Sampler Blocks and Woven Plaid Stars

I thought I might like to try and reproduce some applique blocks from a NJ Sampler Quilt documented by HQPNJ and featured on p. 79 of our book, New Jersey Quilts.

The original quilt was photographed at The Drake House Museum in Plainfield, NJ. 

This is the first block I wanted to reproduce. It's the 4th one down on the left and I already had a head start.

My first attempt was back in 1996 when I made this small piece, Tulip, Sassafras and Maple. I put the block on point and added berries and tulip leaves.

This is the one I just completed. The block is 14" x 14."  To mark the applique lines on darker fabrics I use a black .01 Pigma Pen making sure to turn under the allowance so the lines are totally hidden.

And this is the one I'm working on now. Even washed that red--again, lol! There are several Oak Leaf and Reel blocks in the original quilt but I chose this one because . . . in the latest issue of Primitive Quilts there is a pattern for this block. I enlarged it 110 percent. How perfect!

Last week's stars were Woven Plaids.

Center . . . 

Points . . . 

Background . . . 

And paisley on plaid. Funny, this week's stars feature paisleys so you'll see more next week :-)


Happy Sewing!



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Copyright 2015, Barbara Schaffer

Nine Patch Variation Repro and Ombre Stars

One of my all-time favorite quilts is the c. 1830 Nine Patch Variation in the book Calico and Chintz. I reproduced it 15 years ago.

The original quilt was 95" x 103" but mine is a lot smaller 60" x 64." I used a decorator fabric for the border and an ombre print as the setting squares. The edges are turned in--no binding.

I actually softened the pink (left) with Rit Brown Dye (right).

Here's a detail. It is quilted allover in 2" crosshatch.

 The back.  

Lucky me. Last week's stars featured ombre prints. I had a few.

I love this fabric . . .

. . . and used it as the border in this little quilt.  

Off-center stripes, lol!

Barbara Brackman shows a different colorway in her book, America's Printed Fabrics.

 

I just had to use it again. 

Welcome spring!

I especially want to thank Barb V. for posting my fabric search on her blog and to those of you who responded. I will now have enough fabric to finish my project :) Thank you all so much!



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Copyright 2015, Barbara Schaffer

Plaid Stars and A Whole Lotta Other Stuff

I'll begin with last week's Printed Plaid stars :)

I've about exhausted my supply of this blue plaid which I purchased years ago from Keepsake Quilting. I first used it in Wild Goose Chase, then Chimney Sweep, and recently in Brown & Blue Stars. 

I'm also using this plaid in an 8" star block for another repro quilt I'm making.

Large plaid, small plaid.

Bonnie Hunter was the guest speaker at our guild meeting Monday night. Her system for cutting and using scraps makes so much sense! I've made a couple of quilts in the past in an effort to empty my scrap basket--Transition (above) is one, the other is Fabric Diary. 

I was going to make an entire quilt of foundation-pieced string diamonds but I gave up on that idea real fast and turned them into a strippy.

The back.

I donated these two small quilts to our guild for the Little Wishes raffle at their upcoming show in May.  

Lastly, does anyone have this fabric they'd be willing to part with or know where I can find it? It's Windham's Wm. Penn's Vision c. 1820 #25494. I'm interested in the grape-vine border but only have enough for 3 sides . . . Thanks for any help you can provide :)

I purchased this little hooked rug at an estate sale. Isn't it cute? It makes me smile :-)



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Copyright 2015, Barbara Schaffer

Foulard Stars and Swatches 2

Posting weekly stars has really inspired me to work on some of my unfinished projects. 

I finally finished (hand) quilting Swatches 2. It's 17-1/2" square. I made this little piece last year with the intention of machine quilting it. I think there's a message here, lol! 

The back.   

 

And here is Swatches 1. I don't think I ever showed you the finished version.

The back.  

If you don't know what Foulard-style prints are make sure you check out Barbara Brackman's Civil War Quilts blog for a great description and lots of examples. Also, several of my quilts are featured in today's post about Printed Plaids :)

I love this fabric. It's one of the older pieces in my stash. 

Foulard prints large and small. 

I've tried multiple times to use this fabric in my repro quilts but the colors were never "quite right." I could never figure out why. So making this star was the perfect opportunity to "show it off :)



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Copyright 2015, Barbara Schaffer

Purple Stars, Flags Back and Oh, No!

I'm moving right along with Barbara Brackman's Stars In A Time Warp quiltalong and made the back for Flags of the American Revolution. Then one step back . . .  

Four very different purples.

Sometimes I don't even know what fabrics I have, lol! Barbara described this reproduction fabric in America's Printed Fabrics as ". . . a moire, a printed imitation of the embossed silk known as watered silk because of its resemblance to ripples in a stream."  

I found this fabric in with Natalie's goodies.

Another good reproduction purple. 

Last one.   

I made the back for the Flags of the American Revolution quilt last week. Each large square took 1 yard of fabric and all came from my stash. This style works well for me. I've used it before in two other quilts (see below). 

Here's a detail. With the front and the back done I had one more step . . . 

I needed to remove the blue marker I used for my applique lines. Well, guess what? The red fabric bled in my favorite block. I had pre-washed all my red fabrics after I experienced a similar situation with Lincoln's Woes so who knows what happened. I ended up removing not only the entire block, but the white (pink) streamers and one star in the lower left which had also picked up some of the red. I put all my "pink" pieces into a pot with HOT water and 1/2 packet of Carbona Color Run Remover and, thankfully, the red disappeared. I re-appliqued all and sewed the block back in this morning.  

Here is one of the other quilts with the same style back. The center block and strips are 12".  You can read my post about this quilt here.

And here's the back of Cabin Fever with 4" center and strips.

After a dusting of snow yesterday, I'm still waiting for spring to arrive :)

Happy Wednesday!


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Copyright 2015, Barbara Schaffer