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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Aunt Grace Quilt Through the Years

I have a confession to make...

although in recent years I've been creating

mostly modern projects,

I've got a soft spot in my heart for 1930's fabrics

and reproductions.

{You already know how much I adore Dresden Plate quilts, 

if you've seen my Winter Dresden quilt.}

Back in 2003 Marcus Brothers

released a line of Judie Rothermel fabrics

called Aunt Grace Through the Year.

Three prints reflected a theme for each month in the calendar year.

I made this quilt, called Grandma's Collection

as part of a Marcus Brothers challenge in 2003.

{I've never gone to New York City, but my quilt has been there!}

I didn't win any prizes there, but back home,

I collected a couple of ribbons at local quilt shows.

:)

I used every print in the line,

making one machine appliqued Dresden plate for each month.  

The border used square patches, in calendar order.

I hand-quilted the whole thing, in traditional patterns.

I added in solid fabrics in colors that were popular in the 1930's.

{My favorite is "that green" for the border.}

Come with me as we go

Through the Year with Aunt Grace...

starting with January.

There's a cute little skiing bear,

with children playing in the snow and icy blue flowers.

February features conversation hearts and lots of pink and red.

March is the month for shamrocks in emerald green.

Since April often brings Easter,

the prints boast sweet Easter eggs and bunnies.

May flowers are plentiful in these adorable prints.

June brides and weddings are represented in this set.

I think July is fabulous,

with patriotic stripes, flowers and Uncle Sam hats!

August is vacation time for our family...

here are some sandy scenes and beautiful beach umbrellas just for fun.

September means back-to-school,

and these cute prints make it easier to say goodbye to summer.

October glows with vintage Halloween prints...my favorites!

November celebrates harvest time with

an adorable scarecrow, acorns and leaves.

December brings Christmas, with beautiful candles

and a classic Santa Claus print.

Did you know that Judie Rothermel

is celebrating 25 Years as a quilt fabric designer?

Marcus Brothers is hosting another challenge,

 in her honor.

I still have a lot of fabric left from this line...

I think I'm going to make a "new" quilt to honor Judie Rothermel

in my own way!

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Zakka Style Itty Bitty Quilt Block Magnets

Are you still sewing along with Zakka Style?

I am...can't believe I'm keeping up

with this pace, but it's so much fun!

{Come along with us...details are at LRStitched!}

This week I made something that I'm keeping

for myself!

{All of my other Zakka Style projects have been listed for sale in my shop on Etsy, eamylove.}

They really ARE Itty Bitty Quilt Block Magnets! 

They finish at only 1 1/2" square!

This chapter's contributor is Nova Flitter,

who blogs at acuppaandacatchup.com.

Go and say hello to her lovely posts!

Adrienne of Little Bluebell  - another beautiful blog - 

has her own version posted this week for the Sew Along.

She has some great tips for this project!

{I'm going to give you my tips, too!}

One of the coolest things about this project is 

that you barely need any linen at all.  

Here is the scrap I used.  

I actually had enough to make all 6 magnets from this little bit!

{I actually considered...briefly...throwing this irregular bit away!  OMGosh!!!}

I cut all my linen pieces out first.

I used my favorite...100% European linen in Oatmeal.

{CONFESSION:  I cut my pieces for the triangles a tiny bit larger than the directions, 

rounding up to the nearest 1/4".  

That allowed me to cut the HST's to the perfect size when I squared them up.}

Next I cut all of my prints...

I kept them organized, in little stacks,

one for each block.

{I used coordinates from my Winter Dresden Quilts project...still a WIP, but coming along.

The gingham is from Strawberry Fields by Fig Tree Quilts.  The floral is from Martinique by 3 Sisters, and on the back I used one of my Winter scraps from Minick and Simpson for Moda.}

The BEST tip from both Nova and Adrienne was to shorten the stitch length.

It made it so much easier to stitch without the wee blocks shooting through my sewing machine.  

I squared up my pieces everytime I could...

BEFORE finishing each block, and AFTER.

{I LOVE this tiny block!}

Here they are, all done.

They were actually pretty perfect!

I was having fun now!!!

{They are not quite flat in this photo.}

You know me...I use Pellon 987F Fusible Fleece by the bolt.

I diverged a bit from the instructions and used that, instead of regular batting.

I thought the blocks looked very sweet the way they were, 

so I did not do the quilting, as the book suggested.

{I can't believe I'm admitting this...I thought about leaving this block out, 

because I didn't feel like  printing out a paper-piecing template.  

Turns out you don't need one!

And this one is now my very favorite one of all.

And it was THE MOST FUN to stitch!}

When it was time to turn the teeny blocks

right side out, I was sooooo glad I'd used the fusible fleece!

It helped to hold my little stitches in place

during this stressful process.

I used Darice Super Strong Ceramic Magnets

inside my blocks.  I found them at a local crafts store.

{I listened to the good advice to make sure the magnets were positioned correctly, 

so they would stick to the refrigerator!}

I love them so much...

{They are as sweet as a dessert!}

Go ahead...try them!

{But these ones are mine!}

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