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 :)
__________
Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer
Love the Antebellum block. Your inking is so wonderful. Susan's book has lots of wonderful options and I know you will make good use of it. I adore that little quilt top and can't wait to see how you quilt it. Your robin story is funny as we have had a cardinal tapping on our window each spring, but I did not know robin's did it too. Hopefully it should be over soon. In fact, we had to inform one of our customer's that his boat launch would be delayed because we found a nest with 4 robin's eggs in it on his rudder post. He didn't seem to mind!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful block with wonderful inking Barbara ! And you chose lovely fabrics !
ReplyDeleteSpring is the best season ! I just come back home, with lots of flowers from the garden center !
The book appears to be very helpful for making the autograph style blocks look vintage. Beautiful work!
ReplyDeleteA fun bunch of stamps. I recall that a few years back the "Building Houses From Scraps" craze generated a set of stamps for the purpose of the house "construction".
We have large windows along one side of our home for a solarium. At times birds don't realize they can't fly right through, and we find their bodies in the flower bed below if they hit too hard. It always makes me sad.
Adding the inking to your blocks is a wonderful idea. You seem to find great ideas to personalize your projects. Is this the mini quilt for May? Using up those spare blocks is always good. Yay, for productive weeks!
ReplyDeleteLast week we had a small sparrow obsessed with the side view mirror of our SUV. He attacked the mirror, flapped his wings and vocalized ALL day long. We felt bad for him as his living, breathing flesh and feather rivals splashed in the bird bath and ate from the feeder. I finally put a towel over the mirror and that did the trick. Aren't they fun to watch?
ReplyDeleteMelissa Raddetz
Cherry blossoms! Your image is gorgeous. And more lovely inkings - you will enjoy Susan’s book. Have had mine for years & took a workshop from her. I used to be so conscious of making my labels after all her inspiration. Have gotten lazy and need to sharpen up my skills again. Thank you for sharing your beautiful piecing and ink signatures.
ReplyDeleteOh I love your leaves and stars! the HST look so sparkly around the edges. Your new inked block is beautiful. I love inking on quilts.
ReplyDeletewhat lush cherry blossoms! Pretty Robin photo - I hope he does nest nearby so you can see or hear the babies.
happy spring - great post