Crosses Wall Quilt!

Today I stained my quilt with tea, but it didn't come out the way I wanted. I wrung out the quilt and hung it on a line and sprayed a diluted walnut stain on it, to darken it more. Unfortunately it doesn't show the staining with a camera. 

After I let it drip dry on the line, I threw it in a dryer to finish the drying and it came out with a  nice crinkly look. I had to iron it to get it to lay flatter, so that took out some of the crinkling.

The idea came from an antique quilt, and I added the circle and leaves to mine. It is done with fusible raw edge and hand stitched, then hand quilted with dmc pearl cotton. For the strings, I used precut strips from a log cabin quilt, that a friend was making and she sent me the extras. I wanted to keep it scrappy and the strips were perfect, for the look that I wanted. The middle and border strips were done with Barbara Brackman's line, 1862 Battle Hymn.

The quilt measures 28" x 28".  It is darker in person with stain spots from the walnut spray.

Here is a close up of the stitching. I do a basic stitch, no thought to keeping it perfect, but I try to be something uniform;)

And here is a link to the original quilt. I really like how the strings look and think this would be fun to do with a bed sized quilt and change out the middle with a different appliqué design. A great way to use up scraps. The photo is courtesy of Quilt Museum and Gallery.

Union Cradle Quilt!

I wanted to make something fun for me and also a piece to enter into the contest at This-n-That Fabrics. The contest is for patriotic quilts and I have always wanted to make this design by Barbara Brackman. You can find the pattern in the book, Civil War Woman.

I soaked it it walnut crystals and tea but it didn't come out the way I wanted, so I laid it on the floor and sprayed it with my walnut ink. I wanted this one to look like an antique quilt and I really like how it came out. I used black pearl cotton to do the quilting. I also used fusi-boo for the batting. I really like how well it stays on and it has a nice soft touch.

I wanted to redo my office into a guest room and thought that a civil war soldier theme would be fun to design around. Something fun for a little boy and a place where I can display my husband's trains and steins.

I tried different shots, I think this quilt needs to be draped on something or part of a cradle display.
I reduced the blocks and applique by 20%, so my quilt came out as a 36" quilt.

Here is how it looks spread out. I could not get a good straight on shot or an outdoor shot, another rainy day. You can see the dark areas in the quilt, in person, it looks like a quilt that has been used and aged. I had to lighten it a bit so you could see the detail.

One of those weeks!

This week I planned on finishing the baby quilt. I had it all ready to quilt and that is when my machine decided to break, ugh. It seems the lever in the last thread slot is broken, so she is at the shop being fixed.

Then my husband goes down to the basement and there is water on the floor. An outside pipe is leaking and soaking into the basement, so we had to have our water shut off. The plumbers have to get a permit to dig in that area so they won't be back till monday. I spent one day learning how much I need running water, lol. Our neighbor let us hook a hose up to her house, so now we have water, though it smells like new hose, definitely not something I will use for drinking or cooking.

I worked on my quilt and decided to add my own touch. The original has stars and eagles but I wanted to add a little touch of my own to the borders and since it is americana, I went with red and yellow.

I tried getting a good shot, but the wind kept blowing it, but you can get the general idea. I will be doing black outline stitches around the appliques and in the blocks.

The design is by Barbara Brackman. It is called Union Cradle Quilt and can be found in her book, Civil  War Women.

New Project!

Yesterday I had a me day, nice quiet day all by myself and I wanted to make something just for fun. I have been wanting to make Barbara Brackman's , Union Cradle Quilt but wanted something I could make quick and easily, so I made a few changes.

First I reduced the block size to 6" instead of 8". Then I reduced the appliques by 20% on the scanner to fit with the new size. The original quilt is in two colors, but I wanted a patriotic quilt, so I used red and blue ticking for the blocks and a blue ticking for the border. The border is lighter than I would have used, but it was all I had that worked and I plan on tea staining the quilt, when it is finished. I also used wools for the appliqué and scraps that I had laying around. I want the quilt to be scrappy and old looking, when it is finished, so the wools are ones I cut out from old jackets.

I made the border a bit larger since it will have eagle appliques on it and when the quilt is done, I will use a part of the border as the binding by folding it to the backside.

I might just enter this one into the contest at This-n-That Fabrics. You can enter a patriotic quilt that you have made this year, has to be a new one and it ends this month.

The outer blue is a brushed homespun, but the flash makes it look shiny.

Lighthouse Quilt!

I wanted to use some of the jelly roll strips from the 1862 Battle Hymn fabrics by Barbara Brackman. I was thinking of doing a flag, using the blues instead of red and white. Well, I got stuck and forgot what I planned on making, so I came up with a new idea. I used the lighthouse from an old Jan Patek book, Ships Aweigh and then started changing it, bit by bit and adding a few of my own touches and came up with this piece. Something fun to display for the rest of the summer.

The quilt measures 27" x 15". I used walnut ink, watered down, to antique it. I lightened it up a little so you could see it better. The border is circles with stars in them and it says, From sea to shining sea.

Reproduction Block Quilt!

Recently I saw a posting on Barbara Brackman's blog about dogs in quilts. I loved one of the blocks with the polka dot dog and bird and had to try one for myself. Of course I wanted to make it into a mini quilt, so I added my own touches. My brain was off this week, so things didn't all come out as planned, but it was fun to make and gave me some practice with hand quilting.

The piece measures 20" x 16".

My bunny buddy has been visiting me every day and night, he knows a good thing when he sees it;)

Finished Quilt Top!

I can't believe I actually finished something, lol. I am starting to get back my motivation and working on finishing what I start and it is a good feeling. Of course the idea of quilting it, is overwhelming, but I have decided to look at it, as a section at a time, starting with the middle and working out. That way I can decide on the design I want to use for each part and fit the design to the patterns and shapes. At least that is the plan, I may get crazy and make a mess;)

I hope those who are in the paths of the storms and fires, stay safe and my prayers are with you all.

I went with a hit and miss border, then a dark red cloth, that my friend Kelley gave me for amish quilts. It is a nice weight but softer to the touch, so nice for a border and my binding. The main fabrics are from the 1862 Battle Hymn collection, by Barbara Brackman.

This makes it look like the border is thin, but I couldn't wait till it got darker, since I would have had to use a flash and I wanted to try an outdoor shot. I am not sure if I like the brighter white shirtings, I might have to soak it in tea after I quilt it?

My bad editing made the red look more purple, but is a really dark red, so goes nicely against the other red shades.

Kitty Pillow and Quilt Progress!

I have been resting this week, but I have been stitching. I definitely did more, last week, then I have all year, lol.

This week I received a wonderful prize, that I won in a giveaway from Barbie Jo, of Cleo and Me. I won a wonderful pillow that she made, with a kitty theme, isn't is adorable, I love it! I am thinking I need to redecorate my office with fun kitties. I haven't been using the room lately, but I do need a computer space and it has a chaise, so it would be a good place for me to relax and create. I think a room filled with kitty decor would be a fun place to do that.

Be sure to visit Cleo and Me, there are a lot of fun patterns for all types of sewing and punch needle.
The fabrics she used, look so wonderful with the stitchery.

On the sewing front, I have been working on my americana quilt. The main fabrics are from Barbara Brackman's 1862 Battle Hymn line. The shirtings are from different lines. I decided to add a little appliqué, but I wanted it simple. Barbara and I had talked about doing a quilt that we liked, which had appliqué circles on it, so I thought I would try it on this piece. I added an extra round of shirting and now I am using the jelly roll in a hit and miss border, around that. I will add one more row in a darker color for the binding. So, what do you think?

Civil War Quilt Progress!

I worked some more on my quilt and I like how it came out.
I wanted to use the blocks that I cut out, but in a unique way, so I played around and came up with this design. I added the red border, without thought to size, so of course the blocks wouldn't fit evenly around it, so I added an extra blue piece, in-between. Once I got that on, I added another row of blue, with red in the corners. This is the result.

This is how it looks and fits on my bed. Now I have to decide on the outer borders, using the jelly roll. Maybe some keys going around, will think on it. I may add some appliqué in the center and I may do some free motion designs, will think on it;) The fabric is from Barbara Brackman's 1862 Battle Hymn line. The shirting is from Judy Rothermel fabrics.

Civil War Quilt!

I decided I needed to start my summer quilt since it is summer and I need one.
I wanted to keep it simple, so I used the technique found at Jennifer's Blog.
I was gifted a layer cake and a jelly roll from Barbara Brackman, for her 1862 Battle Hymn Fabric. I used some as the dresses in my Davis girls and the rest is going into this quilt.

Here is some of the blocks, I was playing with them and nothing was coming to me, it just wasn't working in a way I liked.


The colors are reds, blues and browns, with shirtings as the contrasting color.

So, I gave up and then went back later and started playing again. I wanted to get an idea of what I was going to do, so I can decide what other fabrics I might need for a full design. And this is what I came up with, I love how this looks. This gave me another idea from an antique quilt I saw and liked, so I will incorporate some of that quilt into this one, so this is the start and will be the middle section.

Here is the base of my quilt, I will be working around this piece and adding a few surprises;)

Fabric choices and Giveaway Prizes!

Last week I went to the quilt stores to find something that matched the blue and white that would match what is in the Jefferson Davis's Daughter quilt, by Barbara Brackman, that I am working on. Of course there was nothing like it or in the shades I wanted, so this is what I found. The darker blue will be the sashing, it seems a lot brighter in the photo. The reproduction border fabric is from the abe lincoln collection, that is all I remember.

What do you think of these fabrics? I am finishing up the second tree and then I can sew the middle section together and add the rest of the appliqués.

I also won a few wonderful giveaways this month. Deborah O'Hare has a wonderful blog, actually two and I have been following her for over a year, her pieces inspire me to create my own art pieces. I won the book, Seaside Home, and I love it. It has a lot of patterns to make things for the home, or summer cottage.

This is Deborah's pattern, I plan on making it and changing it a little by adding inspirational words to the stones. Deborah has done that in one of her patterns and she said it was ok, if I used her idea in my piece.

I also participated in the 100 blocks, blog hop and I did win a copy from Nancy at One Stitch at a Time, I also won a free pattern from Cyndi of Carter Creek Quilts. It is a wonderful pattern and will look beautiful in a lot of different colors and fabrics. 

I was finally able to get out for a paddle, a nice way to spend Mother's Day. It was a beautify day and there were so many wonderful birds out, and I didn't have my good camera with the zoom. I had to use my waterproof camera, so this is the best I could get from the photos I took. I need to find a larger, waterproof case for my  new camera.

This is my bow, as usual, it got windy and I had to paddle against the wind, most of the day. I also had a tetanus shot friday, so you could say, it wasn't an easy paddle, but well worth it;)

Jeff Davis's Daughter Three!

I finished my third lady today, love the fabrics from Barbara's 1862 Battle Hymn fabric. It looks beautiful for the dresses and this quilt. Her flag stick is bent, I might fix it, I might not, lol. On this one, I added some laces, what do you think? I was thinking of adding the laces at the top, but I wanted to keep it simple and prim.

Also, for those of you who would like to win some goodies of your own, Chris at We Love Quilting is having another monthly giveaway. You won't be disappointed, she send wonderful boxes of goodies, a very generous lady.

Davis' Daughter Block Two!

I finished another block, only 4 more lady blocks and one for the middle section, guess I better work faster;) I am staying with the red and blue, mixed with tans and creams, so the dresses will be red, blue and brown shades. The next one will be in the brown family and I am using Barbara Brackman's 1862 Battle Hymn for the dresses and plan on using it for the border, if i can find some in the stores. I do like the look of the original pattern with blue and tans for the sashing and border prints.

I gave this lady, lighter hair and the green is a lighter shade. I am trying to keep them similar with a little bit of change, to mix it  up. I added an eye to this one, which I will do with all of them and I am thinking of adding laces to the boots.

Davis' Daughter Block!

I finally finished my first block. This is for a quilt called Jeff Davis's Daughter by Barbara Brackman, from her Civil War Woman Book. I think it will be perfect to hang for the summer and makes a nice americana theme. As usual my pieces are a bit cock eyed, but it lends to the prim charm, lol. I am also using wools for some pieces, makes it easier than all needle turn. The dress is made with Barbara's new fabric line, 1862 Battle Hymn. I plan on doing all the dresses with her fabric, using the blues and browns, along with the  red.

Tomorrow I plan on going to our local quilt show, if nothing goes wrong, so I will try and get lots of photos of the quilts.

Want a fun free pattern to make, especially the cat lovers? Go to Create and Decorate and check out their newest free project, Blue Skies Ahead.

I lightened it up so you could see some of the texture in the wools I used.

Future projects!

 I am still working on my hexagons. I finished the stitching, but I decided to add a feather stitch along the outside border edge, so half way done on that. So, I thought I would show you some wonderful things that I received this week.

First of all I received a wonderful surprise today, from Barbara Brackman. She wanted to send me some "Stuff", lol. Well I think this is more than a few pieces of fabrics, it is enough to make a bed sized quilt for me. This is the new fabric, 1862 Battle Hymn by Barbara Brackman and Moda fabrics. I love this fabric, love the colors and love the prints. It is exactly what I was thinking of, when I envisioned a quilt for my bed. So now I need to decide on a pattern and I plan on taking my time and doing a nice job on this quilt. I have loved blues and tans, so with this color scheme, time to change my bedroom;)

If you have never been to Barbara's blog, please do visit, you won't be disappointed. She always has such wonderful quilts on her blog, with histories about the quilts and fabrics. A wonderful way to learn more about dating your quilts. She also has a blog with a block of the week for Civil War quilts, which also has history and stories of the era.  And if that is not enough, she has a new blog about Quilts from the war of 1812. You can view this fabric line at the Moda Website, it is truly perfect for those who love prim and civil war era quilting. They also have wonderful free patterns from the designers.

I folded some of the fabric over, on the layer cake, so you could see more of the patterns in the line.

A second surprise I got last week, was that I won the book, "Welcome to the North Pole ," by Piece of Cake Designs. I won the book from Kay Mackenzie, who has written several wonderful books on applique, herself. Kay has a wonderful blog for the applique lover, full of inspiration and tutorials, so visit Kay's blog to say hello, check out her great tutorials or be inspired by her quilting.

This is the cover of the book, it has a wonderful quilt with all types of Christmas buildings and appliques that you can use in different ways, to make the quilt your own.

I love the smaller pieces on the back of the cover, something I should be able to do before Christmas and I know my daughter would love one of these. I can even customize them, just for her. I had wanted this book and our library copy disappeared. But the great news is you can get it from Martingale & Company, if you would like your own copy.