Creating

This spring's project: a quilt for the Arts and Old Lace Challenge

"Literally Challenging"  Another one of my 'wordy' quilts.

18" x 18", machine foundation pieced (my own patterns)

Arts and Old Lace Challenge

I used lots of decorative stitches on my machine to add decoration and quilting at the same time.  The suiting fabrics esp. had such a crazy quilt feel that at my Mom's suggestion I added crazy quilt fans to the corners. 

An original design.  Obviously inspired by the challenge title.  Part of my series of "word play" quilts -- quilts that have something to say.  The name also notes the very challenging nature of the fabrics - much more difficult to sew than my beloved cotton.s

I used fabric ONLY from the 2 salesman sample books:  one with formal Italian suitings, the other with light summery woven (more than 105 different fabrics were used in the 18 inch quilt).  I used the challenge packet lace for the "&" but added 2 vintage laces from my Mom's stash.  She also found the woven coat binding - the perfect finishing touch.

   

Here's the challenge packet:

And here's a detail of the quilting:

The exhibit opened on July 21st at Artistic Artifacts, Alexandria, Virginia and the 87 quilts from 80 artists will be on display there until the end of September.  The exhibit will then travel to various locations.
Contact Cyndi Souder for information on how to get the quilts shown at your quilt show, museum, art gallery, etc.



Feel the Heat

My Corner of the World,  made for the 2006 Journal Quilt Project - a special exhibit shown at the Houston International Quilt Show.  Page sized, part of my miniature Moab, Utah  landscape series.

It is over a 100 degrees almost everywhere in Utah today and I think this quilt captures the feeling of HOT, HOT, HOT!

Applique Posies - Blogger Quilt Festival

A favorite spring and fall event, is the Bloggers' Quilt Festival run by Amy Ellis of Amy's Creative Side (a fellow Utah blogging quilter).  I'm sharing my recently completed quilt, made/donated for the 2013 Pilgrim Roy Invitational Challenge (fundraiser for the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky).  It was recently displayed in Paducah and will be traveling to other AQS shows over the next year.  Here's block one (before quilting) :

 

And the full quilt, Pennsylvania Posies for Paducah:

40 x 40", Completed 2012
Original Design
Hand Appliqued and Hand Quilted
Donation to National Quilt Museum

It is a reproduction/adaptation of several antique quilts in my collection and inspired by my favorite Pennsylvania German colors. 

Here is one of the inspiration blocks.  You can click on my earlier 2012 entries to read/see more of the antique inspirations.

Click on the words below (not the logo) to see all the other quilts in the armchair quilt festival

Bloggers' Quilt Festival Spring 2012

Antique Quilts Re-making Their Way to Paducah

Pennsylvania Posies for Paducah
40" x 40",  2012
Hand appliqued, hand quilted

Double Woo hoo.  My quilt for the 2013 Pilgrim Roy Invitational Challenge is now on display in Paducah, Kentucky at the American Quilter's Society Show.  More about this quilt in a minute... The other thrill is my cheddar star repro was juried into the miniature category at the prestigious AQS Show which is quite an honor. 

Cheddar Stars Over Moab, 2010
19" x 24"
Paperpieced, hand quilted

This quilt was made for the 2010 American Quilt Study Group, 19th Century Stars Challenge and was patterned in the Stars book published by Kansas City Star. Click here to see another version of this quilt and the 1890's antique inspiration quilt.

Now back to the Pilgrim Roy Quilt:

It was inspired by several antique quilts in my collection. And you can see more about the challenge by looking at my posts from earlier this year. After the show, the quilts will travel to other quilt shows in the US and then will be auctioned off next April at the 2013 National Quilt Museum fundraiser Auction. 
This quilt was hand appliqued and then the applique flowers and baskets were stuffed for a trapunto effect.  While the borders/ major seams were machine quilted, the applique motifs and blocks were hand quilted.  The Legacy wool batting was a dream to quilt through and even with heavier thread I was getting about 10 stitches per inch without (hardly) trying.

 Click here and here to read about the challenge and my creative process and see all the antique quilts that inspired this project.

Antique Crib Quilt- Whig Rose and Birds

Just a very quick post to share a quilt that is sure to give you a smile.  A crib quilt, Whig Rose that is 34" square and yes that makes the border birds delightful and TEENY.  Their tail feathers are only an 1/8 of an inch wide.  It is from about 1860.  ENJOY.

Antique Crib Quilt 34 X 34 inches

And here are a few more quilty birds from my antique quilt collection:

Block from Virginia Crib Quilt, circa 1845

(more info on this blog, search crib quilt or Virginia)

Detail from 1860 Rose of Sharon Quilt

See http://utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com for more info.

Detail from 1860 New York Basket Quilt

More info on my other blog

http://utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com

Thanks for visiting and I love to hear comments.

Antique Quilt Make-Over: Choices, Choices and More choices

I think this is my favorite arrangement  and then my 2nd choice

I think I like having a 3 and a 4 stemmed flower on each horizontal row (see above) rather than 3 next to 3 like these two examples

And just for giggles, down and up       OR  up and down
(Don't think I can handle either of these arrangements.)

And now to decide about inner sashing or whether to put a floral applique in the center???  And what about inner border?  outer border?  Do I want to do a red, green and cheddar zigzag triangle border, like on this antique applique quilt?  I would do it in a larger scale  but the nice thing about this zigzag is it is all triangles and could be paper pieced.

Or do I want to make a big zigzag like this one, found on an amazing Bethlehem Star with Lilies from PA -- again see the Pennsylvania color scheme that keeps inspiring me.  Problem with this one, is I'll have to figure out how to piece it and I don't know if I can paperpiece it?

 Or maybe I will just do a big flying geese border?  Any suggestions???

Antique Quilt Makeover PA Style Part 4

Block 4 is done !!!!

Now to figure out how to put the four blocks together, sashing, additional applique in center,
border(s)????  Just when it seemed like I was making progress?

The inspiration for the 4th block came from the border of a wonderful cockscomb and currant quilt (an antique quilt) from circa 1850.

I decided to eliminate the center so that the block would better match with the other 4 stemmed block.  I also deleted the basket handles for the same reason.

And drumroll................................ here are all 4 blocks together (in one possible combo).

Antique Quilt Makeover PA Style Part 3

Woo hoo.  Block 3 of my challenge quilt is done!  Only one more to go.  I think these flowers look very happy and almost like they are waving hello.  This block was adapted from a little basket that is part of my circa 1845 antique crib quilt from Virginia.  Here is the original block with a bird being shot by cupid's arrow (very appropriate for Valentine's Day):

And here is my prior reproduction of the full block:

Scroll down or click  to see block 1 and block 2.
Here are all 3 together:

  And some more Pennsylvania quilt inspiration, a circa 1880 rolling stone signature quilt from Berks/Lehigh Co. PA:

Antique Makeover PA Style, Part 2

Block 2 of my current challenge quilt (reproducing several antique quilts).  See prior post for the 1st block, challenge fabrics and inspirations. http://starleyquilts.blogspot.com/2012/01/antique-makeover-revisited-pa-style.html

This block is an adaptation of 2 different basket blocks.  My main inspiration was a circa 1860, 9 block whig rose, rose of sharon or democrat rose quilt with a great floral basket border part of my antique quilt collection.

I wasn't super fond of the center flower so I substituted the center of an elaborate  4 block Pot of Flowers quilt, circa 1875, also part of my collection.

Here's a close-up from the Whig Rose, Rose of Sharon, enjoy!  Check out the amazing intense quilting.  Triple line, triple rod quilting, very close.

antique makeover revisited PA style

Here is the first needle turn applique block in my latest challenge quilt.  I'm making a four block quilt with 4 different floral basket/vase blocks.  The designs are adaptions from 4 antique quilts in my collection.
This block is the 2nd time I have borrowed the basket border design from my antique princess feather quilt.  See my prior post for my first quilt using this basket design.

 
Here are the 6 challenge fabrics plus my 2 optional fabrics.  I picked the double pink and the yellow/ gold (close to a cheddar).  



 
I think I've been influenced by 19th century Pennsylvania German quilts.  I'd venture to say, I was a bit directed by the quilt that I've been  studying recently.  It is a dated 1842, signature presentation quilt from Easton, PA.

While most 19th c. applique quilts had white or off-white backgrounds, PA German quilts often had colored grounds in yellow/cheddar or blue or pink.  PA pieced quilts also seem to have a freer use of pink as a neutral ground.  Here's a Rocky Road from Lancaster Co., PA.

Hope you enjoyed seeing what I'm working on now and my antique influences.

1870 Princes Feather Makeover

I adapted the tulip basket border from an antique 1870's red and green princess feather applique quilt, kept the four block design but gave it a color makeover and scaled it down from full size to small wall quilt. I think the woman who made it would be glad her design still works but would be a bit surprised with the black, white and hot pink color scheme.  Made for a Time Challenge- I focused on giving the original a "makeover" by using an updated, modern color scheme.

Hand appliqued and hand quilted.

This 4 blocks prince's or princess feather quilt when made was a very Christmas'y red and green and would have been a stunning quilt.  But as you can see it is the victim of the unstable or 'fugitive' green synthetic dyes of the 1870's to early 1900's.  The 'turkey red' was a very stable dye and is as bright as when the quilt was made. 

Viewers Choice Winner- Bloggers Quilt Fest

With the exciting news yesterday that my miniature reproduction quilt "Virginia is For Lovers" won the  Web Viewers Choice in the Alliance for American Quilts, Alliances contest, I knew I had to share it on Amy's Bloggers Quilt Fest. It also won 3rd prize in the membership contest this spring.

And it is probably my favorite quilt ever!  Despite all the teeeny hand applique (little baskets that are only 1.5 inches) and lots and lots of hand quilting, it was wonderful to honor the earlier quilters who made the original crib quilt for a very loved child.

Virginia is for Lovers, 2011
16" x 16"

And here is the antique inspiration quilt, made in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia in 1845.  Yes, this quilt actually survived the Civil War and is more than 160 years old.

Antique quilt
Circa 1845 crib quilt from Virginia

And here's the link to see my antique quilt entry for the show:
http://utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com/

Thanks again, Amy for hosting this virtual quilt show.  I love seeing what makes other quilters hearts SING!!!!!  Click on the logo to see the show.

Antique reproduction and Alliance for American Quilts Contest

Virginia is for Lovers, miniature reproduction 2011, 16 x 16

Thought I'd share my all time favorite quilt one more time and let people know that there is still time to vote for it in the Alliance for American Quilts:  AlliancesViewers Choice contest (voting closes 9 p.m. eastern time on Monday Oct. 24th). It is hand appliqued (the 4 little baskets are only 1.5" tall) and hand quilted and I poured my heart and soul into this quilt. Quilt number 117 in the contest. Go to http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e3samo2ogn3k75iz/a01ztgu2x75ev/questions  **If that link does not work or shows survey already taken then please go to
http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/, click on link "View, vote, bid! Viewer's Choice Voting" and on next page click on "View, Vote, Bid" to get to the survey. Again it is number 117. This contest is separate from the springtime voting (I am thrilled to say that I won 3rd prize in that voting). Thank you for the support.

It was a delight to recreate four of the blocks from the original quilt, which survived the Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. 

Antique, circa 1845 crib quilt from Virginia