Swatch Giveaway Day!

I enjoyed reading the comments on my swatch giveaway post. Several of you mentioned the cornmeal sack on the back of the quilt, so I've added one to the prize, along with a souvenir bag of cornmeal and pamphlet of yummy recipes. Good luck everyone! 

Your names are mixed up in the bag... 

and the winner is Jan of Be*mused. 

Congratulations Jan! Please email me your address and I’ll get your prize in the mail. Thanks for playing along.

Testing, 1-2-3 Testing

Hello everyone. I've been having issues with my blog photos lately.  Apparently, my "dragging" them around as I compose a post prevents them from enlarging. Who knew? According to my tech savvy friend, Wanda Hanson, the proper method is to "click" on a photo and "drop" it into place. Let's see if it works!

Please click on the photos in this post and if they enlarge leave a comment. I'll enter your name in a giveaway of assorted reproduction fabric swatches like those in the quilt below. The drawing will remain open until Nov. 25. 

 from a line of Harriet Hargrave fabrics as they  The simple one-patch layout was inspired by vintage fabric swatch books and salesmen's sample catalogs which arrange fabric samples in a similar fashion.

The cornmeal sack on the back adds vintage charm and eliminated the need for batting.

"Swatch Book Sampler"

  7 1/2" x  7 1/2"

machine pieced, hand quilted

1996

Trick or Treat

In spite of great weather for Halloween, we were well into the witching hour last night, before anyone rang the bell. Very few trick-or-treaters showed up, so we have loads of candy left. It's fine with me; that’s why we buy our favorites. I’ve paired my morning cup of coffee with a couple Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and think an Almond Joy might go well with cup number two.

Here’s your Halloween treat, a “liberated” log cabin quilt, one of the first things I made after reading Gwen Marston's book, Liberated Quiltmaking. 

It loosely follows the traditional log cabin format of light and dark strips, surrounding a center square, but the trick to "liberating" it is...

-the “squares” are irregular in shape,

-the surrounding strips vary in width, and aren't necessarily cut straight. 

-the strips don’t follow the traditional sequence of lights on one side and darks on the other.

The hand quilted cable design in the sashing, brings a little order to the chaotic blocks.

Oh, and the sashing is that color!

Liberated Log Cabin

20" x 27"

machine pieced, hand quilted

 Diane Burdin,1996

BOO!

Click for a good laugh!

Well, our weather’s turned out great for trick-or-treating ~ 70 degrees and sunny. We no longer get the caravan of kids we once did. Our neighborhood is maturing and most of the kids are in high school or college now. Nevertheless, we’re armed with 200 pieces of candy. One way or another, I’m sure they will disappear.

This is one of my favorite childhood pictures. It was 1961; I was five years old, dressed as a ghost in a white bed sheet. I remember always wanting a store-bought costume, but Mom made us do with whatever we could scrounge up at home. Maybe it’s just the memories it conjures up, but there’s something about this photograph that seems so indicative of that era. It's like watching an episode of "Mad Men."

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

College Daze

I haven’t been at the computer much lately. My laptop has been commandeered by the family for the college selection process. When I finally get my turn at the keyboard, all I seem to do is read other people’s blogs. It’s so much easier than tasking my brain to write something clever myself!

When last I posted, Lily from Block-a-day commented on a piece of needlework in the background of my photo. It's a needlepoint that goes as far back as our own college days.

My husband started a graduate program at the 
University of North Caroline, shortly after we marriaged.

We left our familiar life in the Midwest,

and the comforting support of family and friends,

to journey southward,


where the countryside was different 


and people spoke with a drawl (ya’ll).


I bought this needlepoint canvas and
stitched my way out of being homesick.

Odds and Ends

Wow, Thanks for all the love on my last post. I didn't anticipate getting compliments on my smile as well as my quilt! I heard from old friends and total strangers from as far away as France! Well, guess who's grinning even wider now? How gratifying it is to connect with others who enjoy quilmaking as much as I do.

Several people wondered if Milly Churbuck’s hand-dyed fabrics were still available. I'm sorry to say she is no longer dyeing cotton fabric. Following the trend for wool applique, rug hooking, and needle punch, she now works exclusively with wool. She is also semi-retired and only vending at a limited number of quilt shows. 

Regarding the Hourglass blocks in my August 14 post, some readers wondered how I pieced those tiny blocks with such accuracy. Here's how:



I use this technique to construct Hourglass blocks. Normally, I’d start with squares cut 1 ¼” larger than my desired finished size, but when working with small, fiddly pieces, I add an additional"fudge factor" of ¼” to ½”.

After sewing the block, I trim it down to size (in this case, 2").use a seam ripper to pick out a few stitches where the seams intersect. This frees the seam allowance so you can press it in opposite directions, eliminating bulk.

Press the block gently with steam.


Finally, trim each block precisely to 2” (1 ½” finished) using a bias square ruler and rotary cutter. As you pin blocks into rows, match carefully where blocks intersect. I probably alternated the direction in which I pressed seam allowances for each row. However, if you want to eliminate more bulk, press seam allowances open. If doing so, shorten the stitch length on your sewing machine to make seams more secure.

Hope this clears things up.

Smile for the Camera!

When Designer Quilts Magazine asked for photos to accompany their feature on quilting with MS, I called my friends for help. Sheila Lewis and Kathy Smith, both accomplished quilters, convincingly played themselves as my neighbor and professional photographer Sherry Simonetti snapped away. et the stage for the photo shoot and also posed for the camera.

Now that I no longer go upstairs to my sewing room, I work at the dining room table. It's become a dumping ground for fabrics and quilt projects, as well as anything else my family doesn’t quite know what to do with. Before we could take photos, the table had to be cleared, a stunt quilt located, and various poses discussed and rehearsed (so much for spontaneity).

Even thou the scene was staged, our laughter and smiles were authentic. 

The quilt that hangs in my dining room is a deceptively simple one patch, made from Milly Churbuck’s hand dyed cottons. The assorted 3 ½” squares came precut, in swatch packs Milly used to sell, featuring various color ways of her fabric. For a small price, I got plenty of colors, with scraps to spare for another project. 

What I tried to emulate were the simply pieced yet elegantly quilted comforters of Provence, France. CLICK TO ENLARGE the photo below. As you scroll around, you’ll see the borders are each hand quilted with a different motif. The date appears in the lower left corner.

Readers have often asked if Milly Churbuck’s hand dyed cottons are still available. They are not. However, I can recommend Cherrywood Hand Dyed Fabric or Vicki Welsh Hand Dyed Fabrics.