Design Wall Monday - March 27, 2023

 Good Morning Quilters!

Well, for the third week in a row, I have a completed quilt that was a long in progress UFO to show you.   It's a Jane Stickle reproduction quilt.

Pictures of my quilt first, and then the story behind it.  First picture: Hubby is holding it up while standing on a bench outside.  It is quite large, and he couldn't reach his arms out wide enough to show the corners.

I tried to make my blocks as similar to Jane's as I could.  Most of my fun was searching for fabrics to use!

On the couch, ready for me to take a nap underneath it yesterday:

Displayed on the railing by the front door, so I can admire it all this week.  I can't believe it is actually finished!

As Paul Harvey used to say.....and here's the rest of the story:

It's probably the most famous quilt in the world.  A Jane Stickle reproduction quilt that I've been working on it for a long time.  I bought the book Dear Jane by Brenda Papadakis many years ago, when I was a new quilter.  It was in 2001, and the 911 attack that September made me more intrigued by all the war stories Brenda told along with the pictures of the blocks.  I imagined how Jane Stickle would have felt making a quilt during the terrible Civil War.

Then a few years later, I went to the Bennington Museum in Vermont to see the actual quilt (See info here) I spent a whole day sitting in front of the quilt, taking notes, and marveling at all the different blocks.  At the time, we were allowed to take pictures with no flash.

Here is a picture of the quilt on display at the museum:

While at the museum, I bought a poster of the quilt.  I had been reading on the internet the progress of many people making the quilt.  So I had the book with a close-up of each block, and the poster of the whole quilt.  The book doesn't have very much detail on how to make the blocks.  All of the internet information I gathered told me people were using a size of 4.5" for the blocks, and they were including sashing and cornerstones.  

I was so smitten by the quilt in the museum, that I wanted to make one just like it!  So I took my poster to a copy shop and asked them to blow it up to the size of the original quilt.  Crazy idea, I know, but I wanted to make mine exactly like Jane's. 

And the quilt sized black and white photos of the enlarged pieces,  taped together,  plus the color pictures from the book, were my pattern for any new blocks I made after I visited the museum and saw the real thing. 

It is one of those quilts that you hate to stop working on, you love it so much.  And that's the way it was with this one.  I have had the 169 blocks finished for a long time, but have never put them together, because I knew that Jane's blocks did not have sashing and cornerstones, and everyone else making the quilt had sashing and cornerstones.

Finally, as a present to myself in my 80th year, I have finished it!  The blocks are 5 inches square, and if they were not 5 inches square, I added a little strip of background fabric to make them so.  Jane's blocks were all different sizes, and that is what she did to make them fit together.  

My scallops are traced from the blown up poster, and my binding is very small.  I used bias binding cut at 1.75 inches, doubled as per usual binding, and machine stitched to the front, and hand stitched to the back.  I had a friend, Beverly Irvine, machine quilt it in a Baptist fan, as I am not a hand quilter, and it seemed like the least intrusive quilting to use.  

So that's my story, and I have no other great finishes to report to you next week.  It will be back to making Benjamin Biggs Wedding Quilt squares.  And some other projects probably.

Have you started a Jane Stickle quilt?  Have you finished one?  I know several people who have made many versions of it.  I have even started another version, with  indigo blue and shirting blocks, and have about 1/3 of the center blocks completed.  That version will have the usual sashing and cornerstones, as per most versions.  A UFO that is currently in time out.

Tell us what you are working on this week, and show us some pictures.  We are always interested in seeing what you are up to.  Thanks for joining The Design Wall Monday Linky Party.  Click below to join, and don't forget to provide a link back to this post within your blog.  Thanks for joining!

 

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Design Wall Monday - March 20, 2023

 Good Morning Quilters!

Are any of you basketball fans?  I am a big college basketball fan, and filling out my March Madness bracket choices is an annual ritual.  It has been fun this year because so far, my bracket is doing better than three of my Grandson's brackets.  I am sure they aren't happy about it, but so far, I'm winning!  And my very favorite team is now in the Sweet Sixteen.  Go Green!

But my main news is that I have another UFO finish to show you this week.   My cheddar baskets quilt is completed!  I blogged about it when I started making these baskets in May, 2018.  You can see my start on it (Here) if you want to go look.  The pieced baskets (with appliquéd handles) finish at 3.5 inches square.

Once I decided on a layout, I was thinking of having a free motion quilter quilt a basket in each white plain block.  But I decided to embroider a basket in the white squares because I couldn’t figure out who or how to get a long arm quilter to continue with my vision of bigger baskets there.  I didn't know Sue Daurio then. I chose embroidery in cheddar floss so the embroidery blends with the pieced blocks and doesn’t overtake the little baskets.  

Recently I sent it to Sue Daurio (her website is here) to machine quilt it for me.  She had some great ideas, and as you can see, the quilting enhances the cheddar baskets and the embroidery well.  Sue’s suggestions helped me decide what the results would be, and I am very happy with it.  

It is one of those projects where I just couldn’t visualize how it was going to turn out, or what to add next, or what size it would be.  Some UFOs are like that, and I am very happy that this one moved along the bumpy path of my thoughts and ideas and came out a completed quilt, and it only took five years!  haha 

Here are lots of pictures of the completed quilt.  The last picture shows Penny Lane with it this week.  She is now five years old, and she was just a puppy when I began this journey.  Penny approves of it.  The measurement of the final quilt is 74" by 74" square.

I have another finish to share with you next week, and then I am back to showing partially finished projects.  The one next week is one of my oldest UFOs.....stay tuned for the rest of the story next Monday.  

But now, what do you have to show us?  I hope to spend some time looking at all of your blogs this week.   There is a break in the basketball games, so I will have time to look at blogs on the internet.  Thank you so much for sharing in our Design Wall Monday Linky Party.  I appreciate you so much.  

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Design Wall Monday - March 13, 2023

 Good Morning Quilters!

Today I happily show you a finished quilt!  My UFO of Birds of a Feather, pattern by Barb Adams and Alma Allen of Blackbird Designs is finished.  Most of the quilt is per their pattern, with a simple border instead of their applique border. 

It is back from the long arm quilter and I finished sewing the binding on it yesterday.  My long arm quilter, Sue Daurio,  (Here)  did a fantastic job of custom quilting it, and I am amazed and so pleased with the combination of her quilting and the piecing.  It's final size is 74" by 86".   

Here are some pictures:

This quilt has a long history. The pattern was offered as a monthly section of a newspaper in the State of Washington long ago.  Lori DeJarnatt's blog (Humble Quilts) (Her post) had a give-a-way of this pattern in January of 2011, and my friend Sharyn Mallow Woerz won the pattern.  Sharyn worked on it for a while, and when she tired of it, she asked if I wanted to take it on.  I never turn down a free pattern, and said "Yes, please!" 

I blogged about receiving it from Sharyn and my start of work on it in March of 2013.  Sharyn had a dark green background fabric, and I changed it to this light background, and used a lot of Sharyn's teal blue and gold fabrics.  Soooo, 10 years later, it is March, 2023, and this quilt is born!  The label has to be made yet, and I will include Sharyn's name with mine, as it was a joint effort.  I am so happy it is finally a finished quilt.

Here are some more pictures:

The joy of getting a UFO finished is amazing.  I will have another one to show you next week!

What are you working on this week?  Please join in the Design Wall Monday Linky Party below and show us some pictures and we will be able to visit your blog.  Thanks for your faithful participation.  I appreciate you.

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Design Wall Monday - March 6, 2023

Good Morning Quilters!

Here is a new little doll quilt that I just finished, and the story behind it.  First the quilt:  

And the story:  While sorting some saved papers in a box, I found a picture I’d printed from an auction site on the internet.  It was a quilt that I liked very much.  The picture:  

Also this week I was looking at the hsts I had made two weeks ago:   

There wasn’t a good plan to go any further with the hsts until this week when I saw my saved picture.  I thought, hmmm, I could turn all the hsts into hourglass blocks, and have enough for this little quilt..

Here is the idea taking shape:

And here is my new little doll quilt, shown with my snoozing dog, Miss Penny Lane.  

The hourglass blocks are 3/4” square and the quilt measures 8.5” by 11”.  I added little triangle corners on the back in case I would ever want to hang it up.

This is what I find fun with quilting - making something that pleases me out of my stash.  Hope you have been having fun this week too.

Now it’s your turn - join the Design Wall Monday Linky Party below and we can see what you have made.  Thanks for sharing with us.  Have a great week!

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