Finishing Up!

This month has been a month of “finishing” – I’ve been working on finishing various projects. Of course, make no mistake… I have made progress… but I still haven’t finished a quilt this month!
The first one, below, shows the progress I have made on my new “Borrowed Roses” quilt. The block is based on a traditional block called Prairie Flower, Missouri Rose, or Rose Tree. The border and use of the blocks is based on an old late 1920s Rose Kretsinger quilt called “New Rose Tree.” So far, I have finished four of the planned nine blocks and five of twelve border units. There will eventually be ribbons and tassels between all of the border units. The unfinished blocks are all basted, so they are easy to take along and work on at bees, meetings, doctor appointments, etc. – so hopefully, next month you will see the quilt top assembled… but don’t hold your breath!

The next photos, below, shows another old project that I started on well over a year ago. My friend Cynthia and I exchanged 4-1/2 inch (finished size) star blocks which used civil war reproduction fabrics and shirtings – a favorite combination of mine. Together, we both have quite a stack of little star blocks – and I really love Sawtooth Stars.

I’m going to use those star blocks in combination with some 4-1/2 inch (finished size) double nine-patch blocks that I finished making this month – all 175 of them! The little squares in the nine-patches are each 1/2 inch in size, so it took a while to get them all sewn.

Now that those blocks are all finished, I’m ready to assemble the quilt top. In the photo below, you can get an idea of how the blocks will be set together. When it is finished, this quilt will be twin-sized, with the blocks extending edge-to-edge – and no border. Naturally, an antique quilt that I saw at the Houston quilt show many years ago inspired this quilt. Doing block exchanges with a friend is a great way to keep me on schedule – Cynthia and I set deadlines for swapping blocks every two weeks, and we met nearly all the deadlines! I can’t wait to sew these blocks together – hopefully you’ll see the quilt top when I post an update at the beginning of April.

In between other projects, I have also been working on doing the last bit of touch-up quilting on a project that my friend Denise Green and I started ages ago. It was interrupted with a family illness, and I am just now getting back to working on this quilt. Denise and I collaborated on this quilt from start to finish – I did most of the applique, she did a ton of machine quilting, and I did a bunch of hand-quilting. We both helped each other a ton, along the way. This quilt is based on my “Lily Rosenberry” pattern and, finally, I will have my very own Lily Rosenberry quilt – I’m excited about that! Many thanks go to Denise –for her friendship and our teamwork on this quilt!

Last but certainly not least, I have been doing more hand quilting on my Friends of Baltimore quilt. So far, 7 blocks have been quilted. These are 15 inch blocks, and I am quilting in the ditch around every appliqued piece, and cross-hatch quilting the background in each block. My goal is to finish the quilting in June (of this year). This is another quilt that excites me every time I work on it – I can’t wait to finish it! Below are pictures of two of the blocks, so you can see how the quilting is turning out on them.

Finally, since spring is on its way, I’ll give you a peak at another project that I’m working on. It’s the center block of a medallion quilt; I haven’t figured out what sort of borders I am going to add to the medallion – but I want to finish the quilt by April. Ha! That will be a trick, but setting a goal is a way for me to finish projects.

Until next month, enjoy the Spring! Check out my Yahoo group if you get a chance (see last month's posting for the link) – folks are starting to work on their own Friends of Baltimore (and other quilts) and one gal has already posted two finished blocks. Go Marian! You'll also find plenty of tips in that group - hopefully, they will help all of us finish more quilts!

Happy sewing --

Sue Garman
(c)2010 Susan H. Garman

Stay Warm...

With the icy waves of cold that are racing across the Nation, I want to start with the premise that we should all be making more quilts in order to stay warm! My outdoor thermometer shows that it is a chilly 32 degrees at 10 pm tonight... which is balmy compared to elsewhere.

This month there is not much to show, because I've been too busy to make much progress on anything. First of all, my "Friends of Baltimore" quilt is now on the market. I basted it right before Christmas and have already been quilting away like crazy on it -- check it out in the picture below; I have finished quilting 5 blocks. Yes, I'm a slowpoke, but this quilt is being heavily quilted!

Next, I have been working on my "Borrowed Roses" quilt. I have basted all of the blocks and have finished appliquing one block and one border unit. I love working on quilts that I can't wait to finish -- imagining what it will look like after it is quilted helps me keep my nose to the grindstone. The inspiration for this quilt was a quilt made by Rose Kretsinger -- if you check out my January post, you will see a draft of the pattern. Below is a picture of one block and one border unit-- I'm making progress!

Back on August 31, 2010, I posted several pictures of old cheddar quilt tops that I've collected. I found another one late last year and I'll share it below -- I just love all those bright 9-patches with cheddar setting squares and triangles. This is definitely on my list of quilts to "re-make" in the future. I've already purchased my cheddar fabric.

I have been asked by Emmy in Bemidji, Minnesota, to comment on how to select, prepare, and choose a non-bleeding red fabric good for applique - as well as other strong colors like green and purple - and whatever else I want to say about shades, brands, solids, etc. First of all, I like a very rich, rich red. Those are difficult to find -- there are lots of pinky, purplish, bluish, blackish, and gray reds... but a really good, strong, rich red is hard to find. So... the first rule of thumb is: when you find a good red, BUY it! Buy LOTS of it! Look at it against other reds and other colors (e.g., gold, green) to make sure that it is a true red. Sometimes when you place a red print against other colors, you'll find that it is a different shade than you thought.
I prepare my red fabrics just like I do all my other fabrics: it walks in the door and goes for a swim in warm water, then gets dried. It is not allowed to enter my sewing room until it has bathed -- therefore, I am always certain that all the fabric in my sewing room has been washed. I do not ever use washout markers, disappearing ink markers, starch, or fabric finish (sizing) on my fabrics, and particularly not on reds, navies, or blacks -- those items may cause your fabric to bleed, despite having been washed. Ask me how I know... and being the compulsive person that I am, I even tested these products on a variety of fabrics to prove that they may cause fabrics to bleed. If you do use these products, make sure that you thoroughly wash them out at some point.
As for brands... I have an inherent trust in all the major fabric manufacturers; they are in the business of satisfying their customers, and they work hard at putting out fabrics that make us happy. All of that is to say that you are probably safe with fabrics you find in your local quilt shop. As for shades of colors... there are tons of beautiful shades of reds, greens, purples, blues, golds, and so on. Which ones do you use? Choose your fabrics by laying them out to see if they work well together. While a pinky red may not go well with one green, it might go beautifully with another. It's a matter of trial and error -- just do not expect to be able to choose fabrics in 5 minutes. I have always believed that it takes 3 times as long to choose fabric as you think it should.

Finally, I have been asked to start a Yahoo Group for people working on my Friends of Baltimore quilt. I was reluctant to do so, as there is a certain amount of overhead attached to moderating a Yahoo Group, and there are plenty of other Yahoo groups on the web where discussions might occur. However, I have succumbed to the wishes of those of you whose persuasive powers overwhelmed my ability to say no... so I have now started a new Yahoo Group called SueGarmanQuilts. You can find it at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/suegarmanquilts/ -- don't be in a huge rush to check it out... I haven't posted anything there yet! Eventually I will post pictures of my Baltimore quilt so that those of you who want to see closeups of the blocks can easily do so. If there are other things you want me to include there, holler at me!

Okay - that's enough for tonight. It's 10:30... and now it's 30 degrees outside. I need to make more quilts!

Happy sewing -

Sue

(c) 2011 Susan H. Garman

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone -- let's all hope that this year brings a treasure trove of good health, good fortune, good friendship... and lots of quiltmaking for all of us. Let's see... shall I also hope that the price of cotton falls sometime soon? I may not always be optimistic, but I am never without hope!

So what am I working on now? Several things... but here's one. I agreed to create a new design for my quilt guild's annual raffle quilt. After talking to Jerrianne and Georgann -- two of my quilt buddies who are always offering a ton of both ideas and inspiration -- we decided it would be wonderful to use Rose Kretsinger's 1929 red and green "New Rose Tree Quilt" as an inspiration. It's a wonderful structured rose tree design with a swag border that has red and gold feathers appliqued along its length. I love red and green quilts, and this one is breath-taking. My version will be an 86 by 86 inch quilt, so the blocks are very large: 22 inches square, with a 10-inch wide border. After drafting the design (see my first drafts, below), I got so excited that I've already scavenged through my stash and decided I need to break my New Year's resolution to not buy more fabric for at least three months as I don't have what I want to use for this quilt. So much for a resolution! It must not have been a good one if I'm already backing down on it. You will likely be seeing updates on this quilt over the next few months.

Partial pattern for "Borrowed Roses" - a remake of an old Rose Kretsinger quilt

Another project I've been working on is a Tulip Challenge Quilt. A group of my quilt friends all agreed to choose an antique quilt, use a block from it, and update it in whatever way we see fit -- a challenge -- that we each hope to finish and enter in our guild's quilt show in 2012. We chose a mid-1800s red and green quilt that had a block with tulips in a vase. I drafted the pattern as a 12" block... and the gang is all working on their versions of the block... and how it will be set into a quilt. Two of the group are enlarging and setting the block on point - one with reproduction fabrics, another with batiks. One of the group is making the block smaller -- a set of 6" blocks using reproduction fabrics. Some of the group have revised the vase - making it more complex. I've enlarged the block and am making a 4-block quilt; my blocks are each 36" square! Check out the block, below -- and check out the colors I'm using to make my challenge quilt. If you've read my blog, you know that I love cheddar!

The Tulip Challenge Quilt

Another project I've been working on is my Baltimore quilt. I finished adding the final border of 1-inch half-square triangles, and nearly threw my back out of joint by getting on my hands and basting the quilt. So here's a close-up of the outer border...

And here's a picture of the whole quilt with the final half-square triangle border on it... And finally... here's a picture of the first block I've quilted on it. I had almost forgotten how much I enjoy hand-quilting. I do my share of machine quilting, but there is no comparison between longarm and hand-quilting: hand quilting is so relaxing to me. I just love sitting down and quilting for a few hours at a time once or twice a day. With any luck, I will have this quilt finished in 3-4 months. Whee!!! Did you know that I do all of my hand-quilting using a stab-stitch? I can quilt as fast as anyone else - and can "quilt through concrete" with the stab-stitch method! Several people have asked me when the patterns for my Baltimore quilt will be available. Quakertown Quilts should begin offering them for sale in mid-January -- check with them (www.quakertownquilts.com), or with your local quilt shop and see if they are ordering the patterns if you wish to get them. Now for a little visual treat. A friend of mine was given permission to take photos of the Baltimore album quilts on display at the International Quilt Association display in November in Houston (aka "the Houston Festival" or "the Houston Quilt Show"). What follows is a small selection of some of those quilts. My apologies to those whose quilts are not included in the selection - it does not mean I didn't like yours! To begin with, the venue for this Baltimore extravaganza could not have been more wonderful -- lots of room, great lighting, plenty of white-glove folks to help show the backs of the quilts or answer questions - and plenty of quilts!

George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston - Nov. 2010

The first quilt is "Friendship's Offering" by Fabric Cottage class members and others, spectacularly hand-quilted by Diane Kirkhart (Vienna, Virginia). For a complete list of the needle artists who worked on this quilt, please purchase a copy of Elly Sienkiewicz's 2010 Beloved Baltimore Album Quilts. It's a lovely retrospective of new and old Baltimore quilts.

The quilt below is called "Miss Refrigeradorable's Album Quilt" and was made by Judy Laval Morton (Newburgh, Indiana). The design source includes Elly's books and patterns, Nadine Thompson, and the crowning of the 1956 Miss Refrigeradorble.

This next quilt, by Marjorie A. Nelson (Frankfort, MI), is called "Baltimore Album on the Shores of Lake Michigan." Marjorie's borders are her own design and contain an eagle, 13 stars, and piping set by the binding. The richness of color in this quilt make it exquisite!

Meg Zimmerman's (Winchester, TN) "The Time Traveler," below, is based on an 1847 quilt by Mary West -- but the borders, quilting, and two blocks are Meg's original designs. It took Meg 8 years to applique the quilt and 8 months to hand-quilt it, making it a "true time traveler" as it accompanied Meg through retreats, bees, and family trips. As with many of us, our quilts carry our history within them. If only they could talk - what stories they could tell us...

Connie Teplitsky (Scarborough, Ontario, Canada) made "Threads of Inspiration." While inspired by Elly's books, several blocks and the setting for her quilt are original. I love that each of these Baltimore quilts, while inspired by the quilts of yesteryear -- and Elly -- are examples of how all quiltmakers interpret designs to suit their own sense of beauty.

I love Karen Pessia's (Medford, MA) "My Baltimore Journey." Karen's quilt speaks of the inspiration from her teachers, history, and the discovery of untapped skills. Karen's scrappy-leafed border is lovely -- as well as her choice of outer borders and the intricate sashing. Below the quilt show is a close-up of one of the quilt blocks and the phenomenal quilting.

"Vases, Birds and Other Things" by Kim McLean (Lindfield, New South Wales, Australia) takes advantage of some bright, colorful Kaffe Fassett fabrics -- Kim says this "is a happy quilt." And it is, indeed.

Rita Verroca's (Westlake Village, CA) "Big Parade" is built around a center block picturing two horses pulling a carriage called the "Big Parade," a vision to the quilter's world -- a land of imagination and inspiration. Rita has done a wonderful job of blending traditional blocks into her Baltimore Album blocks to create her own style of album quilt. Her sashing is incredible!

This next quilt is in the grand style of exuberant applique found in some of the old Baltimore Album quilts. Hong Sook Ro, its' maker, worked on this quilt for 5 years; her loving husband helped her by doing all of the household chores so she could work on the quilt. On a sad note, he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2009 but asked Hong Sook to finish the quilt before he died. She finished the quilt for him, and dedicated it to him after he died. This is the first quilt she ever entered in a show. The complexity of the blocks is stunning -- there is a closeup of the center block below the photo of the whole quilt.

Here is yet another quilt by Marjorie Nelson - "Marjorie's Album - The Beauty of One Common Thread." One cannot help but be inspired by the beauty found in all of these album quilts. A closeup of one block is also shown below.

In "Let us Be Friends," many of Elly's former students worked together to make this quilt, quilted by Sue Nickels. A complete list of needle artists can again be found in Elly Sienkiewicz's Beloved Baltimore Album Quilts (2010). I love how the blocks in this quilt are set on point with some wonderful sashing.

That's all for this month - I hope that seeing a few of the Baltimore Album quilts on display have provided you with some inspiration -- to tackle a new project, to design your own block, to create a unique border, to pick up where you left off on an old project. I find that seeing groups of quilts that have a common inspiration but end up being so unique when finished, reminds me of why I love quilting. We each have the opportunity to express ourselves in the beauty of our creativity -- take that gift, now, and go finish a quilt!

See you next month...

Sue

(c)2011 Susan H. Garman

Unveilings - At Last!

Where in the world has Sue Garman been for the past two months? After promising that I would post on the first of each month, like clockwork, just a short while back... I disappeared. The truth is that I have been very, very busy! Much of what I was working on were things I could not show anyone yet... plus I had a lot of work to do before Quilt Market came to Houston before the Quilt Show. At some point, I will post photos of quilt market, for those who have never been to "market" - the show that is held for wholesale buyers. I will also post photos of some of the fabulous quilts that hung in the Houston quilt show -- though I must confess that being the technical guru that I am, half of my photos (including the top winners!) seem to have disappeared.

Moving on, now... can you guess that this picture is? Other than a stack of papers and file folders?
If you guessed that it is the pattern for Friends of Baltimore, you would be right! It is a huge pattern. As always, I have included lots of tips, pointers, how-tos, and instructions in each month's write-up. Hopefully, all that work will pay off with some quiltmakers who learn and some quiltmakers who have far less frustration. Once again... here is the quilt (and no, I have not added that last 1" border of half-square triangles yet; that comes next week and then I will start quilting. I am still debating silk batting versus other options.


The next quilt is Ruffled Roses - finally I can show it in all of its glory. I wanted The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims to have the honor of showing the quilt before I posted a photo... so now everyone else can see it here, too. It was a fun quilt to work on -- I loved making the pieced swag border, which echoes the inner appliqued swag border. It's always fun to think of new (to me, at least) concepts and figure out how to put them in a quilt.

This pattern took a long time to prepare -- writing instructions for piecing always takes longer than writing instructions for applique because there is a lot of math involved, and all of it takes time to proof. Those who have done The Quilt Show block-of-the-month patterns in the past will be happy to learn that this pattern includes more detailed instructions on how I quilted my quilt - here's a sample photo...

And so what else have I been working on? Aaaahhh... there were the 25 guests that I invited to come to my house for dinner and a quilt showing in the middle of the Houston quilt show. Gail Chalker, from Australia, brought three vanloads of them, and there were many others from elsewhere, including the talented and extremely organized Tresa Jones who runs the wonderful Baltimore on the Prairie conference/retreat each year. Tresa has gathered an awesome set of teachers -- check out the website at http://baltimoreontheprairie.tresajones.com/. I so enjoyed seeing everyone! My quilting friends went overboard helping serve a true Texas dinner: frito pie, ambrosia salad, and peach cobbler with Blue Bell ice cream. Here is the serving team of six...

and here are all the lovely quilters...

So... that's not all that has kept me busy. Over the past year, I have been part of a round robin group. There were five of us who each passed a center block to another, along with fabric and a list of "desires" (like: "please, no broderie perse" - or "just have fun!"). I love round robin quilts because they force me to work in venues I might not otherwise consider. We had our grand unveiling in front of our quilt guild this month -- what a great set of surprises. Below are the quilt tops along with one or two close-ups of each quilt.

First, there is Jean's quilt - she was the only one to start with a rectangular quilt center -- and one of only two quilts that did not end up with the center block set on point!

I added the pinwheel border -- with light inner and darker outer setting triangles; I like doing that because it adds depth to a quilt. Notice that the last border echoes that same light/dark set of setting triangles.

I was amazed at how much time all of the gals put into adding borders -- look at the blocks in the outer border, here. That's power sewing!

Second, here is Georgann's quilt. She started with a star block that was set on point - then a border of blocks was added, followed by a wonderful dogtooth border - and finally, a ruffled swag border. I love the lightness of this quilt -- it has dark fabrics that keep pulling your eye in, but most of the fabrics are very soft in color. It's lovely!

Notice how the appliqued flowers were all outlined with embroidery floss. That is a wonderful touch for this quilt.

Third is Marsha's quilt. She started off with a beautiful mariner's compass. It offered so much opportunity for the next set of borders, with its full spectrum of colors.

Take a look at the detail in the first set of borders -- the flower in the center of the compass is echoed with an appliqued duplicate in the corner of the chain border.

And all of those circles in the center are echoed again in the red scallop border. I made that one - I've never done one like it before, but after pondering what to add to Marsha's quilt, I dreamed up this design and added the circles to echo what was in the center of the quilt. Touches like that give a quilt a cohesive look.

Fourth is my quilt top. I started with the coxcomb in the center and asked that my quilt be red/green... but not Christmas-y. No snowmen, Santas, or reindeer, please!

I love what my friends did - they are SO talented! And they know that I like lots of open areas for quilting, so they gave them to me. I could not be happier with the results - and I can't wait to quilt it!

Here is Cynthia's quilt -- she started with a double-feathered star, which I love seeing in quilts. The fabric she passed along in her traveling box was all blue, white, and cream -- giving us a wonderful pallette to work with.

Look at the details in what was added -- there is so much to see in this quilt.

The details just go on and on. What a spectacular set of quilts!

I think that all of us would do a robin again in a heartbeat, but we are postponing such thoughts until at least Springtime. Our new challenge was thrown at us when we all started reading Pat Sloan's blog (http://patsloan.typepad.com/). She began posting a set of UFO (Unfinished Object) tips on Tuesdays and Thursdays from early October up until Thanksgiving... and we all started pulling out our UFOs and making confessions about how many we had. I lost count at 41 and that didn't even include the finished quilt tops that just need quilting! So we have now challenged each other to identify a UFO and finish it my March 2011. I have already almost finished the one I put at the top of my list. What was most amazing to me was Pat's disclosure, which I found was not unique to her, that ALL of her UFOs were projects that she was doing for herself - not for anyone else. What does that say about us?? So I have resolved to change that in the future and give myself some time to work on UFOs and other projects. Our UFO group started off by gathering for three days of doing nothing but power sewing -- sort of a day retreat without the interruptions of home or the sleeplessness of a retreat center. We worked hard... and maybe next month I will be able to show you progress on another new quilt!

Until next month... happy sewing, everyone! And most definitely, may the Yuletide season bring all of you smiles, joy, and surprises!

Sue

(c)2010 Susan H. Garman