A quilt every few days or so #20

This is a quilt that is not finished - and will be someday - I promise! It is our "Going to Washington" quilt. We moved to Washington in March 2001 to be here so we could participate in the preparations for Beccy and Jason's wedding in October. I sewed Beccy's dress and we helped plan and put on the wedding along with Jason's family.

I wanted to make a quilt to commerate moving to Washington. I started sketching ideas and making blocks. As I tell about each block, it is not necessarily in the order that the blocks were made.

This block is the centerpiece of the quilt - it has Mt. Baker in the background, Lummi Island and Bellingham Bay. Again flying geese, this time in a circle - I do love making flying geese.


This is a map of the Bellingham area, copied from a map atlas book. I even used similar colors to what is in a map book. I will eventually mark where Bellingham is and perhaps the names of each of the San Juan Islands. It is in one piece - but I took two photos fo it to get good close ups of the islands.





One of the borders will be embroidered wild flowers from Washington - I look for photos of wild flowers, or real flowers and make sketches and then embroider them. I plan for this flower border to encircle the entire quilt . . .

Close up of some of the embroidered wild flowers . . .

Of course any Washington quilt must have bald eagles and I paper pieced two of them - then decided that I didn't care for the sharpness. So I removed all the blue and kept just the eagle part - and appliqued it to blue sky fabric.

I made two of them - and appliqued them to a dead tree. I tried four times to get the right look with dark fabric, finally turning a black fabric to the wrong side and using the grey color for the dead tree - it came out the perfect color.

This is a partial layout - just an idea of how I might start putting the blocks together. . .

Next I started making Mariner's Compass blocks . . .

Many of them . . .

Many patterns, many designs . . .

This is the largest one - and has over 100 pieces - the smallest piece is about 1/2" triangle . . .

Then I decided that I can't use the Mariner's Compasses because they are all on a white background - and what I want is for them to float around the center of the quilt, so I have to remake them with a blue background that matches the background of the eagle block. . .

Most of the MC blocks are from Judy Neimeyer's books - wonderful instructions and patterns . . .

I thought that a rope border would be perfect for the last border - and I fiddled with Drunkard's Patch blocks until I got them to come out looking like a rope. I had to elongate part of the block and shorten other parts.

Close up of the rope border . . .

There will be more blocks - as soon as I think of them - ideas of Washington . . .

A quilt every few days or so #19

Years ago, when we were living in Wisconsin, we came across a quilt in the trunk of Don's aunt's car. It was used for covering stuff in the trunk - or wrapping breakables - just an old quilt the aunts made. We asked if we might have it and Aunt Mary replied - "oh you don't want that old thing". Oh yes we do!!!!! And so she gave it to us - wondering what we would want with such a piece of junk.

The fabrics are from the Civil War era - and we are guessing that the quilt was made in the late 1800s or very early 1900s. Don's aunts were sisters that never married. They inherited a portion of their parents' farm and received a pension from their brother (Don's grandfather), who ran the farm after their parents were no longer able to.


The quilt was very old and worn - some of the pieces had completely disintegrated from the dyes eating up the fabric. Dyes were often made with metals to get their color and the browns were the worst for destroying the fabric.

Great Aunt Ella, Don's grandfather, Frank and Great Aunt Clara - as young children . . .

Don with his great aunts Ella and Clara . . . they adored him . . .


Don with his grandfather - one of my all time favorite photographs . . .

Great Aunt Clara as a young woman (look at that waist and the high collar) . . .

Don's grandfather, as a young farmer. He wanted, more than anything, to go to college and become a teacher, but duty bound him to taking over the farm and supporting his parents and sisters. . .

Aunt Ella

The great aunts lived together in a house in town, and were quite eccentric. At one time they had a spat and decided to divide the house in two, putting a line of tape down the middle - and neither could enter the others one's half. The bathroom was on Clara's side of the house so Aunt Ella had to have a door built into the bathroom so she could go out her door and enter the bathroom through the new door.

Ella was a seamstress and made a small living at sewing clothes. For a week or two each season she would also go to her brother Frank's house and sew new clothes for his three daughters. One of the daughters (Don's Aunt Mary) tells the story of the yellow dresses that Ella made for them. All three girls received brand new yellow dresses. As one of the sisters outgrew the yellow dress it was handed down. So Aunt Mary had her yellow dress, then her sister Irene's dress (Don's mother) and finally her sister Dorothy's dress, She was the youngest girl, and she said by the time she had outgrown the last yellow dress she was so sick of yellow that she swore she would never wear that color dress again - and she never did.

Ella and Clara in their later years . . .

Clara once entered a contest to sell the most subscriptions to the local newspaper - the prize being a brand new car. The problem was, Clara did not know how to drive. But she persisted and sold the most subscriptions and won the car. She then took driving lessons and learned to drive her wonderful car.

Oh - I'm back now, from that jaunt down memory lane . . .

Click on the photo to enlarge and see the damage to the fabrics - we can no longer use the quilt - it is simply displayed from time to time in our home . . .

I love the quilt, the fabrics and the memories of Don's family and decided that I wanted to reproduce the quilt. I searched for three years for the pink fabric. I found the white with red pin dots after a two year search. It is a fabric that comes into fashion and then disappears for a while. When Beccy was about two I made her a dress from the white/red pin dot fabric.

I found the pink on a website for searching for old fabrics. A quilt shop had 4 yards of it in the back room - a discontinued fabric - and I bought all of it, at a very reasonable price. The other fabrics I bought from Civil War Reproductions - some I traded my hand painted fabrics for, with other quilters, until I had enough to make the quilt. I used Civil War Shirting reproductions for the light fabrics in the fly geese. I received many of the shirtings in trade with our dear friend Deb, who passed away recently. I love that I have her fabrics in the quilt.

When I started making the quilt I discovered that there were not the same number of flying geese in each strip. I counted each row and averaged the number of flying geese and stuck with that number. The old quilt had been hand pieced from fabrics that must have come from remnantsof clothes Ella made, and old worn out pajamas, dresses and aprons.

The quilting in the old quilt was a wide "V" - going up and down with the points of the flying geese, but not always hitting them squarely. Since my quilt had the same number of flying geese in each row I was able to hand quilt the wide "V" evenly. making it hit the tops of the flying geese in a nice pattern.

The old quilt on the left and the new quilt on the right (before it was bound). I think they came out suprisingly similar. The new quilt was a gift to Bec and Jason and Ben one Christmas and it is used and loved in their family.

Our sweet little Ben playing on the quilt . . .

A quilt every few days or so #18

After our first grandson, Ben, was born I just couldn't stop making quilts for him. I found this darling teddy bear fabric and thought it was just the thing for a sweet little boy. The star cornerstones are a favorite with me for putting blocks together.

The teddy bears are having picnics - oh so cute . . .

Ben, testing out the quilt in a warm, sunshiny window. . .

A quilt every few days or so #17

And now - two of the quilts made from those swap blocks from the last post. For review - two yahoo groups of Washington quilters that I belong to, have a swap every year of blocks that remind us of Washington. I have participated in this swap for almost 10 years. Each year we make our blocks and send them to a central location, where they are swapped and sent back to us. We can make anywhere from 5 to 35 blocks, and however many we make -that is how many we receive back. The most I've made of any one block is 35, but usually Istick to about 10. It has been fun to see what can be translated as being "Washington".

The first quilt top I made with WA swap blocks. So many clever ideas about what represents Washington . . .

I wanted a different setting for the second quilt, so picked this Attic Windows setting for the next WA quilt. I think blue is the perfect setting for these blocks.

I have enough blocks to make a third quilt, and then all of our kids will have a Washington quilt - someday, when I'm ready to give them up. Right now these two tops are at Julie's, waiting their turn to be quilted.

I haven't decided on the setting for the third quilt - do you have any great ideas for the setting?

A quilt every few days or so #15

More quilt blocks - all made for the Washington theme swap . . .

One of my favorite blocks - a version of Sunbonnet Sue (which I love) - and a good version for our rainy climate. Some day I plan to make a bed quilt of this block - for our winter quilt, since we get so much rain each winter. Don't you think that is perfect for Washington?

A paper pieced lighthouse block . . .

I designed this hummingbird drinking from a fuchsia flower . . .

And what could be more Washington than daffodils? (paper pieced)

Or whales diving - these are two different blocks . . .

And let's not forget all the camping in Washington . . . this block is paper pieced also

(Happy Birthday to me - Happy Birthday to me)

A quilt every few days or so #14

Back to Kansas. When we lived there I wanted to make the kids a quilt that they could take outdoors in the grassy fields for picnics and games. I found a quilting magazine with the pattern for this quilt and had such fun making it. It was a christmas present for them the first year we lived in Kansas. It got plenty of use outdoors. It is machine appliqued through all three layers of the quilt, to make it extra sturdy.

About 20 years later a friend was getting rid of some quilting magazines and offered them to me. Right on top of the stack was the same magazine (which I no longer had) with the country roads quilt on the cover. I was thrilled - though had no specific plans for making the quilt again, I surely wanted that magazine.

Moving ahead in time another 15 years or so - and I wanted to make a quilt for our grandson Jahn, for his 7th birthday. He was too old for a "baby" quilt - but too young for a quilt made of just blocks. I pondered and pondered and one day Don suggested that I make a quilt like I had made for our kids in Kansas - brilliant man!!!

Jahn - holding a matchbox car that he has been driving around on the quilt . . .

Jahn's dad is very interested in Big Foot - so of course I had to make a "little" bigfoot on the quilt

I hunted for fabrics near the same colors and even found backing fabric that was quite similar - a dark reddish brown with small print.

Jahn opening the quilt at his birthday party. . .

And then I couldn't wait to make a country road quilt for Ben for his birthday the next December. This time I kept the magazine - just in case I need to make another.

A quilt every few days or so #13

A group of quilters that I belonged to makes comfort quilts for members of the group. Each person that can, makes a block called Jacob's Heart. It is like those woven paper hearts we used to make in school. We make the blocks in colors and fabrics that are favorites of the recipient.

The quilts are for new babies, new grandbabies, new homes - and also for comfort when family members pass on, or for surgeries or health problems - whenever it seems appropriate to send a quilt full of hugs to a member.

One person volunteers to assemble the quilt top, another volunteers the machine quilting - and other donate money or supplies needed to finish the quilt.

I volunteered to make three tops - out of the many that have been made.


The first one I put together was for my friend Vicki - after one of her daughters was in an extremely serious car accident. Her favorite color, as you can guess - is blue - and I had a great time putting this top together for her.

Using a different setting, I made this top also . . . from Batik blocks that members of the group sent me . . .

The last quilt top I made - this one we did in scrappy. I like the way the corners came out looking like butterflies.

When we bought our new house two years ago I received this quilt - done in my favorite fabrics - 30s reproductions. The quilts bring comfort and hugs from quilting friends.

A quilt every few days or so #12 - and Happy International Quilting Day

Today is National Quilting Day - and in honor of the bloggers/quilters around the world I declare it International Quilting Day - so what are you making this fine day?

And now to the quilts . . .

This story started many years ago - when I was first on the internet - over 15 years ago, in Northern California. I was part of a quilting group on Prodigy - it was one of the best groups I've been involved with. We chatted, had swaps and became great friends. My best online quilting buddy was from that group.

We decided to do a challenge quilt. Each month one of us would pick a 12" pattern and then everyone who wanted to would make the block that month in their favorite colors. I decided to make mine in yellows and golds - and thoroughly enjoyed the project. After a year of making blocks we were to put them together - any way we chose. I like to make sashing and cornerstone stars - so that was my choice. I like this photo because of the light shining through the quilt top - makes it look like stained glass.

Close up of some of the blocks . . .

Beccy and Lori - helping me baste the quilt top for hand quilting. This was on a lovely summer day when we lived in the country (in Bellingham), before we bought our new house. All the kids were visiting and we had a barbecue and basted two quilt tops that day. Jamie was there helping too - but I didn't get a photo of her at the quilts.

I did, however, get this cute picture of Jamie playing with Ben . . .