Tuesday, April 24, 2018

ebook winner

The ebook winner for Oh Scrap!  was drawn by Random.org
The winner is cityquiltergrace - congratulations!
You will be hearing from Martingale soon about how to redeem your free ebook.

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Book Review and Giveaway - April

It's time for a book review and I picked a delightful book from Martingale called Oh Scrap!  Fabulous Quilts That Make the Most of Your Stash.


Photos used are courtesy of Martingale

 This is a great book by Lissa Alexander.  The photography is is wonderful.  Here is one of my favorite photos and quilts in the book


Isn't this just adorable!  The pattern is called Sherbert Stars. There are 9 eight pointed stars on the quilt and they are lovely in pink and orange.  That isn't a color combination I would normally use, but it is lovely and the little girl with the balloons is so cute!

The book starts with an interesting Preface by Barbara Brackman on the History of Scrap Quilting, and has 12 projects that are great for using your scrap stash.  With the costs of fabric now, using our stash is a wonderful way to make some special quilts.  Lissa gives some great tips on what makes a good scrap quilt through out the book.

If you are like me, you have a lot of miscellaneous blues in your stash.  This quilt called Friendship Blues is a great way to use a wide range of light and dark blues.  The quilts uses squares which are quick and easy to cut out - maybe you have a stack all ready to go!


Another one of my favorite quilts from the book is called Kismet.  This is a Courthouse Steps pattern.


Doesn't this look cool and refreshing?  This is a great pattern that uses lots of strips.  If you store your leftover strips together, you may already have a head start on this beauty.

It's great to have another book on using your scraps and Lissa does a wonderful job.  Look for it in your local quilt shops, or online at shopmartingale.com

I'm doing a drawing for a free ebook copy of Oh Scrap!  Just leave a comment on what color you have the most of in your stash.  Please make sure I can contact you if you are the winner.  I will announce the winner early next week.

Monday, April 2, 2018

Looking Back, Vintage Quilts Inspiring New Creations




I am an Ambassador for Island Batik .  The products featured in this post were given to me by Island Batik, Aurifil Thread and Hobbs Batting.

Looking Back, Vintage Quilts Inspiring New Creations is the challenge for the Island Batik Ambassadors this month.  Isn't that a great challenge!  I knew right away what I wanted to make.  In fact I started my project back in Feb when the challenge was to make a mini quilt, but I changed my mind and felt it would work best with this months theme of Vintage Quilts Inspiring New Creations.

A couple years ago my sister Jody Warner showed me a  lovely old pink and white quilt that was at her church.  Her mother in law's name was on the quilt.  I drew up a quick diagram of the design as it was one I had never seen.  I thought at the time it would make a cute mini quilt in pink and white.

My sister's sister in law Becky Morris sent me the following photos of the quilt that is now kept at their church - Agape Church of the Brethren in Ft. Wayne IN.




The label on the quilt says:  "This quilt was made by the Pleasant Hill ladies Aid in 1937.  It was sent to Dr Howard and Edith Bosler, Missionaries in Nigeria, British West Africa.  Each person whose name is on the quilt, contributed 10 cents to help pay postage.  The quilt now belongs to the Bosler's daughter, Ester Gene Miller."

My sister's mother in law and Becky's mother Juanita McDuffee (her maiden name) has her name on the quilt. They don't know why her first name was mispelled.  It was a surprise to me to find the names Grace and Joe Krider on the quilt.  They are the in laws of my sister Margo!  The quilt is over 80 years old and in great condition.

Here are close ups of some of the signatures.




The box of fabric that Island Batik sent to each Ambassador came in Feb and had a lovely fat quarter of pink fabric that I knew would be perfect for a mini of this quilt.  I went back to my design on the computer and checked the yardage needed - and the size I had earlier drawn would require more fabric.  So I reduced the size to one of my favorite mini sizes- a 12" x 12" quilt.  The yardage was still a bit more than I had- it needed 3/8" yard and I only had a fat quarter of pink and less than a fourth yard of white un-died batik.  I debated awhile, but since I can be very thrifty in my usage of fabric when doing paper piecing, I decided to go ahead and see if I could eek out the fabric for the whole quilt.

Along with the Island Batik fabric, I also used a piece of Hobbs cotton batting and Aurifil 50wt white thread in the piecing and quilting.

Here is my mini.  I still don't know the name of the pattern.  If anyone knows the name, please let me know- this quilt needs a name!


I extended the pattern out into the pink border which I think sets it off nicely.

It was a challenge to make this quilt with the fabric I had- but I made it!  This is the fabric I had leftover.  I actually had to use a scrap of white for one piece in the quilt as I ran out of the white.  I was surprised I had this much leftover.


Making a quilt this small - there is a lot of bulk in the seams.  It would be easier in a larger size, but I do love minis!

This gives you a little idea of the size of each square - 1 1/2" x 1 1/2"


One of the reasons I love 12" x 12" quilts is that they fit so well on the Ackfeld Wire stands


Thanks to my sister Jody and Becky for showing me the quilt and sharing information and photos.