LIBERTY GARDEN QUILT PROJECT REVISITED

It's been a little while since I worked on this project. It was another one of those hidden on the floor projects that I came across while putting fabrics away. There was still quite a bit of machine stitching left to do on the blocks so I worked on that the last couple days. I have one bird block that needs stitching done on and should get done today. Then there is the big hole there in the middle. I think I have the section almost ready to go in there. The pattern for this quilt is called "Liberty Garden" and it is a Jan Patek pattern.
The quilt still needs borders and they are also applique. I have all the applique parts ready to fuse. Just need to cut out the borders. Then lots more machine stitching to do. This is meant to be a fun project for me, thus the machine applique instead of hand applique. I have plenty of hand applique on other projects awaiting me.

The Liberty Garden book is a good one for my taste in quilts. There isn't one quilt in the book that I don't like.

Last night we stayed up to watch the shuttle launch. Living on the Space Coast of Florida makes viewing it from home fairly easy. It went up just before midnight and we watched it while standing in the pool. There was cloud cover so it was not the clearest launch we have ever seen. It lit up the sky like it was dawn. Very pretty.

Well, I had best get busy in the sewing room and see if I can get the main body of this quilt all put together today. I'm glad that you stopped by for a visit.

FAMILY GATHERINGS AND A WARM WELCOME

I wish I had a better way to photograph quilt tops, etc. rather than spread on the floor. I used to have a photography stand thingamajig that was used to hang backdrops. I used it to hang quilts for photographs. I used it for a while then we moved to a house where I could photograph from a stairway landing way down and ceased using the stand. Then we moved back to Florida and it sat in the garage unused. I finally donated it to a thrift shop. Now that I am doing a blog, I wish I had it back. Not in the budget to buy a new one. They have gone up in price. My husband is off to the hardware store in a few minutes to buy clothesline & pins. We aren't allowed to hang clothes out in our housing development but I figure I can tie the line to the plant hooks that are on the lanai and give that a try just for photographing the quilts.

I started putting fabric away I had on the floor that was pulled out for various reasons. I have previously posted about how I work on a small low table in my sewing room. The reason is because of my back pain. I sit to cut. Thus, I end up with piles of fabric on the floor beside me that I am pulling out of as needed. Things were getting out of hand. New projects floating in my head and more fabric pulled to see if I had what was needed all added to the piles. As I began sorting to begin the putting away process, I found projects that needed attention. I might add, that there are still a couple more on the floor that need some attention to finish the tops up. Here is one project that I just finished yesterday.
The quilt top is from a Jan Patek/Linda Brannock pattern called "Family Gatherings". The majority of the fabric used was from the Moda line of fabric called "Gatherings". At one time I had several pieces of the line but didn't do anything with it. A friend was given a table topper made from the "Gatherings" fabric. I offered her my pieces so she could make something to co-ordinate with her topper and she happily accepted. Then a while later, I wanted to do an applique project that used some of that fabric. I found a few pieces at an on line store and my friend Jeanne donated a little from her stash. Jeanne decided to do some sorting of fabric recently and decided she was done with the left over "Gatherings" she still had in her stash. I noted that the pattern "Family Gatherings" used that line. I still had some in my stash. I combined Jeanne's leftovers with mine, added some other fabric that worked well with it from my shelves and made the quilt top pictured above. The leftovers will be given to someone else for their stash.

Next I used leftovers to piece a backing for the quilt. I free hand drew a big basket similar to the one used in the pattern and added that to a square of fabric. Then I just kept piecing until I got the backing big enough. I think it will add interest to the back.
I then moved onto another project that was laying on the floor. I showed you a house block and a pineapple block in a recent post. I had all the blocks done at that time but had not made the pieced sashings. I made the sashings over the weekend and got the top center assembled. Yesterday evening, I added the borders. The pattern is called "A Warm Welcome" and is from the book "Folk Art Favorites" by Joined at the Hip. The sample in the book used a vintage floral border but I liked the deep red with gold stars that is from a Jo Morton line of fabric. It went well with the gold I used for the pineapples. The pineapple leaves and the diamond shapes on them are made from wool. The pattern calls for buttons within those diamond shapes but that would need to be added after the quilting is done. I have Mary from Quilt Hollow to thank for the gift of the book. This is going to make a good quilt to hang on one of the quilt cabinet doors.

I used only stash for these projects!

I hope to spend some time today on another one of those hidden projects. Most of the fabric that was on the floor is put away or will be shortly. Come back for another visit soon to see what I am working on.

Karen

WASHINGTON'S LEGACY

Two finishes to report. At least finished to the flimsy stage. The first finish is a quilt called "Washington's Legacy". It was a free pattern on Baum/ Windham Fabrics website. If you are interested in the pattern or others that are available click here. If you visit the site, you will notice that my quilt looks a little bit different than the one shown. I wanted the flags above Washington's head to be whole and not chopped off. I devised a slightly different center to accomodate it. Only I did not picture things correctly in my mind. The way I did it, Washington's head would have been on the diagonal instead of straight up and down. I added triangles to the center square to get the head going the right direction. I ended up with a bigger quilt than I anticipated making but all is well. By my calculations, there are a couple mistakes in the pattern directions. The center part instructions are not really clear to me. Maybe someone else can understand them fine. The instructions have you cutting rectangles on the diagonal for the first row where the dark navy points are. The math just doesn't work. I think it should be squares. And that is taking into account making the center just like the pattern. The next error was in the number of squares of background fabric for the 4th row. The pattern only has you cut enough for one side of the quilt. Not a biggie as anyone can figure that out when you get to that point. I need to get some backing fabric for this piece. I used Old Glory Election Commemorative fabrics for this quilt.

The same fabric line was used for the table runner pictured below. An easy piece to make. I probably won't use it for a table runner. It would fit nicely over one of the quilt cabinet doors when finished.
I am cutting out for another quilt from this same fabric. I am in a rut as it was the same fabric line for the Dresden Plates I showed you in a previous post.
The glass pot (I don't know what else to call it) was a gift from my friend Karen. It is a orangey red color and made by The Fenton Glass Company in West Virginia. Very pretty.
The last photo is of a blue glass bottle my husband found in an antique store while we were on vacation. Cobalt blue is my favorite color glass so we end up looking at just about anything we see in the blue line. We have no idea what this bottle was used for. It has a face on the top part or head. Does anyone know the answer? It is about 6 to 8 inches tall. I didn't measure it and am just guessing.

I have been visiting Primitives by the Light of the Moon blog. Ginger has been giving free alphabet stitchery designs over a period of time. If interested, you will have to go back through her blog posts to download and print them all out. She says she has some more "doodles" to post and to watch for those in the near future.

Another site I have come across is Sentimental Stitches. There are lots of free quilt patterns on the site. There is an ongoing series of flower applique patterns for one that I am printing out. There is an Amish style quilt in process. And many, many midget blocks that are 4 1/2". The midget blocks are from an antique sampler quilt. Maybe you already know about the site but if you have never paid a visit, be sure to check it out.

Okay. One last link for you. It is called Homeberries. There are several free stitchery patterns that you might enjoy if you like prim style.

Enjoy the rest of your day and come back soon for another visit.

Karen