A wonderful Memory Quilt

     This blog is not about a quilt I made, but one that my sister, Alison, made for my mom and dad years ago.  Today would have been my mother's 92nd birthday, and I thought it was appropriate to celebrate her by showing off this quilt.  

     Alison made it, I believe, for an anniversary, and it hung in their home for years.  She used lots of fun fabrics in various blues and yellows - a color scheme to which my mother was very partial.  She took old photos and copied them onto fabric, and created a wonky frame around each and then tied the quilt.  

     The pictures provide such a fun glimpse of the past.  There are pictures of my mom as a baby, as a child and as a young woman and then mother, along with pictures of her mother and father and grandmother, and of me and my sisters and our dad.  Really, my mom was quite the glamorous woman! 

     This picture ran on the front page of the local paper where my mom worked.  She looked so cute, but was wearing her sister's coat, without permission!  Busted!  

      We threw a big party for my mom for her 90th birthday, which she thoroughly enjoyed.  I am so glad we did so, because by the next birthday, she was gone.  She is sorely missed, but I am thankful for the long lifetime of memories.  

Take care,

Gretchen 

A "Wanda" quilt for Cousin Kathleen

     After seeing many beautiful finished "Wanda" quilts from the pattern by Gundrun Erla from her Stripology Mixology 2 book, I decided I needed to get the book and give this quilt a try.    I also knew  that this quilt would be gifted to my cousin, Kathleen, from Louisville, KY.  Kathleen is actually my mother's first cousin, but is closer in age to me.   She was like an out-of-town big sister to me.   I have wonderful memories of visiting her when I was in college, and having such a ball with her, her friends, and her brother!  When she was once visiting, she chaperoned a middle school sleep over of probably nearly a dozen girls.  With the gift of hindsight, and my own daughter's middle school years long past, I realize what a good sport Kathleen was!  

     I especially enjoy the making process when I know who is going to be the recipient of a quilt, because I tend to think of them as I work my way through the cutting, sewing and quilting process.  

     What is great about this pattern is that it uses 5-inch squares with very little waste.  I had a drawer full of 5-inch squares and pulled out all the ones in my chosen color scheme of purples and blues (with some pinks mixed in).  I supplemented with squares cut from some 5-inch strips and 10-inch pieces as well.      

     Some of the squares were sewn together blocks from some other project, so out came the seam ripper to give them another life. 

     The colors didn't photograph well on my design wall.  While most of the colors do have a muted tone (none are screamingly bright), the colors are clearer than it appears on the wall.  The pictures I took outside (above and below) are more accurate. 

     Since I was trying to use my existing fabric, I used various scraps for the sashing, combining those with some cloud fabric that I had that I never particularly liked until I cut it up for this quilt.  Suddenly it was the perfect fabric for the job!

    Unfortunately, the cloud fabric had been in my stash for many years, and I realized (after I created the sashing), that I didn't have enough to make a border.  I thought about using a solid, but nothing really worked for me, so I ended up ordering what looked like similar cloud fabric to use as a wider border.  The new fabric ended up being brighter than the sashing fabric, so I used a purple solid as a narrow border to separate the two similar, but different cloud fabrics.   This is a tweak to the original pattern, but I think it works just fine.   

     Betty was a big help when I was sewing on the narrow purple strip!  

     I wanted this quilt to be a soft and supple lap quilt for Kathleen, and so did some big loopy-loop quilting all over the top.    A blue Aurifil thread worked nicely for the job.

    I pieced together some bright pink and white floral for the back, and used the same blue ditsy floral print that I used for the tiny blocks in the sashing for the binding.  

     I am very happy with how this turned out.  I really like the topsy-turvy nature of the blocks.  It is a quilt that seems to be happy and have lots of energy.  I was so pleased to hear from Kathleen that she loves it!  

     I realize that I have recently made a number of Gundren quilts.  Maybe the long year at home looking at and admiring all the quilts from on-line quilters inspired me!   I will soon be posting about a Lexi quilt I made for my very soon to be daughter-in-law last June for her birthday  (I didn't get great photos before I gave it to her - so I hope to get some pictures during an upcoming visit), and a small Roxanne quilt I tried before embarking on a larger version which is underway. 

      I am enjoying this spring, and am so hopeful about this summer.  I am so glad that I had quilting as one of my creative outlets for this past year! 

Take care,

Gretchen   

 

Veronica's Delectable Mountain Quilt

    I finally decided to actually sit down and write a blog post!  I find that while I am busy painting, quilting, reading and tracking down long gone ancestors,  (the many things I am doing to keep busy during these odd times) I think about writing more than actually doing so.   Instagram is so much quicker!    But, I really like having a record of my quilt making, so now I am playing catch up.  

    Several years ago, I picked up some fat quarter bundles of a beautiful batik collection - Timeless Treasures Tonga Treats, Tuscany.  It seemed to me that they were perfect for a quilt for my sister-in-law, Veronica, whose home had some of the same warm autumn colors.  I picked up other fabrics from time to time that would complement those fabrics.  I just needed a pattern!   I continued to think about it over the years, but that was about all! 

    Last year, I happened upon the Jenny Doan Missouri Star video (video here) of the "Grand Adventure" quilt, which is basically the Delectable Mountain pattern.  Veronica and my husband spend part of their youth in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western Virginia, and a mountain pattern seemed apt.    I also like quilts that mix and match many different fabrics, and thought this pattern would be a wonderful way to use those rich batiks. 

Naturally, I had some help from Betty, my quilt inspector.

     This was a fun quilt to put together, taking big blocks of color, cutting them apart, and mixing and matching.

     I do make much use of my design wall.  It is so nice to be able to put pieces up, and look at them over some time, and move things around.  

My sewing room gets a bit cramped when I am pinning the quilt for quilting, but it works better than taping to the floor, which is what I used to do. 

     I quilted it in an allover loopy pattern, and used a nice burgundy batik as the binding.  I had found some wide medallion fabric that seemed right for the back.    The binding passed inspection! 

My trusty quilt holder got to help me display the quilt on a sunny fall afternoon.   

    This quilt really captured the colors of autumn for me.  It turned out just as I had imagined, and was a perfect quilt for Veronica.    

     I do get a little wistful looking at these photos.  Although Lake Erie looks so calm in these photos, all the Adirondack chairs and furniture got washed away a few months later in an unusually fierce storm.

    Here's hoping for a calm spring and summer!  

 Take care,

Gretchen 

     

     

 

2020 Quilts

Cora's Quilt - January 2020

Together Apart - Modern Mini - May 2020

Jess' Quilt - June 2020

Veronica's Quilt - October 2020

Green Triangles - September 2020

    2020 was such a year.  In addition to losing my mom, I took four college art classes, and jumped back into working on my family tree.  As a result, I have lots of paintings, drawings, and photographs, as well as a start on a robust family tree.  However, only four quilts and a mini!    2021 has been much more productive quilt-wise!  

Take care,

Gretchen 

 

An unexpected favorite!

This is the story of a quilt I thought I would not keep, and it turned out to be one I happily use every single day!  

It seems like a lifetime ago, but in March, when the world was starting to quarantine,  Gundrun Erla of GE Designs was hosting a virtual quarantine quilt along with her pattern, Elvira.   It sounded like fun, and I got the pattern, and decided to start using up my stash.  (Okay - I say that every year, but I am making some progress!).  I keep my fabric in smallish bins sorted by color, and I had three bins full of various greens.  The greens, especially the grayer ones, are not a color I often use, so I thought this would be perfect.  I figured that I could donate the quilt.  I ironed the fabrics, and sorted by value to see what I had.   

The Elvira pattern, found here, is very nice, with big swatches of color.  I cut my greens up, and had pulled some unloved reds to complement the greens.   I started making some of the blocks, and found I really didn't care for it.  My green variety just wasn't coming together in such big pieces.  I was also furiously making masks, worrying about everything, and trying to finish up three studio art classes remotely.  I hit a wall, and just stopped working on that quilt. 

Since I had the greens (and reds)  all cut into rectangles, I decided to cut them up further into triangles.  

I started sewing them together at random, and then put them up on my design wall to see how it looked.   I had made a few triangle quilts before and liked how they generally turned out.  You can find those here and here.

I guess these pieces were just enough smaller that they worked nicely together.  

I ended up finishing the quilt in  August, and taking some proper photos in October.   The finished quilt is a nice lap size  - 61 inches wide by 72 inches tall.  Perfect for my reading chair.  I ended up quilting a triangle pattern in each triangle, keeping the lines about 1/2 inch or so apart.  I just moved from one to the next with a little loop, leaving an unquilted ridge between each triangle.  

I'm not the only one who finds this a most comfy quilt!  

I am sure I will find some fabrics that will better suit the Elvira pattern.  In the meantime, a quilt made from fabrics I didn't really like ended up being one of my favorites.  

I still have a few finished and gifted quilts to write about.  For a new project, I am currently working  on the 2020 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt,  Grassy Creek Mystery.  These are fun, and a great way to learn new techniques and get great tips.  There is plenty of time to join in the fun.  Details can be found on Bonnie's blog, here.  I am documenting my progress right now only on Instagram, but I will certainly blog about it when it is complete.  Check it out  and follow me at @snugharborquilts.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog!  Stay safe!  

Take care,

Gretchen