2012 Year in Review

Time to look back at the projects I finished last year. I tend to dwell on what didn't get done, so now for a little optimism.

A QR Code quilt for the Patterns of Inquiry Exhibit. I have my first smart phone, so I can finally test this quilt for myself.

Hazel Ridge Path, a trade for a painting from a children's book. This took a long time to make.

Space Baby Blocks for baby Elliot, an old UFO newly quilted.

Dolly, her dress and quilt + a sweater for the Salvation Army Christmas doll drive.

And now for two of my quilt purchases.

I purchased this Bridal Stairway quilt from a member of the Quilts Vintage and Antique facebook page. It is a signature quilt and very cool.

This is a signature quilt I bought on eBay. It is from Oklahoma and has really beautiful embroidery. Click on the image to see the embroidery better.

I've purchase at least four other quilts this year, but don't have them photographed yet. I'll post soon.

I got a new smart phone for Christmas. This is what happens when you click buttons without reading instructions. LOL. I also got a new computer and a new projector. I love power points.

Goals for 2013? I need to finish two big projects. One quilt for each daughter. One is a mermaid I started about 20 years ago. The other is a new, queen size bed quilt.

Till next time......Happy Quilting.

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Now, back to your regularly scheduled blog hopping.

Dolls and Quilts

One of my fondest memories growing up was going to the Ford Rotunda in Dearborn to see the doll display. My grandmother and my aunt had both made dresses for dolls for the Salvation Army. Before the dolls were given to little girls at Christmas they were put on glorious display in the Rotunda. I must have been about 4 or 5 years old, and the memory of all those dolls is still strong.

Many years ago, I found out the Salvation Army still had the program. My quilt guild (The Capitol City Quilt Guild) would receive about 100 dolls in September from the Salvation Army and would distribute them to guild members to dress and accessorize. When I heard about it, it brought back that wonderful memory and I knew I wanted to do one. Each September I would forget about the project and was wistful when the dolls were displayed at the guild each November, swearing I would dress a doll 'next year'. This year I was at the guild meeting in September and they had some extra dolls. Yay! I finally brought one home and here she is. I made her a dress and knit her a sweater. I also made her  little quilt. 

Dolly in her dress and sweater.

Dolly's dress showing the ruffles.

Dolly's Pinwheel quilt.

The pinwheel quilt was made from leftovers from the quilt below. I made this quilt for my nephew Charlie when he was born. It is a Snowball and Nine Patch. The snowballs were made using magic corners which left me with leftover half square triangle units that I made into pinwheels. I need only two more pinwheels to make the quilt for Dolly.

Till next time......Happy Quilting!

A Quilt for baby Elliot

My friends Jennifer and Chris Sleeper are having a baby. The shower was last weekend and I gave them this quilt.

Baby Blocks for Baby Sleeper. 32" x 36". Photo by Pearl Yee Wong

It was a quilt top I made in a class many years ago. I pressed it and quilted it when I got the shower invitation. Jennifer's favorite color is purple, so I lucked out on that. I think of this as baby blocks in outer space. I'm happy to have a hand-made gift and to finish another UFO.

The next project is dressing a doll for the Salvation Army to give out this Christmas.

Till next time......Happy Quilting.

Charm Quilts

I'm packing up to go to Muskegon and teach Charm Quilts for the Lighthouse Quilt Guild. To celebrate I'm posting two new quilt patterns. For the uninitiated, Charm quilts are quilts that use one template, but every fabric is different. They were first popular in the 1880s. They were revived in the 1930s, and had a huge surge in the 1980s. Since then retailers have been packaging fabrics in bundles of 5" squares and designers have been finding new uses for the bundles. In the spirit of new uses for 5" squares, I've written two patterns.

Charm Baby

 Charm Baby uses the 5" squares to make 9 Patch units that are then cut up. Click here for the pattern.

Charming Hours

Charming Hours takes one light and one dark charm, layered right sides together, cut and sewn to make a 4" Hour Glass block. Click here for the pattern.

I still favor a traditional charm, where one template is used and every fabric is unique.

Clams Incognito from Charm Quilts by Beth Donaldson, 1997.

I'll be seeing some of you tomorrow, until next time......Happy Quilting!

Hazel Ridge Path finished

Hazel Ridge Path, 87" x 58"

Owl quilting

It's finally done! I'm really pleased with the machine quilting. I traced the owls (from a Hari Walner pattern) onto tissue paper, pinned the tissue to the border and free motion quilted. Then I attached the border to the quilt. I lot of work, but worth it for the result.

Now time to get ready to teach Charm Quilts to the Patchers at the Lakeshore in Muskegon, MI. Also doing a Detroit in the 1930s lecture. I'll be there next Monday.

New Camera

Just bought a new camera and am trying to learn it. Here are some pics of the Hazel Ridge Path quilt from the Cannon PowerShot A4000IS.

Here's the Hazel Ridge Path quilt on my design wall. I thought you might enjoy seeing my work space. It's half of my basement. You can see reflected in the mirror, my 51" screen TV. I love to watch old, old movies, soap operas and sports while I sew. So you've seen my mess and know all my secrets!

Here's a close up so you can see my quilting. The quilting in the geese is free hand, but I sewed through quilter's tracing paper for the designs in the large triangles. I was always a good tracer as a kid. Someday I hope to master free form feathers, but until then I'm happy with my tracing paper results. 

I've been quilting this in rows, then sewing the rows together. I've got the borders pieced and will quilt them next. After it's all done, I'll show more details and tell exactly where the rows were put together and how.

Till next time.... Happy Quilting!

My Quilt is in China!

Last March I blogged about my charm quilt being accepted in an exhibit that is touring China. The update is, it arrived in China and the exhibit, The Sum of Many Parts is scheduled to open in September. The organizers, South Arts, have put up a webpage here. You can see more about the exhibit here. You can see a slide show of the quilts here.

Quilts by Caryl Bryer Fallert, Carole Harris, Patricia Cox and Carolyn Mazloomi are also in the exhibit, so I'm in very good company.

Till next time.......Happy Quilting

Happy Independence Day

Fourth of July by Norine Antuck and Beth Donaldson, 1997.

Happy Fourth of July!

Nick's Quilt Update

All the blocks are finished on my Hazel Ridge Path quilt. I still need to add the border (which will have some piecing). The top is in three rows, because I'm going to quilt the rows, then put them together. I will also quilt the borders before attaching them to the quilt.

I'd like to encourage any Macy's shoppers in Michigan to help out Reading Is Fundamental. Are you interested in a great opportunity to save money this summer and help support children’s literacy? Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation’s largest children and families’ literacy nonprofit, is partnering with Macy’s to Be Book Smart and help provide one million free books to underserved children. We invite you to join us. Together we can Be Book Smart! From June 22–July 31, 2012, give $3 at your local Macy’s and receive a $10 off a purchase of $50 or more. Give more and you'll save more! For example: Give $3, get $10 off a $50 purchase (a $7 savings!); give $9, get $30 off a $150 purchase (a $21 savings!). Some exclusions and restrictions apply, so check the coupon for details. Macy’s will donate 100% of every $3 to RIF. With your help, we can reach our goal of providing one million books to kids. Spread the word and help make RIF’s vision of a literate America a reality! This year our federal funding was cut 92%! So please help us out if you can.

Ships That Pass in the Night

 It's time for Amy's Creative Side to host her Blogger's Quilt Festival: Spring 2012. She asked that we post a quilt and tell it's story. This is a quilt I made way back in 1995 for my book Block by Block. I loved working with only two colors, deep navy and pure white. I used two block patterns, Sailboat, and a star pattern I designed and called Sailor's Star. The sashing is plain and the cornerstones are 4 patches, giving the quilt the overall diagonal design. It was machine pieced and machine quilted one block at a time. I hate machine quilting a large top, so I always break my tops up, quilt them and then put them together. My goal is that you can't tell from the front, that that was my method. Two summers ago this quilt was loaned to Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen to use as a prop for his illustration in the children's book, F is For Friendship. I was thrilled when I saw what my quilt inspired!

Remember to visit Amy's Creative Side to see the other blogs and quilts in the festival. Till next time....Happy Quilting!

Sneak Peek at new exhibit

Here's a sneak peek at our new exhibit at the Michigan State University Museum.

QR Code Quilt
Scan it with your smart phone and see where it takes you.

I made this quilt over the weekend. I shamelessly stole the idea from a picture I saw on the Fun With Barb blog. It was made by Deirdre Abbotts of Westport, CT and was displayed at the Northern Star Quilters' Guild show. She was inspired by the red and white exhibit Infinite Variety. When I saw it I thought it would be perfect for our new exhibit Patterns of Inquiry. This exhibit will present new directions in quilt-related research. Curator Mary Worrall like the idea too and created a QR Code which I made into this quilt.

And the quilt really works. If you have a smart phone, scan the quilt's image to see where it takes you. (If, like me you don't have a smart phone, just click on the quilt.)

I hope to see some of you at the exhibit. There will be over 30 quilts. The exhibit runs from June 3 - September 23, 2012.

Till next time......Happy Quilting!