An Almost Finished Quilt With My Great Grandmother

The only thing missing from this quilt is the binding and a label. Right now, there are four generations involved in its creation. By the time it is completed, I am hoping it will be five. Here's the cast of characters...

Eunice Fincher - my great grandmother - hand stitched three sets of blocks so that each of her three grandaughters would have something made by her.
Ruby Morgan - my grandmother - lovingly stored these blocks to pass on to her daughters. We are not sure if she helped make them or not.
Linda Morgan - my mother - recipient of blocks. She used my grandmothers treadle sewing machine to stitch them together into a quilt top.
Debora Exum - that's me! - put the layers together and did the machine quilting.
Erica Exum - my daughter, who doesn't know she is being recruited yet! I'm hoping to talk her into designing a label for the back of this beauty. She is good at that sort of thing. I've got my mom on the hunt for a picture of my great grandmother. I want to make sure this quilt gets a proper label.

I was really nervous about using any sort of chemicals with these old fabrics so I pin basted the layers together. This may be the first quilt I have ever pin basted and it is also the biggest quilt I have every quilted at 72" x 90". It's a good thing the quilting was kept simple.

I stitched in the ditch around each block and the four squares within the block. Stitching near the ditch would be more like it, and there is diagonal stitching through each petal.

The stitching shows up a tad better from the back, which is a wide backing fabric by Darlene Zimmerman in white and aqua.

This quilt is full of interesting fabric and I am sure it all covers a long time period. This pot bellied stove fabric was one of my favorites.

Then there are these cool black and white circles.

What about this 1930s looking baby fabric? So cute!

See how the red poodle fabric is stitched together from smaller pieces to make one piece big enough to be used in the block. Anywhere scraps are sewn together like this, they are machine stitched, while the blocks themselves are hand stitched.

And one more to make sure we have met our quota of cuteness for today... these sweet bows.

The only reason the binding is not on yet is because my mom wanted to choose the binding fabric. I took the quilt to her house today along with all sorts of binding options. She decided that it needed something dark to frame it so I will bind it with either a dark brown or a black solid.

Once this quilt is finished, it will hang on the wall at my mom's house. This has been a great project for me and my mom to work on together. I'm so glad the blocks did not get stored away in the back of a closet. They will be enjoyed for generations to come.

Other posts about this project:

Quilt Progress on the Treadle Machine

Quilt Blocks from my Great Grandmother

Linking up with Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt and Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times.

Spell It With Moda - Getting Closer

Wow, we're getting close to solving this puzzle. Fifteen letters have been revealed with our Spell It With Moda project. Only thirteen more to go. This week we added an I, an O, and an L. To help see what it says, here it is in more hangman style:

___  ___  ___  I  ___  ___  E

T H  ___  R  E

I  S       ___  O  ___  ___

___  N       T H E

___  ___  R  L  ___

These letters have been guessed and either there aren't any or all that are available have been guessed:
 H, R, S, T, M

Did you notice that the business card place holders have been replaced by colorful filler blocks. There will be a tutorial about those coming up soon over at the Moda Bake Shop. I will be sure to let you know when it goes live.

Keep those comments coming! It won't be too many more weeks before this quilt puzzle will be solved. Let's take a closer look at the fabric used in this week's letters. The fabric collection is Flow by Zen Chic. It should be available at your local quilt shop or favorite online shop in March.

First we have a yummy orange I which completes the word "is" in our puzzle.

I was very excited to be able to make this project from this fabric collection and the more I sew with it, the more I love it. The bright colors are fun and festive and just make me want to smile.

Another one of those inverse letters, where the letter fabric and the background trade places. I wonder if those letters have any special meaning?

A close up of O surrounded in pink.

And last but not least, letter L, which has to be the simplest letter to sew out of the bunch.

And a close up of letter L, using the orange fabric that looks like a relief map.

Remember, if you'd like to make something of your own, the letters are available individually on Moda's Pinterest Board.

Or, if you want a quick resource with everything in one place, check out the Spell It With Fabric booklet available at many local quilt shops and online stores. I did a quick Google search and found some great resources for purchasing the booklet.

There are lots of other quilters sewing along with the Moda Bake Shop 7th birthday celebration. Head on over to their blogs if you'd like to see what they are up to.

Amanda Castor  {materialgirlquilts | blog: materialgirlquilts.com}Jemima Flendt {tiedwitharibbonquilts  | tiedwitharibbon.com}Jenn Nevitt {mommysew | mommysew.com}Lisa Calle   {vintagemodernquilts  | vintagemodernquilts.com}Oda May    {modabakeshop | modabakeshop.com}Samantha Olsen {samanthaleeolsen}Sharla Krenzel {thistlethicketstudio | thistlethicketstudio.com}Susan Ache {yardgrl60}Terri Ann Swallow {terriann | childlikefascination.com}Vanessa Goertzen {lellaboutique | lellaboutique.blogspot.com}

So... what letters should we try for next week?

Linking up with Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts.

Yellow Scrappy Strip Quilt Top Finish

Thanks to all of the encouragement you guys provided when I last posted about this quilt, it is now a finished top.

There are twenty blocks in a 4 by 5 formation. Each block finishes at 15 inches so that makes this top 60 x 80 inches. That is the size of a queen size mattress so I am thinking about adding a border or two so that it can easily be used on a queen sized bed. My bed maybe? I'm not sure about that part yet.

Each of those larger blocks is comprised of 16 half square triangles. When I got close to the finish line for these blocks, I was ONE half square triangle short. Instead of making another scrappy strippy one, I simply made one from a single print fabric. I liked that there was just one that is not like the others. A Where's Waldo for half square triangles. It took me a while to find it in the full front view photo. Every quilt needs a little secret so that is my secret for this one.

I first posted about the idea of this quilt last June. The earlier posts have links to block instructions, pinterest inspiration that helped me figure out the layout, and the story of how this quilt came to be.

• About That Day I Was Taking A Break From Sewing - June 27, 2015
• Scrappy Strip Quilt Progress - Choosing a Layout - July 6, 2015
• Scrappy Strip Quilt - Making Progress - January 29, 2016

The story of this quilt isn't over, though. There will be borders and quilting and binding. Eventually. I'm just happy to have made it this far. I imagine you will see it again one or two more times before it is finished. Thanks for letting me share it with you.

Linking up to Whoop Whoop with Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Spell It With Moda - Making Progress

Twelve letters have been revealed with our Spell It With Moda project. This week we added an H, an N, and an R. To help see what it says, here it is in more hangman style:

___  ___  ___  I  ___  ___  E

T H  ___  R  E

___  S       ___  ___  ___  ___

___  N       T H E

___  ___  R  ___  ___

Those three letters made a big difference. We have one completed word and three words that are only missing one letter. There is still one word that hasn't even been started and two others that have a long way to go. There aren't anymore H, R, S, or T so don't guess those for next week. Remember, if you ask for a letter and there is one, I'll give you one. There may be more, but they won't show up until they are asked for again.

Keep those comments coming! It won't be too many more weeks before this quilt puzzle will be solved. Let's take a closer look at the fabric used in this week's letters. The fabric collection is Flow by Zen Chic. It should be available at your local quilt shop or favorite online shop in March.

We have an H in what I like to call comma fireworks green.

Next up is an N. I was a little worried about the stripe going different directions but I think it just adds to the funkiness.

Nothing like an N with personality.

Our last letter for this week is R.

Green is my favorite color and this particular green is at the top of the favorites list.

Remember, if you'd like to make something of your own, the letters are available individually on Moda's Pinterest Board.

Or, if you want a quick resource with everything in one place, check out the Spell It With Fabric booklet available at many local quilt shops and online stores. I did a quick Google search and found some great resources for purchasing the booklet.

What letters should we try for next week?

Linking up with Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts.

Thoughtful Sunday #20

Bee Blocks: An Elephant Parade

It is my month to be in charge of our quilt for the Believe Circle of do. Good Stitches. I was up for making something cute this month so we are making the Elephant Parade quilt which was a quilt along last year over at Sew Fresh Quilts.

Were you expecting to see some elephants? There will be plenty in the finished quilt. I assigned all of the elephant blocks out to my bee mates who are busily stitching away on them. I am making the accent blocks which are full of cuteness themselves.

The instructions for this quilt are very well written which makes stitching them up all the more fun.

The eyes on the frog and turtle are fused down and still need some stitching to secure them and the birds need some eyes and feet. I'll add all of that after I receive all the blocks and decide on a final layout for the quilt.

I will more than likely stick with the layout shown as part of the quilt along but you never know when I might decide to deviate and do my own thing.

I can't wait for those elephants to start showing up in my mailbox. This quilt will be a March or April finish and I will be sure to share it here when it is done. These blocks are making me wish for spring.

Linking to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times and Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt.

Spell It With Moda Hangman Style

This is our third week with our Spell It With Moda project. Three more letters have been added as requested in last week's comments: I, H, and R. To help see what it says, here it is in more hangman style:

___  ___  ___  I  ___  ___  E

T H  ___  ___  E

___  S       ___  ___  ___  ___

___  ___       T ___ E

___  ___  R  ___  ___

My teenage son pointed out that generally when you play hangman and someone asks for a letter, you give them ALL of that letter. That isn't what we are doing here. If you ask for it and there is one, I'll give you one. There may be more, but they won't show up until they are asked for again. And, since that wasn't clear, the letters that are complete on the quilt so far are S and T.

Keep those comments coming! It won't be too many more weeks before this quilt puzzle will be solved. Let's take a closer look at the fabric used in this week's letters. The fabric collection is Flow by Zen Chic. It should be available at your local quilt shop or favorite online shop in March.

We have an I in that yummy, grungy, pink.

I was an easy letter to make.

Next up, an inverse H. The color is the background and the letter is neutral. That pink makes me think of a relief map. You will see soon enough why some of the letters are made inverse and others are not.

Pretty letter H.

Our last letter for this week is R. The instructions for all of the letters are very well written. While an R has a lot more steps, it is still an easy one to make. It just takes a little longer.

Remember, if you'd like to make something of your own, the letters are available individually on Moda's Pinterest Board.

Or, if you want a quick resource with everything in one place, check out the Spell It With Fabric booklet available at many local quilt shops and online stores. I did a quick Google search and found some great resources for purchasing the booklet.

What letters should we try for next week?

Linking up with Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts.

Quilts Inspired By Art: Goodbloom Week Two

This is our second week working with this art print by Goodbloom. Check out last week's post for an introduction to this month's project. I decided to go with a close replica for my first project. That meant I would be studying the piece closely so that other inspiration could hit while focusing on the details of the print. And other inspiration definitely hit. I'll show you the second project in progress after we talk about this one.

For the red, green, and yellow, I used the same fusible applique technique we learned last month. After printing the art in a 4x6 format, the shapes were easy to trace.

The next step is to press the fusible to the wrong side of the fabric.

I did a test run of the applique pieces. It looked a bit plain to me. At this point I decided to do the quilting before the applique.

I needed to give myself some quilting boundaries and this lid was the perfect size. I traced around it for each flower.

It took a bit to get into the rhythm of the design but once I got going it went quickly.

Now that all the black quilting is complete, it's time to add the applique pieces.

Since this is a piece that is not likely to be washed, I could have fused the pieces and called it finished, but I decided to go ahead and quilt them to be sure they would stay in place. Some neutral quilting in the background and some binding finished it off.

Here is a closer picture of the quilting. Wouldn't this be pretty with black seed beads instead of the free motion dots?

Another up close shot.

The finished piece is 6 inches by 8 inches or so. I like the center. I'm on the fence with my binding choice and I need more practice binding small projects. There are a couple of wavy spots but overall I am happy with it.

I was ready to dive right in to the second project once this one was finished.

Those black and white fabrics kept catching my eye. I was determined to include them. This next project is a little more traditional. I started by cutting 2 1/2 inch squares.

At first, I was attempting a more random design, but ended up moving to this very traditional trip around the world look. There was no red in the beginning either, but it definitely needed it. There are several different beige prints to keep it from being too boring and also because I did not have enough yardage of a single fabric. I thought the black and white stripes distracted from the overall quilt.

I like it much better with the more dominant black fabrics. No more stripes. The design is 10 squares by 11 squares so without borders it will be 20 inches by 22 inches. I will decide about a border after it is stitched together.

For next week I'm hoping to have this inspiration piece finished and hopefully have one more underway to share.

I hope you are enjoying this exploration of quilts inspired by art. I can't wait to see what next week brings!

Linking up with Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt and Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times. Also linking up with Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.