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| 36" Lone Star started 1984 - Finished 2011 |
After reading Maureen's post HERE I was motivated to dig out my oldest project.
This is a strip pieced Star crib quilt started in 1984. That's right - 27 YEARS ago. I think I put it away - disappointed in the double poly batting...it was half hand quilted. I still like the colors but not the stencil.
Many of the fabrics I would buy again, and still have some bits left that also worked their way into other projects over the years.
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| Backing Corner Flipped Back |
The backing is pink, I used the excess to bind it this week.
Like Maureen's I have some Concord, VIP and probably Peter Pan.
It did make me think about the fabric selections we had in 1984.
I worked at a quilt shop then, while a FT student. I kept the swatches!
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| Swatches to order bolts for the shop |
Do any of these look familiar?
Yours Truly, Inc. Circa 1984ish
The front of the swatch card says "Exclusive Calico Prints" ... hand written someone noted they liked the black/brown/gold colorway. It was ordered for the shop and I made a queen sized Double Irish chain. I still have that quilt and it was finished. I'll share it soon.
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| Pin Cushion made from aluminum pop can |
What else was going on? Lots of crafty things...
How about sewing accessories made from pop cans?
Make a pin cushion HERE. After I read step 2, I decided any new additions to my collection will be purchased!
Look at the loft of that poly batting!
Wonder why we needed double poly?!?
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| Retro sewing items |
Plastic was so popular - were we supposed to believe a Celebrity would use this plastic sewing/mending set?
Tomato pin cushions were in every sewing bax and basket for many decades. This one is plush and quite large.
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| Celebrity - inside the kit |
The plastic lining is a fake velvet finish - in what else? Royal Blue of course!
Most of the pieces are stamped made in the U.S.A.
I cut off a salvage last week that said printed in the U.S.A. - maybe I should keep that too!
What's your oldest WIP/UFO? What's keeping you from finishing?
You just showed everybody that it's never too late to finish a project! congratulations.
ReplyDeleteIt is still a great quilt, Dawn, 80s prints, poly batting, and quilting stencil you don't like notwithstanding! : )
ReplyDeleteBack in those days I was just tying simply pieced quilts and hand quilting on other people's projects at our church quilting bees. Didn't have room to quilt at my house.
My oldest WIP is the Grandmother's flower garden I posted about during the summer. What's keeping me from finishing? Time!! Since it isn't promised to anyone it is way down on the priority list and "have to" finish projects keep jumping in front of it.
Get finish! Congrats for pulling out the long undone quilt and putting in the finishing stitches.
ReplyDeleteMy oldest UFO is about 12 years undone and most likely destined to remain that way FOREVER! It was my first attempt at needleturn - with pieces too fussy and tiny for a newbee. But I love the fabrics and the design. So I pull it out from time to time and think about restarting with a little more skill in my arsenal. But then again there are SO many other quilts that are just begging to be made *sigh*
I'm embarrassed to say I have a Churn Dash and a Grandmother's Fan from 1980 that I still have to finish--and I will, really I WILL finish them. If I die and they're not quilted, my children will put them up on eBay and I will feel just terrible.
ReplyDeleteI'm really doing my best to work through the UFO pile, and have gone NO-BUY until it all gets done. All I can buy is fabric for borders or backing, no fabric for new projects. It's working really well.
I did learn something interesting from all this. Some of the quilts that were unfinished were actually waiting--some of them for 20 years--for me to develop the skills to finish them properly. For example, some of them really wanted to be quilted with Free-motion quilting. I don't think it had been invented yet, and for sure I didn't know how to do it. But now I do, and those quilts are so glad they waited! :)
Oh good lord. I don't even like to think of my oldest WIP. It's probably the first quilt I ever made, back in the 80's. lol! Still not fully quilted. It's always the quilting that holds me up. Even though I love quilting. Oh well. I always enjoy your posts so much. That Lone Star is gorgeous -- glad you got it done finally. lol! Just got our internet back from the nor'easter. Long time without internet!
ReplyDeleteMy oldest UFO is the first quilt I started in 1981! I should put it on my blog. It was a Sampler quilt in earth tones. Isn't that what every first time quilter made in the early 1980s, a Sampler quilt!! A hundred years from now quilt historians are going to have a field day with them..."Oh no, not ANOTHER sampler quilt" What is our refrain today -- Oh no, not another Grandmother's flower Garden quilt?
ReplyDeleteI love it! I think it's so strange what can spur us on to finish a quilt. Just the mention of that fabric!?! Too funny! What is double poly batting? just extra thick? In some ways I like that because you can see the quilting better. That is what I'm telling myself as I hand quilt my little project with wool batting. That's neat that you saved those fabric swatches. I always enjoy the sewing accessories you share. I'd never seen a pop can pin cushion!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention my oldest UFO. I have so many and may, just may, do an inventory on Jan. 1. I feel brave enough now that I've progressed on a couple this year. The one that comes to mind is a Christmas table runner. I lost interest when I realized I had no place to put it and other hand quilting projects came along. Now that I think about it, my mom just redid her kitchen and it would go well there. Hmmmm.......
ReplyDeleteI love the Lone Star, and yours is just beautiful!!! Congratulations on getting it finished! You did a very nice job on it!!
ReplyDeleteHi! Greetings from Finland! I love that star quilt! It's so nice! Thank you for your lovely quilt! It's so nice to find other quilters all around the world!
ReplyDeleteI purged a lot of my old UFO's after my last move. I do however have an inherited UFO from a guild member who passed away. She won these blocks in a guild challenge in 1987...I am so close to having them put together. Maybe that will be a good project for this winter...thanks for the kick...
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