May Mini and Wildflowers

I'd been saving this flag/bird pattern for quite some time and thought it would be the perfect little quilt for May:)

Only recently did I discover that it is a Cheri Payne design. I pulled the reds from my scrap bin and shortened the flags by one row.
 

The birds are fused and so is the star but it kept coming loose so I did a little hand-stitching along the edge to solve the problem :) I hand-quilted around the birds and star and machine-quilted diagonal lines on the rest. 

The backing is an older Pledge of Allegiance fabric and the finished quilt is 17" x 21".  It was definitely a fun one to make--and quick! Make sure you hop on over to Kyle's blog to see her sweet little quilt :) And a big thank you to Wendy for this fun challenge!

On another note . . .

This past weekend my daughter and I went in search of wild flowers and here's what we saw:

A Painted Trillium . . . 

Trout Lily . . . 

Starflowers . . . 

And my all-time favorite Lady Slipper :)

There was a huge patch on one of the hiking trails.
 

Even a white one which I'd never seen before. 

And it seemed like the heavenly fragrance of lilacs permeated the air everywhere in the Adirondacks :)

Have a great week!

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Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer

GSQ Show and Friends' Quilts

I thought you'd enjoy seeing some of the quilts in the invitational Historical Perspectives exhibit at the GSQ show last weekend. Rachel, Dawn, and I are three of the longest-term members of the guild (lol!) so our quilts were on display.    

I have been in love with Rachel's quilt A Hot Day in Lancaster ever since I can remember. Doesn't it make you smile? It won a blue ribbon at the GSQ show in 1992. It is machine pieced, hand appliqued and hand quilted.

Rachel's other quilt Copper Moon is hand quilted and beaded. She printed some of the fabrics including her first batik. This quilt won a blue ribbon at GSQ in 2000.   

Dawn has won multiple awards for her lovely quilts :) The stars in Millennium Celebration are from Carol Doak's book, 50 Fabulous Paper Pieced Stars and are made of silk decorator fabrics. It is hand quilted and the edges are embellished with embroidery.

Dawn's other quilt Christmas at Kelmscott Manor is William Morris-inspired and beautifully hand-appliqued. The pattern is by Michele Hill in Down Under Quilts magazine.

In 1984 I made this quilt based on an Amish family I saw on the beach at the Jersey Shore. It is hand appliqued and hand quilted. It won a blue ribbon at the Vermont Quilt Festival in 1986 and was published in AQS's Art Calendar in 1987 and in Quilting by Laurie Swim in 1991.  

In 2000 I started making a journal quilt with each daily entry having its own matching piece of fabric. It took two years to make and is hand quilted. It won Viewer's Choice at the NJ Quilt Convention in 2003. 

Here are a few more favorites from the show . . . 

Laura's quilt Hexed Again was English paper-pieced by hand and hand-quilted with sashiko thread. The pattern, New Hexagon Millefiore Quilt, was designed by Katja Marek but Laura chose and fussy cut all her own fabrics.

Another quilt by Laura is Floating Nine Patch with fabrics that range from the 1970s to reproduction prints from the 1900s to very modern prints. It's an original design pieced and quilted by machine.

X's and O's by Carol Esch and quilted by Lois Walters combined 'x' blocks made during superstorm Sandy and 'o' blocks made for another project. So cheerful!

Carol's Banded was started in a class with Sarah Bond and quilted by Lois Walters. So colorful and graphic!

Just Stop was made by Krishma Patel as her voice against trophy hunting after the killing of Cecil, the lion. 

This sweet Granddaughter Baby Quilt was made by Elizabeth Chapman and quilted by Mary Ames. Working from a picture on Pinterest, Elizabeth retained the general layout/design but changed the leaf and border elements.

We have no idea who won the three Viewers Choice ribbons so assume we'll find out at the next guild meeting on June 4th. 

Enjoy your week!




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Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer



 

Mini Gallery, Rummage Sale and Wisteria

I finally finished painting the upstairs hallway . . .

. . . and added the finishing touches on Sunday. I turned it into a mini gallery for some of my small quilts.  

Abe's Stars is at the end of the first hallway just before you step up to the next section.

 

Patriots Path, Natalie's Tulip, Flying Geese and HannaBella are on the wall near my sewing room. 

Here's what it looks like at the very end with a rack of large quilts.  

Last Saturday I went to a rummage sale and came home with a box of drapes. I couldn't resist! The toile lined ones are 50" x 100" and the red blue floral is an assortment of swags and jabots. Either would go great in our living room :)

These are definitely my colors! This gorgeous fabric is a lightweight cotton so I may even be able to use some of it in a quilt. We'll see . . . 

Our wisteria has never had so many flowers! What's blooming in your yard?

The GSQ show is this weekend. Hope to see some of you there!




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Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer 


 

Antebellum #4, Stars & Leaves, Plus

It's been a productive two weeks . . .

I found some wonderful repro fat quarters at Quilt Fest and bought these with Antebellum #4 Quaker Pride in mind.

I also bought this book which I knew would come in handy when inking the blocks. 

In fact, I found a design that I liked. I added my 2nd gr-grandmother's name Eunice Fisk (1802-1844). She is the wife of Henry W. Davis whose name I inked on another block. 

I started appliqueing leaf blocks a while ago but decided to quit after four. I had some extra star blocks and thought I'd combine the two. I added 2" hsts around the edges. The top is done and ready to be basted. I plan on hand-quilting it.

The other day I received a surprise package from a friend and inside were these quilting templates. Have you ever seen them before? She told me she got these stamps when she took a quilting class in NJ in the mid 80s. The one that's turned down is a smaller Dresden Plate. Each one has a big wooden knob just like old office stamps. Thanks, Beth! 

 
Beautiful Cherry Blossoms . . . 

. . . and a robin that keeps attacking our window. Really! I read robins are known for this behavior when they choose a nesting site. It's a territorial thing and when they think they see a rival in the window's reflection they try to drive it away. For the past few days this bird has been obsessed!

Oh, how I love springtime!

Have a great week :)




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Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer

Quilt Fest NJ

Here are some quilts that caught my eye at Quilt Fest:

Lotto Squares by Sue Erdreich was "made from blocks that were raffled off as part of our monthly Block Lotto."

A Star is Born by Mindy Wexler Marks was part of the Empire State Quilters Urban Inspirations 2018 exhibit. Mindy used "modern prints for an old-fashioned block." 

Nancy Simmons of Duncannon, PA won a blue ribbon in the Best Traditional Style Quilt category for her quilt Aunt Sadie's Stars. Her inspiration came from a quilt in the Grand Rapids Public Museum. She used Edyta Sitar's Texas Star pattern for the Lone Stars.

Happy Together was made by Laura Wagner (Natalie's daughter) and quilted by Krishma Patel. Both are members of Garden State Quilters. Laura made the quilt for her best friend's wedding. It portrays a "theme of abundance, prosperity and happy togetherness that a union of marriage signifies for a couple!"

Beautifully quilted by Krishma!

Over There was made by quilting friend Susan McDermott, Warren, NJ in honor of her father-in-law who served in World War I. The Red Cross blocks represent the "quilts that were made as fundraisers to support the medical needs of the servicemen." The back of the quilt has images of Frank McDermott's history during the war. 

 

Wanderlust was made by Alisa Korunow and Marcia Zimmerman, Westfield, NJ who "took on this project as a celebration of their friendship." They taught themselves to hand applique and this was the first full size quilt they hand quilted.

Oak & Reel by Debra Harry, Hackettstown, NJ. The blocks each have a different red fabric and shade of cream to give it an "old look." Doesn't this remind you of Barb V's style??

Omigosh, check out this art quilt! Those eyes . . . 

Hope by Christy Gray "represents the 1.3 million animals euthanized in shelters every year in the U.S."  This was a Color Challenge by ARTrageous Fiber Artists from Missouri. It involved a random drawing for a color from the traditional color wheel and had to include a circle or arc as a prominent feature in the design.   

Hope you enjoyed the show--Rachel and I certainly did!  




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Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer