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Christmas and Quilts

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What a beautiful season! Christmas is my favorite time of the year and I so enjoy all the lovely quilted projects made to decorate our homes at this time. My favorite Christmas quilt is a lone star I made as a class sample, with fabrics from my stash, many years ago. I ended up liking it so much that I hand quilted it with the names of each family member in the corners and I can’t wait to hang it up every year! 

A while back I designed a small Holy Family quilt using Clover Quilt Bias™ for a stained glass look. I taught it as a class many times and it was quite popular :-).

Recently I saw a lovely photo that I just had to recreate in fabric. I contacted the owner for permission and made one of these small quilts for many in my family:

Do you have a picture of a favorite Christmas quilt you’d like to share? I would be happy to add it to my blog so others can enjoy it too. Please send it to me via email: .

Quilting Kid

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Thanks to everyone who gave suggestions for quilting with kids. I decided the best way to start with Hanna was to open up my box of 6″ squares (from various exchanges) and watch her reaction. She had to feel every square. She’s really grandma’s girl :-).  She chose her favorite 12 and they were mostly Christmas prints.

I then set my featherweight up on a bench, with Hanna on a stool and she was off. She listened carefully and did just as I instructed. I was very pleased and impressed. It was hard for her to step on the pedal with the ball of her foot, but her heel worked great! She drove and grandma helped guide (along with a thick layer of masking tape).

While pressing the seams we both held the iron together (with Hanna’s free hand on her knee – to prevent burns). She stitched the blocks into a doll quilt set 3 x 4 and then we layered it with flannel and stitched almost all the way around. Hanna turned it right side out and helped pin the players together. We did some straight quilting lines and, less than 2 hours later, it was finished!

 

Her response: “let’s make another one”! She’s definitely grandma’s girl :-).

Quilts and Kids

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Snuggle & Learn Quilts for Kids, my most recent Replique book, was all about making colorful, cuddly and educational quilts for kids.  

It was written for adults to create these gifts of love for the special children in their life, but there’s another aspect to quilts and kids – teaching them to sew!

Over the years I’ve taught sewing to a number of different groups of kids. My daughter’s girl scout troop was among the first. They made vests to showcase their merit badges  – and this was before I learned to quilt. After I became addicted to quilting I taught my daughter to quilt, but it wasn’t exactly her thing.

A few years later I decided that my 5th grade Sunday School classes could make charity quilts as a way of doing something for others in need. The boys especially enjoyed the “accelerator” on the sewing machine and all the kids seemed to like stitching. 

This week I’m hoping for some helpful advice. My granddaughter Hanna is almost 5 and I’d like to plant some quilting seeds :-). Do you have any suggestions regarding quilting activities geared toward this age? The kids I’ve taught have always been older and I’d rather not reinvent the wheel. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

Anything Goes

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The most unique challenge I’ve participated in is among my favorites. A number of years ago the Milwaukee Art Quilters discussed doing a “round robin” sort of challenge as Sarah explained in her comment (thanks Sarah). The theory being that one person makes a block or row and passes it to another who adds whatever the challenge rules dictate and after 3 or 4 additions the originator gets it back. The problem was that fiber artists seem to really dislike rules. So, we did an “Anything Goes Round Robin”. Each participant put something in a bag (block, piece of fabric, or whatever – no rules) and the next person could do anything they wanted to it! After 4 rounds the originator got it back and could finish as desired. The only real rule was that you couldn’t be upset about what anyone did to your item along the way.

My finished Anything Goes quilt is entitled “Puzzling Spumoni” :

It began as 3 hexagon log cabin blocks from a failed 1995 workshop where the teacher discovered half way through that the blocks wouldn’t fit together and the class ended. The fabrics were dated and I had no need for the blocks, so in the bag they went.

The first person chopped 2 of the blocks up and sewed them back together into a long strip. The second person thread painted a peacock feather on a light pink background and bordered it with the pieced unit. The third chopped again and added a bunch of stuff from her scrap bag. She then cut this new “fabric” into puzzle pieces and threw them in a bag. The fourth artist stacked them into a pile on a black background and put a cherry on top. This is how it was returned to me. I put it in a dish and added the spoon.

It is an odd shaped and humorous piece which I love, even though it really doesn’t go in my living room. I learned a lot working on the other quilts and feel its a good excercise in creativity. I challenge you to try it in your own group!

But I Still Love You Too

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My lecture in Amery was a delight! A fun group of quilters and a lovely visit with my cousin Kathy.

I’d like to welcome some new readers to the blog. I not only shared my antique quilts up north on Monday, but Tuesday night I presented a talk about  my “Sew We Go” adventures with Wendy to a guild in Oak Creek (south of Milwaukee) and Wednesday morning I did the same talk for a guild in Fox Point (north of Milwaukee). Many of the quilters I spoke to gave me their email addresses and I’ve added them to the list. I’d just like to mention to them or any one else who’s new to the blog that by scrolling down through the blog or clicking on the archives you can read about some of our past topics. From photographing your quilts, to UFO’s (ultimately fabulous opportunities) and many topics in between, there’s been a lot of great information shared :-)!

Now to get back to antique quilts. Thanks Barb, for sharing your quilt’s story. I’d like to share a quilt and it’s story from my lecture. I don’t know the history of many of my quilts, but this Sunbonnet Sue quilt has a story I do know and it’s worth telling:

 

A few years ago I presented “But I Still Love You” to a historical society and one of the women present asked me if we could meet for lunch. Her name was Vivian and at the restaurant she showed me this quilt and told me it’s tale. It was made by a friend of Vivian’s grandparents for her when she was a baby (I have all the names and dates – hooray!). She snuggled with it while she was growing up and then packed it away. When Vivian was married and expecting her first child she unpacked it and showed it to her husband. When she told him the pattern was called Sunbonnet Sue he responded that if they had a girl they should name her Sue – and they did! Sue snuggled with it while she grew up just like her mom.

Well, since then Sue had moved to California and Vivian and her husband were struggling with some health issues. They had decided to sell their home in Wisconsin and move to California to be near Sue. Vivian came across the quilt while packing and called Sue. She told her mom she really didn’t want it :-(. Vivian couldn’t talk her into it and so she decided to offer it to me after seeing my talk. I was honored. She said she wanted it to be well cared for and appreciated. So I’m pleased to share it in my lectures and here with you.

If you have a quilt with a story to share, please send it as a comment to this post. Most quilter’s I know have a warm spot in their hearts for antique quilts and the stories that make them special.

But I Still Love You

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I just finished packing up my collection of antique quilts to take with me tomorrow as I head to Amery, Wisconsin to do a talk for a guild there (its not far from the twin cities). It was a happy coincidence that I have a cousin who also lives in Amery. What a great opportunity to share my love for quilting with a new guild and spend time with Kathy too. Once again I just feel so blessed :-).

The lecture I’ll be doing shares the same name as this post. In it I wear a Civil War era dress and hoop skirt that I made to go with the lecture. Most of my quilts are not museum quality, but I love them and enjoy sharing their stories. I’ve probably presented this talk more than any of my others and it is one of my favorites. The best part is even non-quilt groups (historical societies, Christian women’s groups, etc.) want to hear it and so I’m able to share my passion for quilting with  some people that aren’t yet adicted!

Do you have a quilt that’s a family treasure or just a vintage piece with a delightful story? I feel most quilters enjoy hearing about these bits of our history and I’d be so happy to hear about yours.

Beautiful Enough to Use!

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What great comments. I especially liked the expression “shopping your stash”. Thanks Cindy. I think many of us could make wonderful quilts without ever making a trip to the quilt shop.

I was very convicted by Pat’s challenge to use my Liberty fabrics and they’re hanging on the design wall now just waiting for the right idea to grab me. (this may happen after the holidays – we’ll see). 

While I was writing the “Too Beautiful” post I came to realize that I actually had reached the point a few years ago that when I buy a fabric I really love I allow myself to use it as inspiration for something new right away. The blendable, “tone on tones” go into the stash, but when the new, jaw dropper, makes my fingers start to itch I’ll often just ignore the guilt of that project I’m in the middle of (which isn’t as exciting as when it was first begun) and indulge in playing with the exciting stuff.

Another method I’ve found helpful lately is to put the new gorgeous stuff in the stash just until the next time I’m ready to take a new challenge or I need to come up with a new class project. Then I grab that inticing piece and allow it to be the impetous for this new endeavor. This usually helps to get the ball rolling. Picking out other fabrics to go with the exciting one is always such fun for me.

The only problem with this system is that the great fabrics from my “petting and not using” days are still in the stash. So, thanks to Pat, I’m going to focus on some past loves. Who knows, some of them may look great together.

Perhaps I should step away from the computer and fondle some fabric :-). Blessings, Chris

Too Beautiful

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Mary Beth made a comment last week that inspired this week’s topic. She said she had received a piece of fabric in an exchange with a quilter in Africa and it was too special and unique to cut into. Haven’t we all been there? In 1989 my husband and I vacationed in London. Liberty’s of London was at the top of my list of destinations because I’d heard so much about their fabrics. They were beautiful and had a lovely silky feel. My husband was indulgent and I purchased a meter of 3 different yards and a few scraps from a bin. For years I would take them out and pet them and then put them right back in the purple plastic Liberty bag (duh!). That’s where I found them today.

This reminds me of a quote from Ricky Tims: “If you never use it, you’ll never use it”. I used to love it. Now I don’t. What a waste.

Admit it. You’ve done the same. Please let me know your philosophy on this issue by commenting at the end of this post and I’ll have a few comments on Thursday :-).