Will Strip for Fabric!

Hi everyone. I hope you're keeping cool this summer! Temperatures like these (90 degrees plus with high humidity) wreak havoc with my MS. In other words, it's not the best day for blogging, but I can certainly cobble a few photos together.

In my previous post, I described our quilt group's fabric exchange and the making of my own Spider Web quilt. This time, I thought you'd enjoy seeing other quilts resulting from the swap. It’s fun to compare each quilter's interpretation of this classic string-pieced design. Enjoy! Most photos will enlarge.

And here’s our friend Patt who came dressed as a stripper... because how else would you dress for a "strip" swap?

Hey, Macarena!

Hello all! It’s been a while since I posted a bona fide, start to finish, made with my own two hands kind of quilt. I made this Spider Web, aka Kaleidoscope, in a fabric exchange with my Elmhurst "Piecemakers" quilt group. 

The theme for our swap was “pastels.” Each participant contributed six yards worth of assorted pastel fabrics, precut into various width strips.

On the day of the swap, banquet tables overflowed with strips of fabrievery value and hue. We paraded around the room to the rhythm of the “Macarena,” snatching a strip of fabric from each table we passed. Round and round we went until we were giddy! Any innocent bystander would assumeBetween the festive music, hysterical laughter, and fabric flying we looked more like a drunken conga line than our usual sedate selves. "Hey, Macarena!" 

Some quilters chose strips at random while others had a particular color scheme in mind. I selected 1930s-style colors and prints for my quilt. 

After sorting and sewing our strips into sets, we used this handy 45 Degree Kaleidoscope Wedge Ruler to cut the eight segments needed for each block. 

Coordinating the colors within each block was fun... 

but I liked the scrappiness of mixing random strips almost as much.

Nothing went to waste. Even leftover strips found their way into my scrappy piano key border.

I used a 1930s-style floral print on the back and bound the quilt in pink. Isn't it sweet?

Kaleidoscope or Spider Web 

84" x 100"

Machine quilted by Stover Quality Quilting.

Replicating Vintage Quilts

rep·li·cate: make an exact copy of; reproduce.

What originally drew me to quilt-making was the allure of antique quilts. It wasn't the fancy ones that caught my eye so much as the humble utility quilts, those made for hardwearing, everyday use. I loved their scrappy "make do" spirit, their worn spots, their patches, their soul.

Here’s a great example. It’s a copy of a vintage Variable Star quilt made by my friend, Mary Radke. The original was featured in an old issue of Country Living Magazine. 

Years before we met, Mary and I clipped the same photo from the magazine. Look closely and you'll see how Mary painstakingly reproduced the quilt, fabric by fabric and block for block. Amazing!

        

We can only guess why the quilter broke pattern as she stitched this quilt. Was she tired of piecing star after similar star? Did she run out of fabric and have to make do? Whatever her reason, it's the "renegade" blocks, the ones that "break rank" with the others, that make this quilt so interesting to look at!

So, how did I come to own this quilt? Mary made it as a sample for a quilt talk she used to give on the history of quilt making. When she decided to sell off pieces from her collection, I was lucky enough to buy a few of my favorites. I hand quilted this one with an all-over fan design, typical of old utility quilts.

Scrappy Stars

30” x 42”

Recycled Clothing Quilt-Along

I asked a friend to photograph each of my denim and flannel quilt blocks so I could continue playing with virtual layouts on the computer. The cutting and pasting from one program to another might be tedious for some, but as libbyquilter commented, “It’s much better than having to get down on the floor and arrange multiple times!”

The layout I ended up liking best was what several of you preferred ~ the Straight Furrows set. Its diagonal pattern is not diminished by the scrappiness of the blocks. The effect is strong and masculine, which is just the feeling I was going for (picture the Brawny paper towel guy sleeping under this quilt). The final arrangement of blocks will differ from the photo above as I add new blocks to the mix, but it gives you an idea of where I'm headed.

Visit the Recycled Clothing Quilt-Along to see what others are making from reclaimed garments.

Pioneer Nine Patch

If I had known a new camera would lead to photos like these, I would have given one to our son William a lot sooner!


Chech out the great pictures he took without even leaving our neighborhood.

William found a clever backdrop at a nearby cornfield. 

I'll settle for shadows if he's willing to climb trees to get the shot!

Direct sunlight won't bother me so long as the full quilt is in frame. 

I made this Nine Patch in the early 1990's from 9" blocks, swapped with friends. The Streak of Lightening border adds extra interest.

I'll probably drive Will crazy with my requests for photos these next few weeks, but he knows how much I appreciate his efforts. I'm sure gonna miss him when he heads off to college!

Small Change

I don't know if it's the cooler temperature today (a glorious 68 degrees) or the little nap I took, but I'm feeling better than I have in quite some time. These "good days" are infrequent and I revel in the small victories they allow.

I was inspired to share this Chinese Coins doll quilt today by Libby, who recently stitched one of her own. In true scrap quilt fashion, this was made with cast-off trimmings from another quilt. Do you find it as hard as I do to throw those little bits away? It may be hard to see the cable quilting in that blue fabric.

Small Change

18” x 27”
© Diane Burdin,1995