Erica's Stitches

It's finally finished - my "make do" quilt. 20 old polka dot nine patches. 3 old Dresden plate blocks cut up into Dresden fans. And 4 new butterfly blocks to complete the quilts. One pieced backing of leftover fabric. I had to buy the batting.  I should have used 30's fabric scraps for the binding but I wanted a black binding so I ended up buying that too. I think the result was worth it. Usually, this is when I toss the quilt into the washer.  However, the polka dot nine patches are so delicate that I'm afraid to. I'm ready to start on my next quilt now.

This project has been on hold for a while.  I last blogged about it in fall while preparing the border nine patches. I got the quilt all sewn together and basted over Christmas break and it's sat ever since.  Traditionally there is a waiting period between basting and quilting that depends on the quilt size.  A very small quilt I'll baste and quilt the same day.  A rather large quilt is allowed to sit for up to a year.  It can sometimes take that much time to get up the nerve to start quilting. This quilt is about 48 x 48 inches so 5 - 6 months was the perfect amount of time.  And, there's nothing like a long weekend to make me want to tackle something. While working on the quilt I decided it needed a black binding.  This was going to be my "make do" quilt done with supplies on hand.  So, I rummaged for black and white fabric that I knew I had.  When I found it I  discovered I didn't have as much as I tho...

It's done.  The nine-patches have been squared up. I have a huge pile of scraps and I'm getting ready to assemble the blocks.

I have 20 old nine patch blocks. The dots are red blue and black. The blocks are nearly see-through and they are not very square. I purchased them at an antique store years ago.  Instead of them living in a drawer I want them to be used.  There is just the right number of blocks to make a lively border for my 30's quilt. I'm going to have to some work to make the usable but I think the result will be pretty.

I started buttonhole stitching in July and lamented that it would take me months to finish.  We'll it has.  I always have a thread ready to go so I can pick it up and stitch at a moments notice.  The moments just didn't come that frequently. I've finished all the dresden plate fans and saved the butterflies till last.  Two are now done. The best part is the antennae - they allow a little creativity.  All four will be different so I have two more styles to come up with. Once the button stitching is complete I can move on to the next part of this 30's style quilt.  The borders will use some more vintage blocks that are really wild. I'll show them once I start working on them.

I've been making wings and bodies for butterflies. I don't do much applique.  I prefer piecing.  But sometimes a quilt just needs some applique.  I kept telling myself throughout the whole process ... "It's only four", "It's only four" ... The butterflies are to go with the Dresden Plates which are now Dresden Fans.  I didn't want to cut them, but now they lay flat. I arranged the fans every which way and I liked this configuration the best.  I had four empty squares to fill.  I looked through quilt pattern books and books of 30's quilts to find something suitable.  Nothing pieced looked right.  When I saw a quilt with appliqued butterflies I knew I had the solution. I created the appliques using the starch and press method and machine sewed them down with a straight stitch.  I'm going to hand buttonhole over the top of that in black.  That's why I bought a whole spool of perle cotton a few weekends ago. I have a feeling th...

I'm between quilting projects - tidying up the quilt room, doing some smaller projects and getting ready for the next big one. I found these blocks years ago at an antique store in, I think, Wyoming.  I think they deserve to be made into something nice and will be going into my next project.  I've been mentally putting it together for years. This is a style of blocks I would never make myself.  I'm more into straight lines.  The blocks seem to be huge.  There are 17 sections in each block.  That doesn't make any sense.  Why divide a circle into 17 sections?  But it may explain why the blocks don't lay flat.  I have a plan for dealing with that. Look at these great fabrics!  I'm sure they lived long useful lives until scraps were cut up for a quilt.  Can you imagine the stories they could tell? Hopefully there will be at least one more story to tell.