Calico Prairie

Calico Prairie

Soothing colors of peach, light coral, and dusty blue are perfect for showcasing this vintage quilt design.

I selected fabrics from my stash that could have been found in 1930-1950 era day dresses or 1970's prairie skirts. I believe I had a Gunne Sax calico peasant dress with these colors back in high school.

My dependable Singer 404, Elizabeth, sewed perfect seams...and there are a lot of them. Each 8” Full Blown Tulip block has 32 pieces! Once I assembled the blocks, I added 4” borders in the dusty blue to expand the size to 48” square.

A combination of free motion quilting and ruler work finished out this one with a creative touch. Calico Prairie gave me a chance to play with stitches and enjoy memories, a perfect way to spend my time.

Accuquilt dies used:
55616 Full Blown Tulip 8” BOB
55054 Strips 4½”
55017 Strips 2½”

Jumping Jacks

What a fun block to make for a baby quilt! Old fashioned calico prints of red, blue, and yellow with a touch of green, alternate with natural muslin. I used tiny red gingham for the center circles, outer border and backing.

The die, Endless Chain from Blue Wren, makes cutting the blades and circles so easy. Sewing went quickly to make the hexagons. More time was needed for adding the circles, then stitching the rows together. Those Y-seams get easier the more you do, just don't get in a rush. I recommend keeping precise 1/4” seam allowances, also begin and end seams 1/4" away from edge, using lock stitches.  

I tried a new trick for the circles. I cut twice as many as I needed and sewed two with right sides together. Slash a small opening in the center of one side, turn it right side out, smooth and press. You could also use lightweight interfacing or thin cotton for the back circle. Pin onto the hexagon and stitch down, either by hand or machine.

I filled out the sides by adding muslin half rectangle triangles. I did have to trim them to fit but it worked out just fine. I squared up the sides before adding the borders.

For quilting, I used cream thread to sew across the muslin blades in a serpentine stitch. Jumping Jacks is 45” x 51” size.

This sweet design reminds me of 1930's and 1940's quilts, and I plan a scrappy one, then may try a modern version with bright colors. This die can also be used to make Dresden plate and simple fan blocks.

Dies used:
Blue Wren 6979 Endless Chain 5” sides

Accuquilt 55411 Half Rectangle Triangle 3” x 6”
55017 Strip 2½” for border / binding

 

Sweet Tradition

This little quilt is similar to some made by Granny Hill and Granny Rose. In keeping with their tradition, I sewed it all on Rockette, my 1960's era Singer 500-A Rocketeer machine. She's a beauty and still sews like a dream. I do have to get used to trimming my own thread and manually raising/lowering the presser foot, but that doesn't take long. I may be a little spoiled by modern conveniences.

Pretty vintage style prints emphasize the old fashioned feel of time-honored kaleidoscope or kite blocks. I combined sections of two Accuquilt dies to give me fewer seams. These didn't take long at all to cut and stitch. I alternated pastel and medium toned blocks to balance the colors.

Sweet Tradition is 40” square, perfect baby or child size. I quilted with cream thread in a straight stitch alongside each block seam and across the triangles.

Recreating old patterns is one of my passions.  Seeing antique blocks made by the grannies inspires me. I love making them come to life in retro style or modern quilts. I have a list a mile long that of ideas I want to try. There just aren't enough hours in the day!

Accuquilt dies used:
55409 Triangle in square 4” finished (triangle)
55254 Kite 4” finished (kite)
55017 2 ½” strip (binding)

At the heart of every

family tradition

is a meaningful

experience

To see blog posts about my Rocketeer or other vintage quilts from Granny Rose and Granny Hill, click on their label below:

Little Boy Blue

Baby quilts are so much fun to sew. I made this sweet bow tie design with fabric purchased at the $1 sale a few weeks ago.

A simple traditional block sewed with four blue and white small prints gives it a vintage vibe. Little Boy Blue is 42” square. I quilted with light blue thread in free motion double loops, going diagonally across the squares. Backing is a creamy white with medium blue swirling designs.

This size could also be used for a wall hanging or table topper. It's a quick and easy layout that sews up in a flash.

Accuquilt dies used:

55772 Bowtie 6” finished square
55818 Half square 1 ½” finished square
55006 Square 3 ½”
55017 2½” strip

Do more things
that make you forget
to check your phone

Granny's Wash Day

Memories of sheets and housedresses hanging on the line at granny's house prompted me to design this adorable quilt. Some of the fabrics are 1950's vintage, from Granny Rose's collection of sugar and flour sack remnants. I added new pieces that would complement them, along with white muslin. 

Each four patch block is made up of chisel sections and triangles turned to create the design. This one didn't take long at all, since most of the colored triangles were already cut. I think it looks a bit like the dasher in an old time washing machine. 

A simple quilting pattern of even squares finishes off the vintage look. I used light yellow thread for the straight stitches. The backing is an old sheet of pale yellow with pink, blue, and yellow flowers.

I am lucky to have sweet childhood memories of summer days on the Tennessee farms of both sets of grandparents. And, luckier still to have Jerold's grandmother's fabric to use in my quilts. For more of my posts about Granny Rose, Granny Hill, and sugar sack fabric, click on those labels below.

Accuquilt dies used:
55735 Chisel 2¼” x 4½” finished
55147 Half square triangle 2¼” finished

Remember when

life was simpler,

and we didn't have a

care in the world?

Bits and Pieces

This colorful quilt uses some of the smallest pieces I've ever sewn into blocks. Talk about saving scraps...women of the 1930's would be proud.

When I got the spider web die for my birthday, I started cutting fabric remnants. Selecting different colors, I randomly stitched them together. Because of the tiny pieces and many seams, it took several days.

I used a natural muslin for contrast to showcase the web shapes. I chose a meandering stitch to quilt in free motion, with cream thread. Bits and Pieces is 36” x 48” in size.

I love the final product! The die is awesome for using up the smallest of remnants. It looks like an old fashioned quilt that my grandmothers would have made. I can't wait to make other versions with different background colors.

Bits and Pieces

It seemed like a perfect project to sew around Mother's Day. I thought about how women during the Depression years would have spent their time. They'd cut up old curtains, housedresses, shirts, and feed sacks to create a warm quilt for next to nothing, using faded blankets for batting.

Thankfully, I don't have to worry about saving every cent, although I do get a certain satisfaction out of using leftovers to make a bonus quilt or two. It must be my rural Southern thrifty dirt farmer roots showing.

Accuquilt die

55487 Spider Web 6"

Points of View

My remnant baskets are overflowing, again. To keep my sewing room neat and use up some fabric, I designed a scrap quilt in EQ8 software. It's similar to the Christmas tree quilt from last December.

Points of View

Using the Hattie's Choice die, I cut only the diamonds and triangles from a wide variety of colors. I sewed them together into large triangles, combining rows of similar and contrasting colors. Then I cut light gray fabric into half rectangle triangles, and added one on each side to form a 5½” x 6” triangle in a rectangle block.

The result is Points of View, a 38” x 48” lap quilt. The points turned out very precise because of the die cuts and my Janome 1/4” professional piecing foot. Backing is white and light gray chevron fabric. I quilted using white thread, diagonally along the diamond rows with a straight stitch.

The binding is made from scraps as well, multicolored 2 ½” strips of varying lengths sewn together.

It's a such a happy quilt with all those colors, don't you think?  It reminds me of vintage feed sack quilts from the 1930's.  At least I am happy because (for the time being) my fabric isn't tumbling out of the remnant baskets.

Accuquilt dies used:

55220 Hattie's Choice

55411 Half Rectangle Triangle

I am grateful for 

my fabric stash!

Effie's Butterfly Garden

Effie's Butterfly Garden

I've done a series on my husband's grandmother, Granny Rose, her quilts, and my reproductions of those designs. Until now, I only had one of my own grandmother's quilts, a wedding gift. Recently a cousin sent me some old family photos, including a few pics of Granny Hill's quilts.

Effie's Butterfly Garden is my version of one of them. I made my block simpler so that I could use Accuquilt dies and sew it up more quickly. Her quilt and my block are pictured below. I may do another take on the design later using her kite piece.

Effie Hill quilt

Kaye's version

Vintage style 1930's and 1940's small floral prints, like the housedresses she made and wore, are featured with a natural muslin contrast in each block. Backing and binding are a larger floral print. I quilted with beige thread using a walking foot in serpentine lines that intersect to make simple flower petals.

I remember Effie Hill as a strong, independent woman who raised six kids during the depression. She lived and worked hard all her life on a farm in rural middle Tennessee. She grew a garden, cooked and canned, and somehow found time to sew and quilt. I surely must have inherited some of her sewing DNA.

Accuquilt dies used: 55010 5” square, 55735 2 ¼” x 4 ½” chisel, and 55147 2 ¼” half square triangle. I cut the 2 ¼” square from a strip, using the end of the chisel die.

I am thankful 

for the strength 

that lives in my veins. 

~K. Azizian

Granny's Garden Walk

Granny's Garden Walk

Are you ready for another Granny Rose block? She had two completed samples of this one in different sizes. The nine patch block is based on 54-40 or Fight design, but has been known by several names over the years. In 1939, it was published as Garden Walk; in 1969 it went by Bird of Paradise; some call it Grandmother's Star when colors are arranged to emphasize the star points.

Mine is a 12” finished block, and as usual, I used Electric Quilt 8 to design and Accuquilt dies to cut the pieces. The 2 ½” square value die for center and corner four patches and the 4” finished triangle in square die went together perfectly. 

Lydia Rose's Garden Walk blocks

I chose four 1930's era colors in two shades each: sunny yellow, luscious lavender, true blue, and grass green, with white for all the triangles.

Granny's Garden Walk is 48” square. I arranged the colors diagonally and decided not to use sashing between the squares. I like the secondary design where the corners come together. 

Quilting was done with white thread, using a walking foot to stitch lines in a lightly flowing wave pattern. Backing is a tiny lattice print in light lavender and white; binding is white.

Start to finish, this took me seven days, working on it several hours every day. I still had time for walks, housework (basics only), and errands.  

A week of sewing = one happy quilter!

A day without quilting

probably won't kill me,

but why take the risk?