Close-up of the house block
My beloved Teasel is always forgiven for cat hair on my quilts!
This is a close-up of the tulip block in my houses quilt. I used the new, still unfamiliar camera for some of these shots and later discovered that a speck on the lens had caused a blurring.
This was impressive. I wish I had gotten a close up of the intricate machine quilting done by one of the professionals in town.
This was made by Joan, a massage therapist and quilter. The horses are cut all in one piece from a stencil, appliqued with a tiny machine stitch and then "stippled" by machine. Delicate work!
I named this quilt "The Houses of West Hague, NY." I made it for my "Cousin Bruce" who has given me so much help with family history research. The various branches of our families have shared the same upstate New York hamlet for many generations. Piecing those 8 houses was a pain! I redid the roof angles to get them as perfect as possible and never did learn an easy way to do it. Each corner of the border has a 6" maple leaf block---added in tribute to the gallons of maple syrup made each spring for the past 200+ years.
This is a strip sampler made in soft muted prints and set with a mottled dusty rose fabric. I call this one "Carole's Parlour." My dear friend Carole had a parlour/study in a huge vintage house in Vermont which her husband, George, had restored. It was furnished with her big desk, an elegant antique sofa, comfortable chairs. There was a fireplace--a beautiful and welcoming room.
T-Sqaures.I made this for Carole's husband, George. George is a meticulous craftsman who has restored old colonial homes and vintage Lincoln motor cars. It is appropriate as his surname begins with a "T". His mechanic and woodworking tools were always beautifully ordered.
Bear Tracks
Bear TracksI made this several years ago from scraps of calicos in the colors of a New England Autumn.
I spent two hours this afternoon as one of many women from our quilt group, setting up for the annual quilt show. Since my back is still twingy I was glad I had an easy assignment---helping to "check in" quilts and smaller items.
Oh WOW! Doubledy wow in fact - especially that one of the horses - that is just amazing! That Navajo pattern quilt is brilliant. Your quilts are stunning too and I love your use of colour. The Houses of West Hague is very cleverly done - is it your own design? A clever twist on schoolhouse block AND Log Cabin and beautiful quilting. I only quilt by hand. On the charity quilt I did recently, it was just in the ditch machine quilting and I need to get back to that and put applique something-or-others in the wan blank blocks. That Bear Tracks one is full of lovely Fall colours.
ReplyDeleteI believe Carole's Parlour is my favorite, love the Horse quilt too! :)
ReplyDeleteThe Houses quilt was a pattern featured in Quilt Sampler in 2007--it seemed just right for what I wanted to capture. The only change I made was to use a different corner/border block which doesn't show in the photo. I mostly do very traditional quilts. Some of our ladies take classes and keep up with inovations in techniques and designs.
ReplyDeleteI have not been pleased with my efforts to machine quilt a bed-sized piece--the long arm quilters do some beautiful work, but as finances tighten, I may not be able to afford their service. I can do acceptable hand work on a small item but wouldn't undertake a large quilt.
Those are stunning ..how could anyone choose between yours ...I would love them all. Your choice of patern and fabrics are magic and there is something about Bears Paws that makes me take return looks. I'm not really sure how you asseble them as all i know about are basic patch work items done by hand and also quitling with padding, as a seperate skill ...not that I have ever tried either. People I've known who did patch work, took many many years to complete a quilt. How long does it take you? .... and what is a long arm quilter??
ReplyDeleteAhh ... Teasel is so beautiful
I am so glad Teasel's beauty is appreciated! She is a stunning cat and very intelligent.
ReplyDeleteAngie: most of the quilt blocks i turn out would fall into the intermediate category of dicfficulty. If I am motivated to keep at it, a queen or king-sized quilt might take me 3-4 weeks to piece the blocks and stitch them into rows, put on the borders. I can't huddle over my sewing machine for as many hours as I used to--my old bones protest. Since I work at the quilt shop most days for 2 to 4 hours, that sometimes uses up my sewing energy.
A long arm quilting machine is a huge thing with an adjustable frame and rollers. The layers of the quilt are fastened on and held taut. As an area is completed the quilter rolls out another portion of the quilt. The machine has handles rather like a bicycle and the quilter stands to steer it. The machines are very expensive. The quilter can "stitch in the ditch" or use a pantograph which is a prepared stencil-like allover design to follow. The best of the machine quilters create beautiful free hand designs to enhance the quilt blocks.
Several women in our group do hadn quilt large items--I would find that very daunting!
I can't quite imagine how you do it all ...prior to the quilting bit ...so quickly. I remember seeing both MIL and her sister doing little projects. There were hundreds of shapes with material stretched and tacked over them and then when they had enough to get started they sewed them together with a sort of zig zag or over sewing stitch and then pulled out the tacking and card shapes ..all by hand ..cant imagine that bit done by machine. Is that what you do? Must look up and see If there is anything on American quilt making as it fascinates me.
ReplyDeleteAngie: it sounds like your ladies were making the pattern called "grandmother's flower garden"--little hexagons on cardboard with scraps fitted over them and the edges"tacked" underneath. Then the shapes were hand-whipped together. There is a similar one called "yo-yo" with little circles over-stitched together. I wouldn't have the patience as I think it would take a lifetime to produce a quilt. Maybe I should do a post on the rotary cutting/strip piecing methods that have revolutionized quilting in the US.
ReplyDeleteYES PLEASE ...might even tempt me to try ...but only if you try scrapping lol
ReplyDelete