Blogger's Quilt Festival Fall 2010 - My First Real Quilt

Be sure to visit AMY'S CREATIVE SIDE for literally hundreds of quilts and their stories, in the Blogger's Quilt Festival for the Fall of 2010.

The quilt I am showcaseing is very special to me!

In 1998 I made my first "real" quilt for my daughter. She had just left home for college and I wanted to make something special for her.



I had always dreamed of making quilts and quilt making was a part of my soul, even before I actually made one.

My first memories of this quilt obsession was when I was about 10. I collected squares of fabric in a box, but never made the quilt. I Don't know what ever happened to that box of squares.

In the early 1980s I ordered Georgia Bonesteel's Lap Quilting book through the mail. I would sit and study this book for hours. I didn't have a quilt frame, so lap quilting was the answer!

So my first real quilt was a Sampler Quilt made from the patterns in this book. The anchor fabric was a "cat" print in blues, browns, and beiges. My daughter liked cats and the color blue a lot when she was young.

Here are close ups of a few of the blocks:

GRANDMOTHER'S FAN



MONKEY WRENCH



PINWHEEL AND CARD TRICKS



CRAZY PATCH



LITTLE DUTCH GIRL/SUNBONNET SUE



SAILS IN THE SUNSET



HOUSE ON THE HILL



THE BACK OF THE QUILT



Not shown is the top right hand block which is a friendship block. In the center is a square that I cross stitched my daughter's name, the date and my name, with love, of course.

A Quilt For My Sister

I finally finished binding this quilt and also made the label tonight. This will be a gift for my sister.





I wonder what Summer Quilt Project I will tackle next year? I think making one block a day is a great way to get a project done.

My Quick Quilts Quick Pic

My December/January Quick Quilts came yesterday.



Without a thought I flipped it open to this page! What a surprise!



I will receive 2 of the issues of the magazine the picture appeared in and a free quilt batting from the Warm Company, but not sure when it will come.

A Quilt, or simply a Quilt Top?

This Quilt belongs to a coworker/friend of mine who after telling me about it, brought it for me to see. It was given to her by another friend whose aunt had made it. From her description I thought it would be a quilt top that had never been quilted.

But, after seeing it I decided it was meant to be used as it is. It consists only of the top with no quilt batting or backing. Its COMPLETELY hand sewn using polyester fabric, which makes it quite heavy. Since the squares are set on the diagonal, this makes the edges have a pointy edge, like "prairie points".

Its a beautiful pattern and lots of work went into it! Have any of you ever seen such a quilt that has no backing or batting?

An Iron-On Quilt Label

I posted about making quilt labels HERE. In this post I mentioned and posted a picture of a book full of iron-on quilt labels that you can color with crayons and markers. Well, I needed to make a label for Maddox's Jungle Babies Quilt II, since it was finally time to deliver the quilt to him.

It worked out pretty cute! I did need to go over the words with a black permanent fabric marker to make it look nicer, in my opinion. I had my doubts about using crayons, but it actually worked really well!

It was really easy. Here's how you do it:

Iron on the label according to the directions. Then use freezer paper to stabilize the fabric so you can write and color on it. I guess most of you know how freezer paper works, but you iron the fabric onto the shiny side of the paper which makes the fabric stick to it. When you finish, just peel it off.

To set the crayon coloring, just place a pressing cloth over it and press with the iron.

I was very happy with the results.

A Fall Strippy Runner - Here we go Loopdey Loo

**** A little note: I hope its not too much of a problem that I will be posting some of the same things on this blog as my Homemaking Dreams Blog. Any time I post about quilting here, I want the readers of both blogs to see it. So, if you follow both blogs, you might see duplicate posts. If you haven't read my Homemaking Dreams blog, check it out. Thanks for your understanding.

This is the first runner I have made and the first time I've done a different kind of free motion quilting other than meandering. I love the loops! It was just like making cursive small "e"s. Easy and I think cute!



Every time I see these loops I want to sing that children's song: Here we go loopdey Loo, here we go Loopdey Li, on a Saturday night. Not sure of the words, but its something like that... isn't it?

Thomas The Train Quilted "Big Boy" Tote

My grandson turned three this past weekend and I just had to make him something. As a quilter and seamstress, I can't seem to pass up an opportunity to make a handmade gift for my loved ones. But, I do try to make sure its something they can use.

Recently I bought 2 yards of Thomas the Train Fabric on clearance for $2.50 per yard. I decided my grandson already has enough quilts made by Grandma,for the time being. But, what could he really use? Well, any toddler just beginning preschool needs a bag to "tote" his blanket and pillow and big boy underwear around in. No more diaper bags, this is a BIG BOY BAG!



If you would like to make a bag like this, my "Reusable Grocery Bag" tutorial might be helpful. It can be found on my other blog, Homemaking Dreams. The only change is that I quilted the outside panels before putting it together.



I meander quilted the outer panels like this.



This is what the outer sides look like after being quilted and trimmed.



I used a heavy fabric for the backing of the quilt sandwiches and for the inside of the handles. My sewing machine could just barely go over the seams when sewing the top together. For my next quilted tote I will use a regular weight fabric for the quilt sandwich. But, I think this bag will hold up well to whatever my little preschooler puts it through!