Fun with Victoria

Victoria came to Seattle this week, and we got to spend a few days sewing together.  What could be more fun than sewing with friends?!  

On Monday, Buffy (Sally) and I picked her up from the airport and wisked her off to Goodwill for supplies.  Here's the loot, and Victoria and Sally with their purchases.  Sally took her purchases home, and Victoria and I got to work.

Mine on the left, Victoria's on the right.  Victoria had a Christmas quilt in mind, so she collected red and green.   I found two long, narrow curtains in black floral chintz.  I saw wonky Chinese Coins immediately.

54 x 80"

By Wednesday morning, here's what we had!  Then we quickly got dressed headed out to meet up with the Rebels.

Go Ahead, Use it!

Home decorator fabric, that is.  Pat Sloan and I talked about using unusual fabrics in quilts on her radio show recently.  Here are some quilts I've made using home dec fabrics.  I started using them because I just love the large prints and textures.  Mine come from thrift stores, but you could use new as well. 

This is the first time I used home dec fabric in a quilt.  The black is an old, faded piece and the border is a thick weave.

The border and sashing are some old curtains from the 1960's or 1970's.  I found them at Goodwill all dusty, but they washed up just fine.

Most of these houses are made of chintz upholstery samples.  The border is a thick brocade.

When I looked for a border for this quilt, this table cloth said, "pick me!"  I had to cut off the 4" long white fringe first. 

This border is another 1970's piece.  Ah, the good old days of "flower power!"

The red print was a large chintz sample, 52 x 52"

The white floral strips are from a remnant I found in Sweden.

Remember, Corduroy Appreciation Day is coming, 11-11-11!  If you plan to post anything corduroy on the big day, let me know.  I'll post links to all of you Corduroy Quilt Enthusiasts!

Go Baby Go!

I just got my Accuquilt Go! Baby last night, and had to spend an hour cutting plaid geese.  Think I'll call this one, "Flying Plaids."  

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting the lovely Marit (right) of Norway.  She's nearby  visiting her in-laws, (MIL, Linda, on the left.)  I've been a great admirer of Marit's work for a long time.  We could have talked quilts for days!

Linda gave us a wonderful show of her mother's quilts.  Aren't they fabulous?!  Think I'll have to make that red one. 

Then Malti made herself a spot under the table as I was basting a quilt.  It's almost finished.  If I can keep myself from playing with my new Baby, I'll show it soon! 

Good bye 2010; Hello 2011

After three months of hand quilting, this quilt inspired by Anna Williams is finished! There was a LOT of stitching going on the last few days of 2010. A photo of the original quilt is published in the book, "Nancy Crow," by Nancy Crow.



Buffy gave me the idea to quilt it in red thread. I used #8 perle cotton and a sashiko needle.



I so enjoy hand-quilting!

Now for a preview of what's coming in 2011.


This is one quarter of the eyelashes quilt, otherwise known as "Pickle Dish" in Kaffe Fassett's book, Quilt Romance.



These are some old blocks, taken from a quilt top I bought at an antique store last summer. I'm thinking of resetting them like this.



And here's my 15 minutes play project, made from my basket full of scraps!

I've been part of blogland for six months now. And can't believe all the wonderful friends I've made! Everyone is so welcoming and supportive. I'm hugely grateful for your generous inspiration, scraps, blocks, advice and encouragement this year. Here's wishing you a very happy, healthy and creative 2011!!

Visions of the 1970's

I found this groovy quilt yesterday at Goodwill. It's completely made of polyester double knit, that is, all but the avocado drapery fabric back and yarn ties. In one corner, the maker embroidered "74." I'm going to assume that was the year it was made, which was the year after I graduated from high school.




This morning I noticed how this quilt is weirdly similar. When I made it a few years ago in a Kaffe Fassett class, I didn't know why I was choosing these colors. The greenish brown was especially odd for me. But the look felt familiar in some way. Kaffe commented that this quilt had "a sense of history to it."




My sister-in-law, Bonnie, has talked about how the things we see in our childhood have a profound influence on our creative vision.



Hmm. Maybe this is proof of that!

Peculiar fabrics

Tonya, over at Lazy Gal, and I have been talking about peculiar fabrics from thrift stores. We have another name for them, but never mind. Here's a quilt I made from peculiars last year. The plaid came from some very dusty kitchen curtains. Luckily they washed up just fine. I don't know if they're from the 1960's or 70's, but they remind me of the avocado appliances that were trendy in the day.

Buffy, over at Rebels, was with me at Goodwill when we stumbled upon them. At first we walked away, probably with some scrunched up looks on our faces. Then we went back. I think they cost all of $4. The plaid was very picky about which other fabrics could play.



The back is inspired by a Gee's Bend quilt. I found this panel on another trip to Goodwill. It's come out of the closet again, now that the fall chill has begun.

Happy Autumn!

14 Shirts and a Pair of Pants

This is all made from clothing I bought at thrift stores. While I was shopping, I gave myself three rules: spend no more than $1.29 a piece, make sure they're 100% cotton, and of course they had to be stripes. This quilt is inspired by one in Kaffe Fassett's book, Passionate Patchwork, and by Beth and her summer striped challenge.





Here you can see the Ralph Lauren logo on one of the shirts.





This tool helped a lot. See how easy it is to line up the stripes? I cut triangles for 3", 6" and 9" squares.





Meanwhile, I made these hot pads for a friend's birthday. They're made of 5" squares of hand dyed fabrics from Malka at a stitch in dye. I love these fabrics!

Beth's Striped Challenge

Here's a sneak peek of the quilt I've been working on for Beth's Striped Challenge. It was supposed to be done by the end of the summer, and it's almost there. Stay tuned!

One more summer quilt

Made last summer, it contains mostly thrift store fabrics inspired by a 1960's apron (brown background with daisies, hearts and yellow strawberries.)




As I was choosing the other fabrics, I kept hearing a song from the 1960's, "Incense and Peppermints," by Strawberry Alarm Clock. Apparently it was telling me it's a 1960's quilt!




OK, I got the message, and made sure to include a few blocks that represent the Civil Rights Movement.



I hope you've all had a great summer!