Reproduction of a Reproduction Quilt - Part 2

Hello, Friends!

Today I'll wrap up my story about my 

Aunt Grace Through the Year quilt.

Quilts, actually.

I loved this one so much that I made it twice.

You can read about the first quilt here,

and the second one here.

Do you love chain piecing?

{Thank you, Eleanor Burns, for teaching me how!

My mom doesn't even sew, but she went with me to a

Log Cabin Quilt in a Day class when I was in college.
To this day, I use lots of the information I learned from that class!}

Here's the heap of Dresden blades I made,

using chain piecing.

Never fear...here's how they look when they're untangled!

Here's my happy place...

stitching the prepared blades into pairs.

The plates look positively yummy in a stack.

They're super sweet when they're fanned out, too.

Each plate represented one calendar month.

Fortunately they don't take nearly a month to create!

I fussy cut the center circles, to show off the theme for each month.

My sewing machine has a great blanket stitch

for the applique step.

I chose to use neutral thread for every block.

I hope I'll make another Dresden quilt someday...

if only to take the glamour shots using a pretty cake plate!

I think that's my favorite subject to photograph!

If you liked this quilt, you might also enjoy

the post about my Winter Dresden Quilt being stitched together...

and the post about the finished Winter Dresden Quilt.

Stop by again any time!

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Reproduction of a Reproduction Quilt - Part 1

Hello, Friends!

Today I'm sharing a story

about a quilt I made a long time ago,

relatively speaking...back in 2003...

using reproduction fabrics called

Aunt Grace Through the Year.

I posted about my Aunt Grace quilt here,

and one of my readers contacted me to ask

if I could reproduce my own quilt for her.

She had all of the required fabrics...

she'd saved them with the intent of making her own quilt.

She decided she would love to have me create a new quilt for her, 

just like the one I'd shown on my blog.

I agreed to this arrangement,

because I really loved making this quilt the first time around.

Having those exact prints available

made it easy...no scavenger hunting to find OOP and rare fabrics.

This was an unusual challenge...

I had a few things to overcome, as I made this version.

1.

I didn't have a pattern for my first Aunt Grace quilt!

It took some "trial and error", but

eventually I was able to make my template

for the little Dresden plates,

so that they would finish at the proper size.

2.

My first quilt was hand-quilted...by me.

Initially, we had agreed that I would hand-quilt

this one as well.

Oh, boy...what a difference 13 years makes!

I tried to hand-quilt this, but I seem to have

lost my knack somehow!

I.Could.Not.Do.It.

I looked at the 2003 quilt and could barely

believe that I'd done all of that quilting by hand.

Now, in 2016...I couldn't seem to get that needle through all of the layers,

no matter what tools and needles I tried.

There had to be a solution...

here I was with this nice quilt top,

and it just cried out for me to machine quilt it.

We agreed to this drastic change in plans...

and in practically no time, 
I was finished with the machine quilting.

I have to say that I can't decide which one I love most.

The hand-quilted one is wonderful for sentimental reasons.

It reminds me of a place in my creativity where I used to be...

and will probably not be able to visit again,

except through projects like this one.

I get an equivalent sense of pride from the newer,

machine-quilted one.

Thirteen years ago, I could never have made THIS one.

I'm happy that my friend Kathy reached out to me,

to see if I might travel back in time

to recreate a quilt I've loved for a long time.

It was super sweet of her to let me

put a little bit of 2016 into this reproduction quilt, too!

I plan to put up another post soon,
with some photos of the making of the new version.
I think you'll enjoy them...here's a taste!

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Out to Pasture and the Patchwork Pumpkin Blocks

Hello, Friends,

and welcome back to the Farm Girl Vintage sew along!

The two blocks I'm showing today were quite a pair!

The first one had just a few pieces and went together

lickety-split, using a partial seam technique.

For my version of Out to Pasture,

I fussy-cut some cherries and berries.

The fabrics in this block are almost all from Lori Holt's Bake Sale line,
but the red floral at the bottom is American Jane' Fresh Air.

So that block was very quick and easy.

However...

the Patchwork Pumpkin block called for 30 different scraps

of ORANGE fabrics.

Hmmm...I don't have orangeaphobia any more, 

but I don't have that many orange prints!

I just used 3 or 4 of each of my orange fabrics.

I highly recommend taking a photo of the layout,

once you've devoted all that time to making it look random.

I only mention that advice because...

mine fell off of the table, and I had to start all over again!

There was a lot of giggling when it happened...

and no bad words flew out of my mouth either.

It was just tooooooooo funny!

{Even my cute mini design board couldn't hang onto all those squares!}

Oh, well...at least it's really kind of fun to arrange all of the squares.

Here's my pumpkin, all made up.

I.Love.This!

I wonder what I can make with this sweet pumpkin.

I think I might make another one, in the 12 1/2" size,

and create a gorgeous pillow for fall.

Stop by again, for more sew along fun!

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Mama Hen and Milking Day Blocks

I hope you are enjoying the Farm Girl Vintage

sew along as much as I am!

Sweet blocks and quilts are all over Instagram

and the blogging world.

I made a great big giant Baby Chick block

that I'm not really liking (in the 12 1/2" size).

It's so big that I can't really get a great photo of it.

The little heart in the corner is sweet, though.

I'm happy to say that the Mama Hen block really pleased me,

when I made it up as a 6 1/2" square.

I LOVE the colors and prints together.

I decided not to embroider the eye,

because she just looks finished to me.

She looks so smart and sophisticated in her glamour shot.

The next block in the book was just as much fun to make...

Milking Day!

I loved choosing some favorite fabrics from my stash.

The milk can is a fun symbol of vintage farm life.

Please come back soon for more Farm Girl Vintage fun!

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Haystack, Kettle's On, and Kitchen Window Blocks

Here we go, with some more finished blocks

from the Farm Girl Vintage sew along!

The first one I'm showing today was fun and easy to make:

Haystack.

{I think it's constructed just like the traditional block called Courthouse Steps.}

I chose all my prints with similar values,

but the center block is actually a bit lighter than the others.

I really love those tiny spatulas in that fabric!

The next block in Farm Girl Vintage is called Kettle's On!

I love my tea every morning,

so I looked forward to stitching this pretty block.

It was fun to make a yellow spout and lid,

topped off with a little red knob. I love the aqua kettle, too.

Next up was the block called Kitchen Window.

I've been using navy fabric as a "zinger"

for my blocks, so I used the dark fabric for my window frame.

The fabrics in the "window" glow like it's nighttime.

I'm really having fun blending all my 30's style prints,

to make some fresh new blocks with a vintage vibe.

Be sure to come back soon and often, to see more!

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Farm Girl Vintage - Out of Order!

Are you following the

Farm Girl Vintage Sew Along?

I found it irresistible,

and although I arrived a little late to the party,

I'm all caught up now!

Here's a glimpse of how my blocks are coming along...

This week's featured blocks were just so much fun!

They are both so All-American...

starting with Old Glory.

The book recommends making a scrappy

little yellow star,

using 5 different yellow prints.

Look how cute mine came out!!!

{True confession: my first thought was, "I'm not doin' that."}

I'm so glad I changed my mind,

when I noticed I had plenty of pretty yellow fabrics

right there on my dining room table, where I sew.

This little flag block went together quickly.

In no time, I was finished with that one.

I turned my attention to the Old Red Barn Block.

I have to say...the quarter-square triangle block

was super easy and lots of fun to make.

I think I might make something with a whole bunch

 of those blocks.

They make a cute barn door.

I took my blocks outside for a photo shoot.

Relax. Those aren't real cherries!

And these aren't real cherries either...

Have you found me on Instagram?

Sometimes I put my blocks up over there

as soon as they are finished.

But don't forget to come back here to my blog again,

for details and more photos!

I'll be catching up on some earlier blocks

from Farm Girl Vintage, over the next few weeks,

while I continue with the sew along.

Come back often!

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