Artful Homemade Quilts Have A Way

[freedombecki]

OK, I got 15 of the 44 Echo Chambers With Hobo Lace out and cut blue sets and sashings last night, and sewed them at the crack of dawn this morning (5 am), then when that was done, I found, cut and sewed a simple blue border. I didn't want to use such fancy fabrics the gals would pick them off for christmas gifts instead of going to poor families, so I found some plain, old-fashioned pindots that were printed about 10-15 years back, some contemporary baby-quilt fabric store light blue hearts for sets, and a pretty blue snowflake I picked up last winter or spring from somewhere, not sure where it was, but it's quilt-store quality, and brings a little brightness to the outside border, hopefully not too much.

So this post and the next will show 6 scans of the nearly-finished quilt top. I have to make a mad dash to the sewing room to complete the bottom and 2 sides outside border, which are just waiting for my return.

Mouse over thumbnails for scans; click on thumbnail for a popup into another window of a closer view if that interests you. Some of the visual textures are kind of fun to see up close. They soft grey-blue truly makes this quilt not stand out, (I hope) for reasons stated above.

 

[freedombecki]

The final scan for this quilt, which should be finished within the hour, and I'll try to return with its measurements as well.

 

[freedombecki]

The Echo Chambers With Hobo Lace Quilt Top measures 50x78" and is ready to go to the Charity Bees for quilting and binding. There are enough blocks left to make another quilt and the majority of a third top. This one has 15 Echo Chambers and Hobo Lace blocks (Hobo Lace is an additional row of postage stamp squares added to the bottom or around traditional squares to make it just a bit bigger for covering toesies at night.)

Free after a week of furious sewing!

 

[freedombecki]

The blue pindot (above) came from one of my last online fabric purchases from an estate, when we're paying $11 for cottons per yard now, who can resist a $1.25/per yard bargain, which fortunately for me, nobody bid against, and I got some of the thickest, thirstiest, best quilter's cottons ever, but they're dated 80's-90's, back when blues and pinks were muted much like they were in the 50s. (every 30 years we have a relapse of the insanity, likely), but anyway, if it makes one of my postage stamp quilts go directly to a needy child, at least a shelter kid will be warm at night. /complicated social antics of a wizened fool

Anyway, in the same monster box weighing in at 55 pounds (4-5oz per yard), there was this yard of dusty pink cotton percale and a half of a bright pink quilter's small dots (not pindots) that will be a better contrast than the above blue pindot and its contemporary white hearts on light blue. So I cut it into 3x10.5" sashes and the dots into 3" set squares to do the next quilt and got the warp pieces sewn to the sides of three rows of echo chamber with hobo lace squares. A couple of hours from now, that could be a whole second quilt top, and surely there will be SOMETHING that will make as nice a border as the squarish royal blue and white snowflake geometric used all around the blue quilt. Also, I noticed again some gold for a third quilt (and I already sewed the extra echo chamber square) that has bright cadmium yellow apples on a darker gold background that will make the third quilt. Nice--softened primary colors in quilts for children that maybe nobody will notice, and the kids will then get the quilt.

Well, it's off to the sewing room. Can't wait to see what this one is like when it's done!

Oh, yeah, make me a cake, someone. That blue one is quilt #100. Yea! Mission accomplished! And More -

 

[freedombecki]

Complete! It's a lot easier to do a second similar quilt when (1) you have the squares made up already and (2) All the measurements for sets and sashes are fresh on your mind for completion.

Here's the second quilt's outer border and tag instructions for the quilter at Charity Bees. I designated this and the last one to the local Shelter for Abused Families. I have a special love for those kids whose home experience is one of terror over personal safety issues. I pray that after their parent learns to deal with single parenting and shelter for children from imminent harm, they can feel safe and loved again. Some aren't so lucky and wind up either in the hospital from their neglect/abuse or morgue.

If your prayer list is short, please add abused families to your list. Prayer works sometimes when nothing else does. Thanks.

 

[Mr. H.]

This thread is a rare yet comforting oasis in a sea of insanity.

 

[freedombecki]

This thread is a rare yet comforting oasis in a sea of insanity.

Thank you, Mr. H. Robert Burns may have said it best, "O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us, To see oursels as others see us, It wad frae monie a blunder free us..." (Writ in or about 1785.)

You've no idea how much it means to me for someone to say a kindly word here sans any agenda or artifice. Thank you.

 

[freedombecki]

Today's progress: well, ideas danced through me small brain this morning about finishing up that pile of 125 windmill squares, the crib-sized quilt rectangles for which there may be 6 future quilts ahead, etc., and the 6 or 7 strie red and pastels quilts that are in block format so far, etcetera. It's just a matter of organization at this point, and my sewing room is deep-sixed in cloth cuts right now, so a couple of cleaning and organizing days should be explored. Hopefully, by this evening, I'll have a little something to show if I can get everything else going on in my life resolved right now.

Hope everyone is having a grand time prepping for christmas and family right now.

Love,

becki

 

[freedombecki]

Saw this quilt in a book, which I bought. It was a log cabin, but the colors were so appealing to me, I though what a sweetie pie quilt it would make for a homeless shelter child, so ... all night sewing party at becki's house tonight, and all she got were these dumb 4 squares that are only partially visible due to placing them on point as they will be in the quilt and only having 8.5 inches to work with on width.

Scan 1 New Book, A Second Helping of Desserts by Edie McGinnis, Kansas City Star Publications, Inc., 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri 64108. 2010, available at PickleDish | Home of Kansas City Star QUILTS

Scan 2 The author, Edie McGinnis' beautiful quilt

Scan 3 One of my first trial-run blocks made this evening. <huff puff, huff puff>

 

[freedombecki]

More Chocolate Covered Cherries Echo Log Cabin Quilt squares made this evening:

Scans 4, 5, and 6.

This is an easy fun, no-brainer quilt if you follow the instructions in Edie McGinnis' book, A Second Helping of Desserts (see above for publisher address). Yardages and things you will need to make the quilt are all outlined for you. My quilt will not look like theirs because my main fabric has the dullest purple one can use in home dec, and was given to me by the quilt shop owner who received it from someone requesting that a charity quilt be made of it. I have a responsibility to show it to our dear shop owner, and let her know how much it is appreciated.

Charity sewing and quilting is so much more than one person! And with me waking up this morning screaming with a cramp in my leg tells me I probably won't be able to quilt again this upcoming year unless a miracle happens to take the agony my combination fibromyalgia and calcium blood levels from parathyroid surgery a couple of years ago have left in their wake.

It's not always this bad. The cold weather set in this week, and my sweetie accidentally forgot how harsh it is on me when he conservatively turns down the heat. It has to be around 74 or 75, which is a little sweaty for most people, but it keeps the cramps at bay if I take what supplements I can that don't trigger allergies. Being a bubble lady is hard when it separates you from people you used to associate freely with.

Well, hopefully my industrious effort will result in some good things for shelter kids and others who need a warm blanket in the winter. Children are not at fault for what grievous things come to bear upon their parents. May God himself bless the beasts and the children, and all of you who wade through information that could be a tad boring.

Love,

becki

 

[techieny]

More Chocolate Covered Cherries Echo Log Cabin Quilt squares made this evening:

Scans 4, 5, and 6.

This is an easy fun, no-brainer quilt if you follow the instructions in Edie McGinnis' book, A Second Helping of Desserts (see above for publisher address). Yardages and things you will need to make the quilt are all outlined for you. My quilt will not look like theirs because my main fabric has the dullest purple one can use in home dec, and was given to me by the quilt shop owner who received it from someone requesting that a charity quilt be made of it. I have a responsibility to show it to our dear shop owner, and let her know how much it is appreciated.

Charity sewing and quilting is so much more than one person! And with me waking up this morning screaming with a cramp in my leg tells me I probably won't be able to quilt again this upcoming year unless a miracle happens to take the agony my combination fibromyalgia and calcium blood levels from parathyroid surgery a couple of years ago have left in their wake.

It's not always this bad. The cold weather set in this week, and my sweetie accidentally forgot how harsh it is on me when he conservatively turns down the heat. It has to be around 74 or 75, which is a little sweaty for most people, but it keeps the cramps at bay if I take what supplements I can that don't trigger allergies. Being a bubble lady is hard when it separates you from people you used to associate freely with.

Well, hopefully my industrious effort will result in some good things for shelter kids and others who need a warm blanket in the winter. Children are not at fault for what grievous things come to bear upon their parents. May God himself bless the beasts and the children, and all of you who wade through information that could be a tad boring.

Love,

becki

Love it!

 

[freedombecki]

More Chocolate Covered Cherries Echo Log Cabin Quilt squares made this evening:

Scans 4, 5, and 6.

This is an easy fun, no-brainer quilt if you follow the instructions in Edie McGinnis' book, A Second Helping of Desserts (see above for publisher address). Yardages and things you will need to make the quilt are all outlined for you. My quilt will not look like theirs because my main fabric has the dullest purple one can use in home dec, and was given to me by the quilt shop owner who received it from someone requesting that a charity quilt be made of it. I have a responsibility to show it to our dear shop owner, and let her know how much it is appreciated.

Charity sewing and quilting is so much more than one person! And with me waking up this morning screaming with a cramp in my leg tells me I probably won't be able to quilt again this upcoming year unless a miracle happens to take the agony my combination fibromyalgia and calcium blood levels from parathyroid surgery a couple of years ago have left in their wake.

It's not always this bad. The cold weather set in this week, and my sweetie accidentally forgot how harsh it is on me when he conservatively turns down the heat. It has to be around 74 or 75, which is a little sweaty for most people, but it keeps the cramps at bay if I take what supplements I can that don't trigger allergies. Being a bubble lady is hard when it separates you from people you used to associate freely with.

Well, hopefully my industrious effort will result in some good things for shelter kids and others who need a warm blanket in the winter. Children are not at fault for what grievous things come to bear upon their parents. May God himself bless the beasts and the children, and all of you who wade through information that could be a tad boring.

Love,

becki

Love it!

Thanks. I've been working on it in sets of 4 using at least a dozen or more different fabrics on each group, which have either a light or a dark in common for a layered effect, very popular in early American Log Cabin Quilts. I only have 8 more started to make the 24 squares in this little quilt.

For each of the ones shown below, 3 others were made in the last couple of days, for a total of 16 squares:

 

[freedombecki]

I'm happy to say, all 100 quilts have been turned in to the Charity Bee Quilter's closet as of Saturday. I took 6 more tops down (found another 3 in boxes from my years in business on Friday) for a total of 104 quilts to Charity Bees Quilter's closet. I was told they have quilted many of the quilts and been able to in turn be generous to the local needs of our community, and enabled them to do many charity projects. The three quilts I found that haven't been shown here were the result of selling sewing machines for 23 years, and the 2 had examples of machine embroidery that has been all the rage in the home sewing industry for the last 10 years--if people can afford the machines, that is. There is a way to do machine embroidery without the fancy trappings of a new machine, but people who took my classes wound up buying the machines anyway in more prosperous times.

The 3 quilts were a huge red-white-and-blue patriot's log cabin quilt made about the time we moved here. I added a piece of light colored patriotic shirting from the local shop here after either making the quilt here or bringing the squares here and joining them. The more I think about it, the more I think I may have made and assembled all the squares here. The centers seem to be a fabric I bought at the local shop my first week here. It was a red-dominated daisy 30s print, that's what I remember.

The second quilt had a lot of gold, green, and brown colors including several sunflowers, a scarecrow in a corn patch, pumpkins, etc., and the back fabric was a schoolbus golden yellow with pretty browns, sunflower yellows, and garden greens. I just ran into it and decided to let it go. I had a series of full-body cramps the other day from my fibromyalgia, and it was clear to me at that moment I probably won't be quilting any more large quilts.

The third quilt found was the cutest little redwork embroidered sunbonnet and southern girls with redwork lace and ruffles all over on white linen with red prints all over in a reasonably large enough quilt for a double bed. Maybe they will give it to a young girl in a shelter to comfort her or sell it to buy batting for a dozen quilts. And I hope whoever quilts it for someone else is blessed for taking on the project, and that the quilt does good in the community one way or another, even if it gives someone a little happiness that a pretty little redwork quilt can be. I went all out to make it that way when I pieced all the parts together.

Now, I can sew quilts for the rest of the year without having to be under the gun to get them all done. The year passed so quickly, it hardly seems like a year since I decided to go for the 100 quilts. Well, it may have been February while I was crocheting the bevy of dishrags to sell at the Charity Bees Bazaar in April. I did 60, with an average of 2 a day for 30 days. I figured they might be selling them all year long. hehehe

 

[freedombecki]

Finally! 24 squares are ready to put into a quilt!

Here we go with scans of the latest ones done:

 

[freedombecki]

And more scans ...

 

[freedombecki]

And this ought to do until the sashing and sets are done... hopefully by tomorrow. I have to get outside and enjoy a little sun today...

 

[pbel]

Funny you post cabin quilts and I posted Bunnyhop&#8217;s cabin LOL Your work and color schemes are right on...

 

[freedombecki]

Hi, pbel. I'll have to go take a look!

 

[freedombecki]

Lovely quilt pattern found at Canada Goose Designs this morning...

Time to bite the bullet and get back to finishing the Chocolate Cherries quilt...

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!
​

 

[freedombecki]

Joined 2 rows on the cherries chocolate quilt after making 2 more squares. Something just wasn't right about repeating squares that had repetitive rows. I'm really just too into charm quilts. (every fabric must be different) It's crazy because speed becomes nigh onto impossible until you've done a week's worth of cutting, separating, sorting, stacking, and finding one more clear plastic box to put stuff in that you cut. Then there's so much light and dark not to mention visual textures dyslexia the seam ripper becomes your constant personal buddy.

Oh, and with all that uber thinking, you can forget about doing things upside down, rinsed and repeated a couple of times in the week ahead.

God bless our dear country.

I spent the day finding American spiritual songs today. Our younger generation is leaving the churches sought by our founders, thinking they know a better way by not adopting puritan and family values, which will take society off a cliff one of these days when a childless America decimates itself through an absence of heirs and a proliferation of immigration equal to rescinded human babies to take up their empty chairs.