History Detective

Have you seen Carrie's or Camille's blogs? They are posting about 1st quilts. I am probably too late for their "parade of quilts", but their posts had me rummaging through closets. Basically they are asking bloggers to post photos of their first quilt and their most recently finished quilt. Okay. If you really want to see. Let me explain a little about this first quilt. I was 14. I saw a quilt in a magazine (Women's Day) and wanted one. There were no quilts in the family nor was anyone a quilter nor did any sewing like that. Our sister-in-law Sonie did make clothes. I went at it at full speed. I found a book in the library on quilts. It was published in the 1960's. This was 1972. I borrowed a neighbors sewing machine and some of her scraps. The other fabrics were bought at Kresge's 5 & Dime, an 1/8th of a yard at a time. Those Kresge clerks hated to see me walk in the door. It is a one patch. I didn't know what a one patch was - but I made one. I cut out the pieces "by eye." You are starting to get the picture aren't you?Another neighbor told me that ALL quilts were tied. Despite my evidence of the photo in the magazine, I succumbed and tied it. The backing is a polyester/cotton sheet, so it is probably best that I didn't try to hand quilt it. That came later in my second quilt. It lived on my bed and went away to college with me. It is now a bed for cats in the bottom of Bill's closet. I tried to throw it away several years ago, but Bill salvaged it from the garbage. It is an archive of 1960's and 70's fabrics. Hardly any are 100% cotton.

I will show my most recent quilts. Okay, not my most recent, but I have 4 tops/quilts in progress and they are for future patterns. These are the most recent before those. There isn't a whole lot of evolution except for the quality of materials and the fact I have rulers now - and I use them. The top on the left is my prototype of the quilt Seaside. It is still a top and hasn't been quilted yet. The one on the right is Seaside made with Wiscasset fabrics.
One patch to a nine patch. I guess that is progress.

Laurie

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy 4th Everyone! Hope you get to relax and spend some time with family and friends. Polly just got back from visiting 2 of her sons and she is getting ready to go to Nantucket to teach, so it will be a laid back holiday for her. Me too. I am wrapping up some pattern writing, some fabric cutting, some quilting, and some Wimbledon watching. Oh, and some barbecuing tomorrow also. No big plans. Isn't that vase of Polly's great? You can get them here.
This quilt is an antique and is one of the many pictures I have saved of flag quilts. Here is another.We were described this week as "The Queens of Red, White, and Blue." Well, if the shoe fits. We will leave you with some of our favorite 4th things.Thanks

Laurie

PS - Both Laurie and I promised Colonel James that we would continue to work for troops - a dedicated Mom and the most loyal of aunts - we continue to do what he asks. So, the final Semper Fi # 4 kit is listed on our website this weekend. We are very proud of our efforts, thanks to all of you who have been so supportive! - Polly.

Christmas In July

This is a holiday weekend isn't it? (come back tomorrow for a True Blue Minick and Simpson 4th of July post). No, we are not in a time warp or hallucinating. Jingles has been shipped to quilt shops this past week and here is a little taste to get you in the holiday mood. Polly has been stating (whining) that she REALLY wanted a nightshirt made from our new Jingles flannel. Here is the first of many Christmas nightshirts and pajama sets.Leigh Ann, our go-to gal for emergency quilting and garment sewing came to our rescue. Thanks Leigh Ann! I am cutting out a pajama set for myself this weekend. Polly has been making her Christmas list and it seems that a whole lot of Minick kids might be getting p.j.'s and pillow cases this Christmas. Don't tell.
You can find this and lots more of this collection at the Fat Quarter Shop. Leigh Ann used the Pajama Party pattern from Taylormade Designs. I am thinking that I will use the Sleep Well pattern from Favorite Things. I will keep you posted on my project. Sleep Tight!

Laurie

Fuss Free Hand Quilting

This is the quilt that you saw a peek of in a recent post. It was hanging on the back of the baby crib that Roscoe the cat was sleeping in. I have received several questions regarding this quilt - so here is some info. First of all, I made 2 of these quilts. Same pattern, same fabrics. The pattern is not one of ours - it is a copy of an antique quilt that was published in American Patchwork & Quilting in the spring of 2006. I loved the antique quilt when I saw it and thought it would look great in our fabrics. At the time we had done 2 fabric collections with Moda - Nantucket and Coming Home. This quilt, and it's twin were made with the scraps of these 2 collections. Polly has one and I have one. Secondly, no I don't have any more copies of that issue (April 2006), but I bet you do. Don't we all have several years of these issues squirrelled away?
Here is a little closer view of the hand quilting.This quilting design is kind of a free form fan design. The fan design is most commonly known as "Baptist Fan" or "Methodist Fan" because it is a very common utilitarian quilting design that was often used for quilting bees in the basement of churches - hence the name. These utilitarian quilts from the last half of the 19th century and early 20th century were quickly quilted by the church ladies for fund raisers. Those sweeping fans, you see, are easy to quilt when you are sitting around a quilt frame. They follow the natural movement of your arm. Each person did the section in front of them, then the quilt was rolled and a new section appeared before you to be quilted. This design is seen over and over again in antique quilts. It is a favorite of mine. It works over everything and more importantly, it is still easy to hand quilt today - even outside of a quilt frame. I have many quilting stencils with varying fan designs. I use them all. I even developed my own - the one you see above. This quirky and free form fan design is easy to mark and to quilt.
To start, lay the basted quilt out on the floor or a large table. Being right handed, I start at the bottom right hand side of the quilt. I mark concentric arcs on the top - about 18"to 20" tall and wide. I use either a Hera marker or a chalk wheel marker.
The Hera marker is a Japanese tool that is much like a bone folder used in book making and scrap booking. I'm sure the originals were made of bone - but this is a hard plastic. It marks by making a sharp crease in the fabric when you press down. It is a great tool for marking a top. The chalk wheel pencil works by putting down a chalk line with a ratchet wheel tip. Both are favorite tools of mine and I use one or both in marking. All tops are different - basically what shows up better. When marking against all colors and shades of fabric like this top - the chalk is probably your best bet. Try a yellow or the light blue. When I mark I just make big sweeping arcs and I am not trying to be particularly accurate. I like the randomness of it and the quirkiness of it. It won't take long for you to get the hang of it. I mark one section at a time (and quilt one set of concentric arcs at a time) and then mark the next one. It goes very quickly. You can hand quilt a queen size quilt using this method in less than 2 weeks. I have been known to hand quilt a twin size quilt using this method in a long weekend. Your antique reproduction quilt will look even more "antique" using the church lady technique.
Laurie

Behind The Scenes

It has been about as exciting here today as, well, a fabric delivery day. No fabric - just lots of photos and smiles. Today, Jennifer Keltner of American Patchwork & Quilting was here as well as photographer Beth and her assistant Ted. They spent the day taking pictures of my studio. As some of you know, "my studio" means pretty much the whole house. It was a joy. It wasn't the traumatic and painful day I envisioned the 5 weeks I have known about it. What's it like? Well, once you CLEAN your house - it pretty much a snap. There are some tricks. I have been on photo shoots before - just not in my house. Polly used to work as a photo stylist for Country Home and Coastal Living magazines. I went along on some of them as a "gopher". We also were present when they took the photos for our books. Most of those pictures were taken at Polly's home. So, I did know some things. Like t.v.'s are not good. We all have them, but they aren't particularly attractive in a photo - so out they go. Same with other ubiquitous things that have cords - telephones, printers, etc. Not pretty. Here are some other things that didn't make the cut for the photo (my decision - not the magazine's. I wasn't thrilled about them being in the picture)Here is a fan, some extra books culled from my bookcase, a sewing cabinet, and a basket hidden behind the couch. Glamorous, eh? Here is the love seat pushed out of sight so a better angle could be taken of the family room. Doesn't everyone have a love seat in the kitchen?Here are Beth and Ted getting ready to take a picture of a quilt.You would not believe the equipment they have to bring with them. Of course, my photo of the equipment didn't turn out : (
Beth and Ted and Jennifer (the stylist for this shoot and editor of AP&Q) made my studio/house look terrific. Oh, it's going to be a long wait until it hits the new stands next April.
Polly will have her turn next month as the story will focus on both our studios and the fact that we work long distance. Whew, glad my part is done.

Laurie

Upcoming Events

Thanks again everyone for those great tips in using the Flag Day Farm twill tape. Sometime tonight it will be listed on our website for purchase. (After midnight June 19th. Our crackerjack website gal works nights). I will of course bind some quilts with it - but I sure like the idea of hemming sheets and pillowcases with it too. Very nice.

Let's see, what's new....... I did make a quilt this week. I am really liking this one. Can you believe I can't show it to you yet? I am rotten. I will show you a sneak peak of it.Yellow and red pinwheels make me happy. This will be a new pattern for us this fall. It will feature our new fabric collection that doesn't even exist yet. I made this prototype from my scrap basket. Yes, that infamous scrap basket - every piece was taken from there and that bad boy is still full to the brim. I. Give. Up.

What else is new...... There use to be a comic strip in the local paper that featured a character called "The woman who does everything more beautifully than you." I can't remember the comic strip, but that character sure stuck in my head. That phrase reminds me of Alma from Blackbird Designs. Check it out. Everyday on her blog there is something amazing and she is photographing it like she was Margaret Bourke-White or Annie Leibovitz. In the comic strip, "the woman who does everything more beautifully than you" isn't very likable. Alma is. I can't take my eyes off her lavender photo. I want to be Alma when I grow up. Camille is obviously her apprentice.

There are big doings going on here next week. I have been one anxious and difficult person. Really, I have. Go ahead and ask Bill or Polly. American Patchwork & Quilting is coming here next week to take pictures. Of My Studio. (Which means my house!!!!) Yes, that explains the whole "refinishing the floor" adventure. There have been some other things too. New blinds for the kitchen windows, house cleaning. Oy. I am not a good housekeeper. I can cook, I can sew, but cleaning is not high on my list. Well, things are kind of clean now. They will take pictures of Polly's studio next month. Polly is a good housekeeper. She got the clean gene. The clean gene is weirdly dominant in our family. There are stories of our Grandmother and aunts that will make you shake your head in wonder. I didn't get this affliction. Can't have everything. So, to all my friends and family who have listened to me about the housecleaning - "Thanks for being there." The house will be back to a shambles in no time. One comment has been repeating in my head for the last month. Sandy Gervais shared it with me at market when I told her the news about the photo shoot. She could tell I was anxious. She said "Remember, a nice coating of dust takes the glare off the pictures." Thanks Sandy. I think I will embroider that on a pillow.

Laurie

Another Day, Another Winner

Thanks everyone for all the great tips. I think I need to stock up on the flag twill tape - there are loads of things to do with it! The winner of the spool is Nancyz - Nancy email me here and we will get a new spool out to you pronto. Check back later for more when the the caffeine kicks in.

Laurie