More on the Baltimore

As I mentioned in my previous post, there were quite a few unusual techniques used in the Baltimore Album quilt we viewed at the IQSC.  A couple of them were included in this block:

They are easier to see in the close-up below.  First, there is some sort of crocheted edge around the monument.  I believe it is emboidered directly on the quilt rather than couched, but it was difficult to tell.  The second thing we thought was interesting in this block was the piece of fabric with the spiral on it (I'm not sure exactly what to call it!).  It looked like the maker created this fabric herself, either by dyeing using a resist or bleaching in some manner.  I don't know too much about quilt history, but I don't think either technique was all that common in the mid-1800s.

There were also several blocks with flowers that were created from a single stuffed piece of fabric with embroidery used to form petals.  Here's one:

Notice also how the maker embroidered around the flowers and leaves.  Here's another example:

It was such a beautiful quilt!  I am looking forward to reproducing a couple of the blocks one of these days...

Baltimore on the Prairie

I just returned from a wonderful few days in Nebraska attending the Baltimore on the Prairie applique conference.  The adventure began with a trip to the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln where we were treated to a close-up look at one of the Baltimore album quilts in the museum's collection. 
















The curator told us that the quilt is believed to have been made for a Major Ringgold based on an inscription on one of the monuments in the quilt, and is dated 1847.  The quilt was obviously the work of several different people and includes several different names inked on various blocks. Apparently there is a large gap in provenance - very little is known about the quilt prior to the museum's acquisition.

There were some interesting and unusual tecniques used in some of the blocks.  A few were embroidered with very heavy threads, and there were some really unique dimensional flowers. Some were just simple but bold patterns - I particularly liked this block:

After our visit with the curator, we toured the museum's exhibits, which included some of the most interesting and intricate geometric designs I have ever seen!  There was one quilt that was a mosaic of a horse and rider that was composed of tiny squares - probably about 1/2" finished - and was nearly bed-sized!  I can't even imagine how the maker was able to get all of those pieces into their proper places!

After we left the museum, we visited Baker's Candies, an outlet store full of tasty chocolate meltaways in lots of different flavors.  We filled up on free samples (yum!) and purchased plenty of chocolaty souvenirs.  The milk chocolate mints were my favorite...

We stopped at The Quilted Moose on our way back to the lodge.  I found quite a few really nice batik FQs that I had to add to my collection.  I was so excited about shopping that I forgot to get a picture!

One of my favorite things about the conference venue is the wildlife.  We saw deer a couple of times during the week, and enjoyed watching a steady stream of hummingbirds at the feeders throughout our visit. I really loved seeing the turkeys at the seed feeders - they make a mess and waste a lot of food, but they are fun to watch!

My teacher for the conference class was Rita Verroca.  She was fantastic!  I will post more detail about the class and my project later.  One of the interesting ideas Rita shared with us was to laminate paper patterns to create templates. The laminated patterns are great for tracing around, and we experimented with the iron and found that they would hold up to the starch method for those that like a prepped edge.

I was particularly imnpressed by Rita's demonstration of inking. I don't know that I would ever be able to work up the nerve to use a permanent marker on my finished applique, but I loved the effect:    

Hmmm...writing about Baker's makes me hungry for chocolate! I think it's time for a snack!

Strip Exchanges

I am completely in love with Edyta Sitar's latest book, "Friendship Strips and Scraps".

The first quilt I fell for was the spools.  A few of my guild friends were also hooked, so we organized a strip exchange.  We're each cutting 40 1" strips and will mix them all up and return them to participants in November.

When we were up at Kinderhook a few weeks back, we saw another quilt from this book at The Hickory Stick in Hannibal, MO.  Of course we decided we needed to do that one, too...



We have a group of 13 people that are going to exchange smaller strips for this one.  We are combining batiks and prints for this exhange.  The quilt in the photo has Civil War reproductions, batiks, and miscellaneous other fabrics and is absolutely gorgeous.  We're going to trade these strips a bit sooner.  I can't wait to get started on this project!

New & Old

I was lucky to have the opportunity to spend a few hours here and there sewing at a friend's house last week.  Although I wasn't able to devote a lot of time to "retreating", I did make a bit of progress on a couple of blocks.  I tried my hand at back-basting on one of the Applique Affair blocks:

While I am happy with how the block turned out, I have pretty much convinced myself that back-basting is not for me!  It took far longer to trace the pattern onto the back of the fabric and baste everything than it would have to just trace freeer paper templates and trace the patterns onto my fabric.  And I didn't find that I could follow the thread holes (I had to "connect the dots" with a pencil), and I also didn't find that the fabric turned any better.  I'm glad that I gave it a serious try, but I think I will go back to my old way.

I also had a chance to finish up block one and prep block two of this year's BOW. It's a lot more involved than the little blocks were last year, but I am very happy with how it is turning out:

I also had a chance to spend time in the sewing room over the weekend, and even hooked with a friend on Saturday night.  More on that progress later...

State Fair

I actually got my act together in time to ship rugs to the Illinois State Fair this year! It is really a shame that more people don't participate. There weren't many hooked items this year. My rugs took 2nd and 3rd. First place went to a very nice fine-shaded rooster. We went up to the fair on Friday. It's been at least two years since we've attended.  We had a great time! 

It was difficult to get a good picture through the glass...

Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed that they both make it home safely!

Jury's Still Out

I finally had a chance to break out my new "toy" - the AccuQuilt Go! cutter I purchased in Paducah this year.  Luckily the die that came with the cuttter is exactly what I needed for the project I hope to start at a retreat later this week, so I set up the cutter, read the instructions, and gathered up my fabric. I couldn't wait to give it a try! 

I started by pre-cutting my fabrics - the die I am using has multiple shapes on it and not all will be cut from the same fabric.  The instructions recommend that you cut the fabric about an inch larger than the shape.  That bugged me a bit from the start - seems like a lot of waste - but I figured I would try it that way first before trying to cut back a little on the excess.  I loaded up the die with two layers of fabric (it says you can do up to six, but I thought I should start off with less) and ran it through.  Hmmm.  I had to use my scissors to cut the pieces loose in several spots.  I then repeated the exercise with various numbers of layers, from one to six, and had about the same results for each.  Perhaps it is the fabric I am using (Kaffe Fasset), but so far I can't say that I am exactly thrilled with the cutter's performance.  I suppose the real test will come in the sewing - if the precision of the pieces makes accurate sewing easier, maybe it's worth it. So far, however, I am thinking that it would be easier and less wasteful to just cut the pieces the "old-fashioned" way!

Determination

It's been a while since I posted...  I have been crazy busy lately!  Not much time for sewing or hooking, with the exception of this past weekend when I had a wonderful opportunity to retreat at a friend's house.  I started on a new project, so a lot of my time was spent cutting, but I did manage to get 18 of the 100 blocks completed.  I forgot to take a picture, but here's one of the quilt from the Thangles site:

I purchased the pattern and fabric the first year it was displayed at Paducah.  I found the receipt for the fabric in the bag - it was 2006.  I've been wanting to start it for a long time, so it was really fun to finally get it going.

Starting this quilt was actually part of a two-year plan - a plan that involves having at least four quilts ready by the time of our guild's next quilt show (June 2013).  We just finished with this year's show and sadly I had absolutely nothing to show for the past two years!  We usually allow each member to have up to four quilts in the show, and I am determined to have four of my own in next time.  Never mind that I have never had more than one in the past...