June Flew By in the Best Way

At one point this spring I thought I might finish the hand quilting on Calico Paradise - as luck would have it - life had other GREAT plans for me.  June flew by in the BEST way!!

Here is my Calico Paradise in the frame - with most of the outline quilting done.  That leaves me the option to roll back and do the filler quilting in the frame - or - move to a hoop.

Nancy at Tattered Garden Quilting just posted about her start on Calico Paradise HERE.  I enjoyed seeing her wonderful stack of fabrics for the project.  She also shares her methods.  My applique choice is back basting and needle turn.  I love it as we can all use our own comfortable methods and enjoy our projects!!

ENJOY being the key word.  Stop by and cheer Nancy on.

Denver Botanic Garden

As I said June flew by filled with the best times with the best of friends!

So much so I need a separate post or two to share all the fabric and antique shopping as well as travels near and far.  I hope I can remember all the details - I can tell you new extra large suitcases had to be purchased!


Thanks for stopping in.
I hope you are enjoying a bit of paradise this week.

Calico Paradise

Every quilt has a story and this quilt first appeared to me four years ago.  Little did I know it would end up on my kitchen counter in 2012?


In 2008 I saw this quilt in APQ, in the back where they feature a special quilt with a teaser paragraph.  It is a stunning quilt and I was hoping to learn more about it.  I ripped the page out... Time passed...and I went on to other projects.

In 2010 we moved to a new house (so a new sewing space) and this is one of the clippings I pulled out and put up for inspiration.

Pulling for my project

In 2011 I attended the AQSG seminar in Cherry Hill and sat mesmerized at Show 'N Tell Night as amazing quilts paraded across the stage.

Guess what?  It was there!
At this time I still had not met Ann, and hadn't connected her to Notes From The Quilt Lab Blog.
Through the course of the week I was able to meet Ann, see more pieces from her fabulous collection and 'talk quilts'.

Solids and prints - some fussy cutting

In 2012 Ann gave a presentation at Temecula Quilt Company in Southern California.  I offered to chauffer her and brought some of my pieces for her to see on the ride.

My theory is Catherine's Garden and Calico Paradise have much in common...the center focus, four corner features, botanical emphasis... more on this in a future post.

Rich Color

The quilt is now fully patterned and available in our Etsy shop.

Finished size is about 80 x 90 (depending on how you decide to do the final border).

Fabrics were narrow in 1860 - the maker probable split two lengths in half.  Today we might prefer to split 42/44 into fourths.  Fun for us to decide.

Backing is a purple stripe - love that with the rich madders on the front.

It's faded now - but you can see hints of it's former vibrancy.










Have a great week - I hope you are steeped in collaboration - I will be!

Proud Finishes

Some wonderful finishes to share.

Florence finished her Catherine's Garden quilt.

She used reproduction fabrics.
Hand Applique
Hand Quilting - following the original quilting lines shown on the pattern.  She then went back in and added even more!

Isn't it beautiful?
Three years on and off with other projects in between , including moving.

For the ground fabric she used 'Lately Arrived' by Barbara Brackman from her stash.

She reports it was especially nice to hand quilt and she wished she bought more.

All cotton batting.
She quilts in a hoop - the same hoop she's enjoyed for the past 30 years of quilting.

The center of her quilt.

 "I will say it was the most fun quilting project ever - the background fabric was just wonderful for quilting and so much space quilt on and I just kept adding more and more!"

It was fun to see photos of Flo's quilt as she worked on it.  It was an honor for us to have a collector of magnificent antique quilts, make one of ours.

Thank you Flo for sharing your work!

Lee Anne has her Calico Paradise ready for quilting.

She is planning to hand quilt, possibly with pearl cotton and maybe a big stitch.

She had a very special red that is hard to find for the border.  In order to stretch it, she added 8 blocks to the border.
Great look!!

Lee Anne you captured the original look perfectly - thanks for sharing.

Send more photos of the quilting, we'd love to see it.

The choice of fabrics is perfect.

They sparkle in the summer sunshine.

There is a new line of fabrics due out soon - similar color ways perfect for this quit - stay tuned for more details this summer.  I'm particularly interested in the double blue - could be stock up time!

Joy shared her quilt all hand stitched by her.
She combined three or four old patterns in a way that appealed to her.

It measures 71" x 71"

Perfect to hang behind a king size bed.  She has a king size Pot of Flowers/Pride of Iowa quilt she has planned.  What a room that will be!

The fabrics are all from a reproduction fabric line from Laurene Sinema of Phoenix.

This quilt was exhibited in Chicago and Houston in 2017 in "Traditional Appliqué".

Joy uses wool batting.

Incredible quilting - look at the wonderful texture!

Thank you for sharing Joy!

Pip has her Calico Paradise well under way. I have ALWAYS wanted to see this quilt in
Kaffe/Brights.

She swapped out some of the madder for turquoise.

Don't you love the multi colored leaves?

For the very center she used a classic Kaffe print.

Fun combination of dots and stripes!

Pip lives in Australia. I often think about the original maker and how she would have marveled at our fabrics and the distance we can share our quilting projects.





The color glows!
Love the variety of prints and how they all work together.

Thanks to all the quilters who shared their beautiful work.
Email me if you have photos you would like me to share.

Happy Stitching!
Dawn

Fall Quilts

Books are usually aren't on the floor...really!!

Today I rotated some quilts out for fall and thought you might like to see them.

Even though the room is in the process of holding two rooms of furniture, I still wanted some fall color.  My next home project is new carpet and I need to empty entire rooms into others.

You might recognize Calico Paradise, if not you can read about it HERE.
I have some additional photos of the scrappy pyramids below.

The scrappy pyramid quilt is a completely hand sewn antique quilt.  See the white dots on the green?  They are the knots of the quilting thread - all the knots are on the front of this quilt.

Deep wonderful green borders surround the pyramids.  Even the borders and binding are hand applied.

The fan quilting is a little under 1/2" apart.

There is a multitude of stripes cut every which way.

This makes the quilt all the more interesting.

More knots on top for your viewing pleasure.


How about some more fabrics?

Do you like the knots on top?  Would you do it?  I'm thinking I need to on a doll quilt this way.

How about the fabrics, do you have a favorite?

Thanks for taking time to leave a comment!

Dawn

Thinking Ahead

http://www.amymitten.com/       silk & linen

This is my new project start for 2013.
Actually, Santa brought it - so it only seemed right to start stitching away.

This is the Vierlande Winders Keeper by Amy Mitten 

Santa must have heard about my admiration of Margaret's (Days of a Sampler Lover). Check out Margaret's Quaker version.

http://www.amymitten.com/

The outside is silk, and the inside is filled with stitching and pockets.



The set also will have the pin balls and thread winders.

The link above will show you all the other details.
I love all the details.

Last year I completed a few cross stitch projects and I plan to do the same in 2013.

Calico Paradise

Of course I have lots of exciting quilting plans as well.

More applique - several more old quilts to share with you.  Some piecing too.

And let's not forget the quilting; hand & machine plans are in the works.

Catherine's Garden old and new

Sewing tools - so many upcoming treasures!

The tape loom and tape too...that update might take two posts.

Thanks to all of you who sent the link to the loom going up for auction this month.  You can see it HERE, Pook & Pook.

I have three reproduction samplers I plan to finish - as in all the way to framing.

I also see handmade LACE in the coming year - oh, so much to look forward to!

 Wishing you all the best in 2013!!  Do you always start a new year with a new project?

A Madder Themed Week

Yellow background fabric:  Judy Rothermel Lancaster Lines

If there was a theme to my week - it was Madder.

I'm working on Calico Paradise - with beautiful madder reproduction prints.

It is a great project I can pick up and put down.

I've also been auditioning some blues for the birds.

This got me thinking about this child's madder print dress in my collection.

The sweet little dress is entirely hand sewn.

Interesting to explore the construction techniques facilitating years of use from the garment.

Here is the inside waist.

The hem and large tuck in the skirt allow for extending the length several inches.  The fullness can be decreased - as a waist expands.

The wide waist band is lined in a purple print.
On the right side waist band is piped on both edges.

Here's a close up of the purple print.

Note the fullness in the bodice and skirt gathered on the waistband.

There is no side seam in the bodice.

This is the side with the sleeve pulled up.











What put me over ... calling it a 'themed week' was my hair appointment.

I got my hair done this week - always an adventure in a new city - but I trust Aveda.  As J cut my hair she started telling me about their Madder hair product.  I didn't bite at the prospect of leaving it in my hair over night, head in a bag, with a dark towel on my pillow... and I didn't want to burst her bubble - plant based dyes are hardly new...

She didn't know I was a quilter, loved antique textiles, or that I would even know about the use of madder....

Maybe I should have more color based weeks.  I wonder what color next week will be...

Are you using lots of madder prints in your projects?

More Madder Related Links:
Madder Style Prints
Early Dyes
Cotton Dyeing
Books of Interest

Catherine's Garden on Display

I did it!  Catherine's Garden s Done. Finished. Complete.
The sleeve and tag are on...and she's hanging.

I get to enjoy her everyday - my indoor flower garden.

I decided to pair her with my reproduction of the Virginia Quilt Museum Medallion.

I really like the "Hang It Dang It" hangers.
One nail, and they self level - with adjustable widths.  Easy to rotate the quilts on display.

Here's a straight on shot.
I have to say again, Catherine was a genius in her design and drawing.  We will probably never know if she drew all of it herself.  I like to think she was an artist, maybe collaborating with quilting friends and family.

It was so fun to stitch each flower and leaf.  It took me about a year to make, in between other projects and a major move to Colorado.  There were times I could hardly put the project down.

You can read details about Catherine's Garden HERE.

Calico Paradise is now in the frame.

The timing works for warm summer days - it's not in my lap.
I will do all of the outline quilting, then take it out of the frame and use a hoop and do the filler quilting.

I am enjoying quilting on this with all the green grass and blue skies outside.

The backing is a reproduction purple stripe, just like the original.

For variety, I have been working on a machine piecing project from the new book, Promenade In A Dutch Garden.

Next step are some squares and I have not decided on a border fabric yet.

Here are some of the blocks laid out.

I mixed some reproduction prints from my stash with the Dutch Chintz.

The center star is also a mix of Chintz and reproduction fabrics.

Great fun!!
I hope you are having a fun week.  Thanks for stopping by today - I appreciate your time!

Pairing Up, Work Bag and NEW Fabrics

One of many good times in Charleston included showing Calico Paradise together with the antique quilt.

Here they are after their public debut folded side-by-side in the hotel lobby.

They both have a purple printed stripe backing.  The reproduction is hand quilted, our pattern includes all of the hand quilting lines to quilt it just as the original.

Read more about the quilts HERE and HERE.

Of course we are working on more historically accurate patterns...more on that in another post.









Another event at the AQSG Seminar is the silent auction.

One of my donations this year was a work bag made in the Mill Book AQSG fabric line from Moda.

I based the bag on a vintage one in my collection.

The bag 'plumps' up as you fill it with your projects.

It includes a little clam shell case for small treasures like a thimble.  I've been making a few of these.

There is also a shell thread ring.
ADDED 2014 Pattern HERE

The new AQSG Fabric line is called CIRCA 1825, by In The Beginning Fabrics.

You can get the free to use patterns and fabric line details HERE.

Ask your local quilt shop to be sure and order it.

I had someone ask me recently how much free stuff I get blogging, and the answer is ZERO.  I have a small blog, write for myself and what I personally like.

No free products come here!

The benefit for me has been connecting with friends.

3CE1

Many great prints in the line.
LOVE the detail in these.


A portion of the sales for this line go to the American Quilt Study Group.
We saw the samples at seminar.

2CE1

Have a great week!

We are enjoying quiet evenings by the fire.

Celebrating with a FINISH

Center with my initials and date

I am celebrating the completion of my Catherine's Garden.

It is a completely hand made - by me.

   *  Hand Pieced

   *  Hand Appliqued

   *  Hand Quilted

 

The pattern was made from a quilt in our collection, you can read about it HERE.

Just like Catherine, I quilted my initials and the year completed in the center of the quilt.

Back of Catherine's Garden

It is hard to show hand quilting cream an cream,

 - all 600+ yards of it!

This is a view of the back.

Finished size is 80' x 80"

The original quilting lines are on the pattern so I was able to truly copy Catherine's design through completion of the quilting.

Quilting motifs include leaves, circles, arcs, flowers and LOTS of 'clam shells'.  Each applique motif is outlined as well.

The quilt is shown draped on a queen size bed.

I did the hand piecing while 'car sitting' when our house was being shown during the move.  It was quicker than getting the machine in and out.  Home Stagers do not like home sewing! 

I decided to bind the quilt as the 1855 original.  

The technique:

   *  The binding is 1/2" finished, single layer.

   *  Each side is added separately.

   *  The 'open' end is whip stitched closed.

After all, I was reproducing Catherine's quilt.

It is good to try something out today's norm.

I plan to get a hanging sleeve on it and will probably share a picture of it hung...

In the mean time I have Calico Paradise in the quilt frame.  Once the outlining is complete I will move to hoop quilting.

Walnut thimble holder

I have done a little work on my 'do over' of 

N. Hinde, reproduction 1778 English sampler.

The linen is 35 count, the thread is silk.  It is stitched over one thread.  It is available from the Scarlet Letter.

I have the lovely grained maple frame ready for finishing.

Have a great weekend! 

I'll be savoring my quilt...and just maybe finishing a sampler.