Finally the quilt top is finished. Now on to the quilting part.  I did buy some very interesting fabric for the back. I really like it. When the quilt is finished I will post a back picture as well as a front picture.  This is going to be the last  Grandmothers Fan that I plan on doing.   Sometimes after I do so many that is it.   Well this is it. I dont think I could do another.

I love scrappy and I am going to only do scrappy old fashioned quilts the rest of this year and the entire next year. I hope I do not get tired of them.

I met with my webmaster Carol yesterday. Our heads are bursting at the seams with ideas.

Stay tuned for more information at a later date. See that is a reason to come back for a visit.

This is the pattern in the book and a peek at the block. 

The light spot in the middle is light coming through a small porthole type window. The background is a beige floral tone on tone.

Another view.

Upclose view of the beige background that I so love.

Parts still on the assembly line.

Last week Aunt Jan was here and she was looking around upstairs in my studio. We had cleaned it up somewhat and was proud to show her. Well she saw my killer tomato pincushion and said I needed to show it next to a regular size pincushion that in the picture I posted you really cant tell how big it is. I said ok I would do it. This is my all time favorite pincushion. I know I have had it at least 30 years. I just love it.

Little cushion, big cushion. It will hold about a zillion pins and more!

There are some beautiful quilts on here and it is hard for me to decide which one I like the best.

Here is the one I entered in the contest.

Tommy's Quilt

Thank you all for looking. NOW GO THERE AND VOTE FOR THE QUILT OF YOUR CHOICE…WHICHEVER IT MAY BE!

I absolutely loved making this quilt. I have always had a love for history so thinking about Lewis and Clark and all their adventures gave me happiness while I was putting this quilt together. There were a log of extra items I added to the quilt. The arrowheads being one. I just drew off about 50 of them and added them all over the quilt.  I also wanted to find some bear and covered wagon patterns. I just googled what I needed found the patterns and either enlarged or made them smaller with my copier, used the light box traced off the pattern onto some fusible web and you know the rest! This is a real feel good quilt and it has to be one of my favorites. It is 78 x84 inches. It is for sale and you can go to www.welovequilting.com  and see it along with some more beautiful quilts I have for sale. There is nothing like a handmade quilt!  It was professionally quilted by a longarm machine. The back of the quilt is very colorful indian feathers. All in all this quilt is much more prettier in person and needs a good home. I see it in a primitive log cabin setting type home..  Yes it was MADE IN AMERICA!

I am amazed at when I look at this quilt. First of all IF my mother ever owned a quilt book or pattern it was news to me. When it was time to clear out her house there never was one to be found. There were some brown paper sack pattern pieces. This was the woman that could look at something and make it. Remember the crochet vests that were so popular in the 60’s? Well I asked her to get a pattern for one and make it for me.. After sneering at me for saying pattern she sat down looked at one that a friend of mine owned and in a day or so I was wearing mine to school with the tie that had the pom pom’s on it.  When I was taking the photo’s of her quilts that my sister Karen has I did not pay to much attention to the fabric.  After studying over this one on my computer I realized it had some material that I remember having outfits growing up and her dress fabrics.  Mother always hand sewed the pieces and hand quilted. I don’t have that much time plus I do not have a desire to hand quilt anything larger than a doll quilt which I have done some of those. I like this quilt and if  IT wants me to bring it home to live with me I will!!!!  I will be glad to bring home ANY of the quilts in her possession if she just says the word!!!

These are two pictures of a real old quilt that was my mothers. I am not sure where she got the pattern or when she made it.. Karen my sister known on here as  IT has it in her collection of mothers work.

Mother always used a white background. I never thought about it until I was looking at some of her old work. Everything was in a cotton white for the block. I never remember seeing her sew any of the work on the blocks by machine. Come to think of it the more I study about her work she hand sewed everything. I never saw her put a binding on one the way we do today. She would always cutting the back fabric down and overlap it on the front and hem with big stitches.  That is why I have some quilts that the binding is coming loose and I have to repair them. She always had them in her quilting frame hand quilting them.   I love hand quilting but I have found that machine quilting makes the quilts last longer.

I do not know what kind of batting she used but I have the one that you can hold it up to the light and NOT see a piece of batting. I figure probably that polyester batting that everyone used years ago in the 60’s and 70’s.

I love this butterfly quilt and I intended to take my sketch book when I went to IT’s the next time and trace off the pattern. Well in the past few days I have been spending a couple of hours clearing out my studio and trying to get some order in there. Right now it looks like a tornado hit it from inside and did not do anymore damage to the rest of the house! Well yesterday I picked up an old magazine from a long time ago and what would appear on the front of the magazine? The butterfly pattern. Now what are the chances that this would happen?  I have the pattern. I am going to start on me one soon. I plan to do it a real country type look.   AND NO I am not using a white background and white backing?  It seems like all the quilts for that era was white on white!

Gary made this pink and black retro type quilt. I love the fabric. He does a great job.  In addition to quilting he does ALL the cutting in this family and squaring up the blocks. His work is perfect. I don’t know how he does it but he can take a yard of fabric and get a zillion pieces out of it and not have a scrap left over. If something calls for a 1/4 of a yard I have to buy about 6 yards to allow for error if I cut!!! Not him..  He does it perfect.  I am thankful to have a husband like him. Not only is he good to me, he supports anything I want to try.  When he first started sewing , quilting and also making fabric postcards for my Trading Fabric Postcard group on Yahoo, he told me..”This is so much fun, I should have done this instead of going to Boy Scouts.”  He makes me laugh!

I made this quilt about 2 years ago for a friend of mine. It is called a 6 hour quilt.  When you finish with the quilt it is finished, no taking to the longarm person to quilt it for you. However on this one I wanted to try free motioning on my regular home sewing machine. It turned out pretty good for the first try. I liked it.

Front of a 6 hour quilt we made for our grandson Will a few years ago. These are the easiest quilts possible. You sew the front and back together at the same time with the batting between the pieces. Like a sandwich.

Back of Will’s 6 hour quilt. By using different fabrics you have two in one quilts.

This is one side of a 6 hour quilt. It was made for use to be boss at the Post Office when we were there. Mr. Romager was retiring and he was a big Auburn Fan.  He also played golf so the other side was golf.  He has two quilts in one.

This is one side of Mr. Romagers quilt. The golf side. 

These quilts are great to make for children also. They are fast and very easy. You do not mind seeing them in the floor laying on them or playing with them like you do on quilts you spend months working on and money to have it quilted or even quilt it yourself.

This should be something you think about to get started on the presents for 2010. No trips to the longarmer! You start and finish and delivery.

I have a list of what I want to make for who this year and  I am ready to get started. Be creative. People love gifts that someone spent their time on making instead of running in the store picking out a meanless gift.

You can check out more about this quilt technique on

http://www.kayewood.com/item/6_Hour_Quilt_Book/214

This quilt was the first quilt I entered in local competition. I won 3rd place. I was so proud.  It was made for Aunt Janice. She was so happy when she came and saw her name on the quilt.  She still has it and loves it.  I call this quilt “There’s one in every crowd!”  The reason, when I was making it I was so careful to keep each blade in order.  Brown, Green, Yellow and so forth.  Only one of the blocks I got out of order.  Only one…  I did not realize it until I had the quilt put together. So naturally, there has to be one in every crowd. Aunt Jan won’t look for it or won’t let me show her where it is. She said she has never noticed and if she does know her eye will go to there everytime!!! So I have not told.

  The quilt top.