Baltimore... Continued!

Somehow I managed to post zero, zip, nada, nothing last month... and I'm late in posting this month, after promising myself that I would regularly post something new by the first of each month. Darn, but time flies! I was going to post the remaining 6 blocks of my Baltimore, after posting the first ten. Somehow I managed to take pictures of only 5 of the 6 blocks, so you're going to have to do a little searching... the 16th block is buried within the picture of the overall quilt, as it now stands (which means it's still not finished!). So let's get started on the block update.

Before you look, I'd like to mention something. A friend sent me a link to another person's blog - she copied one of my block pictures from last month and posted it on her blog with no reference to me or my designs. That's a no-no, folks! These are my original, copyrighted designs. I will likely say yes to anyone who ASKS if they can post a copy of the photos shown my blog - as long as there is a link back here to my blog, and as long as they are not using them to make money. That seems like a pretty fair deal to me.

So here are the new blocks...

And last, but certainly not least, here is the latest picture of where these blocks are going. I have sewn all of the inner sashings - and laid them on the floor to see how they look, along with two partial borders.


It's coming along nicely, though I still have a long way to go to get this quilt finished. First, I need to finish appliqueing all of the borders and all of the corner blocks -- the corner blocks will be uninterrupted continuations of the side borders, with a unique vase in each corner. Then there is a LOT of embroidery and embellishment that needs to happen on each border. And finally, there is a final border of 1" half-square triangles on the outside edge of the assembled quilt. Be still my heart - I am really enjoying how this quilt looks!

So until next month... hopefully by the first of the month... you'll see a completed top. Or at least a top with 3 of the 4 borders done! Until then...

Happy sewing!
Sue

(c)2010 Susan H. Garman, All Rights Reserved

And Finally... What is New???

Finally, I get to show you some new things that I have been working on. First of all, you have seen my latest block of the month in an earlier posting – but I’ll show it again. I love medallion quilts. They have a lot of complexity which, for me, translates into a lot of visual interest. This quilt, the “Coxcomb Medallion,” is a little different – I inserted a ruffled swag into the interior of the quilt, instead of adding it where it usually ends up: the final border. And the center block is appliqued – so this quilt is a combination of piecing and applique, which keeps it interesting.

Next, my new fabric line for P and B Textiles will be shipped in July to shops that order it. It is called “Sing a Song” and illustrates eight favorite childhood songs. I love the border fabric for this quilt – it is soft and bright; it sings “happy” to me! The four leading colors (blue, yellow, green, and pink) are very rich, but they also have a complementary soothingly pale partner. Beneath the fabric swatches, you will see a quilt made using this fabric. I am so thankful for friends Debbie S, who did a fantastic job making the quilt based on a pattern I designed, and Cynthia C who did an extraordinary job of quilting it for me. Caring for an ill family member has filled the past six months for me, so their generous gift of time and energy are much appreciated.

Sing a Song fabric by P&B Textiles

The Sing a Song Quilt (50 x 50")
Third… I have been working on my own Baltimore designs. I have always wanted to make a Baltimore album quilt and I am now putting the pedal to the metal and sewing like crazy! The designs are all complete – sixteen brand new, original 15-inch blocks based on classic vintage Baltimore album quilt blocks; and four wildly elegant borders with exquisite vases full of blooming flowers, buds, and berries. I had so much fun designing these blocks and borders – I am ready to tackle another set of similar blocks as soon as I finish making this quilt. The current debate (in my head and among friends) is: hand quilt or machine quilt? My gut says I need to hand quilt this quilt once I finish the top; hand quilting would be in keeping with the era in which Baltimore album quilts were birthed. But my head says I should give myself a tiny little bit of breathing room and spend only a week or two machine quilting the quilt instead of spending innumerable sleepless weeks pricking holes in my fingers (no, I don’t use a thimble to applique or quilt – they bother me!). Time will give me the right answer, one way or another. So here are the blocks and the borders – ten blocks and one border are finished. My deadline to complete the quilt (including the quilting) is mid-September. I feel like the little “I think I can! I think I can!” train, chugging along with every ounce of energy I have! So here are the blocks -- you have seen a couple of them in an earlier posting - but I am putting them all together here. The first picture is one of the borders -- they are each different, with different vases in the center, and different vases in each corner of the quilt. Below the first picture are ten of the blocks - I still have a bit of embroidery to do on some of them. Time seems to be escaping me!

I still have 6 blocks that need to be appliqued - and three more borders. Wish me well… and I hope that you each enjoy some lazy days of quilting as we enter a long, sweet summer!

Sue©2010 Susan H. Garman

And Even More Antique Quilts!

Hello again -- it's amazing how quickly a month can fly by. Last month I said that I would show you some of the things that I'm working on. I will... but only one quilt this month; hopefully next month you will see a lot of Baltimore album blocks that I have been working on. They're not quite ready for prime time yet, though! Instead... I'll start with a bunch of antique quilts and comments - and then you can take a look at my latest medallion quilt, "Coxcomb Medallion."

First, here is a lovely Carolina Lily quilt. In viewing many antique quilts, I am continually astonished by the creativity of yesteryear's quilters. Look at the borders on this quilt: opposite sides match; adjacent sides do not. And why do you think this quilter chose to put a little block motif (other than the Carolina Lilies) in the top and bottom left corners? Would you have imagined doing something like that? Not me - but then I really like absolute symmetry in quilts like this. do you think she "owed" putting these blocks into this quilt? Who knows?!

Carolina Lily, 19th century with vine border (89 x 94")

At first glance, this next quilt is a four-block quilt. It's actually a 16-block quilt - set to look like a four-block quilt. Setting blocks like this makes for interesting secondary patterns. Think about that, the next time you are making sets of blocks: can you build another pattern out of the way you set the blocks?

Tulip Quilt, 19th century (77 x 77")

This next quilt is definitely a four-block quilt -- what a delightful motif each block uses! The trailing vine is very primitive and not nearly as complex as the center blocks. Do you think that the quilter was just tired of all that detail and wanted to get the quilt done? I know there are times when I've opted for a simple, plain border just so I could move on to the next new quilt project.

Floral Spray quilt with Trailing Vine, 19th century (78 x 79")

This 9-block quilt looks like it started out as a set of Rose of Sharon blocks but the quilter turned them into peppermint tulips. Don't you just love this kind of creative spirit? It teaches me not to be afraid to try something different.

Decorative tulip quilt, 19th century (95 x 99")

Here is another quilt where the quilter went a little wild with her desire to be creative -- look at the different borders she used on each side of the quilt. Interesting, to say the least!

Rose quilt, 19th century (98 x 96")

This Baltimore album quilt was probably a treasured gift for a minister or a bride and groom. Made in 1873, it represented the highest form of quilt art at the time. This quilt sold a year or two ago for around $25,000.

Baltimore Album, 1873 (104 x 101")

I love berries, so I could not resist including this quilt in this set of old quilts. Somebody had a lot of patience -- this quilt was made well before the advent of mylar templates, which have revolutionized berry-making.

Berry Wreaths, 19th century (89 x 94")

Here is an old log cabin quilt -- I love log cabin quilts that are a bit whimsical -- and this one is, with its use of high-contrast fabrics in the border and in the "light" logs.

Courthouse Steps log cabin quilt, circa 1900 (77 x 77")

And now here is another log cabin quilt -- it's a bit different because it was done in silk fabrics and includes a ruffled border. It was made for a youth -- what a delight!

Youth log cabin quilt, 1893 (65 x 54")

This next quilt is one that I have always wanted to reproduce -- a simple alphabet quilt. It was made in Pennsylvania in 1917 by Addie Heipler Allen. This era saw quite a few alphabet quilts - I particularly love the use of cheddar in these quilts.

Alphabet Quilt, 1917 (90 x 78")

The next two quilts are whimsical folk art renditions. I liked putting them together because they both contain animal motifs -- the first one has roosters and cats, and the second one has cats. Cute, aren't they?

Crib quilt, 1900 (32.5 x 34")
Trapunto quilt, 19th century (90 x 90")

Last but not least, here is my "Coxcomb Medallion" quilt. I decided early on in the design process that I wanted to have a double swag border -- but I wanted to put it in the interior of the quilt, rather than as an outer border. I like how it breaks the path of the eye and highlights the central portion of the quilt. This is a block-of-the-month that will be sold (retail and wholesale) through Quakertown Quilts in my hometown of Friendswood, Texas.

Coxcomb Medallion, 2010 (94 x 94")

That's all for this month -- I hope to see you again in another month. Until then, happy sewing!

Sue
(c)2010 Susan H. Garman

Lessons from Early Quilts...

This month, I thought I would just show a few of my very early quilts -- quilts from 20 to 50 years ago! We sometimes forget that those early quilts, while not necessarily stunning, taught us much that we can carry into today's quiltmaking.

Lesson One: Use your scraps. This quilt was made over 50 years ago; it is a utility quilt made entirely from scraps sewn to squares of muslin. Try making these blocks in color sets (e.g., red/green, blue/peach, or purple/yellow scraps) - or make them totally scrappy. Before you know it, you'll have enough squares for a full-sized bed quilt.

Lesson Two: Don't expect to make a perfect quilt the first time you make one... or every time. When I do lectures for quilt guilds, I always bring along one of my earliest quilts. The point I make with it is that we all have to start somewhere. And that first quilt is not always going to be a blue ribbon prize-winning quilt. Don't be too hard on yourself; learn as you go - and remember that experience is the best teacher of all, so keep on sewing. One of my earliest (remaining in my possession) quilts was inspired by a 1972 Family Circle magazine -- when I saw the cover photo, I wanted to make that quilt!

Of course, little did I know that the "instructions included" were limited to one page of thumbnail-sized drawings - and a lot of imagination. Quilt books were in short supply in 1972... along with instructions.

I had to use the teachings of my grandmother, plus what my Mom had taught me about hemming skirts, to make and design my quilt. You can get pretty ingenious with that kind of experience. But the resulting twin-sized quilt was not so bad.

Lesson Three: Don't forget to use solid-colored fabrics. I continued quilt-making -- including some classic patterns such as the Amish bars quilt. Today, many quilt shops are just beginning to return to carrying solid-colored bolts; I nearly always try and use at least one solid fabric in my quilts -- they can add zip to a quilt that otherwise is "busy" with prints.

Lesson Four: Scrappy quilts delight the eye -- and block exchanges are delightful ways to make scrappy quilts. The quilt below was done as a scrappy block exchange between Cynthia England and me back in the early 90s. We were neighbors and decided to make a bunch of 8" blocks of red and white/off-white fabrics and then swap sets with each other. Using a ton of different fabrics makes your eye dance across the face of a quilt. And to get variety in the scraps, it's easier if you find one or more friends to exchange blocks with. Just make sure that everyone agrees on the rules of the exchange so that nobody's expectations are dashed.

Lesson Five: Establish resource files. I have a bookshelf full of books that I peruse when looking for patterns - as well as plenty of patterns, photos, etc. I can skim through these and find endless sources of inspiration. Go to your local bookstore and look through the Dover Press art books -- they have lots of lots of drawings and pictures that can be converted into quilt designs - and many of them are copyright free. This cartouche book (below) served as the inspiration for...

this quilt (below) -- I enlarged a cartouche, refined it as a quilt design, and then inserted drawings I found from other sources. Had I not maintained files full of inspiration pictures and drawings and patterns, I would never have made this 1992 quilt, celebrating Columbus' journey across the Atlantic.

Lesson Six: If you don't try, you won't learn. In the early 90s, I decided to try my hand at hand-quilting. I started with a full-sized quilt. Two months later, I had fully hand-quilted this quilt - which was made in a mystery class.

Here's a close-up that shows the quilting. I learned a lot... just by practicing, stitch by stitch. After a while, what is a struggle in the beginning becomes therapeutic, mindless, and relaxing!

Now... here's a lesson within a lesson. Each one of those stars had a feathered rosette in the middle of it that took 45 minutes to quilt. Guess what? You can't see all that work. Put your time into what really counts.

Before closing, I thought I would share a little bit of humor. My grand daughter, when she was around 2-1/2, was being potty-trained. She came running into my sewing room saying she needed to use the bathroom. I pointed to the bathroom door and said, "Hurry! Go!" She ran to the door... and came to a screeching halt. She had glanced in and seen a bath tub that was being temporarily used to hold three large bolts of batting for my longarm machine.

She stared at them and gingerly turned, saying, "Grandma -- you sure do have BIG toilet paper!"

Next month, I hope to show you some of the projects that I've been working on since the beginning of the year. In particular, you will see a new block-of-the-month and several new Baltimore album blocks. Family matters have kept me tied down for a while, but work has continued.

Until we meet again, happy sewing!

Sue

(c)2010 Susan H. Garman
Photos and text are not to be used without permission

More Antique Quilts

Help! Where did January go and when did February sneak in the door? This month I am posting more photos of old quilts; they remain my primary inspiration for new designs. If I see an old quilt that I really love, there is a good chance that I'll snap a picture of it, which will go into one of my files. Later, when I'm ready to start designing a new quilt, I look through my files and see what strikes my fancy. So here are some photos from my files -- I hope you they inspire YOU!

The quilt below (and the following close-up of a block in it) is a quirky looking Princess Feather quilt. Its chunky design is unusual -- along with the flying geese (or is it a squatty dogtooth?) border on only two sides of the quilt. Another unusual aspect of this quilt is that it was done in navy and off-white -- most princess feather quilts are done in red and green. I've been working on my own Princess Feather quilt, but it has tons of little "fingers" on each plume, so the perimeter of the quilt seems inifinite as I applique.

Below is another unusual antique quilt. Log cabin quilts are not unusual in and of themselves, but this one was done in the mid-thirties with fabric from that era. Have you ever seen an Aunt Grace log cabin? And what makes it equally unusual is the use of the black Thirties fabric.

I saw the quilt below at a Christmas tour of the homes in Sam Houston Park (in downtown Houston, along Buffalo Bayou). I liked the unusual block in it -- as well as the use of cheddar fabrics.

Another quilt in the Sam Houston Park display was the basket of roses quilt, below. I love red and green quilts -- and this shade of green, especially, is a favorite of mine. The basket design this quilter used must have been original; I've not seen other quilts with this pattern.

Again, here is another Sam Houston Park quilt. The Princess Feather design is a classic one, although each motif in the quilt below lacks the traditional "star" in the center of the princess feather design. Another unusual aspect of this quilt is the leafy border. Early Texas quilters were certainly original!

The quilt below, in the same park display, uses several traditional Coxcomb and Currants blocks. That's a favorite block of mine, and has inspired several of my designs. And, again, I LOVE the use of red and green fabrics. What is it about red and green that makes them such popular colors in quilts? Perhaps it's the sense of cheer that the colors often bring to mind.

This next photo is not a picture of a quilt, but a crocheted bedcover from the Sam Houston Park collection. I include it here just because it is another breathtaking example of how women in the mid- to late 1800s (and still today!) created incredibly complex and wonderful works of art that welcome people into their homes and their lives. Wouldn't you just love to have this on a guest bed in your home?

That's all for this month -- until March, happy sewing!

Sue Garman

(c)2010 Susan H. Garman