On to the quilting

The 90 x 90" neutral top is done, with just barely enough room from floor to ceiling to take a photo.  Again, the pattern is "Monterrey Medallions" by Terry Atkinson (c. 2005).   It's no longer shown on her website, but I see the booklet now and then on Etsy, E-bay, and in online quilt shops.

I see blocks I'd like to rearrange or squares I'd like to replace, but I'm done.  DH reminded me that the future owner of this quilt probably won't see it vertically like this. It'll be on a sofa, a bed, or a shelf.  Point well taken.

I'm SO GLAD I included soft gray here and there.  I like the contrast. 

I'm pin basting it now, getting ready for my quilting.  I'm using extra wide backing for the first time.  That was easy.  I may have to do that again some time.   I bought an entire box of Warm and White batting (40% off coupon at JoAnn's) specifically to use in this Q and in some others I have planned with a lot of white.  I don't want to take a chance of any slight discoloration in my usual Hobbs Heirloom batting showing through the white fabric.  

Other than some custom quilting in the center star, I'll be doing easy-going quilting over the rest of the quilt. Last week I got my copy of From Daisy to Paisley by Leah Day.  (Thanks for the idea, Annie.)  The book includes 50 of Leah's FMQ designs, and I'll enlarge the scale of the tight, close designs she demonstrates.  I may use "wandering clover" or possibly "bed of roses."  I'll head over to her blog too, just to get some more ideas.  So many choices!

Closer to 90x90

The final round is going on the neutral quilt.  Each of these 9" border blocks is made from six 3" squares and three 4-patch blocks. There's no more border after this, so I'm nearing the final 90" x 90" size. 

With my limited fabric colors, the "chain" that's created in the outer blocks has to be either white or a  dark fabric to show up.  Trying to keep a lighter look to the whole quilt, I chose white. 

Thanks to the revealing eye of the camera, I see there's a 3" square near the top of the border that I'll be replacing.   It's just too light and looks white from a distance, though it isn't. 

The center of the quilt is sewn together, but border blocks are just pinned on the design wall.  I'm running out of room.  My design wall won't accommodate a 90x90" quilt.  I'll have to be creative to figure out a way to audition the border blocks with a good look at a big section of the Q. 

I'd love to work on something else for a while, but the boss's retirement party is 2 weeks from today.   I want to start quilting it some time this weekend.   Fingers crossed that nothing gets in my way. 

New book and neutral progress

A new book had been on order for a while and arrived this week,  Civil War Quilts.  I was hesitant to order a book with no reviews available and no recommendations, based only on the publisher's promo.  But I took a chance and I'm beyond pleased.  I REALLY like this book.   Lovely photos, informative stories, plenty of history, and how-to info on making Civil War soldier quilts.

The authors focus on Northern soldier CW quilts, and they write that "we currently know of only 15 Northern soldiers' quilts" which have survived.  Photos of 13 of these rare quilts are in the book.  They focused on Northern quilts because that's where the authors live, close to sources of information and for research, and more Northern than Southern soldier quilts are known to exist. 

a typical page layout, quilt + historical photo

As a former English teacher, finding two typos in the first 2 paragraphs of the foreword caught me by surprise, but no other glaring errors have jumped at me--yet.  I've gone through the book quickly for now, but I'm impressed with the quality of printing, readable style of the pages, the hard cover, and the feeling that I own a book that's different from the others in my library.

authors' info about fabrics of the CW era

It's not just a pattern book, and it's not just a history book.   I find it a delightful combination of both.  The authors did not make exact copies of the antique quilts, but they include instructions and templates for many of the blocks, encouraging the reader to make her/his own versions.
One section that intrigued me is "Nineteenth Century Edge Finishes."  I've not seen so much detail before on methods to finish and/or bind a CW style quilt.

Are you familiar with potholder quilts?  There's a section on those too, a mid-19th century, single-block finished quilt. 
I'm glad to report that I am 110% satisfied with my new purchase.

Progress continues on the neutral quilt.  The blocks of the 54x54" center (shown in last post) have been sewn together.  I'm finishing the last of the stars today and arranging them around the perimeter of this medallion quilt.
The blocks in the final round will be made with only squares, a nice contrast to the angles of all those stars.

I hope your weekend is filled with time for quilting.

Two rounds to go

54 x 54" at this point

The center block and first two rounds are done;  two rounds to go.  The blocks are stuck on my design wall.  No sewing together quite yet.  A local observer and critic (my DH) pointed out the very light star block in the bottom left group.  Yes, I assured him --there will be more light stars so that one won't look out of place.  (Local consultants are always nice to have around, especially when their opinions are free and can be implemented or ignored.) 

The top is 54 inches at this point.  The next round is more 9-inch floating stars;  28 stars needed to complete that round.
The final round of this medallion layout is a 4-patch chain block. I'll be making  36 of those 9-inch blocks.

These blocks are not difficult.   The layout is straight off the pattern.  The challenge is maintaining variety--in color, in value, and in designs in the fabrics.  The designs don't show up in this photo, but trust me.   There's variety here.   
Taking a break with a late lunch and then back to my nifty neutrals.   

Visiting the Farmer's Wife

Taking a break from the tan, cream, taupe, vanilla, gray, ecru, and white fabrics in my all-neutral quilt.  I made a few more Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks. 

I'm done with the blocks that Randy on Barrister's Block has listed in her Sow-A-Long.  Starting in February, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month, she's posting instructions for three blocks.  I've made a few more on my own.   This group-- 
Top row: #53 and #21
Middle row:  #71, #9, and #31
Bottom row:  #6 and #73

The brown block is the most complex one so far.  I made a cutting mistake for a simpler block, didn't want to waste the fabric, and found the "Jacknife" block where I could use all the cut pieces. 

These blocks look like I'm sewing them with random colors, but this group is pretty much it -- brown, yellow, red, pink, green, and aqua.  I've be questioning the dark blue (with lime and aqua small print), but as long as I have bright red and brown in the quilt, the dark blue won't stick out that much.  And I'll use each of them enough so they'll look like they definitely belong. 

Around the center

I made many of the "woodpile" blocks for my neutral quilt this weekend -- enough to know that the longer charcoal gray strips are more than I want here.  The small sections aren't so bad, but the two long gray strips will be replaced. 
Two stars done -- just to see what they look like.  I'll be making 40 of the 9" stars.   Some will be made with only 2 or 3 fabrics, and many will be parts and pieces.   I tried both versions in these first two stars. 

The upper left and upper right corners of the photo aren't quilt pieces.   The design of my thin, flannel-backed tablecloth is showing through. 
I see one "woodpile" block on the right side is turned the wrong way. 
Thank you, little design wall, for showing me the error of my ways. 

Neutral adventure begins

New pattern -- new color plan -- new adventure.
Beginning a new quilt always has an air of excitement for me, and sometimes I even dream about it.  That's especially true if I'm using a new pattern or new fabrics or I'm trying something I've not done before.

VERY restless sleep last night.  I'm working on an all-neutral quilt as a surprise retirement gift.  I'm heading to a weekend retreat in a few minutes, and I'm ready for a lot of hours of sewing neutral fabric.

I chose a medallion style quilt pattern, Terry Atkinson's "Monterrey Medallions" from 2005.  Her instructions are excellent--easy, uncomplicated, simple drawings to illustrate, direction arrows for pressing seams, and a warning or suggestion here and there.  This pattern has options, a simple version and a challenging version, and I can combine the parts any way I want, along with various layout options. 

The 18" center star is done.   Next are some "woodpile blocks" (simplified version of log cabin), then 40 varied 9-inch stars, and finally a chain block as a border.  I used my customary paper plates to help keep parts organized.   But I'm traveling now, so the plates with star parts are in one 1-gal bag, woodpile parts in another bag, and border parts in another.  
My bobbins are filled, I have plenty of neutral thread, and my friends are waiting. 
Have a WONDERFUL weekend. 

30 + 35 + 75 = 81

The math is correct, in one respect.  Explanation follows:
Have you ever bought a quilt book because of one particular pattern, and later you find that you already had the pattern?  I've made this mistake more than once. 

There's an interesting block called Dizzy Geese, and one quilter identified her pattern source as Quick Quilts from Your Scrap Bag.   I ordered the book through Amazon, a 1999 book with 35 quilt patterns.  Going through my new book, I saw many lovely quilts -- many familiar lovely quilts.  Even the style of the pages and print fonts were familiar.

A check of my library of quilt books produced 2 more books with the same style of pages, duplicate quilt patterns, and all published by Oxmoor House.   Scrap Quilts--Fast and Fun was published in 1997 and has 30 quilts.

The Big Book of Scrap Quilts has 320 pages, was published in 2005, and has 75 quilt patterns.  I think I bought it at JoAnn's with a 40% off coupon.  This big book repeats 32 patterns found in one book and 26 patterns found in the other book.  After eliminating the duplications, I have patterns for 81 different quilts (which explains my post title).   Each smaller book cost only $4 or $5, plus S&H, but I really have a lot of unneeded duplication.

Not much sewing done lately.  I've been finalizing plans, pulling fabrics, and cutting for a new quilt.  I offered to sew a quilt as a retirement gift for our boss, and co-workers have generously contributed to pay for fabric/batting/thread. I've looked through every book I own, plus some magazines and individual patterns.  Way too many options, but finally I chose one pattern. 

Many of these fabrics will be in the gift quilt, but I'll be adding more. Can't have too many different fabrics in a scrappy quilt.  I've never made an all-neutral quilt, and I'm a bit nervous, but I've done my homework, reading any advice I can find. Many were gathered through the years, some were bought on a recent road trip, a couple online purchases were made, and a friend gave me leftovers after making a beautiful all-neutral wedding quilt for her daughter.  (Thanks, Vicki.)
This quilt will be my main focus from now till it's done.  My WIPs and UFOs will have to wait.

More FW and new stuff x 3

FW blocks #12, 16, and 20

Couldn't keep my fingers off my fabrics to make a few more Farmer's Wife blocks.  My blocks so far have been relatively simple.  I have other things that should be getting done, so I've stayed with simpler ones to start. 

New #1 -- the lovely purple fabric is a yard of Smithsonian fabric I won in a giveaway from Lisa who's started a second blog called Material Witness.   I've been following her other blog Stray Threads for some time. She writes about antique quilts, restoring them and enjoying them. If you like reproduction fabrics, you'll want to check out what she has to share.  A gal just can't have too much purple repro fabric, Lisa.  Thank you!

New #2 --My copy of Barn Quilts and the American Quilt Trail Movement by Suzi Parron arrived this week  (preordered it some time ago).  It's a hefty 240 pages, and I've only looked through it quickly so far, but I hope to bury my nose in it soon.  The book is also available in a version for Kindle. 

New #3 -- This may seem like a repeated story, but it's a new version.  I'll be bringing my DH home from the hospital later today.   He has a new joint.  I look nothing like Farrah Fawcett, but I have my own Bionic Man.  He got a new left shoulder in May 2011, a new left knee in December 2011, and he got a new left hip this week.   Our living room is still set up like a modified rehab/recovery room following the knee surgery, so there's not much to do in preparation for bringing him home.  
I may not be posting for a few days.  I'm Nurse Vivian again.
Have a great weekend! 

Just couldn't resist

FW blocks 1, 2, 4, 10, and 48

Another project started.  There are so many Farmer's Wife blocks being shown around blogland.   I couldn't put it off any longer.  I've had the book for over a year but did my best to ignore it, especially as I slowed to a stop with my Dear Jane some time ago.   But maybe starting this one will push me to work more on the few DJ blocks I have left to make

My initial plan was to use only some green and aqua Denyse Schmidt fabrics, which have been patiently waiting for me.  But I decided to add a few other colors--red, yellow, and a bit of brown. 
I'm signed up for a "Sow-A-Long" (the spelling is correct) with Randy, but I'll venture off the 1, 2, 3... sequence now and then, as I have here. 

For those who aren't familiar with the Farmer's Wife quilt book, an accompanying CD has templates to print, and info in the book tells how many of this or that template are to be cut.  No instructions are included re: how to sew the blocks.  This is NOT for a beginning quilter with no one to turn to for help.  But there are tutorials and advice to be found here and there on the web.

I know I'll enjoy the challenge of making these quilt blocks.  It's probably my favorite part of quilting-- figuring out how to make something when instructions aren't given.  Hopefully this won't turn into yet another UFO.