Baltimore block 13

Block 13 finished of my Baltimore Album applique quilt ...only 12 to go...gulp. But that means over half way which sounds OK doesn't it? (I won't mention the border...)

From this...

To this...

The pattern packs that I have used consist of collections of blocks copied from a variety of quilts. Some of the original blocks on these quilts had embroidery - to highlight or add detail - and I have been tempted to add some too - maybe eyes on the bird, that sort of thing. But on the other hand I rather like the simplicity of  the plain applique...not sure yet.

'Patchwork of the Crosses' - getting ready for machine quilting:

Taping down the backing

The "sandwich"

Ready to pin

All secure in a sea of pins

Ready to sew

I would love to have hand-appliqued this quilt but arthritis in my hands does not allow. I'm planning on something simple by machine, around the hexagons, to highlight/outline the blocks and fussy cut shapes.

And here is a future project - medallion quilt - starting the planning... mmm...gorgeous chintz for a centre !?

Seeing red...

Last post I showed a finished border of red stars on my version of the Burnt quilt, and this time I have finished the red Baltimore basket block that I had started.

Not a great deal of progress since last post so I thought I'd show some more of my older work - along the theme of  "Red". 

This is my son's 18th birthday bed quilt, which I finished early this year. It is machine foundation-pieced (pineapple block) in his choice of fabrics, with a plain dark blue backing, and machine quilted in the ditch. 

This is the Mariner's Compass quilt that I also machine quilted, and have shown before - lots of red in that one!

This is a Crazy quilt that I made about 5 years ago aiming to feature much loved Liberty lawns, and some vintage doilies that I had collected. The doilies were all other people's lovely handwork, not mine, but a lot were stained/ damaged so it didn't feel too wicked to cut them up and give them a "new" life (not easy to make those cuts though!). There's a bit of a crazy mix of machine and hand quilting there too.

A few of the blocks up close

So - lots of different "Reds" covered there !? 

                 And now for this... 

"What on earth .." you may ask? That is the beginning of my next Baltimore applique block - and not looking like anything at all at the moment. Note there is not a bit of red on it ...not yet anyway!

Seeing stars...

Have just finished the applique of all the stars on my inner Burnt Quilt border...hence am seeing stars!

 They were  English paper pieced first, pressed, papers removed, and appliqued down. I should have done the applique before adding the other borders - made it awkward to manage with armfuls of fabric to turn, but we live and learn! A few of the stars up close...

They are great fun to make and I enjoyed making dozens of them in the Folk Art Basket quilt (Karen Cunningham class ) shown in an earlier post. Here are some of the stars on it 

Thanks to some lovely, encouraging comments on my Baltimore post (no pressure though LOL) I have started another block and this is progress so far on a basket 

THE FRONT

THE BACK

A bit messy but you can see how it gradually comes together with back basting, and marking only on the back of the fabric. I spend quite a while dithering about deciding on which green to use  - so have used a few different ones in these blocks , and am now trying to ensure there is a balance of the different greens across all the blocks, so they will look OK together. I don't seem to have the same trouble deciding on reds... maybe there are just less red choices?

The Burnt Quilt

I have been working on The Burnt Quilt aka "Oh dear, Mrs Tompkins" (Di Ford's lovely reproduction pattern ) - using the Dutch chintz central panel in the centre. I am also using a small stash of Dutch chintz florals in the big stars, though I hate chopping them up.

 If you know the pattern, you might see I have avoided doing the tricky inner borders by replacing them with appliqued red stars (fun to do with English paper piecing) . That is what I am working on at the moment.

Below is the fabric for the outer border - sensing a theme here - Dutch chintz again. 

For the feature square blocks where applique or broderie perse is suggested in the pattern, I took the opportunity  to feature squares of favourite old florals  ( or, reading between the lines there, maybe I took the easier option!?). Here are some of them - seriously lovely fabrics...

Baltimore Album

I don't know about you but I never tire of looking at Baltimore Album quilts. A couple of years ago I bought these wonderful pattern packs from the US :

I admired them (and drooled over them) for quite a while before deciding I'd actually make one. 

The blocks in each pack are much the same size so I have pulled blocks from each and bit by bit stitched a few. Here they are so far on my 'design wall' (grand name for a bit of wadding pinned to a pine rod ?)  

Feeling a bit lot guilty that they look so wrinkly and neglected up there. So I got them down, gave them an iron, cropped some photos, and ...hey presto - here are a few of them looking a bit better now :

I have tried different ways to hand applique over the years and, like many others, have had some sad, sad experiences with markers. Nothing new to a lot of you I know, but the method I use now for fiddly work is the template-free Back-Basting. I love the fact there is no glue and no marking the front of the work, and that the pieces stay put for accuracy. A great tutorial is available at the link. It was a moment of enlightenment when I discovered this method when trawling blogs...thank you generous bloggers!

Sarah Morrell Quilt

Hi again,
My daughter has kindly created a new Blog Header (name and picture) for me as I was already tired of seeing my name up there - hehe. Coming up with a name was not easy - there are so many good ones out there already in use! Hopefully we have not stepped on any toes with this one...just wanted to keep it simple.

The picture is a photo of my version of Di Ford's beautiful pattern - the Morrell Quilt. For me this is the kind of quilt you do as a culmination of all skills honed over many years and I found it quite challenging. Hence the odd wobbly block and uneven quilting. But hey, as they say,  it is rustic and clearly home made, and I do love the design !

I bought the pattern on line and then worked out how to make it in a way that suited me (and my limited skills). Thanks to so many bloggers who shared their experiences with this quilt online. The "skills" that I used included:

• Foundation Paper Piecing by hand or machine  - a wonderfully useful technique for precise piecing. Thanks to great teaching in classes with Chris Jurd I have since found I can  apply this to other patterns.
• English Paper Piecing - am now in withdrawal if I don't do some of this every  week  every day
• Fussy cutting - ditto.
• Hand applique and Broderie perse - love doing them both.
• Machine quilting - that was a steep learning curve that started with classes with Deborah Louie, and still needs practise, practise, practise!

Here are one or two block close ups - some a bit distorted by the angle of the photos, sorry, as it is hanging on the wall in my family room ...

Patchwork of the Crosses

I have three quilts I'm working on at the moment ( taking up way too much room around the house ) and lots more I'd like to start of course...

My reproduction version of Lucy Boston's Patchwork of the Crosses is close to a finish. The top is done - and I have selected backing, binding and bought the wadding...

Here are some photos of the individual blocks:

This blogging is slow going for me at the moment (steep learning curve for the not-so-computer-savvy) so that is all for now. Back soon...