From Small Things: Episode 47: A Finish & A Start

Welcome back! This week I have a finished quilt, and a new one started! First, I have pieced together the blocks I was working on last week: the blue and brown nine-patches. The blocks are now pieced together into a top, and I added a border of crumb pieces in browns and golds. I also decided to add some bits of lace and decorative stitching in the border, just to add a little interest to those who look for it! I'll show you the basket where I keep my crumb pieces, and talk about how I organize them, sew them together, and how I prefer to use these crumb strips. My new start this week is my Pinwheel quilt. I've started to pick out some bright, punchy colors for this one and have sewn some to my papers for making HSTs. This will be the third time I'm making this quilt, and I know it will take some time-- so I will also be working on piecing another project or two at the same time, to break up the work. One of these other projects will be a quilt made with vintage fabrics. I have been looking through patterns to find one that feels right, but am not sure yet which it will be. In the mean time, I'll share some of my vintage fabrics; this box is another of the most treasured in my sewing room. The finish this week is the blue Ohio Star quilt, and it turned out gorgeously. It is made with Ohio Stars of 3 different sizes, pieced together into 18" blocks. All of the fabrics in this one are from shirts. It is hand quilted with straight line stitching, about 3/4" apart. The back of this one is also made from shirts, in 10" squares. I made this one in the same pattern as a previous quilt which was in shades of brown; I'll show them side by side, as an example of how different a quilt can look with a change of color palette. I also have another quilt top in line for basting, but I didn't make this one! This is a small quilt top pieced by Pam a few years ago, which she then lost interest in. It has been sitting in my house for too long, and I decided it needs to be finished! This top is made from muslin she dyed herself using madder, cochineal, avocado, and acorns, and was pieced by hand using EPP. Both this one and my blue and brown top are ready for basting-- and then I will have a LOT of hand quilting to keep me busy for a good long time!