Christmas Stars - Considerations and Decisions

60" square

There is nothing like a public commitment, along with a challenge, to get me to buckle down and focus.
The Christmas Lone Star blocks I made in 2002 (as described in the previous post) have been rescued from the UFO tub and come together in a very festive Christmas quilt... (technically still a top which at this late date will be the case until Christmas 2016)
Still, I am so pleased to have made progress on this! It was a major goal of mine this year to deal with my UFO's.
After determining the math and cutting the squares and triangles to finish each block, I got quite adept at the somewhat tricky process. As I worked at my machine I thought about how I might arrange them. I spent evenings browsing books from my collection for ideas and looking on-line using Google Image and Instagram with 'lone star quilts' as key words.
Texas being the 'Lone Star State' I started with these books:

Then these:

and this one, To Honor and Comfort, which inspired my Southwest Star

After studying these books and internet photos I knew what I wanted to do.

What is your destiny?

I decided to use nine of the ten blocks set 3 by 3 resulting in a square quilt. Besides the challenge of setting ten blocks, I felt that this one was much bolder than the others and that it would distract from the balance of the piece. I'll make something else with it.... pillow? table topper? wall or doll quilt?

Truer colors of the red and green

Every project involves multiple decisions. My considerations in this case were these:

• What size and shape did I want the finished piece? 
• How did I want to use it? 
• How much time did I want to invest in it?
• complexity of setting
• how it would be quilted 

Ultimately, I decided to set the blocks straight, three by three, within a narrow (1.5") sashing for these reasons.

•  Setting them side by side results in big open squares that insists on some pretty special quilting in my opinion. You can't see how that space is quilted in this example but you do see the big open areas of background.
•  My blocks are all different and I like the idea of each one getting some attention.
•  The finished size would be about 60" square - fitting for my goals.
•  Available fabric -I found some of the same red in the stars in my Christmas bin for the sashing. I used tidbits, also in that bin, of a large scale print that also appears in most blocks, for the cornerstones.

I used EQ to play with numbers and layouts; with and without cornerstones in different colors; tan, green, mottled. I liked the break those little squares provided. That helped me decide to cut the sashing 2" wide and let it serve as the outer border.

I used my design wall to arrange the blocks.The process of making all of these artistic decisions can be frustrating but it's energizing in the end. This is my work. Yes, it takes a sometimes more agonizing path than following a pattern but the satisfaction you get as you take each step is worth it.

There are so many ways to do things; no one way is right. Keep moving along. Try things, decide, move on. Sometimes you don't know why you like one thing or another but you don't need to. Stand back, squint, move things, try this and that ...and you will know what you like. Be okay with ripping if what you thought would work doesn't. Get it the way you want it.

Each 2" square can be different

For example, I cut the 2" squares for the cornerstones from a large print and just sewed them in.  I wanted a random look...not match-y. But I realized when they were sewn in that one was almost all dark green and it stood out. I had to decide to leave it or remove it ...maybe I should use a different dark green for all of them; think think think.But I wanted them to be less obtrusive. I removed two of them and this time was more careful to selectively cut lighter squares that would blend.

I decided to put squares at each outer corner, too, and for those I thought before I cut! I wanted the dark green dominant with a cluster of red included so my fabric looks like Swiss cheese now.I like the result.

So now on to a few other things.....

What is on your 'to-do' list for the holidays?

The Lonestar revisited

"Desert Star"   78" x 86"
Hand quilted

Years ago I went on a retreat where I learned how to make the classic Lonestar quilt. We visit Arizona each year so I chose a southwest theme.

Here's the finished queen sized quilt. The very simple graphic result does involve a bit more complex piecing; working with diamond shapes and then setting in the corner squares and side triangles.
I got very excited about working with this design...and I went a little crazy!



I wanted to try different sized diamonds and other color combinations. I worked up a class which I taught both in Minnesota and Arizona.

I made three samples for that class; 30 inches square. This one is currently being quilted - you can see my pins. I'll use it on a wall or as a table topper.

Sample 1

The rest are still tops waiting to learn their fate. The patriotic themes may serve as centers for a larger quilt.

Sample 2

Sample 3

This size was doable for the students in the number of sessions we had, allowing them to get to the 'setting-in' part with guidance. That seems to be where many quilters abandon the design.

Here is one such top in progress... probably made around 1900 by the look of the fabrics. This is a 6 pointed star (which you see less often than the 8 point) but the construction and the challenges are similar.

I show it lying on the carpet and then lying atop a piece of blue fabric as a possible idea for finishing it -- someday--maybe.

I made a mini with scraps from the big one.

10" x 13"

Then I took a few Christmas fabrics I had on hand for yet another size - and made up 10 blocks, each different due the placement of the fabrics. It was fun ...but the stars ended up in UFO tub.

That was 2002!

Fast forward to last month. A quilting friend asked us to bring something to the December meeting that was holiday themed - that was unfinished - and that we wanted to finish. She'd come across a pillow she'd started years ago and was determined to finish it.

The pile of pieced stars

Those star blocks had been on my 'to-do' list for years! Her challenge came at just the right time for me.
Out came the blocks.
Out came the folder from my class with the tips for cutting the setting squares and triangles.

A shopping trip resulted in a fabric I thought would be perfect for background.

A Kay England print

I got busy cutting out the needed corner squares and side triangles and setting them in. 

The finished blocks measure 18" square. Here are 4 of them.

 Today I'll finish the rest and begin deciding on how to set them. 

Shall I use all 10 or go with just 9 - an easy 3 by 3 setting?

Maybe a narrow sashing?

Or 'on-point'?

 Stay tuned!

I promise is won't be 13 years!

On the Bed - Rabbit's Paw

Purchased from the collection of Pat Cox this year, here's the beautifully simple Rabbit's Paw in red and green.

I don't think this was ever used on a bed. It appears to be one of those quilts that got made, folded up and put away. If it was on a bed it was taken off before use and it has never been washed. Pencil marks are still quite visible. Will I dare wash it?

The quilting is simple but nicely done. The green is fading toward tan which makes me want to circa date it about 1880. The narrow red binding is top-stitched by machine. This particular nine-patch variation is not as commonly seen as the Bear's Paw but is more delicate and I've long admired it.

So. I put it on the bed for show and then decided - heck. I'm sleeping under it! I try not to be intimidated by my quilts. I respect them but unless they are terribly fragile I believe that using them as originally intended honors them more than being folded up in a closet. This one has spent many years that way already!





Here's an very different example from David Pottinger's book Quilts From the Indiana Amish, A Regional Collection. 















The dark colors and on-point setting give a totally different look.


On my list of 'Quilts I want to Make" I include this design for a baby in two colors - pink and white cotton sateen. I already have the fabric!

Wouldn't a bunny applique border be cute?

  

Red and Green II

Holiday quilt #2 is a c. 1850  floral applique.

Red and green was a popular color scheme at that time and many 'best' quilts from that period have survived. Their graphic beauty, originality and fine workmanship make them a favorite of collectors today.

Many seem to have been made for special occasions. I wonder if the hearts in this nine-block quilt indicate that it was a bride's quilt.

82" x 92"

In the full view you will notice that the center block is a bit smaller than the rest. Also, there are only three borders; very logical to me. Why do all that work on a top border that will not be visible when on the bed?
Also, in this view you see an unfortunate problem. Sometime in the last 150 years the bottom border was damaged. I wonder what happened? Could it have been  tucked into the bottom of a bed with wooden foot-board and the wood stained it? I'd love to hear your ideas on the possibilities though I know it's hard to tell from a photo.

Here's a closer look at the damage..... sniff sniff

When I bought it I thought I might be able to 'fix' it but now I think it would be a huge task and probably not turn out very well.






Back to its allure....The little shapes that look like kites on the floral vine border are unusual, don't you think? The embroidery thread attaching it to the vine is blue now - was it once green?

The quilting includes  triple rod straight lines and diagonal crosshatching - both done right through the motif .







Even a quilt with 'problems' can be appreciated as is. I  put it on the bed with the damaged side toward the wall and no one is the wiser!

Or display it on the quilt rack....












I like to study old quilts and incorporate things I notice in my own work. Here's a wall size quilt I made a few years ago on which I quilted through the applique motifs. The inspiration for this wall piece was a bed quilt in the collection of Anita Shakelford. I'll share more about this project in a future post.

42" square

I wish you all a wonderful holiday! 
May you be warmed by the love of your friends and family...
 and by a cherished quilt!

'Tis the Season - Red and Green I

I have two vintage red and green quilts from the mid-1800's. They will time-share the guest room bed for the holidays; each getting about a week to be on-stage. Both are old enough, and fragile enough, that they need to be removed if someone is going to use the bed.

88" x 88"

The Irish Chain done in plain white, turkey red and a green print is a simple graphic delight; one of the very earliest pieced quilt designs. 

It's densely hand quilted and has red piping in the binding, a treatment most common between 1840-1880 according to Barbara Brackman in Clues in the Calico. 

Double line quilting in the white open areas alternates between  a double diagonal grid and double overlapping wineglasses spaced a mere 1/8" apart.
 Straight lines are quilted through the 'chain'.

 Here you can see the piping, all fabrics and all quilting motifs.

When I first laid it on the bed I noticed that there was a greenish tinge to the background fabric.  It's been used and washed in its life but probably stored for many years. The most likely explanation is that the green print had 'crocked' - not bled or run - but rubbed off, onto the creamy white. It bothered me. But this is an OLD quilt. Washing it would be a real risk. I needed to give this some serious thought.

After several years - yes really - I decided to take the risk. I was aware that I could ruin it but whatever happened it would be a learning experience and I was not happy with it the way it was.

Here is my washing method. Use at your own risk!

I use my top-loading washer leaving the lid open. With the diluted Orvus soap and water already in the machine, I gently immerse the quilt and move it up and down by hand - I do not let the machine agitate. After it sits awhile I gently push it up and down again.

The water quickly turned almost black! I drained that water, refilled the tub and repeated the process.

After rinsing in clear water one or two times I use the gentlest spin - positioning the textile at the outer edges of the tub to minimize pressure on it.  Removing the excess water is important as the stitches and fabrics are even more fragile when wet and heavy.

I then carefully remove it, blot it gently with large clean white towels and lay it flat to dry; first out on our deck but then on the grass with a clean sheet under it. I also put a clean sheet over the top and weight it down to avoid accidents with birds or other debris in the air but for the photo I took it off.

When nearly dry I put it in my dryer with NO heat - just air fluff for about 5 minutes. This causes the batting to fluff up and removes some of the wrinkles from drying flat. Perhaps some of you are fainting by now....but

Ta-Da! Success. The green tinge was gone - the quilting really stood out and the quilt was clean. If there was slight loss in some of the turkey red fabric, which was quite worn to start with, the overall look and removing the soil and the greenish tinge made that worth it to me.

I advocate careful methods and due consideration before washing any older quilt but I also believe that storing a 'dirty' quilt is not good for it.  Luckily, in this case, I had good results!

Center Stage - What a show off!

Coming Soon:  Red and Green II - An Applique