Quilts

OK, first off, most of my blankets are not Technically "Quilts". Quilting refers to the stitching (usually decorative), which connects the 3 layers of a quilt together. The top layer is the decorative part one sees, the middle layer is usually some sort of batting (fluffy material used for warmth & loft, to create palpable designs within the quilts' surface), & the bottom layer is a non-descript sturdy fabric that holds it all together, once stitched.

My "quilts" are almost always just my machine-stitched quilt blocks sewn onto an existing blanket, thus giving new life to old blankets, without the fuss of interior quilting - which is incredibly time consuming, & nearly impossible on a large blanket. There's a reason people used to have quilting parties, where many women sat around the stretched out blanket, & stitched by hand from every edge, as far as they could reach, towards the middle.

I don't have 7 friends who want to come on over to hand stitch my blankets with me, so my quilts are mostly just stitched around the edges to hold them onto the blanket. Mine were made to be blankets - not works of art, & nearly all my blankets are made from scraps left over from making my own clothes, etc. Hence the number of "Sampler" style blankets. It takes an incredible amount of fabric to make a "designed" quilt top, so I used the fabric I had on hand, instead, & made samplers, rather than designed quilts, for the most part - though I did do some as time went on.

FYI: Samplers = a style where the point is to show off skills, so each block is different, showing Stars, Log Cabins, 9-Patch, Pinwheels, & a variety of other blocks, then all stitched together. Samplers are common, & allow one to use large amounts of differing scraps, since the scraps from clothing would never be sufficient to make an entire quilt in one color scheme.

Below, are some of my quilt toppers, in date order, as best I can recall. You'll notice that the early ones were all scraps, later ones were sometimes gifts, so some are designed quilts - with fabric bought specifically for the blanket. (I didn't take pics of all the ones I made as gifts, so some may be missing from this list.)

1983 Quilt #1,

9-Patch

My very first quilt, made in Texas. I had a ton of scraps (& some fabric I didn't love for dresses for the borders), so this covered a less than lovely blanket, with a new top - for free.

I cut these squares by hand, with scissors. Ouch.

I always enjoy looking at these, as I can see all my dresses within, & remember the things I did while wearing them. : )

1984 Quilt #2,

9-Patch

My second quilt. I still had a ton of scraps (& more fabric I didn't love for dresses for the borders), so this covered a less than lovely blanket, with a new topper - for free.

I also cut this one by hand with scissors, which kills your hand. You'll note the edges are striped fabrics, which helps keep me straight while cutting the long strips.

1991 Quilt #4,

9-Patch (ish)

This was a gift for Lauren, Mark asked for it too close to Christmas, so I was forced to make it in a hurry. Hence the simplicity of the design, & limited color variance. I bought the peach colored fabric for this blanket, as I didn't have sufficient scraps to make a designed pattern on hand. It was stitched onto a new blanket.

By this time, I was using a Rotary Cutter & Self Healing matt to cut fabric, so it was a much faster (& a lot less painful) method to cut a lot of fabric quickly, & straight. No blisters! Yay!

I don't recall what quilt #3 was, or where it went.

1992 Quilt #6,

Pinwheels & Hourglasses

This was made for Mark, who was cold a lot in Maine. It was stitched onto a small, warm blanket, for him to use on the couch. I was testing out ideas, & this one is an optical illusion. You will either see hourglasses, or pinwheels. : )

Again, no idea where quilt # 5 is, or what it looked like. I was a quilt making fool back then. : )

That Rotary Cutter was game changer on the amount of work needed!

1992 Quilt #8, Sampler

This was made for me, to use as a shelf cover in my sewing room. I was in the basement in Maine, with metal shelving units, which weren't particularly attractive. This was stitched onto a plain piece of sturdy fabric, specifically to hide the shelves. It's not a blanket, but it would be a Queen size, if it were.

Again, no idea where quilt # 7 is, or what it looked like.

The Rotary Cutter was a game changer on the amount of work needed! As you can see, I've gotten better by now - experimenting with lots of designs. You can also see several former quilt block scraps within this cover, some presumably from missing quilts #3, 5, & 7.

(I always make more blocks than needed, so if something goes wrong, & I won't come up short.)

1992 Quilt #9, Sampler

This was made for my sister Lynn, & her son BJ.

This incorporated points from half of a Star Quilt I made, using a chevron to fill in the center.

The problem with making stars, is it's a real bear to do them (especially the center parts), & you're stuck with a lot of points left over, but not enough to make a full star. I made the next topper specifically to use up the scraps. I hated to waste so much fabric & work.

(That is a faintly striped & floral fabric surrounding the Chevron - Not bleed-through of the fabric underneath it, as it appears in this photo. )

Matt is in the middle.

1992 Quilt #10,

Star Scraps & Tumbling Blocks

This was made incorporating the other half of the points from the Star Quilt I made above, with points aimed to the center, & a Chevron on the outside perimeter.

I wanted to see if I could do "Tumbling blocks", which is an optical illusion quilt. Using light & dark colors, to fool the eye into thinking they are cubes. If you stare long enough, you can make the steps seem to be coming down to the left, or the right, depending on how you look at it.

Mine came out more like stairs than Tumbling blocks, which are a lot harder to make, & I know where I went wrong, now. (No internet tutorials back then.)

1993 Quilt #11,

6-Point Star, Quilted

This was made for made for my Queen Size Bed, & it was my masterpiece. This wasn't my first star, but it was the biggest, & I actually did do the quilting on it, so it would puff up in the middle.

(Hard to tell in the pics, I know, but it's there. : )

This one is so huge, actually Quilting it turned into a nightmare, & I won't be doing that again. : )

1993 Quilt #12,

Reducing Blocks & Pinwheels

This was made for Matt. We were experimenting with illusions, but this was too big to get the full benefit of the illusion. On a smaller scale, this would have looked cool.

Matt is on the Right.

1993 Quilt #13,

Star Points & Pinwheels

This was made for Douglas, using scrap Star Points (left over from the big quilt I made for my bed), but it was too short for his bed, so we added the Monogram at the bottom (My idea - I just wanted to try applique).

Doug is on the Left.

1993 Quilt #14,

Stars & Pinwheels

This was made for me, as a chair blanket for me in winter, watching TV. (So cold in Maine, & we kept the temp set at 68 to save money.) Mostly using scraps, & I had a lot of red left over from the big quilt.

Matt is on the Left.

1994 Quilt #15,

Sampler

This Sampler was made for my Uncle Dean, using scraps.

I was experimenting with making shapes, like the Leaf in the upper Left, & the bird in the Upper Right corner. Also trying out color concepts, unfortunately, by using such similar color stripes as the background colors, it ended up looking like those parts disappeared (Lower left).

Lesson Learned. : )

1994 Quilt #16,

Log Cabin

This Log Cabin Quilt was made for my brother Ron, using some scraps, & some fabrics bought for the quilt.

This was my first Log Cabin, as a whole quilt. I loved most of it, but the black center stripes are too stark, & a more subtle dark would have probably looked better.

Again, Lesson Learned. : )

1995 Quilt #18,

Log Cabin

This Log Cabin Quilt was made for Jackie & Worthy, using some scraps, & some fabrics bought for the quilt.

They saw Ron's, & loved it, so I made one for them, too. I DID learn my lesson from Rons', but this one is completely washed out in the pics. For that reason it looked a LOT better in person, than in this pic.

No digital cameras on any of these, so all pics are taken blind, in hopes they will come out, & you get what you get. I scanned them into the computer, years later. : )

(No idea what quilt #17 was, or where it went.)

Doug is my helper on the Right. : )

1996 Quilt #19,

Star

This Star Quilt was made for Al Jordan's baby. He worked at GWI, when I was there.

This is much smaller than the usual Twin size quilts I make for beds, or chairs. This is primarily intended to be a portable clean spot for babies to lay down on the floor. It has some padding, colors, & textures for the baby.

1996 Quilt #20,

Star

This Star Quilt was made as a replacement for my Brother Bill's daughter Brittany. (I have no idea what happened to the first one I made him).

This is also a smaller baby quilt, primarily intended to be a portable clean spot for babies to lay down on the floor. It has some padding, colors, & textures for the baby.

(The first one - as I recall, had a lot more textured fabrics, but I didn't have any left at this point. I don't have any pictures of that first one.)

1990's Quilt Block, Snowflake

This Snowflake Quilt block was made as a wall decoration for my office at GWI. I'd purchased a used side table for storage in my office, & refinished it, using this dark green fabric as a topper. I wanted something to hang above it, without bringing in personal pictures. This served the purpose wonderfully, & it made me happy every time I noticed it. (It's pretty large, at just over 20" square.)

I designed the snowflake pattern myself - which was no small thing. I couldn't find anything like a pattern at the time, to make a snowflake. (I'm guessing I might be able to now, but the internet was nothing like it is today, at that time).

This seemingly easy looking snowflake was the most complicated quilt block I've ever made, & I won't be doing that again. It's gorgeous, but imperfect, & with so much work in it, it's not worth making more, so it remains as wall art.

See if you can count how many seams are in just that one snowflake, to make it. I have no idea, but it's a LOT!

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