Friday, March 31, 2017

2017 Humble Quilt Swap

My partner should be receiving her quilt soon. She doesn't know that it is me sending to her so I can share it here. I started this when I was in Sunriver, but pieced it differently than the book recommended. The blocks finish at 3". I machine quilted and hand quilted it. 




I'm making another one and this person knows we are swapping, but she doesn't know which of these are winging their way to Spain. I love this little quilt, created after seeing an antique.
I'm calling it Child's Play.
 Here is Mona's "Quilters Madder" completed! I love it! 
This was my latest fall quiltalong which you can find HERE, 
And my instagram feed for this week. 

Have a lovely weekend friends!
Thank you for all your encouraging words and kind comments.


Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Easy Flying Geese

Happy Wednesday! Part of our Fall Festival assignment this month was making flying geese for the sashing. I am doing mine like Jan did hers. Using the same background and changing the center colors. Since mine are not going to be scrappy I am using the no waste method method. (I've always called it that) This will make 4 identical flying geese units.
I'm sure many of you do it this way, but this is for those of you that don't have a clue what I'm talking about.

For the Fall Festival quilt our finished flying geese blocks will be 4"x2". My background is green. The center/colored part is black.

From your background (mine is green) add 7/8" to your finished size, which means I will cut four (4) 2 7/8" squares of background/green.

From the colored fabric we will add 1 1/4" to the finished width of the block, so we will cut a square 5 1/4".
(the finished width is 4"+ 1 1/4= 5 1/4")


 Put 2 squares of background as shown in the photo. I use my Hera marker to draw a line down the center of both smaller squares. Sew a scant 1/4" on both sides and trim on the line.  press towards the small triangles. 
 Add the other 2 squares of background as show. Draw another line down the center and sew 1/4" or a tad smaller on each side of the line. Cut on the line.  Press...
Ta-Da! Trim to 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" and set them aside for when we assemble our Fall Festival quilt. 



Monday, March 27, 2017

ABC Sampler


Here's our next 2 blocks of the ABC Sampler of Cheri's. Every time I get ready to share our blocks and write a blog post I think  of the song, ABC, 123 by the Jackson 5. This video is only 1 minute and if you haven't seen the Jackson 5 in many years it's worth a look! LOL



N-O-P in one ingenious block!

I'm not thrilled with Santa's face as I resorted to machine applique on the smaller pieces.  

When put together as a whole quilt, he will be just fine!

Take a look at Karen's blocks HERE. 

Have a wonderful week!

Friday, March 24, 2017

Vintage Quilt Friday

Here are the last two quilts the woman in Washington state gave me. She told me all of them were family quilts, but I'm not too sure that a family member made them. They may have just had them in their possession. Even though double wedding ring quilts are common they are very sweet. 

 The first one with the bold solid blue. 
 I washed this quilt after taking the photos and it looks a lot better. If you can click on it to enlarge, I thought the quilting was unusual. It is quilted with  a large X in the center of the rings.
 The solid blue used for the binding too. 
 You may be able to see the quilting better in this photo. 

Wedding ring quilt #2. 
This one is very "standard" but so sweet! 


 My friend Michelle and I looked for any duplicate fabrics indicating the same person made these two quilt and we didn't find one piece that was the same.
 The quilting is more traditional on this one.
 And the binding is teeny tiny!

I opened the binding of the crazy quilt to take a peek- nothing in it. The binding was hand sewn 
though. I thought that was interesting.
Here's my Instagram feed for this week.

I've been feeling a cold coming on but I've been keeping it at bay with vitamins C. It finally hit me with full force yesterday. I'll be laying low this weekend trying to get over this quickly. 

Have a fantastic weekend!

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

This, That and the Other...Wednesday

I've been getting a few quilt tops out of the closet to finish working on. This lovely little house quilt was one I made from Diane's book when I reviewed it back HERE. 

I kept the quilting simple, big X's, little X's and some stitch in the ditch. I used Randy's method for machine sewing down the binding. It's going to help me get a few of these done. Recently I've befriended my yoga teacher, Mai, and they have just moved into a cute little house. I thought it would be perfect for her. She isn't a quilter and I'm not even sure she liked it, but that's okay. It was a gift from my heart to hers. 

 I was asked to make this little cake block by two fellow quilters. I wish my handwriting was better! 
It's a fun little block. 
The countdown is on for the "Year of the Rooster Challenge"
Mine is complete! I thought this French General label with a rooster on it was perfect! If you'd like to mail yours to be on display at Two Thimbles Quilt shop you can make arrangements with Lee at the email below.

You can also send her a photo and this information to info@twothimbles.com 
Title:
Sources:
Inspiration:
Name:

If there are a few people I'll do a linky. Barb and Danice are the only ones I can remember who did it, but Lee at Two Thimbles let me know there were about 6 people that ordered after seeing the blog posts by me and Barb. Let me know if you want to do a linky party. We will do our reveal April 7th. 

We will be sharing our Fall festival on April 3rd. I better get busy on some flying geese!

Have a fantastic day, friends.



Monday, March 20, 2017

Vintage Knock-Off

One of the quilts given to me in Washington last month was this "vintage" knock off! After closer inspection I'm thinking it is from the 70's. It has cotton batting and no tag. The quilting and binding construction seems to be the giveaway. 
I did quite a lot of reading on Tim Latimer's HERE. There is some good info here especially if you plan on opening your wallet for a quilt.  This one, along with 4 others was given to me. There isn't anything wrong with having and enjoying a knock-off, there are just too many folks trying to sell them as old or antique.  If this one is from the 1970's than it is 30+ years old! 
This is the first time I was able to open it up and get a good look. I facetimed with my friend Laurie and that is when we came to the conclusion it was a newer overseas made quilt.  It is certainly cheery!


 I washed it to try and clean it up a little and it definitely wrinkled a lot.
 This is actually the backing- I love how that little piece is sewn in there. This is wrapped around the front to bind the quilt.
Here's another view from a distance.

Someone will enjoy this quilt, but it won't be me.

FINAL CALL for the little quilt swap! I'll be drawing names later today.

Friday, March 17, 2017

Boro Bag Friday

I've been fascinated by French General's woad dying and more recently her Boro bag workshop. 
What's Boro? Well, I'm glad you asked!

Japan's mended and patched textiles are referred to as boro, or ragged, both in Japan and abroad.

Boro t
extiles are usually sewn from nineteenth and early twentieth century rags and patches of indigo dyed cotton.  The diversity of patches on any given piece is a veritable encyclopedia of hand loomed cotton indigo from old Japan. In most cases, the beautiful arrangement of patches and mending stitches is borne of necessity and happenstance, and was not planned by the maker.


 I saw Kaari was putting together kits so I bought one for me and my daughter Rene to do together. It comes with the linen bag, a piece of foundation fabric and batting (you sew the indigo onto the foundation before adding it to the bag)

The kit comes with absolutely everything you need! I can't wait to get started.

Lots of signs of spring in central Oregon this week!

Sign up for the Little Quilt Swap and read all the details HERE. Don't delay! The deadline is just a couple of days away!

Enjoy your weekend, friends.


Wednesday, March 15, 2017

ABC Sampler

My applique is getting more primitive the more I do! 

  This is M- for Mother. There was a lot I didn't like about this one, but when it is all assembled it won't matter much. 
I appliqued the heart block and added it to the K-L-Q-R section. One one of the samples I'm using for a guide it has the alphabet stitched in here and one was plain- I went for the plain one! I can add the year and my initials later.
Getting it all to fit is a real hit or miss challenge.

See Karen's version HERE. 

Have a fantastic Wednesday!

Monday, March 13, 2017

2017 4th Annual Doll Quilt Swap

The past three years I've hosted a doll size quilt swap and both have been resounding successes! Time for our 4th Annual Humble Quilts Doll Quilt Swap 2017. 
Continue reading for all rules. When the number of participants continues to rise, please READ everything before asking me a question. Please take the time to make a quilt that you'd like to receive. Due date for your little quilt to be in the mail is May 1st. Please do not participate if you cannot meet the deadline.
State Historical Society of Iowa: Mary Barton Collection

State Historical Society of Iowa Mary Barton Collection- Quilt Index


Fabric: 1775-1910 is a wide span of time but that is what we are looking for. Look HERE if you are unsure what reproduction fabric is.
We are not using 1920's-Current
Not primitive style, like Jan Patek, or cutesy like some of Primitive Gatherings or Joined at the Hip. (which I love, just not for this swap)
We want the quilt to look like it time traveled from days past.







  • Hand or machine quilting is fine. Quilted with a few ties is fine. Ties only is not.(please no yarn)
  • No pre-printed panels
  • Please attach a label and add a note so the recipient knows who to thank.
  • Thank the person who sent you a quilt. 
  • If the workmanship is very poor and it looks like it was done very unthoughtfully I want to know and I'd like     to see photos. 
  • We will have a linky party so we will be able to see all the little quilts!

  • 24" x 24" or smaller. (It doesn't have to be square), Civil War reproductions, a label, with a deadline of mailing by May 1st.  

    If you cannot (for whatever reason) send international please let me know.

    If you are interested please send me your full name, mailing address and if you do NOT want an international partner. loridweightwatchers@gmail.com   
    Even if you were in a past swap, please send me the pertinent info. 
    I'll take signups through Sunday, March 20, 2017- Midnight PST
    I will send you your swap partner soon. 
    If I do not know you, if you have never commented on my blog or we've never emailed than I may not allow you to join. Don't take it personal. 

    It isn't a race (although there is a deadline) there is no reason to rush and do a crappy job. This type of workmanship is not acceptable.  It doesn't have to be perfect. So many of my points do not match, but I do know how to attach a binding and basic quilt construction. Have fun and enjoy the process!

    Need some inspiration?

    The swap is now closed with 76 participants!








    Friday, March 10, 2017

    It Takes a Village

    Cheri's quilt arrived yesterday! She also found out that her chemo will start on the 20th. I hope she felt all the love in this quilt when she opened it up!

    We got a few blocks......

     Then a few more.
     And a few more. I thought I'd add the center girls and applique friends as a focal point.
     A few more blocks trickled in. ( the time frame was pretty short and that worked out well) Some time ago Karen had sent me some orphan blocks and I used some of those. The mix of pieced and applique blocks looks really good. That blue block to the right of the girls did not make the cut! That was one of my own orphan blocks.
     Karen and I sewed them together as they came in. 
    There's a hole in the lower right section. I was waiting for 2 blocks to arrive. When I went to Washington we stopped by Quilters Coop in Stanwood and it so happens that JoAnn used to have a quilt shop in Temecula and she carried many of Cheri's patterns. She kindly donated the fabric for the border.

    Then the 2 blocks arrived and I sewed them right in and mailed it directly to Tracey Fisher in Washington  for quilting. I grabbed some fabric before going to Randy's in Sunriver so I could get the binding made. Once she saw the border fabric and what I'd grabbed from my stash she nixed it quickly and chose a black from her stash, which looked great! I got it made while I was there and was ready as soon as the quilt got back to me. Tracey worked like lightning and I had it back in my hands before a week had even passed!!!

    She did a wonderful job of quilting it.  And a block we thought may have been lost from Australia showed up so I appliqued it right on the front. I think it looks like something Cheri would do! I love it!






    Karen pieced the backing and mailed that when she mailed the other blocks. 
    It was so neat and even serged! I'm sure Tracey was grateful. 

    These cute little saltboxes are so cute and that black binding was perfect!

    Topped off with a label and in the mail 2 days after I received it back from Tracey.

    It couldn't have been more of a group effort and I thank you all for being 
    a part of this love and healing quilt for Cheri.