It's Been a Long Time

Our quilt guild has a challenge along with our annual quilt show each year.  This year the subject is Michigan.  We were to do a 20 x 24 hanging of a Michigan scene and each participant received a piece of gray fabric to use as a road that was to be across their piece some place.  The pieces will be hung with the roads touching.  This is my scene that I call Michigan Tree Farms.  My inspiration was a poster I saw on the internet. 

Some Very Old Wallhangings

It's been a long time since I posted on this blog.  Earlier this month, I took some pictures and did a post on Funoldhag about two very old wallhangings - clear back into the late 70's.  This would have been my first one and it is put together with a back and batting but not actually quilted.  I saw a similar picture in a magazine and liked it so this is my take on that picture.  Wow, the fabric we had to choose from back in those days was very limited, and my satin stitching did become much better over the years.  However, I do think this is kind of cute and it did hang in my kitchen in Overland Park for quite awhile. 

My satin stitching has improved here and I hand quilted this little hanging.  In several of my early pieces, I used cotton sateen and the quilting looks so pretty making shiny little indentations in the fabric.  Two of the blocks were from one of the first books I ever bought and no longer have.  

My YoYo Bedcovering

Back in the early 1990's, my sister, Jo, who was in Illinois, was very ill.  She was a woman who also loved to make things and was so vital and energetic all her life.  She started making yoyos since it was good handwork for someone not able to be as active.  After I went to visit her one time, I came home and cut lots and lots of circles from my stash and sent them to her to play with.  That got me to doing yoyos, too, and this is the result.  In this picture there are also three teddies I made back when teddies were the craze.  They even have wooden joints.  The little pillow was made by my youngest granddaughter in home ec in junior high.  I don't think they call it that anymore.  The bigger pillow is one that I hand appliqued and quilted.

Close up of yoyos. I put it together as a grandmother's flower garden and used all scraps that I had.  I did lots of quilting with blues!

I think there are 1184 yoyos in this - I am certain there are over 1100.  It is very heavy, also, and very pretty.

Black Magic

This is Black Magic - done ten or more years ago and the last quilt that I hand quilted.  The background fabric is a lovely tone on tone black that I bought in Arcola, Illinois.  Based on a pattern in a magazine, I used oriental fabrics with highlights of gold in each in the blocks that are the drunkard's path pattern. 

The border was found in another magazine and the leaves are  machine buttonhole appliqued with a fancy stitch as the vine.  The flowers are hand appliqued.

I hand appliqued the drunkard path pieces and quilted it in gold thread.   Although not very big, it is one of my favorites.  (Click to enlarge)

Choo Choo Train Quilt

I will be a great grandmother for the first time and the little sweet boy is due on my 83rd birthday, which is so nice to think about but I will be happy whenever he arrives.  This is a quilt I made for him - his great grandpa worked for the Santa Fe and over all our married life had an HO model railroad layout.  When we were living in the Kansas City area, the layout was very big and our first granddaughter (the pregnant one) used to be in the basement with her grandpa playing trains.  I knew the minute I saw this that I would make it.  I had drafted up the pattern as this was from a special Fons and Porter magazine of baby quilts which was several years old and I could not find it.  Before I started the piece, however, one of the girls in the quilt guild pulled this out of the magazines brought in for our quilt show bazaar so, presto, I had the complete pattern.  I did, however, add the smoke which I thought the engine needed.

Closeups of some of the rolling stock on this little railroad.

Norah and her grandpa playing train.

She stands by the little town at the end of the layout.  The little church had a cemetery behind it.  My husband built all the little buildings from kits.  He so loved doing that.  I'm sure you can see why the train quilt seemed perfect to me. (Click to enlarge)

Carol's Linda Star

A paper pieced star in a class taught by Linda, a member of our guild and an incredible paper piecer and designer.  One of my favorite wall hangings.

A Christmas Wallhanging

The pattern for this wallhanging came from Quiltmaker magazine two years ago.  I had most of the batiks in my stash.   This now hangs in my daughter's home at Christmas time.  A favorite of mine.  (Click to enlarge)