” technique. Stars cleverly appear as the blocks are sewn together. Wanda Hanson assembled the quilt and added plaids of her own to make it a more functional table runner size.

Wanda chose a lovely striped backing and binding in my favorite colors. I like how her diagonal machine quilting echoes the linear theme.

Plaid Fancy

18" x 27"

Some of the comfort a quilt provides comes from the soul of its maker. This one's imbued with the love and kindness of compassionate friends, who in bringing it to life, restored a bit of my own!

Welcome Spring

Hello everyone! The weather today was beautifully sunny, warm, and perfect for opening the windows to let in the fresh, spring air. In fact, that was the first thing my friend, Terri, did when she stepped through the door.

we basked in the breeze and let sunshine settle on our faces.  

We talked nonstop over lunch and barely got a bite in edgewise for all the catching up we did.

Before leaving, Terri offered to do a little something around the house. I knew she meant cleaning, but dust can wait! Instead, I asked if she'd arrange a little tableau with the tulips she brought and a little quilt from my stash.

As you can see, it's nothing special -- just a few random nine patches swapped with friends. Still, it deserved its day in the sun..

but even a humble quilt like this deserves its day in the sun. Thanks again, Terri. Your arrangement will keep me smiling all week!

 

A Spiritual Gift

"If you are a craftsman…only look at your tools, your needle, your thimble…your scales, your measures, and you will find this saying written on them… 'Use me toward your neighbor, as you would want him to act towards you with that which is his.'"   Martin Luther

As new members of our church, we were asked to assess our "spiritual gifts and passions" and consider applying then to various church ministries. As a longtime quilt maker, naturally I was drawn to liturgical art and spent several years crafting banners for worship.

Even though my "making" days are over, that didn't stop me from occasionally "making things happen"!  After a persistent calling to contribute one more banner to Rejoice, I commissioned one. 

It's the work of my friend, Wanda Hanson, who's a prodigious quilt maker and genius when it comes to using color and design. She blends hundreds of fabrics from her extensive collection into extraordinary one-of-a-kind works of art. After seeing her latest colorwash quilts, I knew one would look great in the sanctuary at Rejoice!

The first time I approached Wanda about making a banner, she declined. But at some point, my calling became her calling too. Eventually, she embraced the project as a creative challenge and opportunity to inspire others through her God-given skills.

The Creation Story became our theme. "Let there be light" is a sort of Bible/Big Bang mashup which includes both scriptural and scientific rationale for the origin of the universe. 

Wanda sorted, cut, arranged, and sewed hundreds of luminous batiks, each a different color and print, to create “Let there be Light.” Here are just a few samples of the 356 3"x 6” pieces she used.

And here is Wanda with her 69" x 93” creation.

What better backdrop for worship could there be than this glorious riot of color?

double click to enlarge

Visit Wanda's blog, Exuberant Color, to see more of her exquisite work!

A Good Day

Any day spent with friends is a really good day!

Quilt friends, Sheila, Kathy and Mary.

Garden Maze

It finally feels like Spring here. Time to celebrate with something fresh and new! Aussie quilter Marian Edwards posted this little quilt on her beautiful blog, a must read for anyone interested in antique and reproduction quilts, especially of the small variety.

Marian designed her quilt with bits and pieces leftover from previous projects. Hmm... I had some of the very same bits lying around my own sewing room!

A single Dresden Plate block,

a couple of appliquéd flowers,
embellished with buttonhole
stitch embroidery,

and precut strips of 1930s repro fabric.

These particular bits were leftover from various classes I'd taught. By making class samples and demo blocks from the same style of fabric,  it was easy to incorporate them into another project later on.

Kathy Smith used my pieces to create a miniature sampler style quilt. She brought new life to what certainly would have remained scraps if left in my care.

Kathy hand quilted simple designs, reminiscent of 1930s quilts.

I've named it "Garden Maze," for the labyrinth pattern created by the strip pieced blocks. The quilt measures 27” square and is backed with a sweet jonquil print.

Our grand kitty, Gandalf, laid claim to it just as we tried taking pictures. I love the way his tippy toes rest right at the edge of the quilt. 

You’ve Got Mail

.

A package arrived in the mail today,

and even though I knew what it contained, nothing prepared me for what burst from the box as I opened it...

a glorious riot of color made by my friend Wanda Hanson!

it's a Streak of Lightning quilt just as vibrant and lively as the name implies.

Usining Sujata Shah's design and Vicki Welsh's fabric, Wanda achieved a 

make for one very vibrant quilt! Which 

color combinations do you prefer? 

It's pretty hard to 

It covers me perfectly from nose to toes and is just wide enough to keep me warm without entangling my arms in extra quilt.

Whether I’m snuggled under the quilt or admiring it from across the room, those colorful zig zags make me smile. Thank you, Wanda, for a gift that warms both body and soul.

  Details and Links
~36” x 63”
~Zig Zag quilt tutorial by Sujata Shah, The Root Connection
~Hand dyed cotton fabrics by Vicki Welsh