Stars In The Garden

I have finally finished "Stars In The Garden" by Piece O Cake. This quilt has been in the making for several years. I am so happy with the finished project. The quilt measures 69 1/4 x 90 1/4. The BOM originally belonged to my friend. On her death after a terrible disease, I inherited many of her unfinished quilts. Many of which wee applique. She so wanted to learn this technique. I had the quilter quilt "Linda" in the quilting. She did this in block letters on one of the lattice.

                                                         Vacation Time

                            It's been a while since I added to this Blog.

                         I will start again wih a few recent finished quilts

                          This is the Pat Sloan 2015 BOM .."Vacation Time"

which I renamed "Cyndy and Me". I used a combination of my late sister Cyndy"s and my collections of Robyn Pandolf Fabrics. It measures 63 1/2" x 69 1/2"

(((Hugs)) In Orillia

This is the quilt that was given to Carrie Scott on September 13, 2013 in Orillia, ON, Canada. The quilt measures 86"x 106". It is constructed of 100% cotton with a 100% cotton batik backing of blue polka dot print.

All quilts should have a label attached. Why, you might ask. A label will tell generations to come the story of this quilt: Who, What, When, Where and Why. It will help identify the quilt should it become lost or stolen, and will increase the value of the quilt at appraisal time.

This quilt was a BOM (Block of the Month). Each month the sponsoring quilt shop supplies the fabric and pattern for that months block. After a year's time you will have completed twelve blocks for the main part of the quilt. One then purchases a finishing package to make the borders and binding. On this quilt I made the blue borders especially wide so I could scallop the corners to soften the effect. When it returned from the quilter (Ruth Stonesifer) the borders appeared to heavy and plain so I decided to applique in two of the opposing corners. I feel the applique gave it the look I desired .Oh, and I decided to add one bird for the owner of this quilt. She knows why. :)

I have posted photos of each of the 12 blocks that make up the main part of the quilt. It appears I forgot to take a photo of the block in the lower left hand corner, That one is called "Mosaic Pinwheels". I also did not take a photo of the back of this quilt. There is a simple pieced block in the center.

It was fun to make this quilt and a pleasure to gift it to my dear friend.

  

 Label on the back of the quilt.

"Bell Star"

" Folded Box"

"Rambler"

" Spider Web"

"Card Trick"

"Ferris Wheel"

"Log Cabin"

"Devils Claw"

"Eddystone Light"

"Moon Star"

"Swamp Patch"

Applique on Lower Left Corner

Ruched Flower

Bird Applique- Applique on Lower Left Corner

Cockscombs,Tulips and Berries

                  This quilt is one of my favorites. Most of my quilts are given as gifts, but this one is mine. I found the pattern in a book I had purchased and I just had to make it. I showed my friends at our Wednesday quilting group and one of them mentioned that she had the blue fabric shown on the original quilt. We made a deal. She would give me a piece the fabric and I would give her the pattern. One of my other quilting friends also admired the quilt. She called me one day and told me she had found some rust and green fabrics that just might work. I gave her the go ahead to purchase me those fabrics sight unseen. I knew I would love them because we have very similar tastes. The background fabric is a tone on tone print of pomegranates. I loved this piece of fabric and knew it was best used in large pieces. I also had fun collecting blue fabrics that would work with the focus fabric.

               Techniques used are needle turned applique, reverse applique, machine piecing and machine quilting. The beautiful free form quilting on the background was done by Ruth Stonesifer. I did the quilting within the applique pieces.

              The quilt measures 62x72 inches.

Block prior to assembling the quilt

Cockscombs,Tulips and Berries

I like the way the flash bounces off the center of the quilt.

So Many Bugs

This quilt was made for my Grandson Jakob's third birthday. I gave it to him and immediately had to explain that I needed him to allow me to take it away for a few weeks. It was part of the Mancuso Quilt Show 2005 in Ft Washington PA as part of the Quilts of The Delaware Valley Exhibition.The quilt remains on his bed and keeps him warm no matter which  season it is .

As I made the jars in different sizes the originality of the quilt began to come into view. Embroidered bugs spell Jake's name while embellished lightening bugs emerge and scatter from an open jar. One can find "Love Bugs" and the Damsel Fly will glow well after the lights are out.

The techniques used include: machine piecing, hand appliqué, machine embroidery, hand embroidery, crystal embellishment and machine quilting.

Post Cards

I made a few post cards recently. They are really fun to do. The first one I made went to Canada. The postal workers were so impressed when I took it in to be weighed and stamped that they took the time to show everyone in line. The person helping me made sure to put a pretty stamp on it and insisted on wrapping it in protective wrapping. I was told it arrived in perfect condition. The next two postcards were sent "as is" and arrived just fine. I look at my tiny scraps differently these days. I even asked a friend for her scraps from a recent project. I have included a picture of those scraps adhered to iron-on adhesive. You may even be surprised when one arrives in your mailbox.

Legal Size 4 1/4 x 6 1/2 Appliqued vase of flowers on mottled background- machine quilted

Happy Birthday- use of printed background fabric with appliques and machine quilting.

Happy Birthday- my first Post Card -all fused and machine quilted

Scraps adhered to iron-on adhesive

Stars in the Garden

This hand applique quilt, Stars In The Garden by Piece O"Cake Designs, was part of my late friends "stash". Her stash was distributed among a group of her closest friends. It is my honor to be finishing this quilt . She pieced the background fabrics  anticipating doing the hand applique to finish the quilt.

All applique is needle turned and stitched with #100 Silk thread. When finished the quilt will measure 70"x90".

Hydrangea

I am FINALLY finished the applique on this last block "Hydrangea". Next, I will assemble the quilt into one piece by adding the sashing around the blocks and apply the outer border. It will then be off to the quilter for quilting. When it returns from her I will still need to add the binding and a personalized label. That label will take a little thought and work on my part. I do enjoy that process as it signifies that one more project is finished and I am free to start another one.

Cherry Swirl

Dot's Delight

Iris

Daisy

Pincushion Flower

Peony

Clematis

Star Flower

Dogwood

Fanciful Fans

Honeysuckle